That wretched scholar again!

Baili Weisheng!

Had he not shown up, Ziqing might well have forgotten about him entirely. Earlier, on the rooftop of the Gu family’s main residence, he had indeed told her he’d come to the gathering to listen to the music.

Far more than a million taels—this fellow certainly wasn’t lacking in nerve!

Looking across the entire Longyuan continent and its surrounding islands, there simply was no power wealthy enough to rival Da Zhou. Whatever this fellow’s background, one thing was certain—he could never outbid Jun Beiyue!

“From young master’s words, it sounds as though you intend to raise the bid?” Ziqing asked, raising an eyebrow, not even noticing that she’d unconsciously fallen into a habit of sparring verbally with this fellow.

With Jun Beiyue, whenever they discussed anything, it was always deeply earnest. If there was nothing to say, sitting quietly with Jun Beiyue, even for just a moment, made her feel uneasy, awkward, at a loss for what to do. If Jun Beiyue simply stared at her, she immediately grew flustered!

In truth, they’d already confessed their feelings to each other—though at the time they hadn’t known one another, and there had been the influence of that drug, still, he’d certainly taken every advantage available to him. Besides, she too now bore his name, was, in every proper sense, his rightful wife, matched in both appearance and spirit. Yet somehow, ever since that confession, she found herself perpetually ill at ease, blushing far too easily. She found herself missing their old adversarial dynamic, so carefree and open, so unreserved!

With Xuanyuan Lige, she could look him directly in the eye, could interact with him openly even in front of Jun Beiyue without hesitation. Perhaps it was precisely because her conscience was clear that she dared to interact with him so freely.

If, before, his gift of a zither had been simply an appreciation of musical skill—

then, what followed, the repeated exchanges over the zither, the questions about music, had become something more like genuine affection, genuine feeling. Someone as clever as Ziqing, if she claimed not to understand, would surely be pretending. Still, hadn’t she made things clear to him? Hadn’t every interaction she’d had with him carried an unmistakable undertone of polite refusal, always maintaining a courteous distance?

Yet with this wretched scholar before her, for some inexplicable reason—despite having met him so few times, knowing so little about him—she felt an odd sense of familiarity and ease with him, without so many reservations, without so much awkwardness. Instead, there was more banter, more lightheartedness.

“Of course!” Baili Weisheng said, immediately raising his hand. At once, everyone pricked up their ears, waiting tensely for the number he would call out. But then he paused, coughing lightly to clear his throat.

For a moment, everyone’s rising excitement deflated. Then Baili Weisheng spoke up again. “I bid…”

Immediately, everyone’s hearts leapt into their throats—the price had already soared to a million taels. Whoever could raise it further surely wasn’t ordinary. Besides, in the bidding so far, whoever raised their hand had always doubled the price several times over!

But Baili Weisheng stopped short again, glancing around at the crowd, then smiled gently. “It’s worth more than a million taels.”

“Then how much is it worth!”

“Yes, are you going to tell us or not!”

“How much are you bidding!”

…

Before Ziqing could even speak, several people couldn’t help but call out impatiently. Even Bai Feiyao, still sprawled on the ground, perked up, waiting for the bid!

A Fusang tree seed—far more than a million taels! Throughout history, how many emperors had emptied their entire national treasuries just to craft coffins from Fusang divine wood!

That wretch Han Ziqing simply didn’t appreciate its true value—but there were certainly those who did!

This scholar looked young, and spoke in pedantic phrases, but he surely wasn’t an ordinary person—surely he was the one who truly understood its worth!

Baili Weisheng smiled and rose to his feet, finally speaking with genuine seriousness. “This young master bids one million taels and one copper coin!”

What?

In an instant, the once-boisterous arena fell utterly silent, as if the heavens themselves had stolen away every sound.

Had they misheard him?

Baili Weisheng smiled at Ziqing and added, “One extra copper coin—that should be worth it!”

“You! You people!”

The first to cry out was Bai Feiyao, nearly incandescent with rage, pointing directly at Baili Weisheng, leaping up, immediately spitting out a third mouthful of blood before his vision went dark and he fainted!

But no one paid him any attention anymore. The crowd, recovering their senses, immediately erupted into a wave of astonished murmurs.

“You’re here to cause trouble, aren’t you!”

“What do you even know!”

“Are you here to disrupt things? Who are you, which family do you belong to?”

Amid the wave of skepticism, Baili Weisheng only smiled with easy composure. “If it’s truly a divine tree, then of course it would be worth an immeasurable fortune. But a divine tree seed—never mind how much time, nourishment, and painstaking care it requires, consider simply its survival rate—it’s never higher than three percent. It’s precisely because of this low survival rate, this extreme difficulty in cultivation, that the Fusang divine tree is so rare in the first place!”

At these words, the skepticism gradually died down—this argument, after all, made sense.

Scarcity has always determined value. No matter how good something is, if there’s too much of it, it loses its worth all the same.

But something, no matter how poor its quality, even if entirely useless, becomes valuable simply through scarcity—useless as it may be, it can still serve as a display piece, a symbol of status and prestige, couldn’t it?

Ziqing smiled coldly to herself—this wretched scholar had voiced exactly what was on her mind. However precious the Fusang seed might be, it was ultimately not the Fusang tree she actually wanted!

In her lifetime, she would certainly never live to see this seed grow into a towering ancient tree—what she wanted was the Bai family’s fully grown divine tree itself!

“This gentleman has bid one million taels and one copper coin—are there any further bids?” Ziqing asked flatly, her gaze drifting unconsciously toward Jun Beiyue. But the moment she looked, she froze.

That man… that man was actually gone?

A million taels was already an outrageous sum—even the two elders of Qinse Valley hadn’t dared speak up further. And now, with Baili Weisheng’s remarks, even fewer people were willing to bid at all!

Baili Weisheng, smiling all the while, slowly turned his head to look toward where Jun Beiyue had been standing, but his bright, handsome smile quickly froze.

Where had the man who’d been bidding just moments ago gone?

“One million taels and one copper coin, going once!” Ziqing called out.

The arena fell silent. Baili Weisheng turned his head sharply.

“One million taels and one copper coin, going twice!” Ziqing called again.

Still, the entire city remained silent. Baili Weisheng’s brow furrowed suddenly.

“One million taels and one copper coin, going third time!” Ziqing called out once more.

Instantly, the entire arena erupted into thunderous applause. Baili Weisheng sank slowly back into his seat, his expression grave. He had to admit his true purpose had been to drive up the price—but hadn’t he barely even begun? Hadn’t he only added a single copper coin?

Jun Beiyue, oh Jun Beiyue—wasn’t he running away just a bit too fast?

“Congratulations, young master.” Ziqing, rare for her, smiled broadly, revealing her teeth, and handed the Fusang tree seed to the two elders with both hands. “Elders, please accept the proceeds of this auction as a donation toward the gathering’s expenses.”

The two elders were overjoyed. The gathering had originally been planned to cover everyone’s food and lodging for just three days, but with this windfall, it seemed they could now extend everyone’s stay for several more days—perfect timing to invite all the guests to tour the sea valley of Qinse Valley as well.