Chapter 58 If the mysterious boss doesn't have your map, how can I...

That feeling was acquired through repeated training over three hundred years. Xiu Yu did not consider herself a genius, and luck seldom came to her, so the things she obtained in later life were purely achieved through her own hard work, step by step. Whenever she was lucky and used even a little less effort, the result would always be disappointing.

Thinking of this, Xiu Yu sighed silently.

Xuanye saw that everyone below was ready, but the people around him seemed distracted. He couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong? Are you suddenly not interested?"

"No." Xiu Yu shook his head and forced a smile. "It's just that I remembered that I'm not a lucky person. I hope that kid from the Lei family won't be dragged down by me."

"You're not a lucky person?" Xuanye was surprised. "If you're not lucky, then there are probably only a handful of lucky people in this world."

"Yes." Xiu Yu looked at Xuanye, his eyelids drooping, and said, "Perhaps, fate has changed."

Xuanye still didn't quite understand what Xiu Yu meant, but before he could ask in detail, the highlight of the first floor began.

Seeing his drawings framed like paintings by famous artists, Xiu Yu couldn't help but laugh. Waving his folding fan, he said, "Third brother, you're really giving the Lei family face. Was it your idea to frame them?"

Xuanye smiled and said, "After all, this is your masterpiece. The seal of the Lei family is not worth my attention."

Auctions were relatively unpopular at the time, and an auction this serious, even involving a small hammer, was undoubtedly unique. Xiu Yu had initially assumed she'd have to dip her toe in the waters, perhaps to create a stir. However, things weren't going as she'd anticipated. After a brief warm-up, bidding began to rise and fall, as if bidding were being conducted at a land auction three hundred years later.

"Third brother, this... was arranged by you?" Xiu Yu moved closer to Xuanye and asked in his ear.

Xuanye shook his head: "I was originally prepared to end it myself."

"That's quite interesting." Xiu Yu crossed her arms and looked at the man she had chosen who would take away her drawings. The man was calm and composed, and had not even bid once. He just held the teacup and drank tea silently.

Xuanye teased Xiuyu, "You're betting on that, so why don't you come over and eat and drink for free?"

Xiu Yu replied calmly, "Big brothers are always hiding their true abilities. If they were exposed early, how could they still be considered big brothers?"

The constant bidding almost made Xuanye dazed. He wondered if the Three Feudatories War hadn't happened, and the people hadn't been affected by the war. However, he knew in his heart that during the war, most of the people affected were poor people, and those wealthy families naturally had many ways to avoid being affected.

Thinking of this, Xuanye couldn't help but sigh softly. No matter how dynasties changed, wealth always had its own unique distribution plan. "Great Harmony" was really too difficult.

"Twenty thousand taels!" Just as Xuanye was lost in thought, the man Xiu Yu had 'taken a fancy to' finally spoke, his voice etched in a Cantonese accent. After this bid, the first floor fell into complete silence. Twenty thousand taels for a stack of blueprints—even with the Lei family's seal—wasn't worth that much!

Xiu Yu looked at Xuan Ye, raised her eyebrows, and said sweetly, "I win."

"Yes, you win." Xuanye waved his folding fan and looked at the man who paid such a high price. The man looked young, gentle and elegant.

The hammer struck, and the man stood up and bowed. He looked at the auctioneer and said, "I want these blueprints for twenty thousand taels of silver. I also have another request. I wonder if you can agree to it?"

"This shop is opened by a noble man. I cannot decide whether the shop can agree to the conditions proposed by this gentleman. Please tell me." The man in charge of the auction extended his hand to invite him, and he had the demeanor of a shop owner.

The man smiled and said, "My request is not too great, I just want to meet the owner of this place."

"This..." The person in charge of the auction hesitated. He knew the inside story, so he was even more hesitant.

Xuanye nodded to Liang Jiugong, who understood and trotted downstairs.

Xiu Yu hesitated: "Do you really want to see him?"

Xuanye shook Xiuyu's hand, stood up and said, "He spent 20,000 taels of silver to buy your painting. Don't you want to communicate with him?"

Xiu Yu shook his head and said, "As the old saying goes, 'Merchants value profit over separation.' I... don't like merchants that much, and that person must be a merchant, so..."

"Huh?" Xuanye disagreed. "Don't look at people through tinted glasses. Foreigners like to wear sunglasses, but when I wear them, I feel pitch black. I can't see people clearly enough."

Xiu Yu was somewhat helpless: "Whatever you said is reasonable. If you don't mind meeting that person, then I can go meet him."

The meeting place was still on the second floor, but it was the innermost and most secluded area.

When Xuanye and Xiuyu entered, the man was already waiting inside. As a 'guest', he stood up when he heard the door open, bowed to Xuanye and said, "Meet the host of this place."

