Chapter 31: Risky Opportunity Pt. 2
Seeing the beautiful woman in white standing in the middle of the stage, Ye Yin quietly sighed. What a stunning woman, gentle, yet cold.
Her brows were not touched up with make up, furrowed instead. She had typical phoenix eyes, charming, yet her gaze was indifferent. Her lips were rouge red, yet closed tightly, a thin line.
Her silky hair curled naturally, only a jade hairpin holding her hair in place. Wearing white, she gave off the air of a deity, yet appeared even more gentle, like a pure white lotus flower.
One would expect her to be in her best attire tonight, yet she wore a plain white dress without any make up. She stood there without a word, yet this aroused many men"s sense of protection.
It could be said her appearance was a success. Whether deliberate or unintentional, her appearance had a stunning effect. All men had their eyes glued to her.
Ye Yin also watched her without blinking, thinking to himself, tonight, men would go crazy for her!
He leaned back, adjusting his position. Ye Yin slowly opened his eyes. "Dong Chen, you will be responsible next. You must obtain it!"
"Who Rouge will spend her first night with will depend on whomever the six aforementioned gentlemen bid the highest. Now, the auction will begin starting at the prince of two thousand silver!"
Two thousand?! The sound of drawn breath could be heard in the main hall, evidently shocked by this starting price. Just as Hua Zixiang finished speaking, the person in room one yelled, "Five thousand silver!"
Immediately doubling the price, Qi Chengfeng sure was imposing! Although West Zhi officials currently fared somewhat better than East Zhi officials, the government was an empty frame. If it were not for the fact that the treasury was empty, with the West Zhi emperor"s temperament, he would not have been so courteous to merchants.
Most of the silver in West Zhi was in the hands of local landowners, but these people were all miserly. They were not willing to contribute money to the nation, instead, acting as if they were poor. This was why West Zhi was overall not poor, but West Zhi government officials were relatively poor. In such a tense financial situation, where did Qi Chengfeng obtain this money?
"Ten thousand!"
Hearing from Chu Feiye"s tone that he was not to be outdone, Ye Yin slowly smiled, but the smile quickly disappeared. How sorrowful a woman being objectified and sold should feel!
Qi Chengfeng and Chu Feiye continued in to be in a deadlock. Ye Yin suddenly felt something was strange. How come those other three people still had not made any moves? Was their plan was the same as his, making a bid at the last minute? If that was true… If they wanted to capture Rouge"s attention, then he would have to straightforwardly lure them out.
Ye Yin"s eyes opened abruptly. "Dong Chen, start bidding, only increasing the price by one silver each time!"
Because Ye Yin started to partic.i.p.ate, the crowds below started to whisper. They were wondering who was reckless enough to meddle with the fight between two county lords, daring to annoy the county lords by only increasing the price by one silver each time!
As the bidding continued, the crowd gradually started to increase in volume while the voices of the people in rooms one and two gradually increased in constrained anger. Ye Yin glanced down at the motionless Rouge, a sorrowful emotion rising in his heart. What had she experienced that she was so numb, so apathetic? Her expression had not changed from start to finish, not sad nor happy, very dull, as if she were just living to watch other people"s lives instead of living her own. Her eyes were dead, without any emotion. Her circ.u.mstances forced her to hide her emotions deep within!
With a long sigh, Ye Yin decided to end the farce. With a voice that was just loud enough to be heard, Ye Yin spoke. "Fifty thousand!"
Fifty thousand? The din grew twofold. A prost.i.tute"s first night for fifty thousand silvers? Was this person insane? The price had suddenly jumped from thirty thousand to fifty thousand, leaving Qi Chengfeng and Chu Feiye flabbergasted. They only had around forty thousand silver on hand! They thought they had already made arrangements of pressuring others so that their biggest opponent would be each other, but… They had miscalculated!
Without any consultation, the two enemies both shot a glare at whoever was in room six simultaneous. If looks could kill, Ye Yin would have been murdered on the spot.
No one said a word. It seemed fifty thousand was the highest. Ye Yin left the private room, appearing before everyone. As long as there were no other bids, Ye Yin could simply walk away with Rouge.
The young man draped in white wore a faint smile. He strode down the stairs slowly. His looks were comparable to Rouge"s, only that Rouge"s appearance befitted that of a young lady whereas the young man had an androgynous face.
