Standing on the stage illuminated by pale lamplight, Yun Ye bowed in all directions and said with a smile, “Some time ago, the Yun Family closed down all our embarrassing businesses. However, unexpectedly, some goods have continued to arrive and are now piling up at home—quite unsightly. So I thought I’d see if any of you distinguished guests might be interested in taking them off our hands. They’re all worthless trinkets really; just give whatever you think they’re worth. I’m planning to build a few more rooms for the academy anyway.”
As soon as he finished speaking, laughter erupted from below. Some wealthy patron immediately shouted, “Marquis Yun, just get started! When I came today, I brought five hundred taels of gold. If the Yun Family is in difficulty, we won’t stand by and watch!”
In the private box, Grandmother and Xinyue were so angry they nearly jumped up, but they noticed that Yun Ye still wore a face full of smiles as he cupped his hands and said, “In that case, I thank you all in advance. Please don’t hold back later—goods arriving at the selling floor are like people arriving at the execution ground; a single stroke is inevitable! It’s getting late, so let’s begin.”
With a wave of his hand, a Yun Family servant immediately brought up a section of wooden trunk. This was a piece of scrap cut from raw timber, specially polished and oiled, with golden silk grain patterns clearly visible as it was casually placed on the platform.
“Ladies and gentlemen all know about the recent grand occasion—the people of Chang’an, concerned about His Majesty’s health and worried that the damp old palace would be detrimental to His Majesty’s rheumatism, pooled resources to build the Palace of Ten Thousand People for our Great Tang. The golden silk nanmu wood needed was all transported from Shu. Such fine lumber! However, we have ten extra logs. We’re auctioning them now. Each log is priced at three hundred strings of cash, with each bid increment being one hundred strings. Gentlemen, please proceed.”
Finally, the time to profit had arrived. The venue became unusually quiet, with no one making an offer for quite a while. After a moment, a voice called out, “This old man is advanced in years and should prepare a coffin. Such fine material is hard to find in Chang’an. I offer three hundred strings of cash.”
Following the voice, it turned out to be Li Gang. The old man sat in the first row, surrounded by many disciples. Originally he had a private box, but the old fellow had given it to the female family members brought by his disciples and squeezed himself onto a chair to watch the excitement.
“Master Li offers three hundred strings—excellent! This log is yours.” Without waiting for others to bid, Yun Ye struck the gavel with finality. Good deals should go to one’s own people.
Those buying lumber were all old fellows. Using golden silk nanmu to build houses would violate regulations, but making furniture or coffins was acceptable. People have cheap habits—the scarcer something is, the more fiercely they compete. The auction prices gradually climbed. Except for the first log bought at base price, the rest went for as high as eight hundred strings, with the lowest being five hundred strings. Li Gang was so delighted his teeth showed but not his eyes.
Ambergris was brought up. A servant cut off a small piece and lit it in a silver plate. Wisps of blue smoke rose, and the theater immediately filled with rich fragrance. Yun Ye knocked on the table for quite a while before the venue quieted down. Ambergris! This was a wonderful thing that could extend life and prolong youth. The foreign merchants especially coveted it with drooling mouths. Barbarians ate much beef and mutton and had body odor, so they particularly liked to cover it up with spices. Seeing a head-sized chunk of ambergris, how could they possibly restrain themselves?
“This piece of ambergris was accidentally obtained by a fishing household at the seaside. The fisherman intended to sell it to the Yun Family for ten strings of cash. The Yun Family, though unworthy, would never profit from poor families, so we gave the fisherman three hundred strings and acquired this ambergris. Of course, for you distinguished guests, the Yun Family won’t be polite, so the base price is one thousand strings. Gentlemen, please bid.”
The Goryeo envoy had just called out one thousand strings when he was immediately surpassed by a big-bearded barbarian merchant at one thousand five hundred strings. A prince from the Li Family who loved fragrances smiled and offered the high price of two thousand strings, finally securing the ambergris. The bidding wasn’t heated because everyone was waiting for treasures to appear.
Yun Ye smiled and held up an exquisite glass bottle. Without opening the stopper, the dark red liquid displayed an enchanting purple color under the lamplight. Everyone’s eyes were drawn to the bottle, not knowing what it was but feeling certain this item was no ordinary thing. The luminous bottle alone was absolutely worth a fortune. Now that the precious bottle was being used to contain something, the value of that liquid could well be imagined.
“This item is a peculiar fragrance for women, extracted from a flower called the poppy. The poppy is also called the hell flower—extremely gorgeous, and naturally its toxicity is fierce. However, this thing is not toxic; even if accidentally drunk, there’s no problem. A single drop leaves fragrance for three days without fading. I won’t mention its other effects—you only need to know its name. It’s called ‘Bewitching and Soul-Snatching.’ This is the only bottle in the world, and there will never be another. Base price: one thousand strings.”
The theater immediately exploded. The Yun Family’s perfumes were originally mysterious, with not much circulating outside. Only a few well-connected wealthy families had received small gifts. As for those sold, even the cheapest were priced above fifty strings, and even so, they were priceless without a market.
Now the Yun Family had even procured flowers from the underworld to make perfume—their connections were truly vast! Female ghosts in the underworld were most skilled at bewitching people. Just hearing the name, one knew this thing would bewitch men to death.
“If the Empress likes it, just have Yun Ye send it over,” Li Er said. His curiosity was now soaring. What would it feel like to be bewitched and soul-snatched? He had never experienced it and very much wanted to try the feeling of being completely enchanted. Happening to others might have consequences, but applied to the Empress would be perfectly fine.
