Chapter 118: Two Hundred and Twenty Thousand Taels of Silver
A one-time price increase of five thousand taels.
Where did this tycoon come from?!
Everyone looked towards Jing Mingmei.
I thought it would be a fat and bloated businessman.
But I saw a young woman sitting on the seat.
The woman had a slim figure, wearing a crimson double-breasted shirt inside, a dark green folded skirt underneath, and a black plain gauze half-sleeved shirt outside.
She held up one arm and gently waved a round fan.
The sleeves slipped down, revealing half of the fair wrist, with a green jade bracelet hanging diagonally on it.
There were sounds of people gasping for breath at the scene.
This woman is so beautiful. She has a natural charm in every move she makes. Not only men are attracted by her, but even women think she is incredibly beautiful.
She is so beautiful and so rich, I wonder which family she is from.
Someone recognized Jing Mingmei's identity: "Isn't this the noble concubine Mei Yi Niang of the Marquis of Jinping Mansion?"
"Rumor has it that she is extremely charming. Seeing her today, I can see that her reputation is indeed well-deserved."
"The real wife of the Marquis of Jinping hasn't even raised her hand yet, but a concubine of hers has been allowed to steal the show. Could it be that the rumor that the Marquis of Jinping favors his concubine over his wife is true?"
When people talked about Aunt Mei, some expressed disdain and some made fun of her, and they all looked down on her.
At this moment, three hammers fell.
Wu Yunzi's first painting thus ended up in Jing Mingmei's pocket.
At this time, no one thought much about it and everyone thought that Jing Mingmei was a fan of Wu Yunzi's paintings.
However, this was just Jing Mingmei's warm-up.
With the first lot sold.
A veil fell directly behind the auction table.
A graceful figure holding a pipa sat behind the gauze curtain.
A string of pipa sounds poured out, like the sound of pearls falling on a jade plate, crisp and pleasant.
In just a moment, someone recognized the woman playing the pipa: "It's Liu Qiqi."
"Oh my god, I didn't expect Liu Qiqi to actually come to the auction to play the piano. I wonder how much benefit 'A Little Ink' gave her."
Everyone's attention was attracted by the sound of the pipa.
No one noticed that the door of the accounting office at the end of the second floor was opened.
Afterwards, a group of tall and strong men in black brocade clothes, escorted a middle-aged man and entered the accounting office in an orderly manner.
The door closed gently.
Despite such a scene, other guests didn't even take a second look.
Liu Qiqi finished playing the song.
The auction officially begins.
The second item for auction was an ancient painting by a famous artist from the previous dynasty that was sent by Duke Xiao’s Mansion.
The whole audience was stunned.
The starting price is ten thousand taels.
Even so, bidding signs were raised one after another.
When the price was raised to 30,000 taels, only one-third of the competitors remained.
When the bid was raised to 50,000 taels, there were only three competitors left.
at this time.
Jing Mingmei slowly raised the sign: "Sixty thousand taels."
The scene was silent.
He just spent 25,000 taels, and now he's spending another 60,000 taels. Could it be that Marquis Jinping gave all his fortune to a concubine?
Amidst the voices of doubt, the remaining two imperial gifts and Wu Yunzi's two paintings were revealed.
All of them fell into Jing Mingmei's hands.
According to conservative estimates, she has spent over 200,000 yuan.
Letting a concubine out to flaunt in public and squandering all the family fortune overnight, I wonder if Marquis Jinping would faint from crying in his concubine's room.
Lady Jia, wife of Marquis of Jinping, was so angry that her face twisted.
Isn't it just a few bucks? Look how proud she is of it!
Suddenly, Jing Mingmei felt someone staring at her.
She looked over alertly and saw that the window of the accounting office on the second floor was half open, and a man in brocade clothes was standing in front of the window.
Their eyes met, and Jing Mingmei looked away indifferently.
