Chapter 457 Kong Wange's Scheme
Qin Feng glanced at Shen Li with a cool expression: "I didn't know you even knew how much money I had in my private accounts?"
Shen Li: "...Well, it's not my fault. It's your fault for never hiding the fact that you make payments from me."
Kong Wange ignored their whispers and said calmly, "There's no need for a loan. We're not interested in this lotus on the stage."
"Oh?" She said she wasn't interested, but Qin Feng became interested: "If I remember correctly, this is the first time Miss Kong has raised her paddle to bid among the items on display today."
Kong Wange turned to Qin Feng and said, "Mr. Qin, to be honest, I did come here for the Xuwei Lotus, but not this one."
Qin Feng raised an eyebrow: "What do you mean by that?"
Kong Wange glanced at the gleaming lotus on the stage and said, "Excuse me for being blunt, but the lotus on your stage is fake."
As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Feng's eyes suddenly darkened.
"Fake?" Shen Li exclaimed in surprise, her eyes wide. "Sister Kong, are you mistaken? This Xuwei Lotus is so beautiful. It was even appraised by a specialist. Its appearance and habits are all fine. Brother Feng bought it at a high price. How could it be fake?"
Wen Yue and An Jing, who were standing nearby, were also stunned, not expecting that there could be a fake Xuweilian.
Kong Wange, however, said calmly, "The problem lies in its beauty."
Unfazed by Qin Feng's scrutinizing gaze, she calmly stated, "You see the 'Xuwei Lotus' on the stage, shimmering with delicate pearlescent light on its veins under the blue lights. It is indeed beautiful, but Mr. Qin, you may not know that the true 'Xuwei Lotus' does not contain phosphorus elements in its veins that produce such pearlescent light. Therefore, your 'Xuwei Lotus,' though beautiful, is unfortunately not a true 'Xuwei Lotus,' but rather a 'Blue Night Lotus' that is extremely similar to the 'Xuwei Lotus.'"
Qin Feng looked at Kong Wange thoughtfully: "So, Miss Kong has seen the real Xuwei Lotus?"
Kong Wange shook her head: "The lotus of the Xuwei is precious and rare. I have never seen it before. I just memorized the information about it when I looked up related ancient books."
"So, you knew it was fake from the very first time you saw it?"
"No, I only noticed the clues after looking at it for a while. This Blue Night Lotus comes from abroad and is not a native species. If I hadn't had the chance to see it abroad, I probably would have had a hard time distinguishing the real from the fake."
Qin Feng glanced at her: "Miss Kong seems quite confident in her judgment."
"There's no way around it, it just happens to be a perfect match for my major."
"I've had this lotus examined by experts, so it shouldn't be wrong," Qin Feng pondered.
Just then, Shen Li suddenly handed his phone to him and said urgently, "Brother Feng, the people downstairs just told me that Lao Xu, who is in charge of the auction, is missing, and we can't contact any of his family members either."
Qin Feng paused slightly, then turned to look at Kong Wange: "It seems Miss Kong was right, the lotus on this stage is indeed fake."
Kong Wange understood what he meant and frowned slightly: "The Xuweilian was switched?"
"Highly likely." Qin Feng immediately ordered, "Immediately launch a full-scale search for Lao Xu's whereabouts. He can't have gone far in such a short time. Also, since the auctioned items are fake, temporarily suspend the auction."
"Please wait, Master Qin."
Qin Feng turned to ask, "Is there anything else, Miss Kong?"
Kong Wange smiled and said, "Logically speaking, this is Mr. Qin's family matter, and I shouldn't interfere. But I wonder if Mr. Qin has considered that if the auction is stopped, it will be equivalent to indirectly telling everyone that there is a problem with the auction items. In this way, the reputation that Shadow Gate has built up over the years will inevitably be affected, and it will be difficult for Mr. Qin to hold similar events in the future."
“Miss Kong, you must have a better way,” Qin Feng asked, his eyes burning with interest.
Kong Wange curled her lips and said, "I'll take responsibility for today's bid. I'm willing to bid on behalf of the Wen family to buy this fake Xuwei Lotus. When Master Qin finds the real Xuwei Lotus, he can compensate me. In this way, our Wen family gets what we want, other guests can avoid being deceived, and the auction house avoids reputational damage. It's a win-win-win situation, isn't it better?"
Startled, Wen Yue immediately tugged at Kong Wange's sleeve, but Kong Wange gave Wen Yue a look that said, "Take it easy."
Qin Feng scrutinized her and asked, "Miss Kong, are you here on behalf of the Wen family to buy this Xuwei Lotus?"
"That's right. The Wen family is a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners. When they encounter such a rare and valuable medicine, they will naturally spare no expense to buy it and collect it."
"I see." Qin Feng asked with interest, "Then Miss Kong, aren't you afraid that I won't be able to win back Xu Weilian, and that all my efforts will be in vain?"
Kong Wange said confidently, "I believe in Master Qin's abilities. Even if we really can't get it back, it's still worth it to make Master Qin owe the Wen family a favor. I hope Master Qin will seriously consider my proposal."
Qin Feng pondered for a moment and said, "Alright, let's do as Miss Kong says. Cat, don't make a fuss about this. Notify the core brothers of the Shadow Gate to mobilize all of them to capture Old Xu and find Xu Weilian. We must not let Miss Kong's good intentions go to waste."
"Yes, Brother Feng, I'll take care of it right away." Shen Li quickly ran out.
While the group was talking, the price of *Xuweilian* had already been driven up to over five million.
As prices rose, some weaker buyers were eliminated, including Wen Luoyun, leaving only four or five people still competing. These people were mostly wealthy individuals or big names in the traditional Chinese medicine industry.
"Five million one time."
"Five million one hundred thousand twice."
Just as the auctioneer was about to call for the third time, Kong Wange raised her paddle—seven million!
This move caused an uproar.
After all, the bidding for the lotus root was nearing its end, and such a significant price increase was quite rare.
Sure enough, two more people immediately withdrew from the competition.
Only Wen Luoyun raised the sign again without hesitation—seven million and one yuan.
This bizarre move drew widespread dissatisfaction.
"Adding a dollar each time? Isn't that cheating?"
"Are you deliberately trying to disgust people?"
"That's really despicable. Future auctions should have a minimum bid increment!"
Wen Yue's eyes were also red with anger: "Sister Wan Ge, what should we do?"
Kong Wange held her hand and comforted her, "Don't worry, we're not short of money."
After saying that, she wrote fourteen million on the sign and held it up.
Wen Luoyun likes to add things one by one, but she's not going to do that. She's going all in with double the bet!
When the price was announced, everyone was stunned.
"This is insane, absolutely insane." Immediately, two more people shook their heads and withdrew from the competition, leaving only Wen Luoyun on the field.
"Alright, this young lady has bid fourteen million! Any higher bids?" the auctioneer asked routinely.
Wen Luoyun stared blankly at the sign that Kong Wange was holding up.
Fourteen million is not a small amount for her; she has only saved a little over eight million in pocket money over the years.
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