Chapter 38

Zheng Boming, the chief constable, was busy investigating, while the person under investigation had no idea things had turned out this way. In a small courtyard on Jie Xiao Alley, on the second floor of a small building, Huang Ying'er sat in her bedroom with a frown, staring blankly at the somewhat blurry image in the bronze mirror.

At this moment, the young girl Huang Yinger walked into her bedroom. Seeing her young mistress sitting there with a worried look, not knowing what she was thinking, she placed the fragrant tea on the table and teased, "What is Miss thinking about? Could it be that you're pining for Daoist Zhang because you didn't see him at the exhibition today?"

Hearing the little girl say this, Huang Ying'er couldn't help but blush and lightly scolded, "You talk too much, little girl, with no manners at all. I haven't paid attention to you these past few days, and now you're getting cheeky. Just wait until I give you a good lesson." As she spoke, she got up and raised her hand to hit Huang Yinger. Seeing her mistress angry, Huang Yinger quickly turned and ran, but she still wouldn't admit defeat, saying with a pout, "Miss always does this. As soon as someone exposes her secret, she puts on airs. You can't cure your own lovesickness, so you take it out on me, this poor little girl." She said this while running, and before Huang Ying'er could even land a slap, she had already darted out of the bedroom, rushed down the stairs, and disappeared into the crowd on the street.

Huang Ying'er, left behind, watched the little girl's delicate and graceful back as she ran away. Although she was seething with anger, she had to give up the idea of punishing her. To be honest, although the little girl was just her maid when they were in Yangzhou, they now relied on each other for survival, and Huang Ying'er had long come to treat her like a younger sister. She couldn't bear to hit her. However, this little girl, though young, was quite clever. After serving her for several years, she knew her mistress's thoughts inside and out and would often tease her with these little secrets, making her blush. In the end, she could only pretend to hit the little girl's bottom to save face and hide her own feelings.

Actually, she didn't really hit her; she just tapped her bottom a couple of times for show, without using any force. At first, this worked to vent her anger. Later, the little girl got smarter and knew that she wasn't really going to hit her. So, whenever she was about to be hit, she would dodge and hide, and if she couldn't avoid it, she would run out onto the street. Her mistress wouldn't chase her there, so she could escape the few slaps that wouldn't hurt her. Today, this trick worked again, helping her escape from her mistress's "clutches."

Seeing the little girl run far away, Huang Ying'er, though unwilling, was helpless. She knew the little girl wouldn't come back until it was time to eat. After locking the courtyard gate, she secretly vowed to lock the door next time before punishing her, and then she frowned again. At this moment, the old family retainer Yang Yongzhong came out of the adjacent room. Seeing his young mistress frowning and the young lady Liu not around, he came over to try to comfort her.

After they entered the living room on the first floor and sat down, Yang Yongzhong thought for a moment and said, "The princess was so cheerful when she went out this morning, but now she's so worried. Is there something troubling you? Perhaps you should talk about it, and I can help you think it through."

Although Huang Ying'er was a bit embarrassed to talk about her feelings, she thought it was necessary to explain the situation to this loyal Yang Uncle so he could give her some advice, as this matter wasn't just about romantic feelings. So, she blushed and recounted what had happened to her over the past few days.

After listening to his young mistress, Yang Yongzhong thought for a while. He found these people who followed the times and customs a bit hard to understand. He had no direct contact with them and mainly learned about them from what Huang Ying'er and Huang Yinger had told him. However, he felt that these people probably didn't mean any harm to his young mistress. When he had secretly observed them at the inn, he noticed that some of them had martial arts skills, and they were definitely not weaker than himself. If they had wanted to harm his young mistress, they would have done so long ago, not waited until now.

