"Are you prepared to pay the price for trying to steal someone from Yuwen Sheng?" Gongshu Jiruo said calmly.
Mi Ku clasped his hands in a dignified gesture, closed his eyes, and said softly, “Our Buddha is merciful and saves all sentient beings. This humble monk only wishes to rescue a person with a predestined connection who is trapped in the abyss. If it requires paying a price for this, it is no problem. However, our Wujue Temple is protected by the brilliance of the righteous path. We must naturally avoid evil and heretical paths, let alone act recklessly.”
Whether this person had learned Buddhist principles or charlatanism over the years, his implication was that the other party had stepped into his territory, like a true dragon trapped in shallow waters, unable to make much of a splash.
Clearly, Mi Ku did not understand Yuwen Sheng thoroughly enough. He was as troublesome as a maggot clinging to a bone, both disgusting and difficult to get rid of.
If Gongshu Ji hadn't argued with him about these things, he still hadn't figured out who this "A Qing" really was. Therefore, if Mi Kuru and Yuwen Sheng were to fight, he had no intention of intervening.
He said coldly and indifferently, "Was this dragon-drawn chariot really made by this Aqing? Who was his teacher, that he possesses such skill and adept craftsmanship?"
Miku held his prayer beads and slowly turned them: "You shall decide whether it is true or false. This humble monk has no right to comment on the affairs of you craftsmen."
Gongshu Jiruo said, "Judging from the way he's stirring things up, it'll be easy for him to get those hundred spring reward coins. So her next display should follow soon."
Judging from his tone, he seemed to think that "Aqing" was showing off her cleverness and didn't think highly of her.
Mi Ku asked him, "Do you hope that A Qing's astonishing words are true, or do you hope that he is just a smooth talker who is actually just making things up?"
Gongshu Jiru lowered his eyes and pondered for a while before saying, "I don't want any of that."
——
Thump thump thump—
The clinking of copper coins echoing from the bottom of the box must be the most beautiful sound at this moment.
Honestly, the people from Ye Kingdom who came to participate in the "Jichun Craftsmen's Guild" never dared to dream of such a wonderful outcome. What is happening now has far exceeded their original best expectations.
The "Spring Appreciation Silver Coins" votes, collected over a one-day period, will determine the top ten exhibits for the "Jichun Craftsmen's Guild." But the exhibition has only just begun, less than an hour in, and yet such a grand and lively scene has already been created...
People at other booths, monks watching the heat, and artisans hiding in the shadows awaiting the results—all stared with wide, puzzled eyes, unable to understand what magical methods these Ye Kingdom artisans had used, or whether they had given these merchants a mind-altering drug to make them so disoriented.
Indeed, Zheng Quchi used a very tempting "bait" to catch so many "fish".
Ultimately, if these "fish" have no interest in this "bait," even if she leaves it in the water for a long time, the "fish" will only be attracted and hooked by other people's "bait," and will not splash around in her pond.
Zheng Quchi stood quietly to the side, observing their throwing of "Spring Reward Silver Coins." When she felt the time was right, she immediately called for a halt.
"Closed. Deadline has passed."
Zheng Quchi shouted "Stop!" Mu Gaoyi and the Ye soldiers dressed as ordinary people were immediately shocked. Although they had great doubts and confusion in their eyes, they still stepped forward to drive away the merchants, close the ballot box, and follow Aqing's orders in all matters.
The crowd was incredulous. Many people behind them hadn't cast their votes yet. This group turned around in astonishment, only to see the young man put on a professional smile and say decisively, "There should be a hundred coins in the box. The remaining spring reward money in your hands... is unnecessary."
Their faces darkened. "What do you mean by this?" they asked.
"Exactly, who wouldn't want to get as many votes as possible? And who would refuse to be voted for?"
Zheng Quchi didn't think so: "Water overflows when it's full, and the moon wanes when it's full. The hundred or so votes in the box are enough to get me into the top ten of the Jichun Craftsmen's Guild. I'm not greedy for more. You can keep the precious spring reward money you've been holding onto."
Her words immediately threw those behind her into disarray. It felt as if I had lost a fortune simply because I hesitated for a moment.
"No, we're going to vote, you can't stop us!"
"Exactly! Who would stop someone from voting? I have the Spring Reward money; I can vote for whomever I want!"
Zheng Quchi has mastered the art of scarcity marketing. She understands all the tricks. She didn't have the chance to use them before, but now she can put them to good use.
She ignored their shouts and unreasonable demands, and said to Mu Gaoyi and the others, "Let's tally up the votes first."
Ah Qing now exudes the imposing aura of someone leading their people to conquer.
Just now, seeing her smiling and chatting with those merchants amidst the glint of swords, they almost thought they had met General Yuwen. He always killed with a smile, but they never expected that Aqing would learn the essence of the general's smiling tiger in such a short time.
They were all stunned by the number.
Because the "spring reward silver coins" for throwing into the box were far more than one hundred; they far exceeded one hundred, directly reaching two hundred and twenty.
Once the total is tallied, the next step is to calculate the number of votes cast by each individual.
The merchants had their surnames carved on the "Spring Festival Silver Coins" with a knife to prevent them from being stolen, lost, or picked up for personal use. So, it was easy to see who had put in the coins and how much they had put in by simply picking them out and comparing them.
Most of the merchants here only put in one coin, while others put in two or three. The person who put in the most coins even put in four "Spring Appreciation Silver Coins".
According to Shi Hetong's statistics, a Chen merchant threw four coins (amazing!), a Yue merchant threw three coins (rich), a Mu merchant threw three coins (not short of money), and a... uh, a merchant with a surname whose characters are hard to understand also threw three coins. This must be Kucha script, only they have such a distorted, insect-like abstract script.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
