C59 Bastard

"Is he worried about me? Or is he just trying to make my life miserable?" Su Hu scoffed. Just as he was about to jump down, a strip of white silk suddenly shot out from Meiniang's sleeve, binding him to the chair in an instant. He didn't even have a chance to react.

"I can't disobey the Lord's orders. You'd better eat up," Meiniang said, plucking a grape and walking over with delicate steps. She forcefully pushed the grape into Su Hu's mouth. "You could have easily taken first place. Why settle for fourth?"

"Sometimes it's better to keep a low profile. Haven't you heard that the tallest tree catches the wind?" Su Hu mumbled as he chewed the grape. This philosophy had kept him alive so far.

"I thought maybe you had a thing for Feng Tiange," Meiniang teased with a knowing smile.

Su Hu's mouth twitched. "If you can't use idioms correctly, just don't use them..."

"Tomorrow at the Meixi Pavilion, who do you think we should back?" Meiniang asked, ignoring Su Hu's existential crisis as she continued to feed him grapes.

"No-south House," Su Hu replied without hesitation.

Meiniang paused, surprised. "Why?"

From every angle, the Azure Jade Sect seemed more powerful.

"Even if it doesn't concern me directly, I can't ignore the bigger picture. Beiming Yuan's actions towards Dugu Yan were despicable. I don't want to associate with someone like that," Su Hu said, his expression unusually serious.

The night was deep, and a chilly breeze swept through, biting to the bone. In the Silk Garden, Tiange stared at the paper on the desk, where only one name remained: Su Hu.

The new recruits she had circled before all had some traceable background, except for Su Hu. All she knew was that he came from the south; everything else was a mystery.

Just then, Crescent walked in with a bowl of ginseng porridge. "Su Hu? Is he someone special? You've been looking at his name for a while now..."

"Not particularly," Tiange replied, folding the paper. "Any news from the house today?"

"The prince visited, supposedly bringing supplements for the second young lady. But it's strange; she's been sick for days, and even after seeing four or five doctors, she's not better," Crescent said, frowning. "Makes you wonder if she's faking it."

"Did the old lady visit her?" Tiange asked, suspecting the same. Crescent nodded.

"She went yesterday. I thought the old lady wouldn't care for the second young lady anymore, but she still dotes on her!" Tiange just smiled, knowing the old lady's affection was truly for Feng Yan.

"Oh, and I heard from Cuier that the second young master will return in about two weeks. The old lady has been whispering with Nanny Zhou about how to get him into the marquis's military camp!" Crescent puffed her cheeks. "It's completely unfair; even the eldest young master never had such treatment."

Feng Tiange just smiled and told Yueya to go rest. It seemed like getting Xie Jin out of his position at the Ministry of War needed to happen quickly. Otherwise, Feng Yan might have to have a word with Xie Jin, and with Beiming Yuan giving a little push, who knows, it might just work out.

The night passed without incident.

The next day, the Fish Market, which had been quiet for a while, suddenly buzzed with activity. Doing business in the Fish Market required having the right connections, and the auction platform was where those connections were determined. For instance, the newly opened Meixi Workshop needed to pass this stage to establish itself for the long haul. The principle was simple: the highest bidder wins. Whoever could pay the most for a ten percent stake in Meixi Workshop would become its backer.

In the main hall of the No-south House, Lyi Xiaotian sat in the main seat, his expression serious, occasionally glancing at the door.

“Dad, it’s almost time. If you don’t go now, it’ll be considered a forfeit!” Lyi Jing, standing to the side, was practically jumping with anxiety.

Lyi Xiaotian was well aware of the consequences; he was waiting. The message had been sent out three days ago, and by now, there should have been instructions from above on whether to compete for Meixi Workshop and to what extent.

“Dad…”

“Let’s go.” Lyi Xiaotian suddenly stood and headed for the door.

Lyi Jing was momentarily stunned, then quickly followed. “Dad, are we competing or not?”

“The usual way,” Lyi Xiaotian replied in a deep voice, his dark eyes as deep as a pool.

At that moment, in the middle of the Fish Market, Meiniang, dressed in a dazzling multicolored gown, stepped onto the auction platform. Her alluring presence immediately drew gasps from the crowd below.

Especially with Meiniang's colorful dress being somewhat revealing, her bare, alabaster arms and the glimpse of her delicate collarbone sparked the imagination.

Female proprietors in the market were rare, and someone as stunning as Meiniang was even more so.

In the crowd, Huang Qing rubbed his hands together, swallowing hard several times.

"Boss, this lady proprietor is quite the looker! Our Azure Jade Sect has everything, except a sister-in-law!"

"Exactly, boss, just look at that face and that figure, wow..."

Just then, a skinny henchman ran up to Huang Qing, "Boss, Lyi Xiaotian is here."

Huang Qing turned at the sound, just in time to see Lyi Xiaotian arriving with his son at the auction platform.

There were dozens of gangs in the market, each with the right to bid from the floor, so any gang appearing on the platform wasn’t surprising.

But the No-south House was different. Having been abandoned yet not disappearing, Lyi Xiaotian's appearance was bound to draw more attention.

Everyone was curious about the powerful figure who dared to take over the No-south House.

On stage, Meiniang seemed to glance at Lyi Xiaotian unintentionally, then turned to the crowd with a charming smile, full of allure, "It's my first time at the market, and I'm honored by the presence of such distinguished guests. You all know the auction rules better than I do, so let's begin."

The auctioneer picked up the gavel and struck the winning drum, signaling the start of the bidding.

"Five thousand dollars!"

The first bid is always from the underdog, often met with ridicule. This time, it was from the Yi Yue Hall, with its leader, Sai Jinhua, being quite the eccentric character. Besides leading Yi Yue Hall, Sai Jinhua was also known as the madam of the Golden Jade Tower, a fact everyone was aware of. As for who Yi Yue Hall's backer in the government was, nobody cared enough to investigate.

The crowd erupted in laughter, and Sai Jinhua was getting anxious. "What's so funny? I'm not interested in that shabby tin shop. What I'm interested in is the beauty on stage. Sweetheart, if you're willing, I'll offer ten thousand dollars to bring you to the Golden Jade Tower. How about it?"

"One hundred thousand dollars!" No one wanted to hear Sai Jinhua's chatter. Any savvy group knew that a shop dealing with minerals, even if it didn't own a mine, certainly had some under-the-table connections.

"Three hundred thousand dollars!"

"Five hundred thousand dollars!"

As the bidding began, the price for the Mei Xi Workshop soared, reaching an astonishing five million dollars in no time. Yet, the Azure Jade Sect and the No-south House remained silent.

"Five million dollars, going once, five million dollars, going twice..." The auctioneer raised the gavel and called out loudly.

In the audience, Huang Qing finally couldn't resist and shouted, "Seven million dollars!"

According to tradition, the seven million taels belong to the national treasury, which clearly shows the close ties between the Fish Market and the government.

After Huang Qing made his bid, the crowd fell silent.

Without knowing the full details, no one was willing to take a big gamble, as there was no guarantee that their investment would pay off.

"Ten million taels," Lyi Xiaotian announced confidently after Huang Qing's bid.