However, now that his young mistress was involved with the Feiyan Hall, if these mysterious people caused the Feiyan Hall to become wary, the consequences could be severe. For the sake of both their lives, he needed to get to the bottom of this. After some thought, he comforted her, "Princess, there's no need to worry about this. I've heard that an auction is to be held tomorrow. Since these people appeared at the exhibition, they must be related to the auction. I plan to sign up for the auction as a wealthy merchant to investigate. However, I've heard that to participate in the auction, a deposit of 1,000 guan is required. I wonder if you have that much money on hand."

Huang Ying'er, upon hearing this, knew that this was the only option for now. She could indeed come up with the 1,000 guan. When her mother passed away, she left her a considerable fortune, and before leaving Jiangdu, she had sold everything she could, so she was quite well-off. Although she couldn't compare to the wealthy merchants, she didn't really intend to participate in the auction; she just wanted to observe, and the deposit would be refunded in the end. So, she immediately went upstairs and took out 100 taels of gold from the cabinet—1,000 guan in copper coins was impossible to have on hand, and she only had a few hundred guan at home. These 100 taels of gold were equivalent to 1,000 guan in copper coins. She handed the gold to Yang Yongzhong and told him to sign up quickly, as the deadline for registration was before the end of the evening. Yang Yongzhong took the gold and, without delay, rushed to the registration site at Fang's Jewelry Shop before Liu Yunyan returned.

On the morning of the 20th of the tenth lunar month, the third floor of Tianfu Tower, the largest restaurant in Liangxiang County, was bustling with people. The auction area, with over thirty seats, was almost full, with wealthy merchants from different regions and industries gathered together. Those who knew each other were greeting and chatting. However, a middle-aged man sitting in the corner at the back remained silent, and no one spoke to him. Although he was well-dressed, his appearance was weathered, with deep wrinkles on his face. Most notably, his left sleeve was empty and tied to his waist, indicating that he was missing an arm. Fortunately, the participants in the auction were all experienced travelers and were not surprised by his unusual appearance. Only the security guards Yang Xin and Qian Yuanshan, and the two county constables sent by Magistrate Hu to assist them, paid attention to him due to their duties. One of the constables, surnamed Yan, was assigned to keep an eye on him during the auction to prevent any unexpected incidents.

The one-armed man was none other than Yang Yongzhong, who was investigating for his young mistress. At this moment, all his attention was focused on the auction stage and the curtain beside it, unaware that he had become a target in someone else's eyes.

In the preparation area behind the screen, it was also lively. All the team members who had come to the county, the accompanying Daoists from Yu Xu Palace, the Zhong family father and son, and Fang Yingyu, the owner of Fang's Jewelry Shop, were waiting for the auction to start at 9:00 AM. A small compartment was temporarily set up by the window, where Lu Yue and Wang Feng were guarding the radio that had been moved there. A long antenna extended outside the window to ensure good communication with Yu Xu Palace. Fortunately, it was already winter; otherwise, in summer, during a thunderstorm, this antenna might have become a lightning rod.

Near the small compartment, Wang Xiaojun, Zhang Weixin, and Xu Shaowan, the three committee members present, were sitting together at a square table. They occasionally looked at their watches, and as the minute hand pointed to 9:00 AM, they exchanged glances and nodded. Wang Xiaojun stood up and said loudly, "Ladies and gentlemen, I am Wang Xiaojun, the owner of Fang's Jewelry Shop. As the host of this auction, I would like to thank you all for coming. I now declare that the Fang's Jewelry Shop overseas glass treasure auction for the third year of the Yingli era has officially begun."

Before he finished speaking, the wealthy merchants in the auction area responded with enthusiastic applause, making the entire venue noisy again. Fang Yingyu had to work hard to get everyone to quiet down. He calmed himself and said loudly, "Now, please welcome the auctioneer, Mr. Zhao Dawei."