“Your humble wife has seen it long ago. This thing is very good, but it doesn’t suit my status. What empress relies on bewitching and soul-snatching to live? Only those vixens think that way. I still need to nurse the children—using this thing wouldn’t be good. With Your Majesty’s iron-stone heart, applying anything would be useless.”
Having run into a wall, Li Er sheepishly touched his nose and had to abandon the thought of sampling it.
“One thousand strings!” A bold woman—such as Fang Xuanling’s wife—this single bid shocked the entire venue. Even Li Er involuntarily sat up. Empress Zhangsun, however, smiled radiantly and kept clapping.
“Does Old Fang still have a way to survive?” Cheng Yaojin, also sitting in the front row, asked Qin Qiong in a low voice. They had all been driven out by their female family members. These past few days in Chang’an, the most prestigious thing for women was being able to invite their close female friends to their family’s private box to watch the show. Once there were outside female guests, the male masters of the house had to wander about. The front row was full of high officials and nobles.
Fang Xuanling’s face was ashen as he frantically signaled to Yun Ye, indicating he shouldn’t sell this item to his wife. His bowing and pleading appearance was extremely comical. He was genuinely afraid of his wife.
“One thousand one hundred strings.” A maid from private box number six on the right loudly called out a new price. Xiao Yu’s old face immediately twisted like a pretzel. No need to ask—this was his newly married second wife making the bid. He had been too indulgent with his young wife in daily life.
Before Tang Jian’s mocking words could leave his mouth, a new price erupted from his own box. Seeing that it was all families of high officials and nobles competing, the merchants sitting below didn’t even dare breathe heavily, fearing they’d anger these people who would then deal with them later, leaving them nowhere to cry.
Having opened the venue, there was no reason to let it cool down. Yun Ye commanded the female steward of his household to carry the bottle around every box. The bottle mouth was opened slightly—it seemed like sweet fragrance, yet also like milk fragrance, with a hint of orchid scent. Most delightfully, the smell wasn’t heavy but condensed without dispersing. Just a slight shake filled the entire room with fragrance.
When women lose their reason, it’s truly terrifying. Whether princess consorts or ducal wives, the fervent desire to possess in their hearts was all ignited. Just one circuit, and the price surged to three thousand strings.
All the big shots below looked at Yun Ye with hateful eyes. Those in poor health even trembled slightly. This era emphasized not displaying wealth, with everyone pretending to barely scrape by for three meals. Now suddenly, for a bottle of perfume, they were exposing their family fortunes. Supporting a good horse on their salaries was already difficult, yet now one by one they all had family fortunes of ten thousand strings—how were they to conduct themselves? Li Er was both angry and heartbroken. Turned out he was the only pauper in the whole world, needing the common people’s help even to build a palace.
Prince Li Xiaogong of Heijian heard his household call out three thousand five hundred strings and could no longer sit still. Now he had only one thought—to cover that spendthrift woman’s mouth.
This couldn’t continue. If it went on, no one’s face would look good. Who knew how many third and fourth-rank imperial consorts would be beaten tonight when they returned home? With one strike of the gavel, the matter was settled—the prize went to the Prince of Heijian’s household. Li Xiaogong pointed at Yun Ye and cursed loudly. Knowing full well this young man was taking revenge, he was nevertheless helpless.
After driving all the women to the small hall to watch the fashion show, Yun Ye clearly felt everyone in the venue let out a long breath of relief.
The first glass item was placed on the table, and the venue immediately became lively. Glass itself reflected light, and when illuminated by strong lamplight, it appeared even more exquisitely translucent, radiating precious light—no one would believe it wasn’t a treasure.
Yun Ye didn’t launch into a lengthy explanation of what it was. His hand casually patted this glass horse in the “Horse Treading on Flying Swallow” style, and he said to the guests below whose eyes were about to turn red, “One horse. Base price: one hundred strings.”
Those waiting for Yun Ye to properly explain this peerless treasure nearly fainted upon hearing these words. Xiao Yu pointed accusingly at Yun Ye, unable to contain his fury. Shaking off the young official trying to support him, he mounted the stage in two or three steps, circled the glass horse in enchantment, and shoved Yun Ye aside.
He declared loudly, “One horse? Ignorant young pup! For a treasure to fall into your hands is truly like casting pearls before swine! One horse? This object’s original name is ‘Horse Surpassing the Dragon Sparrow.’ After circling it once and comparing it to the standards of fine horses described in the Horse Judging Classic, there’s scarcely a single aspect that doesn’t match the measurements.”
“Moreover, the form is vigorous, handsome, and uniquely graceful. The horse neighs with raised head; the body is sturdy while the limbs are long and slender; the legs and hooves are nimble; three hooves soar through the air as it gallops forward; one hoof treads upon the dragon sparrow; the dragon sparrow turns its head in surprise—the concept is bold and whimsical. One hundred strings wouldn’t even buy the dragon sparrow beneath this precious horse’s feet. If no one wants it, I’ll take it for one thousand strings.”
Having spoken, he prepared to pick it up and take it away. A sharp shout halted his action. Kong Yingda walked up, slapped away Xiao Yu’s hand, and continued, “Old Xiao, you’re not being honest! You intend to snatch home a perfectly good horse-judging model for one thousand strings? I offer one thousand five hundred strings.”
The Goryeo envoy Hoe Wonyou loudly called out, “Two thousand strings!”