Chapter 195

Even Hu Xiaotian didn't expect this guy to dare to jump in and bid. I said, "Damn, his gall is huge!" To dare to bid in front of the Prince? But Hu Xiaotian quickly grasped Xu Qinglian's intention: this old turtle most likely wanted to buy the landscape painting and then present it to Long Yefang, trying to curry favor with the Prince.

Xu Qinglian indeed had that thought; he had hesitated for a long time before deciding. After saying that, he immediately added, "I'm willing to pay five hundred fifty taels to buy this painting and present it to Your Highness the Prince."

Hu Xiaotian silently sighed, "This old turtle really has no shame—he hasn't even won the bid yet, but he's already sucking up to the Prince." By saying that, he was effectively telling everyone present not to compete with him, because competing with him meant competing with the Prince.

The smile on Prince Long Yefang's lips grew wider. Though he wasn't a vain man, the feeling of being respected still warmed him inwardly.

Hu Xiaotian had expected Long Yefang to bid right away, but he hadn't imagined the prince could hold back so calmly. This made Hu Xiaotian view the seventeenth prince in a new light. As a royal, Long Yefang had high standards; he should have anticipated from the start that someone would offer him this painting. Even if he bid, so what? Since he showed strong interest, who would dare to keep it for themselves? After Xu Qinglian's remarks, most people held back their bids—no one wanted to offend Qingyun County Magistrate over a painting.

Hu Xiaotian silently cursed, "This old turtle wants to cozy up to Long Yefang but doesn't want to spend money—he only raised the bid by fifty taels, getting a bargain today." Hu Xiaotian called out, "Five hundred fifty taels once, five hundred fifty taels… twice! Five hundred fifty taels…" He was unwilling to let Xu Qinglian, that old turtle, snag a bargain for free.

Then a rough voice shouted, "I bid six hundred taels!" It was Teng Tianqi, chief of Black Stone Stronghold, who had not participated in the bidding until now.

Xu Qinglian's head swelled; he mentally cursed, "What's a Black Miao person doing competing with me?" He shouted loudly, "Six hundred fifty taels!"

Teng Tianqi said, "Eight hundred taels!"

Xu Qinglian felt a chill run through him. He dared not bid further—he was merely a petty county magistrate. Seeing that Teng Tianqi showed no intention to back down, he feared that if he kept raising the bid, the price would exceed a thousand taels, even if Teng Tianqi gave up. Eventually everyone would wonder where he got so much silver; his salary could never accumulate that much. He glanced at Wan Boping not far away and thought, "Wan Boping, the richest man in Qingyun, should step up now to defend Qingyun's honor and regain some face." But Wan Boping remained silent, apparently wary of the Black Stone Stronghold chief, head down and speechless, clearly withdrawing from the competition.

In the end, Teng Tianqi won the landscape painting for eight hundred taels, to everyone's surprise—Prince Long Yefang had not participated in the bidding at all.

Seeing the painting fall into the hands of a foreigner, even Zhang Ziqian felt regret. In his view, few among the Black Miao Tribe could appreciate the artistic conception of a landscape painting; for it to be taken by Teng Tianqi was truly a pearl cast into darkness.

The next items up for auction were the White Jade Guanyin donated by Wan Boping and various other contributions, but none fetched a price that quickened the pulse, and there was no repeat of the fierce bidding just seen.

A rough tally showed that today's auction had raised twelve hundred taels for charity. Though not much, at least it saved face on the surface. Most of these items had been prearranged; what followed was the on‑site donation auction.

Xizhou Chief Secretary Zhang Ziqian splashed ink on the spot to write a piece of calligraphy, which Prince Long Yefang bought for one thousand taels. Zhang Ziqian knew full well that his calligraphy, though decent, was a hasty, occasion‑made work and could not compare to Yan Muliang's Sunrise Mountain Sea Picture. Long Yefang's gesture was magnificent. True to his royal bearing, he showed everyone he had the strength to back it up—he had merely refrained from bidding on the painting earlier out of disdain for competing with the Black Miao Tribe.

The crowd's enthusiasm was reignited, with volunteers coming forward one after another. Hu Xiaotian was about to produce an item he wished to donate for auction when Xiang Qin's loud voice rang out again: "We have an item to donate, with a starting bid of one thousand taels!"

Everyone's gaze turned to Xiang Qin, who held up a IOU stamped with an official seal.

Hu Xiaotian recognized the IOU she held as the one he had once written to Huan Cai Ge, and he nearly spat out a mouthful of old blood. "Damn, speak of the devil!" he thought. "When did I ever say I wouldn't pay you back? To humiliate me in front of all these people… this is clearly a move to deny me face." I had just told her I'd repay the debt, and she kept saying talking about money hurts feelings, yet in an instant she produced my old IOU to auction it off—this was really low. The girls from Huan Cai Ge weren't here to cheer; they were here to wreck the event.