At his call, Zhao Dawei lifted the curtain and walked into the auction area, standing behind the auction table. The bidders had been informed of the auction rules beforehand, and seeing him on stage, they knew he was the main character of the day, so they welcomed him enthusiastically. Although Zhao Dawei had never done this job in his previous life, as a business manager of an investment company, he had good psychological resilience. Moreover, as the saying goes, "Even if you haven't eaten pork, you've seen pigs run," and in his previous life, he had seen auctions on TV, newspapers, and the internet, so he wasn't completely clueless. Besides, Wang Xiaojun had told him that since this kind of activity had never been held in this era before, as the first to try it, no one would question his actions, and they would be used as a model by future generations.

Standing behind the auction table, he put aside all his concerns, raised the auction hammer, and said loudly, "Ladies and gentlemen, please be quiet. The auction is now beginning. The first item is a pair of overseas super premium, colorless, transparent, high-footed wine glasses." As he began to describe the features of the item, the bidders in the audience fell silent, all eyes fixed on the two boxes brought to the stage by Zeng Zhilin and Tang Chao.

The boxes were opened, revealing two exquisitely crafted, uniquely shaped, and crystal-clear glasses. These were a pair of champagne glasses from the premium set, with a long, slender body. Although no one in this era had used such glasses, this did not affect their admiration and appreciation of these "treasures."

After describing the features of the item, Zhao Dawei announced loudly, "The starting price for item number one is 6,000 guan, with a bid increment of 500 guan. The auction begins now." After a brief silence, a middle-aged man dressed as a wealthy gentleman, who was slightly overweight, raised his number plate and shouted, "6,500 guan!"

The bidders in the auction area turned to look at him, trying to figure out who he was and whether they knew him. Then, in the second row on the right side of the auction area, a thinner and younger merchant also raised his number plate and shouted, "7,000 guan!"

With this bid, the wealthy merchants in the auction area finally realized what was happening. Those with the means quickly raised their number plates and shouted out their bids, afraid that a moment's hesitation would cost them the rare treasure.

Amid the rising bids, the price of the first item soared. Xu Shaowan, standing behind the curtain that connected the auction area and the preparation area, lifted the corner of the curtain and smiled. He put down the curtain, returned to his seat, picked up his teacup, and sipped his tea, whispering to Wang Xiaojun beside him, "Old Zhou usually just buries himself in piles of documents, drawing all sorts of gun blueprints. I never thought he could pretend to be a merchant so convincingly. And Sun Yangyang, who was originally such a good and honest soldier, has been trained by our group of 'shrewd merchants' led by You Dajing to act like a merchant with great skill. He really has a talent for acting."

Wang Xiaojun nodded in agreement, saying, "It seems our team is full of hidden talents. We need to pay more attention in the future and fully tap everyone's potential. This trip will be worthwhile."

If the wealthy merchants in the auction area had heard this conversation, they would have been shocked, exclaiming, "We have been in business for years, thinking we were already shrewd merchants, but now we realize that the biggest shrewd merchants are leading us into a trap, and we are still happily counting their money for them." The two people who had bid first were actually members of the穿越者 (穿越者 means "time travelers" or "people who have traveled through time"), one being the engineer Zhou Lei from the technology group and the other being the corporal Sun Yangyang from the logistics group.

To ensure the smooth running of the auction and maximize the auction benefits, the committee decided to send two of their own people to the auction site to guide the real bidders. Zhou and Sun, who had not been seen in Liangxiang, were chosen for this task. They were trained by You Yuan and the trade group members to act more realistically. From the current situation, their performance was very successful, and with their guidance, the auction process was quite lively. The price of the first item had already reached 20,000 guan, far exceeding the team's expected value of 15,000 guan and reaching the highly satisfactory value of 20,000 guan.

Hearing that the glass cups, which cost only a few hundred yuan in his previous life, were now being bid up to such a high price—20,000 guan, which was equivalent to nearly 20 million yuan in his previous life—the time travelers in the preparation area were almost ecstatic. Of course, most of them were happy in their hearts, as there were still the Zhong family