The man in brocade asked the blue-robed guard beside him, "Did she really spend Huo Laowu's money? When did the Huo family have enough money to spend tens of thousands of gold overnight?"
Huo Laowu is Lord Huo.
There was a coldness in the man's tone.
The black-clad guard immediately replied, "My lord, that woman is indeed the concubine of Marquis Jinping, her name is Jing Mingmei. But the money she spent did not come from Marquis Jinping.
On the contrary, the luxurious life of the entire Jinping Marquis Mansion is now mostly maintained by the dowry of this concubine.
The nearly ten thousand taels of silver that the Marquis of Jinping pays to his father-in-law, the Jia family, every year are also paid for by this concubine."
"It's bad enough that he spent the money for his concubine, but he even used it to honor his father-in-law. It's unbelievable that Huo Wu would do such a thing..." The man in brocade clothes' face suddenly wrinkled, and he couldn't find any specific words to describe the Marquis of Jinping.
"How can she, a favorite concubine in the inner palace, have so much money?" the man in brocade clothes asked curiously.
The guard quickly told the news he had found out: "My master, you may not know that Jing Mingmei comes from the Jing family, a prominent family in Shu.
The Jing family had two main businesses: one was silk reeling and brocade weaving; the other was growing and selling tea.
The goods produced by the Jing family were mainly sold to foreign countries via the ancient Tea-Horse Road.
In addition, Jing Mingmei entered the mansion of Marquis Jinping. Marquis Jinping wanted to spend the Jing family's money, so naturally he had to give the Jing family benefits.
For the past ten years, the Marquis of Jinping has been secretly trading salt permits with the Jing family."
"He used the salt permits from the imperial court to fill his own pockets." The man in brocade clothes snorted unhappily.
At this moment, a servant loudly announced, "Marquis Jinping has arrived."
It happened that a new round of auction had ended, and the whole place was so quiet that only the sound of Liu Qiqi's piano could be heard.
Everyone who was originally immersed in the music immediately looked outside the door.
Marquis Jinping helped the servant get off the carriage with a satisfied and proud look on his face.
He strode into the shop and saw everyone looking at him.
That look was filled with envy, jealousy, and even schadenfreude.
"Lord Huo, what a blessing!"
"Such a beauty is even better than the most beautiful courtesan in the Golden Night Tower!"
"Your Highness has bought all the valuables for tonight! Lord Huo, you can pamper me, but you have to be moderate!"
Marquis Jinping didn't know that tomorrow morning, most of the people in the court would report him for his lack of moral integrity and for favoring his concubine over his wife.
He was angry inside, but it didn't show on his face.
He locked onto Jing Mingmei's position and strode over.
Jing Mingmei had already noticed his arrival.
When he was about to sit down, she lazily stood up and bowed to him: "My Lord, it is not polite for you to sit with me. You should go to the second floor to find my sister."
Lord Huo's butt stiffened for a moment, then he silently retracted it and walked towards the second floor.
Jing Mingmei curled her lips and then sat down in her seat.
The man in brocade clothes in the accounting office on the second floor saw this and curled his lips slightly.
The auction continues.
Lord Huo has his eyes on several things.
He immediately named a price, suggesting Jing Mingmei on the first floor to buy the item tactfully and give it to him when she got back.
But Jing Mingmei seemed to have not heard his hint and had no intention of speaking at all.
Lord Huo watched helplessly as the things he loved went into someone else's pocket.
He felt very uncomfortable, as if he was out of control, like a chess piece that was no longer under his control.
After Liu Qiqi played the pipa all night, she auctioned off two contracts for performing at a price of three thousand taels, and the grand auction came to an end.
Jin Ping Hou didn't take any pictures of what he wanted to take, and was about to leave in anger.
The host came on stage and announced the three kind-hearted people who spent the most tonight.
Jing Mingmei sold 220,000 taels of silver, outselling the second place by 200,000 taels, and firmly secured the first place.
Marquis Jinping took a deep breath and almost fainted on the spot.
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