Chapter 248: The Greedy Ring

"I've seen far too many paintings imbued with deep emotion, but this one can absolutely rank in the top three among all the famous paintings I've ever seen."

Yi Wente continued to sigh.

"So are you planning to buy this painting?"

Xia De asked.

The "man" shook his head:

"I don't have that much money."

"Then which auction item are you here for? I'm here on behalf of a noble lady whose identity cannot be revealed, to buy Lot 5, the fountain pen. Hopefully our targets don't conflict — she's given me a very high price ceiling."

Xia De continued trying to get closer.

"Oh, then there's no need to worry. I'm here to buy Lot 10."

Steve Yi Wente said, but Xia De knew he wouldn't buy anything; when the auction started, he'd only pretend to raise his paddle. Standing here was merely to keep watch, to judge whether there were any fellows in the crowd who might disrupt tonight's events.

These cultists probably hadn't realized that the number of Zhengshen Sect people in this mansion was already nearly equal to their own.

"Lot 10?"

Xia De nodded, and very naturally looked toward the direction of Lot 10 — a golden ring. No historical value or story, just a pure gold ring, appearing here as jewelry.

Of course, Xia De wasn't looking at the ring, but at the person standing to his right. One of the men took off his deerstalker hat from his head and waved it twice, and Xia De immediately understood the personnel were in position:

"Oh right, I forgot to introduce myself — Reginald's Hamilton, you've probably heard of me."

He extended his hand to Mr. Steve Yi Wente, who hesitated for a moment, then extended his hand and shook it. On his finger was the 【Ring of Transformation】, and at close range, Xia De confirmed this one was genuine.

"Good afternoon, Lord Hamilton, I am Steve Yi Wente."

The middle-aged man currently engaged in undercover work introduced himself:

"I suppose you could call me a broker and collector, introducing antique business for some nobles and merchants."

His tone was very normal, his expression also appeared natural. "He" was very good at playing a man, just as Lady Lasoya was very good at playing a woman. This too might be one of the characteristics of the 【Ring of Transformation】.

"That must be a very profitable business."

Xia De said warmly, calculating the time, and chatted with Mr. Yi Wente about the other auction items mentioned on the invitation. When there were less than three minutes until the next auction, he looked around, carefully took something out of his pocket, and lowered his voice:

"Mr. Yi Wente, since we happened to meet today, why don't you help me take a look — how is this item? How much gold might it be worth?"

Xia De took the small jewelry box out of his pocket and opened it. Mr. Yi Wente had originally only slightly squinted his eyes, but upon seeing what was inside the box, he immediately widened his eyes in surprise:

"This is......"

Inside the jewelry box was a huge ruby ring, the gemstone on the face frighteningly large. And even without looking at the gemstone, just looking at the ring itself, one could tell this was no ordinary object.

"Keep your voice down, I saved Wang Hou, and this is her personal reward to me. I've actually always wanted to find someone...... to help me look at how much gold it's actually worth."

Xia De smiled a little embarrassedly;

"But you know, once I take it to a local jeweler or antique shop, the tabloids will run news the next day saying Reginald's Hamilton wants to sell the treasure given by Wang Hou. But you're different, you're not from this country at all, so I wanted to ask you to help me look at it."

The cultist was currently on a mission and theoretically shouldn't cause complications. But when Xia De warmly handed over the box containing the ring, "he" only hesitated for a moment before accepting it.

Refusing directly at this point would have seemed a bit strange, so the middle-aged man used his body to block the view of others behind him, took the ring box, and said:

"I'm actually not very good at appraising jewelry antiques; I mainly deal in the collection and trade of calligraphy and painting artworks...... oh, this ring is really quite something."

This ring was of course quite something — Queen Diana didn't know that even if Xia De hadn't been there, Miss Jia Lin Na sitting beside her at the time wouldn't have let anything happen to her, so she sincerely believed Xia De had saved her life. According to Miss Jia Lin Na, this ring had a long history, passed down through the maternal family of Queen Diana for at least 300 years.

If it hadn't been given to Xia De, the ring should originally have been passed down as a dowry jewelry when some Princess married.

"This really is quite something."

Mr. Steve Yi Wente couldn't help sighing again, and Xia De cooperated with a smile:

"Can you give me an estimate?"

"It's hard to give a specific estimate, after all I have very little contact with this type of antique. But if you're willing, I can introduce a few friends to help you look at it."

Looking somewhat reluctantly at the ring in the box in his hand, he still handed it back to Xia De. Having paid the price of changing from a woman into a man, "he" certainly wouldn't cause complications at such an important occasion as today.

"Very well."

