Shen Feng treats one of his disciples better than his own children, and given his overreaction just now, it's hard not to wonder what's going on.
Probing gazes swept back and forth between Shen Feng and Ye Rou, as if trying to bore a hole through them.
What Song Zhiyu needs to do is first plant the seeds of doubt in everyone's hearts, preparing them for her to tear off Shen Feng's hypocritical mask later.
Even Chen's mother came to her senses and gave Chen Feng a deep look, her eyes filled with complex emotions.
The Marquis seems to be a little too excited.
Shen Feng finally realized something was wrong. His face fell, and he felt he had lost face, but he still stubbornly insisted, "I am innocent and have nothing to fear from gossip. As Ru Shan's master, it is only natural for me to take care of these orphans and widows."
He seemed to have convinced himself, and his gloomy expression softened. He then adopted a fatherly demeanor and reprimanded Song Zhiyu, saying, "You should learn from Shu'er to be kind and generous to others and to have good intentions. Don't judge others with your petty mind."
That's a very serious statement; it's practically like he's pointing his finger at Song Zhiyu and cursing her.
Upon hearing this, Song Zhiyu simply smiled and nodded as if she understood, but then blurted out another shocking piece of news.
“Father has always been kind and compassionate, even caring for beggars on the street, let alone Madam Ye. Moreover, soon Father will formally adopt Shen Rushan into his family, and they will become one family. As family, we don’t need to be formal. Even if Father favors Madam Ye and her son, it is only right.”
Upon hearing this, the crowd, who had been quietly watching the show, seemed to have caught a whiff of something unusual and began to discuss it with great interest.
"What? Marquis Chengen actually wants to adopt Shen Rushan into his name? But doesn't he already have four sons? Why would he need to adopt someone else's bloodline?"
"Of the four sons of the Marquis of Chengen, only the eldest son is promising, but he became disabled and can no longer uphold the reputation of the Marquis of Chengen's mansion."
As for his other three sons, they were utterly hopeless; how could they compare to the currently rising star, Chen Rushan?
"..."
After the initial shock, they accepted the idea of Shen Feng adopting Shen Rushan, but couldn't help but sigh and lament the loss of the once-genius young man, Shen Yuzhou.
If his legs hadn't been crippled, the Chengen Marquis's mansion would have already reached a higher level under his leadership.
Hearing the increasingly loud discussions around him, Shen Feng was greatly alarmed.
He never expected that Song Zhiyu would know about his idea of adopting Shen Rushan, and would even say it in front of everyone, completely disrupting his plans.
Seeing Shen Feng's angry but not daring to speak out, Song Zhiyu felt happy and her smile became more sincere. "Zhiyu would like to congratulate Father in advance on having another capable son. In the future, you and Madam Ye will be family, so naturally you will share the good times and the bad."
Song Zhiyu emphasized the last few words, putting Shen Feng in a very difficult position, making it impossible for him to refuse.
Ten thousand taels of silver was nothing to the former Chengen Marquis's mansion, but things are different now. The Chengen Marquis's mansion has long been an empty shell, only looking glamorous on the surface, but in reality it is rotten inside.
Shen Feng must have felt terrible about having to spend over ten thousand taels of silver to buy a dress and a turquoise bracelet.
Mother Shen frowned slightly, feeling a little uncomfortable upon hearing Song Zhiyu's words.
If Yu Zhou hadn't had that accident, how could the Marquis have ever considered adopting Shen Rushan? If Song Zhiyu had been willing to help, Yu Zhou's legs would have healed long ago.
Shu'er had already told her that Song Zhiyu would rather save Ling Yuan, an outsider, than treat her own brother's leg.
The more Shen's mother thought about it, the more upset she became. She stared at Song Zhiyu with a resentful look, as if she had a thousand words to say, but the other party completely ignored her.
Hearing the congratulations from those around him, Shen Feng forced a smile. "Of course, this is a family matter, let's not talk about it for now. The auction is more important. Miss Yun, don't you agree?"
Yunxi stood steadily at the auction, smiling broadly, neither speaking nor urging anyone, simply watching this good show unfold.
After a long while, when Shen Feng's smile could no longer hold, she said with a smile, "The auction continues."
The following items became increasingly valuable, with bids rising higher and higher. This was no longer the small-scale bidding war; it had become a contest of financial resources.
Shen Feng wiped the fine sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, listening to the continuous bidding in the main hall, and felt the silver notes in his pocket getting lighter and lighter.
He originally planned to cater to the prince's tastes by bidding on a treasure today and sending it to the Prince's residence as a sign of sincerity.
Who would have thought that Ye Rou would cause him this trouble, costing him several thousand taels of silver for nothing.
It seems he has no chance of getting the treasure today.
*
Soon, the auction came to an end, but everyone's interest only grew stronger, all because of this last item.
Yunxi smiled, quite satisfied with today's results, and decided not to keep them in suspense any longer, "Next up is the last item of this auction, a golden nanmu Buddha statue."
As she uttered her last word, the red cloth covering the Buddha statue was ripped off, revealing its true form.
A Buddha statue carved from top-grade golden nanmu wood stands quietly on a tray made of thousand-year-old agarwood.
On the Buddha statue's benevolent face, strands of gold thread are faintly visible, adding to its solemnity and reverence.
Its eyes were slightly closed, and the corners of its mouth were slightly upturned, exuding a serene tranquility that brought peace of mind.
At a glance, everyone present could tell that this Buddha statue was precious and extraordinary.
Mother Shen gripped the handkerchief in her hand tightly with excitement, her eyes filled with fervor.
For many years, due to health reasons, she has been sincerely worshipping Buddha and praying for Buddha's blessing. She even set up a small Buddhist shrine in her courtyard and copied scriptures and chanted Buddhist prayers every day, hoping that Buddha could see her sincere heart.
It is said that Buddha statues made of Phoebe zhennan wood have the benefit of warding off evil spirits and impurities. If she can buy this Buddha statue, she will certainly worship it carefully.
Even Song Zhiyu straightened his expression, a hint of interest appearing in his deep eyes.
Clearly, she came today specifically for this golden nanmu Buddha statue.
Madam Ling is fond of Buddhism, and given the protective and purifying properties of golden nanmu wood Buddha statues, it was the perfect gift.
"Thirty thousand taels." Song Zhiyu spoke first, immediately deterring many competitors with his bid.
As soon as she finished speaking, a distinguished guest from another private room followed closely behind. The languid voice sounded somewhat familiar to Song Zhiyu: "Forty thousand taels."
But she couldn't recall where she had heard the voice before, so she didn't investigate further. "Sixty thousand taels."
She couldn't let today's auction go to waste.
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