According to the rules, before each donated item is auctioned, interested bidders are allowed to inspect and evaluate it; this IOU was no exception.

Many people gathered around, but at that moment Xiang Qin snatched the IOU back. Since the note was small and she hadn't fully unfolded it, nobody could see exactly what was written on it.

Hu Xiaotian glanced toward Xi Yan, seated nearby, the instigator of this whole affair. Her eyes never met his, nor did she notice anyone else in the hall; she simply fixed her gaze on the IOU in Xiang Qin's hand, as if awaiting how things would unfold.

Hu Xiaotian raised his hand without hesitation and said, "One thousand taels of silver—I'll take it!" He swallowed his broken teeth, knowing full well it was a pawn but still had to accept it.

The crowd erupted in astonishment; a promissory note worth a thousand taels—this definitely smelled fishy. Yet most people thought the note was worthless, and no one would seriously bid against Hu Xiaotian, especially since this guy also held the post of magistrate of Qingyun Xian.

Yet someone did speak up to bid, and surprisingly it was Prince Long Yefang: "Two thousand taels!" As he spoke, Long Yefang kept smiling while gazing at Xi Yan.

Hu Xiaotian felt vexed; this prince wasn't anything good. The IOU is mine—why are you butting in? Trying to pick up a girl? Trying to leave a deep impression on Xi Yan? But you can't build your happiness on my misery. Hu Xiaotian now finds himself unable to bid or not to bid—truly torn between two choices.

As soon as Prince Long Yefang made a bid, no one in the crowd would dare to outbid him—first because of his authority and influence, and second because nobody wanted to be the sucker; what use would the IOU be, and it might be worth nothing at all.

At that moment, Xi Yan's gaze turned to Hu Xiaotian, her beautiful eyes flashing with provocation, as if saying, "Do you have the guts to bid against Prince Long Yefang?"

Hu Xiaotian thought to himself, "It's not about grabbing a woman; it's just an IOU. I don't need to lose face over this prince and his ilk, so I considered backing down. He won't fall for Xi Yan's provocation; at worst, people will learn of my past embarrassments—what normal man hasn't been to a brothel? Besides, I haven't done anything shameful. Even if word of this reaches Li Tianheng, I'm not afraid; at worst, you'll think my behavior is improper, I like to frequent brothels and owe the madam a lot of silver—if the Marriage Pact were annulled, I'd be glad."

Xi Yan finally glanced at Prince Long Yefang and said softly, "The amount on this IOU is only ten taels of silver."

Prince Long Yefang smiled and said, "I bid two thousand taels of silver!"

The crowd fell silent; such regal bearing—this is truly a genuine second-generation rich kid, a bona fide second-generation official, and in fact the whole of Dakang belongs to the Long family; what are a mere two thousand taels of gold?

Hu Xiaotian was now a bit annoyed. "Long Yefang, Long Yefang, I know your dad is powerful, but you should keep your showmanship in check—what's so great about two thousand taels? To you it's just a number; as soon as you call it out, who knows how many people scramble to fork over the money for you? Everyone knows your motive: you're just trying to win a beauty's smile with two thousand taels. But why do you have to step on me? Is it just because your dad outranks mine? Actually, he too knows that their dad far outranks my father."

Xi Yan sighed and said, "Two thousand taels of silver—not bad." She took the IOU from Xiang Qin's hand.

Prince Long Yefang smiled as he rose to his feet, his face full of smug satisfaction. He believed no one in the crowd would dare to challenge him, and he prepared to take the IOU personally from Xi Yan. Of course, he didn't care about the IOU itself—the ulterior motive was not the money but Xi Yan. Since she set foot in the Hongyan Tower, she had captured his full attention; every frown, smile, gesture, and movement tugged at his heartbeat. Let alone two thousand taels—even ten thousand taels would be nothing if it could win her smile and win her heart; any amount of money would be worth it.

Xi Yan said, "We are merely lowly folk; we don't deserve such favor from Your Highness, Prince Long." Without waiting for Hu Xiaotian to announce the result, she tore the IOU to pieces before everyone. Her action took everyone by surprise; Hu Xiaotian gaped, mouth open, feeling both relieved and regretful. "An IOU for two thousand taels—I said, that prince is a total sucker. That money should have been mine; with it, his financial worries would have been resolved. But her action instantly threw him back to square one—I said, you tore up my money!"

Xi Yan spread her hands, and countless tiny paper fragments fluttered like butterflies; then she turned and walked away, giving Prince Long Yefang not a shred of face.

Prince Long Yefang hadn't expected her to treat him this way; he had already risen to receive the IOU, but now he froze in place, his expression utterly embarrassed. The guard at his side was about to react, yet Long Yefang raised his right hand, signaling everyone to stay calm and not act rashly.