Xia De stuffed the ring box into his coat pocket, began counting down in his mind, and while reaching out to shake hands, politely said:

"Then I'll trouble you, I......"

The woman holding a wine glass looked at Xia De from behind him, then looked at the man wearing the deerstalker hat standing to Xia De's right. The latter blinked, lifted his leg as if to step aside, but as if tripped, suddenly fell toward the woman.

The woman couldn't dodge in time and collided with the man wearing the deerstalker hat. Although she held the wine glass steady, the wine inside still splashed onto Xia De's back.

"Oh, for Mr. Dawn's sake, what is it this time?"

Xia De, who was about to shake hands, first let out a "shriek," then turned around displeased, and the people around also looked over curiously.

"Oh, sir, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry."

The man first apologized to that noble lady, then hurriedly apologized to Xia De. At the same time he called for a servant, wanting to take Xia De to another room to wash up, but Xia De waved his hand and said very displeasedly:

"The auction is about to start, I don't want to miss it."

He took off his coat and held it in his hand, and also asked someone nearby to confirm that the white shirt inside wasn't wet.

Steve Yi Wente silently looked at the coat Xia De was holding, then looked at Xia De's young face.

Just as Xia De had said, he simply didn't have time to change into another piece of clothing, because the auction was about to begin immediately.

The long table in the dining room had long been removed, replaced by rows of neatly arranged single-person seats. The auction participants sat down in their seats respectively, and Steve Yi Wente sat together with his newly acquainted Xia De, listening to the elderly auctioneer preside over the auction.

The auction proceeded very quickly; this kind of fundraising auction didn't involve overly fierce competition, so each item would essentially sell after only three or four paddle raises.

Xia De won the bids for Lot 2 and Lot 5, namely the "Complete Collection of Delarion Ancient Fairy Tales" and that golden fountain pen. Buying the storybook extra wasn't because he liked the book very much, but after successfully bidding, he proudly showed off to his newly acquainted friend beside him:

"The fountain pen is what that lady wants, this book...... I myself don't have that much money, I've recently hooked up with...... gotten to know a very wealthy noblewoman, she's really very......"

Xia De raised an eyebrow, showing an ambiguous smile:

"Very wealthy."

Yi Wente nodded, expressionless, but his eyes glanced again at Xia De's wet coat.

That coat was held in Xia De's hand, looking very casual. And after this auction ended, Xia De invited Mr. Yi Wente to go together to look at the items he had bought, but was refused by the other party.

Steve Event's mission was to stay here and watch the crowd, making sure there were no suspicious persons, ensuring the God-Summoning Ritual would not go wrong, so he could not wander too far.

"That's really a shame. In a while I'll bring the thing over for you to see—happiness is meant to be shared. I really can't wait to see that book; I just love this kind of old book."

Xia De said this, standing up eagerly, ready to leave. But at that moment, the man in the deerstalker hat who had bumped into the middle-aged woman earlier came over leading a maid; he spoke in the local accent and waved to greet Xia De, brown hair poking out from the brim of his hat:

"Mr., I'm really sorry about what happened just now. I inquired and found out there's a laundry room in the courtyard of the manor. No one's there right now, but this Young Lady maid can help wash the clothes. I'm truly sorry—if this wine stain dries completely, it won't come out easily."

Of course, whether it was the woman holding the wine glass earlier, the man in the deerstalker hat standing before him, or the maid who was going to wash the clothes, they were all arranged by Miss Jia Lin Na.

"Wash the clothes?"

Xia De looked at the maid suspiciously, thought for a moment, handed over his coat, and said to her:

"I don't have time to go with you. Take it to wash first; I'll get the thing in a bit and wait for you on the first floor. Dry it as fast as you can—this suit isn't cheap."

Saying this, he nodded apologetically to Mr. Event, then walked eagerly toward the inner side of the dining hall where the auction items were being taken.

Steve Event stood there expressionless. He first looked at the retreating back of Xia De, then saw the man in the deerstalker hat continuing to look at the next round of auction items here with his friends, and finally saw the maid carrying Xia De's coat leaving the dining hall, already vanished past the door.

He lowered his head and thought for a moment, glanced around, then unobtrusively quickened his pace to follow the maid.

Xia De did not turn to look at where Event had gone, but someone beside him gave him a hand signal, and he knew the plan had worked.

Perhaps one person can restrain greed out of a sense of duty, but that is only because the temptation did not appear at the right moment. In tonight's script arranged by Miss Jia Lin Na—the foolish, mercenary Xia De, the convenient departure of the coat, and the somewhat calmer auction... at this moment, the temptation was just right.