Seeing Wei Chang's liver-like face, Xiahou Cai couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Immediately, the people around Xiahou Cai who were on good terms with the Cao and Xiahou families burst into laughter.

The Wei family's reputation for not paying for their music performances is enough to make them a laughingstock for the rest of their lives.

Seeing the commotion below the stage, Yuan Feng, who was sitting upright on the stage, frowned and immediately shouted, "Silence!! What kind of behavior is this, making such a racket at an auction?"

"Uh... I was being presumptuous, I hope you won't take offense!!"

Hearing Yuan Feng's reprimand, Xiahou finally shut his mouth in a huff, and the others immediately fell silent as well.

"Hmph~ The auction continues. Anyone who makes a disturbance again will be expelled immediately!"

Yuan Feng snorted coldly, warned everyone, and then sat down again.

Cao Song, standing to the side, remained completely silent, not uttering a single word. After all, among so many people, only Yuan Fengcai could keep the situation under control.

The official presiding over the auction then announced loudly, "The Wei family has offered 600 million. Are there any other bidders?"

"The Xiahou family has offered one billion!"

Xiahou Cai raised the sign in his hand and then looked at Wei Chang with a provocative gaze.

"The Wei family has offered 1.1 billion!"

Wei Chang sneered. In the face of Xiahou Cai's provocation, he only increased the amount by one hundred million. He did this simply to annoy Xiahou Cai.

"The Xiahou family has offered 1.4 billion!"

After making the offer, Xiahou glared fiercely at Wei Chang.

"Hmph~ The Wei family offered 1.5 billion!"

Wei Chang snorted lightly, completely ignoring the pained expressions on the faces of those who had allied with him. After all, 1.5 billion was far too much; even if it were averaged out, it would still drain a large portion of their family fortune.

"Hmph~ You win, this spot is yours!"

Xiahou Cai snorted coldly and then stopped bidding, but the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

"Uh~"

Upon hearing Xiahou Cai stop bidding, Wei Chang was stunned for a moment. Seeing Xiahou Cai's suppressed laughter, he realized he had been tricked!

He originally wanted to take the opportunity to annoy Xiahou Cai, but now things have turned out differently. Not only did he fail to annoy others, he also fell into a trap himself, ending up with 500 million more than the Chen family.

Wei Chang's face turned ugly once again.

At this point, no one else made a bid to compete with the Wei family. After all, the Wei family was not to be underestimated, and they had allied with many powerful families, more than twenty in total. No one wanted to offend this force unless absolutely necessary.

Soon, a servant handed the token to Wei Chang.

Holding the token, Wei Chang looked at the family heads who had allied with him and said in a deep voice, "Everyone, there is no need to worry. The number of places is limited. Although there are 500 million more, the sooner you get them, the sooner you will gain an advantage!"

"Yes, yes, yes! Patriarch Wei is right!"

"That's right. The fewer spots there are, the fiercer the bidding will be, and the more money will likely be spent."

The aristocratic families surrounding Wei Chang all nodded in agreement, no longer so concerned about securing two spots for 1.5 billion.

The bidding continued, and soon, the third spot was won by a powerful family, led by the Zhong family, for one billion.

The fourth spot was won by a powerful family, led by the Xun family, for 1.1 billion.

The fifth spot was secured by a powerful family, led by the Yang family, for 1.2 billion.

The sixth spot was secured by a powerful family, led by the Sima family, for 1.3 billion.

The bidding by several companies failed to break through 1.5 billion, which made the faces of Wei Chang and his group increasingly grim.

Although the Yuan and Xiahou families participated in the bidding each time, they were targeted by the aforementioned powerful families and have not yet secured a single spot.

At this point, the six spots had been divided up by the major families, leaving only four spots remaining.

Everyone knows that the Xiahou family is backed by the Cao family, and they are guaranteed a spot.

As for the Yuan family, it goes without saying that they will definitely be included as well.

The powerful merchants and the smaller aristocratic families present never dared to participate in their bidding, because they couldn't afford to offend them.

Therefore, they all set their sights on the last two spots.

However, there were still more than two hundred small and medium-sized families and powerful merchants present, and two spots were simply not enough for them.

Everyone could imagine how fierce the final competition would be.

Zhao Ning, Zhang Xiang, and the powerful merchants around them began to discuss that they had to secure a spot no matter the cost.

While we can't afford to offend the top-tier aristocratic families, we can still provoke the smaller, medium-sized families.

Just then, a young eunuch suddenly rushed onto the platform.

Then the eunuch shouted:

"Reveal His Majesty's oral decree."

As soon as the young eunuch finished speaking, everyone, from Yuan Feng and Cao Song on the stage to the powerful families, wealthy merchants, and other dignitaries below, rose and bowed to him.

"We respectfully inquire after Your Majesty's well-being."

"I am well!"

After the greetings were completed, the eunuch announced loudly, "The Yuan and Cao families have made great contributions in overseeing the coal business. As a reward, I hereby grant them the right to directly obtain two slots without having to participate in the bidding!"

"Your Majesty, I thank you for your divine grace!"

Cao Song and Yuan Feng bowed in unison towards the direction of the palace.

Yuan Cheng, Xiahou Cai, and others who were on good terms with the two families in the audience were all overjoyed at the thought that they could save more than a billion yuan in one go. This alone would put them far ahead of everyone else.

Especially Li Mao and others, who belonged to the middle and lower aristocratic families, had become quite close to the Cao family because of the last court assembly. So when it came to sharing the bidding quota this time, they immediately approached Xiahou Cai, wanting to join forces with them and hoping to get a share of the pie with the Cao family.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!