People started coming in one after another while they were having breakfast.

Emperor Kangxi sat by the window, coldly observing the people entering. They really were all from wealthy families.

Mingxiu also watched the people below with great interest. Many of them were people she didn't recognize, but that didn't stop her from enjoying the spectacle.

The private room gradually became lively, indicating that someone had booked it; there were both men and women in the room.

Mingxiu nodded; she was sure she would make a good profit today.

After a while, Mingxiu heard the sound of gongs and drums coming from below.

The auction began, and the first item up for auction was perfume. Mingxiu was taken aback. Was the first one really this big? It wasn't that there wasn't any perfume in the capital before, but the quantity was very small and there was simply not enough. So even if the price was sky-high, the supply still couldn't meet the demand.

I never expected it to be this one. I bet these ladies are going crazy with joy.

As Mingxiu listened to the bids below, her smile grew wider and wider. So much money!

In the end, the perfume set was bought by the Li family of Jiangnan. Mingxiu also learned a little about it. The Li family of Jiangnan were wealthy merchants with a very deep family background. The second item was the pink set.

Seeing this, Mingxiu understood why there were so many older women today, and many of them were top courtesans.

Then the steward brought up two young women, one of whom was very beautiful, while the other was rather plain-looking.

But what's the point of bringing people up here at this time? I've never heard of filming people today.

The manager in charge of the explanation saw the puzzled looks on everyone's faces and began to speak.

"I imagine everyone is wondering why I had two women come up here. Do you think these two women look alike?"

The people below shook their heads. Anyone could see that the two looked completely different; one was so beautiful, while the other was just ordinary.

Mingxiu suddenly realized what was going on.

The manager smiled at everyone and said, "You've all guessed wrong. I can tell you with certainty that these two women are actually twin sisters. They look exactly alike, but why do you see them as different? It's because the item we're auctioning today can make people look incredibly beautiful after makeup."

A murmur of disbelief arose below, while some voices of anxiety rose above. No one seemed to believe it.

Just then, a woman came up carrying a basin of water.

“I know that many people are not very credible, so seeing is believing. We can have this woman remove her makeup on the spot, and then everyone can see if it is as I said.”

Everyone stared intently at the women below, especially those above. If that were true, these women understood the value of these cosmetics best.

The woman below gently lifted her handkerchief and washed her face twice with water. Then she looked up, and everyone saw that she had the same appearance as the woman standing next to her.

A commotion immediately erupted, and before the person in charge could even speak, people began shouting out prices.

The manager nodded in satisfaction and then let everyone start bidding.

The competition among the women was fierce, even more so than the competition for perfume. In the end, the most famous courtesan in the capital was won over for 100,000 taels of silver.

When Mingxiu heard the price, she clicked her tongue and sighed a few times. These women are really rich these days.

Mingxiu sighed, but didn't have any other thoughts.

The rest gradually went to the auction.

Mingxiu and Kangxi ate and watched, while Yinreng and Yinzhi in the next room also ate and watched. Chen Tingjing, who was secretly watching, was very excited. The auction was not over yet, but the amount of money had already far exceeded their calculations.

Everyone stayed until the end. By the very end, Mingxiu was getting restless, but Kangxi still wanted to watch, and with so many people downstairs, it was really difficult to leave.

So we could only wait inside.

They waited until the end, until everyone had left, before Mingxiu and Kangxi started walking back. It was getting late, and they couldn't go out anymore.

They didn't wait for the final result, since the final result would be told to Kangxi anyway.

Yinreng and Yinzhi were waiting, not to see the result, but purely to watch the spectacle.

Kangxi took Mingxiu directly back. After returning, Mingxiu went straight back to Yonghe Palace, but Kangxi did not go back.

The person who came was planning to wait until evening to enter the space to talk.

Mingxiu strolled back leisurely, and just as she reached the door, she heard a voice.

"Mother Consort"

Mingxiu froze, blinked, and thought to herself, "Oh no, I forgot about this little devil."

Mingxiu exchanged an awkward glance with Lüzhu, then turned around and saw Chenghuan standing behind her, hands on hips, glaring angrily at Mingxiu.

Mingxiu gave an awkward laugh: "Oh dear, Chenghuan, where have you been? You're only just getting back." Mingxiu was just making conversation out of boredom.

This little darling was insisting on staying at the princess's residence, so they even sent her bedding and asked her to serve Yu Qingming and Xiu Xiu.

He never comes back on ordinary days, so why is he back at this particular time?

"Hmph, Mother, why didn't you take me with you when you went out today? You clearly said you would take me with you." Cheng Huan suddenly missed her mother today and wanted to come see her, but when she asked, she found out that her mother wasn't home at all.

Mingxiu was a little embarrassed, and smiled ingratiatingly at Chenghuan: "I just left too early and didn't want to bother you. Next time, next time your mother will definitely take you out, okay?"

"Hmph, I'm hard to coax. If Mother forgets to take me out of the palace again next time, I'll really get angry," Cheng Huan said sullenly.

Since we've already left, there's nothing we can do but ask for more compensation.

Mingxiu nodded quickly, repeatedly saying that she would definitely take her out next time.

Cheng Huan was satisfied and followed Ming Xiu into Yonghe Palace.

"Why did Chenghuan come today? You should have told your mother beforehand so that she could have prepared lots of delicious food for Chenghuan." Mingxiu was only thinking about pleasing Chenghuan and didn't notice the hesitant expressions of Xiaoxizi, Yulan, and Yuqing.

Green Bamboo did see it, but it was too late to stop it.

really!

"Ha, I came early this morning, wanting to give Mother a surprise, but Mother isn't here at all." Cheng Huan said angrily.

Ah! This

Mingxiu was even more embarrassed. This was truly... such bad luck.

Mingxiu could only lower her head and obediently coax him for a while before she was able to calm him down.

The two had just eaten two pieces of pastry when they heard from outside that the Crown Prince had brought back a gift for the princess from the palace.

Mingxiu. . .

Look at the way Cheng Huan looks at her.

Mingxiu cursed inwardly, wondering if Baocheng was deliberately going against her today. Otherwise, why would he come and sabotage her right after she had just managed to appease him?