Xuanye waved his folding fan in his right hand, with his left hand behind his back, and said, "You spent 20,000 taels to buy those drawings. You really like them."

The man replied, "I'm from Guangdong. The blueprints you auctioned just happened to match a piece of land I bought a few days ago. It's fate."

"Oh?" Xuanye sat down and said, "Twenty thousand taels is not a small amount."

The man hesitated for a moment, then lifted his robe and knelt on the ground, saying, "If my guess is correct, you are the current emperor?"

Xuanye was not surprised at all, but just asked, "Why do you think so?"

"The Lei family is employed by the emperor." The man replied bluntly, "At first, I didn't dare to speculate based on this one point, but I have met some high-ranking officials, and your demeanor is far beyond their reach."

Xuanye smiled: "If you say so, these 20,000 taels..."

"The court is short of money. Logically, it's not my place to worry about it, but..." he said righteously, "Only when the court is stable can my business flourish. Therefore, I'm willing to do my best to help."

"You're from Guangdong..." Xuanye tapped the table with his left finger and asked, "Are you Peng Chen?"

The man was a little surprised. He looked up at Xuanye: "You..."

"You guessed I was the current emperor, and I guessed you were Peng Chen. It's a return, no delay, no debt." Xuanye spoke casually, "Guangdong..." He glanced at Peng Chen, who was still kneeling on the ground, and said, "Stand up and speak."

Peng Chen said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Xuanye looked the visitor from afar up and down and asked, "Is your hometown okay?"

Peng Chen replied, "Your Majesty, it wasn't possible in the past few years when the war was severe, but it has been much better in the past two years."

Xuanye added, "Since you were able to come up with two thousand taels of silver, it seems your family hasn't been affected too much."

Peng Chen was also a smart man. He naturally heard the deeper meaning behind Xuanye's words: "My family not only has businesses on land, but also at sea. We can always complement each other. Besides, I heard that the royal craftsman is selling blueprints. I guess the court is in some difficulties. I am willing to contribute my efforts, even if it can only buy a cannon, it is a token of my kindness."

Xuanye nodded slightly. "If all merchants in this world could be as conscious as you, my life as an emperor would be much easier. I will accept the 20,000 taels, but I can't accept your money for nothing. I know a man named Peng Chen in Guangdong who is not only good at business, but is also willing to use the money he earns from business to build roads in the countryside. He is truly commendable. Take the blueprints you took and go back first. My order will come later."

"Your Majesty." Peng Chen bowed again and said, "I am very satisfied just to see your Majesty. I just did what I wanted to do and accumulated merit for my family. I don't seek any reward."

Xuanye said, "You do yours, and I do mine, without delaying either. You are sincere, and I am not fake."

The excitement started quickly and ended quickly. Xiu Yu and Xuan Ye had not yet reacted when they returned to the palace together.

Xuanye said, "You haven't said a word since you met Peng Chen."

Xiu Yu laughed and said, "Yu'er overestimated herself and underestimated the emperor."

Xuanye laughed heartily. "You don't know, ever since the Lei family built the house for the royal family, their names have never appeared among the common people again. This time they made such a big fuss, most people wouldn't think it was a big deal, but Peng Chen, he runs such a big business, he's definitely not an ordinary person."

Xiu Yu understood what Xuanye said, but still sighed, "I thought my map could be of some help."

"I did help." Xuanye said seriously, "If it weren't for your map, how could I have met Peng Chen? Besides, with this, I think it won't be long before we have enough money to build ships and cannons."

Xiu Yu pondered for a moment and said with a smile, "Is the Emperor going to take the wealth of the world's wealthy merchants?"

"I don't want to accept this." Xuanye said innocently, "Look at Peng Chen. He came to me on his own initiative. If I don't accept him, it will make me look bad. If someone else comes to me again, I can just build a few more cannons. Why should I refuse him?"

Xiu Yu was speechless. He could use other people's money and make such a high-sounding excuse for it. He was worthy of being the emperor of today.

Xuanye added, "Besides, only when the world is at peace can they earn money in peace. Do you think Peng Chen is truly without any selfish motives? I don't believe a simple-minded person could manage such a large business, so large that I even know his name."

Xiu Yu heard the deep meaning in Xuanye's words. She looked at the emperor in front of her and frowned. He was only in his twenties. Could it be that the whole world was covered with his spies?

Xuanye waved his folding fan and said, "Don't be afraid, Yu'er. I used the art of being an emperor in the previous dynasty. I never use it in the harem."

Xiu Yu smiled and said, "Your Majesty is overthinking it. Yu'er doesn't think so."

"I don't think so. What do I think?" Xuanye took off the melon-shaped hat on Xiuyu's head and said, "We're going back to the palace soon. It's very hot. Don't wear this thing anymore."