Feng Lingze listened to his younger sister’s words and said with a beaming smile, “Little sister, then I’ll go ahead and bid freely.”
Feng Jinyue nodded, giving a very precise reply, “Mm, just bid. No matter how much it exceeds Second Brother’s expectations, I’ll cover the difference for you.”
“Good, good, good.” Feng Lingze responded repeatedly. Of course, he knew his limits and wouldn’t truly act recklessly.
Although this kind of mundane auction held little significance for Feng Jinyue, for these people, the items put up for auction here were all valuable.
Come to think of it, if the Wound-healing Pills and Disease-expelling Pills she had given to Xu Fu to sell at the All Heavens Commerce Guild’s Jiangnan headquarters were instead put up for auction here, they might fetch even higher profits.
Before long, the first five auction items were sold one after another, and the sixth item soon made its appearance.
Feng Jinyue looked over as the auctioneer carefully displayed the item. This Golden Feather Fan was indeed a masterpiece. Whether in its fan form or when triggered to transform into a sword, the craftsmanship had been perfected to the extreme on this piece.
Feng Lingze, noticing his younger sister examining the Golden Feather Fan, remarked from the side, “Little sister, what do you think?”
“Mm, very good. Second Brother’s taste has always been excellent. The starting bid of three thousand taels of silver for this item seems a bit low.”
“The starting bid is just the initial price set by the Drunken Immortal Pavilion. Items that make it to this auction always end up selling for far more than their starting price.”
“That’s true.”
At that moment, the auctioneer on stage announced loudly, “This Golden Feather Fan is a masterpiece by Master Gongshu, the renowned artifact smith from the capital. As you all can see, the starting bid is three thousand taels of silver, with each increment no less than one thousand taels. The auction begins now!”
“Three thousand taels.”
“Four thousand taels.”
“Five thousand taels…”
In the blink of an eye, the bid had reached “fifteen thousand taels.”
Feng Jinyue turned to her second brother and said, “Looking at this momentum, the price you anticipated is about to be broken.”
“My estimate was based solely on the item itself. This Golden Feather Fan is a masterpiece by Master Gongshu. Usually, artifacts crafted by Master Gongshu are hard to come by. With this piece appearing at the auction, it’s only natural that people are competing fiercely for it.”
Feng Lingze said calmly, “There’s bound to be a premium for a master’s work, but once it reaches thirty thousand taels, bidders will think twice. Those who can attend the Drunken Immortal Pavilion’s auction are all wealthy, but none are so rich as to rival a nation or spend money like water. Although our family isn’t short on funds, Father and Mother strongly disapprove of reckless extravagance.”
“Twenty-five thousand taels…”
“Twenty-seven thousand taels…”
Feng Jinyue said leisurely, “The Golden Feather Fan will definitely be Second Brother’s. Just keep bidding.”
“Thirty thousand taels!” This was Feng Lingze’s first bid. Truthfully, he wasn’t confident about winning the item, but his younger sister’s calm demeanor made it seem as though success was assured.
“Thirty-two thousand taels…”
Feng Lingze raised the bid again, reaching “thirty-six thousand taels.”
Originally, two others were still bidding, but at this point, they did not increase their offers.
The auctioneer on stage called out loudly, “Thirty-six thousand taels for the first time, thirty-six…”
“Forty thousand taels!” A voice interrupted the auctioneer, pushing the bid directly to forty thousand.
“Fifty thousand taels!” The person who had just bid forty thousand taels raised the price again, sneering coldly, “If you can’t afford to bid higher, just give up. Stop dragging it out.”
As these words were spoken, murmurs of discussion spread through the hall.
“From what I saw earlier, it was the Second Young Master Feng who was bidding. Who is this person?”
“So young, clearly some young master from a wealthy family.”
“No matter which family’s young master he is, this is Dongling City. Not just Dongling City, but throughout Tianquan, no one dares to look down on the Feng family.”
“Exactly. Besides, this Golden Feather Fan, being a masterpiece and a fine item, is already overpriced at over thirty thousand taels. It’s reasonable for Second Young Master Feng to weigh his options. Auctions aren’t like fixed-price goods sold outside.”
“That person is sitting in a seat reserved for those holding the Golden Guest Token. The Feng family hasn’t even spoken yet, so we should say less.”
Feng Lingze said softly, “Little sister, fifty thousand taels is far beyond the value of this item. Perhaps…”
“But second brother likes it. Since you like it, there’s no need to hesitate. What matters most is liking it. Our family isn’t short of money anyway. If father and mother scold us for being extravagant, just say it was my idea. They definitely won’t dare say much to me.”
“You… This was originally what I wanted. If father and mother reprimand us, second brother can’t bear to let you take the blame.”
The auctioneer’s voice echoed through the hall: “Fifty thousand taels for the first time, fifty thousand taels for the second time…”
Feng Jin Yue casually raised the bidding paddle from her second brother’s hand and said nonchalantly, “This kind of incremental bidding is quite slow. Let’s make it ten thousand taels… in gold.”
“Didn’t they just bid fifty thousand taels? Why is Miss Feng bidding ten thousand again… What? Gold?”
“Ten thousand taels of gold would be equivalent to a hundred thousand taels of silver! Miss Feng’s… her bid has doubled the price.”
“Such extravagance, throwing away ten thousand gold at once – truly the Feng family style.”
Feng Jin Yue said unhurriedly, “Bidding should be done like this – name your price outright to save trouble.”
Beside the young man sitting nearby, a middle-aged man lowered his voice and said, “Master, forget it. The Golden Feather Fan is a good item, but it’s not worth a hundred thousand. You came to Dongling City on business, and those two are the young master and young lady of the Feng family. There’s no need to compete with the Feng family over an auction item.”
The young man glared angrily at Feng Jin Yue, but quickly averted his gaze and didn’t bid again.
Finally, the Golden Feather Fan was won by Feng Jin Yue’s bid of ten thousand taels of gold.
Feng Lingze came back to his senses, “Little sister, you…”
Feng Jin Yue stuffed a storage note worth ten thousand taels of gold into her second brother’s hand.
“This is a storage note from the All Heavens Bank under the All Heavens Commerce Guild.”
“When second brother said you wanted to attend the auction, I had Qian Zhu specially bring it when we went out. It just happened to come in handy. If second brother needs more, I have more here.” As she spoke, Feng Jin Yue pulled several identical storage notes from her sleeve.
“So when little sister said earlier to just bid and you’d cover any excess, you were serious.” Feng Lingze was momentarily stunned – the extent of his little sister’s “treasury” far exceeded his imagination.
“Mm, I wouldn’t lie to second brother.”
Feng Lingze asked with some concern, “When did little sister get so much savings? I didn’t even know.”
Feng Jin Yue said, “Second brother got the Golden Feather Fan you wanted. Why don’t we leave first? I can answer any questions second brother has, but let’s not talk about it here, alright?”
“Alright.” Feng Lingze agreed, then added, “Little sister, the Drunken Immortal Pavilion’s auction this time has twelve lots. The final closing item hasn’t been announced – I heard it’s a peculiar iron ore. Would you like to stay and see it, little sister?”
“Peculiar iron ore?” Feng Jin Yue pondered – could it be Iron essence?
Feng Lingze said, “Yes, but without seeing it, it’s hard to say what makes it peculiar. If you don’t want to see it, little sister, we can leave now without any problem.”
“Since that’s the case, there’s no need to rush. Second brother, let’s stay and take a look.”
“Very well.”