The Xue family ancestral hall.
All was silent; the night was dark and the wind was high.
The maid, Xiao Tao, furtively carried a box, glanced around warily, and then pushed open the door of the ancestral hall and slipped inside.
"Miss, I've brought the things. I didn't dare bring them over during the day, for fear of being discovered."
Only a few candles illuminated the ancestral hall. Xue Jinluan knelt in the hall, her expressionless face appearing somewhat eerie in the candlelight.
Xue Jinluan had already calmed down by now. After struggling with her inner turmoil and calming herself down during the day, she turned her head to look behind her when she heard her maid Xiaotao coming over with some things.
"Give it to me."
Xue Jinluan reached out and took the things Xiao Tao handed her, opened the beautifully packaged box, glanced at the contents, and saw a set of pink jewelry that made a smile appear on Xue Jinluan's lips.
His expressionless face finally softened a bit.
This set of jewelry is quite valuable. If it could be auctioned off, then we would have money in our hands.
She certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to take out this set of jewelry and wear it herself. If she were to wander around the mansion wearing this thing, wouldn't that be like a thief flaunting his wealth?
She intended to use this jewelry to earn some money. Of course, she wouldn't take it to the Red City Auction House; she could only sell it elsewhere. If she did it here, she'd probably be recognized.
To avoid such a thing from happening, she decided to be cautious and take the jewelry to a more distant city for auction.
Greentown is definitely out of the question.
The Green City Lord's Mansion has been to that commercial building, so they would probably recognize this set of jewelry at a glance.
Blinking, Xue Jinluan lovingly touched the jewelry, her eyes filled with reluctance. In fact, she also really liked this set of jewelry.
However, since this jewelry was stolen, it cannot be worn; it can only be sold.
"Xiao Tao, take this set of jewelry and go to the Qingcheng Auction House for me. Make sure you sell it outside and get it sold."
Xiao Tao was taken aback. "Huh? Miss, what are you talking about? Qingcheng Auction House? You want... me to go?"
"Well, this set of jewelry can't be taken out here. The prestigious families here all recognize this set of jewelry. Anyone who's been to the commercial building knows that this set of jewelry was purchased by the young master of the He family."
Therefore, this set of jewelry can only be sent out; it can't stay in our Red City, nor in the neighboring Green City, so it can only be taken to Qing City.
I will talk to my mother and tell her that you are allowed to go back to the countryside to visit your parents. Anyway, I will be staying in the ancestral hall these two days, so I don't need you to take care of me.
Use this as an excuse to take this set of jewelry out.
It's not safe for this set of jewelry to stay here; it wouldn't be good if someone saw it.
Xiao Tao swallowed hard, staring at her young mistress in disbelief. She felt that her young mistress seemed different since she came back, as if she had become a different person, capable of such a bold move.
"Miss, you...you...did something happen to you?" After holding it in for a long time, Xiao Tao finally managed to utter these words. She felt that her young mistress really seemed to have suffered some kind of trauma.
Xue Jinluan scoffed, her eyes gleaming with a desire for money she had never seen before.
"Xiao Tao, do you know Jincheng Commercial Street?"
Xiao Tao nodded, "Yes, didn't Miss just go there?" So ever since she came back from Jincheng Commercial Street, she seems to have changed completely.
Someone of her status naturally wouldn't have the opportunity to go for a stroll in Jincheng Commercial Street with her mistress, so she had no idea what had happened to her mistress there.
"Xiao Tao, do you know that if I threw these six taels of silver I'm holding into Jincheng Commercial Street, it wouldn't even make a splash?"
"Huh?" Xiao Tao looked at Xue Jinluan, who was making a self-deprecating face, with a blank expression.
Six taels of silver, and not even a splash?
This means—
"Xiao Tao, do you know that my six taels of silver are not even presentable in the commercial street of Jincheng? I would feel ashamed to even take it out."
Let alone inside the Jincheng Commercial Building, even in the snack street of Jincheng Commercial Street, buying a few trinkets would cost more than six taels of silver. If you wanted to have a meal there, you would need at least twenty taels of silver to dare to stroll around there.
With those six taels of silver clutched in my hand, I only dared to buy one skewer of candied hawthorns to try in the snack street of Jincheng Commercial Street.
I can't even afford a proper meal.
"If it weren't for Young Master Wei accompanying us all, and paying for our meals there, I wouldn't have dared to sit down and eat a proper meal."
Xiao Tao's face stiffened. "Miss, what you're saying is a bit exaggerated. How could six taels of silver not even be enough for a meal? What kind of place is it where you eat like you're eating gold?"
The roast duck at that roast duck restaurant in our Red City is considered the most expensive, but this only costs half a tael of silver.
Even the meat buns that Miss likes to eat only cost a few coins each.
There's no such thing as a meal where six taels of silver isn't enough.
"Heh, you don't believe me, do you? Next time I go there, I'll take you to see it for yourself. You'll see for yourself how narrow-minded we are."
You have no idea how miserable my life is right now.
"If you want to even take a look inside the commercial building, you wouldn't dare bid without at least 100,000 or 200,000 taels of silver."
10. Cough... 100,000, 80,000... taels?
Isn't this a bit too exaggerated?
Let alone the young lady herself, even the entire household couldn't come up with 100,000 or 200,000 taels of silver.
What exactly is this gold-burning place?
Xiao Tao stared blankly at her young mistress.
Xue Jinluan weighed the jewelry in her hand and chuckled, "Xiao Tao, do you know how much silver this set of jewelry is worth?"
Xiao Tao's gaze froze on the set of pink jade jewelry in Xue Jinluan's hand. She licked her lips, thinking of the 100,000 or 200,000 taels of silver that her mistress had mentioned, and uttered a number that she herself could not believe.
"Could it be, 100,000 taels?" That's impossible.
Although she said it like that, she absolutely did not believe that such a set of jade jewelry would be worth 100,000 taels of silver; it would be worth at most 100 taels.
These are all high prices that she overestimated.
However, this set of jewelry looks really fresh and bright, and is very eye-catching.
This jade looks much prettier than the jade her young lady used to wear. There are no impurities in the jade; it is very clear and pure, with a faint glow.
Xue Jinluan rolled his eyes at Xiao Tao, annoyed. How could it possibly be 100,000 taels?
"Two thousand taels."
"Huh?" Xiao Tao was taken aback, then screamed, "What? Two thousand taels?"
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