The young man was more beautiful than women, but he did not have the feminine aura of a young lady. He carried himself with grace, giving off a sense of grandeur. His every movement was like that of an immortal"s. Suddenly, everyone could imagine the young man standing next to Rouge. What a match made in heaven!
"Wait!"
A voice abruptly destroyed everyone"s daydream. Ye Yin also halted. He was already downstairs, only a few steps away from Rouge."
"Fifty thousand and one! Fifty thousand and one gold for the young Lady Rouge!" An indifferent voice just loud enough to be heard came from room nine.
It seemed quite deliberate, only increasing in one increment just as Ye Yin had done so before. However, this completely destroyed Ye Yin"s plan. The difference between gold and silver was like heaven and earth. Ye Yin had no way of competing!
How do you feel when you are only a step away from you goal but then suddenly pulled back?
Ye Yin closed his eyes, then opened them. His fist was clenched tightly, unseen in his sleeve.
Ye Yin"s spa.r.s.e brows furrowed. Would he have to borrow money from Nangong Piaoran? But how? A flash of worry flitted across his eyes. Rouge had the same flash of worry. Were she and this young man going to be separated after only such a brief encounter?
Everyone fell silent, shocked by the price of fifty thousand gold. Only Madam Hua Zixiang managed to stutter out, "Uh… Uh… young master Du, if you want Rouge, uh…" Hesitating, Hua Zixiang did not finish her words. She secretly glanced at Rouge.
"What, does Madam Rouge think fifty thousand gold is not enough? Madam Hua, greed is not a virtue!"
This voice was not the same as the one that had just called out fifty thousand. It sounded low and m.u.f.fled, as if they were purposefully disguising their voice.
He sounded cheerful, however, his words seemed to contain a threat.
The instant Ye Yin heard this voice, he paused. His eyes glinted with delight as he looked towards room nine, but quickly, he had a bitter smile. Was this person here to cause trouble for him?
"Madam Hua, why are you silent? You don"t want these fifty thousand gold?"
Hearing this seemingly indifferent yet completely threatening voice, Madam Hua wanted to cry, but she could only mumble, "No, it"s…"
How could she not want fifty thousand gold? However, she did not have full authority, so she could not give an answer. Rouge was not one of Intoxicated Dream"s girls in the first place. She had never signed a contract. They were only cooperating!
Madam Hua really wanted those fifty thousand gold, but was unable to. All she could do was constantly signal to Rouge with her eyes, hoping she would nod her head, but Rouge maintained her gaze elsewhere. Only after a while did Rouge nod. Madam Hua was ecstatic. Although the fifty thousand gold was not hers, she would get a small portion, which was already a lot of money.
Having received Rouge"s permission, Madam Hua raised her voice. "Okay. Young master Du, you can have Rouge tonight. Although Rouge was born from a brothel, she herself is pure. I hope young master Du takes care of her."
"Is that so." A low laugh came from upstairs. "I"m not sure if I would take care of her, but I know my brother over there would treat her very well. Little Qi, aren"t I right?"
Ye Yin smiled helplessly. He had wanted an impressionable appearance to attract Qi Chengfeng and Chu Feiye"s notice, but he did not plan on attracting so much attention!
He looked up at the average looking, yet spirited man standing outside room nine. "Brother Du, what are you here for?"
"Haha, Little Qi, you have set your heart on Lady Rouge. As your brother, how could I not help you? Do you dislike it?" Du Luo took a few steps forward, leaning on the railing of the second floor, chuckling.
Du Luo"s average face lit up with liveliness, yet his pair of ebony black, penetrating eyes were completely without emotion. Seeing Du Luo stare at him unflinchingly, Ye Yin felt a few gooseb.u.mps. It seems he was angry at him, angry that he hadn"t told him he had faked his death. But now was not the time to explain; it was time to get down to business.
"Then brother Du, I"ll be whisking Rouge away now!" Ye Yin looked away, temporarily ignoring Du Luo"s profound gaze. He strode towards Rouge. Although he appeared to be smiling, his heart was in dark turmoil. Hopefully one else would appear and disrupt, otherwise…
The heaven moves in ways that mankind does not always understand or expect. Before Ye Yin even touched Rouge, there came another voice from the top floor.
"Wait!"
The same phrase again? Ye Yin humphed, his hand paused in mid air.
Had he insulted the heavens in some way today? Why was it that someone always disrupted at the crucial moment?