Chapter 313

First Volume, Chapter 313: The Auction Begins

Then again,

Qin Feng looked at Xu Chang and found him disagreeable in every way.

Nobody likes being watched all day, with every trivial matter reported to higher-ups.

Is there no privacy left at all?

If not for the Liang Emperor's tyranny, Qin Feng would have already thrown Xu Chang out on his ass.

He hadn't expected Liu Hongyan to stay silent until she struck—and when she did, she struck with such brutal efficiency.

A hundred times more manly than Qin Feng.

Hearing the constant clamor from the Noble Youth in the courtyard, Qin Feng no longer hesitated and stepped onto the stage.

The Noble Youth had already been simmering with anger; now they discovered this auction was hosted by Qin Feng and felt tricked—the scene instantly erupted.

"Wasn't this auction supposed to be hosted by the Duke of Ning? Where did Qin Feng come from?"

"Can't you see? Clearly, this bastard Qin Feng knows his reputation is too rotten, so he's using the Duke of Ning's prestige to lure us here."

"Hmph! Since this damn auction is hosted by Qin Feng, no need to argue—comrades, let's leave! We won't give Qin Feng a single chance to swindle Jingzhong's Noble Youth!"

Seeing the Noble Youth rise and begin to leave, Xie Yun'er frowned slightly, her heart tightening with anxiety.

After all, this auction had been arranged on such a grand scale—if it ended before it even began, wouldn't it become a joke throughout Jingdu?

That bastard Qin Feng already had a terrible reputation; he was a broken pot, already past caring about his name.

But the Duke of Ning, Xie Bi, would be implicated—decades of accumulated prestige would be ruined.

Yet when Xie Yun'er looked at Qin Feng, she found he showed not a trace of tension.

He simply stood with his hands on his hips, smiling smugly at the departing Noble Youth, as if to say, "Come or go, I don't care."

Just as Xie Yun'er was about to step forward and plead with the Noble Youth to stay, Qin Xiaofu deliberately bellowed at the top of his lungs toward Qin Feng on stage.

"Master, the gifts for the guests are ready."

"As you instructed, we'll give each guest a grand gift pack when they leave after the auction."

Grand gift pack?

What the hell?

The Noble Youth sneered—they weren't short on silver and had no interest in Qin Feng's petty bribes.

No one had shown interest in the grand gift pack, yet Qin Feng casually pointed at one of the Noble Youth and brazenly declared: "Oh? This Young Master is asking what the grand gift pack is?"

The Young Master stared blankly: "When did I ask that?"

Qin Feng ignored his protest, shamelessly announcing loudly: "The grand gift pack contains three items. First: a custom-made Yanyi from Qingya Pavilion, with an enclosed voucher—you may claim it in person at Qingya Pavilion by presenting the ticket."

The Noble Youth who had just sneered at the idea now, upon hearing "Qingya Pavilion," rushed back like wild dogs catching the scent of meat.

How much could a Yanyi possibly be worth?

Even the finest Huimo Yanyi from Jingdu, custom-made, was worth only a few hundred taels of silver.

The key was—it came from Qingya Pavilion.

Several Noble Youth flushed red with excitement.

"Since Qingya Pavilion became half a Book Bureau, seeing Shen Miss has become harder than climbing to heaven—now we can use claiming the Yanyi as an excuse to glimpse her beauty again."

"Get lost!" A White Clothes Young Master glared fiercely, "What's it to you? A year ago, I was already close to Shen Miss!"

A man in brocade robes sneered: "You get lost too! You bought a few books from Qingya Pavilion and chatted with Shen Miss a few times—now you call that close? Let me tell you—I've taken Shen Miss on a spring outing!"

Watching the Noble Youth argue, faces flushed, over Shen Qingci,

It was like a pack of rivals fighting over a lover.

Qin Feng watched, lips curling in amusement: Let them fight—no matter how much they squabble, Shen Qingci will still become my wife someday.

The reason Shen Qingci held such power was simple.

Among all unmarried noble daughters in Jingdu, Shen Qingci was the top marriage prospect.

Her beauty needed no mention—no woman in Jingdu, not even one still in the womb, could surpass her in appearance and bearing.

In talent, she excelled in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and flower arrangement.

Most crucially, her background.

Daughter of the Minister of War, Supervisor of War.

Elder Sister of Commander Qin Feng, the Liang Emperor's favorite.

To marry Shen Qingci meant, for any Jingzhong Noble Youth, instant elevation to the heavens.

Money, power, beauty—all in one grasp.

That's why, since Qingya Pavilion's founding, Jingdu's literati, pseudo-literati, and wastrels with broad backs holding Folding Fans and pretending to be cultured, had swarmed like flies, cramming themselves into Qingya Pavilion.

Had Shen Qingci not already become Chief Editor, Deputy Director, and Head of Distribution for Qingya Pavilion Book Bureau, and Commander of all Merchant Caravans,

Buried in official duties with no spare energy, the threshold of Qingya Pavilion would have long since collapsed under the trampling of Jingzhong's Noble Youth.

By offering the Noble Youth the unrealistic fantasy of encountering Shen Qingci, Qin Feng won back half of them—they stayed, refusing to leave.

Seeing this, Xie Yun'er snapped: "Qin Feng, you're disgusting—you're using your Elder Sister as bait. If she finds out, she'll break your legs."

Qin Feng scratched his ass, unconcerned: "I just told them to claim their Yanyi at Qingya Pavilion—I never said they'd definitely see my Elder Sister. That's not my fault. Besides, my Elder Sister will change her name eventually."

Xie Yun'er blinked: "Change her name? Why on earth would she do that?"

Qin Feng grinned, unashamed: "Of course—she'll take my surname. Shen Qingci becomes Qin Shen Shi."

Xie Yun'er stared, dumbfounded. She'd met shameless people—but never anyone as shameless as Qin Feng.

If Qin Feng truly married Shen Qingci, how would Xie Yun'er's relationship with Shen Qingci be defined?

Xie Yun'er bit her lower lip and spat: "Disgusting—you'd even prey on your own Elder Sister? Haven't you heard? Even rabbits don't eat the grass beside their burrow."

Qin Feng shrugged, unfazed: "There's another old saying: the one by the water gets the moon first; don't let the rich water flow to someone else's field."

Qin Feng's sharp tongue was famous in Jingdu; Xie Yun'er couldn't outargue him, yet couldn't swallow her anger, so she snapped, "Tomorrow I'll tell Elder Sister every word you just said."

Qin Feng, who had been strutting moments before, instantly deflated, his arrogance replaced by shameless flattery: "Don't do that, why so sudden?"

Xie Yun'er shot Qin Feng a glare and stormed off in a huff.

Damn it, even if taking a concubine isn't a problem, you can't say it in front of your future wife!

And yet…

She, Xie Yun'er, was the lawful wife—so Elder Sister would be the concubine. What a mess!