Joy of Life: Starting by clinging to the eldest princess's coattails!

Chapter 83 Emperor Qing: In the eyes of the world, am I not even as good as Ye Qingmei?

Inside Chang Le Palace, it was so quiet that you could hear the faint crackling of the candlelight.

Hong Sixiang bowed deeply, his voice very low:

"Your Majesty, Dean Chen has already sent out all the people, but Lord Fan's son... is still not found."

Emperor Qing closed his eyes and leaned back on the soft couch.

He was covered with a thin blanket, and his face appeared somewhat uncertain in the candlelight.

After a few breaths, he slowly opened his eyes, his gaze indifferent.

"Tell Qin Ye," Emperor Qing began, his voice strangely amiable, "that the Kyoto Garrison should do their utmost to find the child. Try your best... to find him."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Hong Sixiang replied. "There is one more thing... Lady Zhou, the wife of Lord Fan, is pregnant. But after what happened last night, her condition does not seem to be very good."

Emperor Qing remained silent for a while.

"Sigh..." He sighed softly, "In the end, innocent people were hurt."

"Fan Jian is, after all, my childhood friend. Let the imperial physicians take a look at him." He waved his hand. "Let fate decide."

"This old servant understands." Hong Sixiang bowed.

Just as he was about to leave, Emperor Qing's voice rang out again:

"Have you found out why Qingyutang and the three major workshops joined Li Yunrui's faction?"

Hong Sixiang bent down even lower:

"This old servant has been to the Censorate several times. Director Chen said... they're still investigating."

Emperor Qing didn't say anything more, he just waved his hand.

Hong Sixiang bowed and slowly withdrew from the hall.

The door closed gently.

Emperor Qing sat alone on the soft couch, the candlelight casting flickering shadows on his face.

He gazed wistfully at the carvings on the roof of the palace.

Since Ye Qingmei died...

The Overwatch Council doesn't seem to be working very well anymore.

Li Yunrui's side has also been rather restless lately.

It seems he needs to secretly build another intelligence organization.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Summer of the fourth year of the Qingli reign, June 3rd.

The Juxian Villa in the east of the city was unusually lively.

A long line of carriages and horses stretched out in front of the gate, with people in all sorts of clothes coming and going, speaking in accents from all over the country.

A raised platform had been erected in the courtyard, with dozens of chairs placed below, all of which were already occupied.

Ye Songnian stood on the stage, holding a small wooden mallet in his hand, with a smile on his face.

"Gentlemen," he said in a loud voice, "the rules are clear to everyone. The cost of the goods will be shared by Qingyutang and its partners, and 60% of the profits will go to Qingyutang... This is a fixed rule."

"Based on this, whoever pays the most money will win the sales rights."

"Now, let's begin!"

The mallet tapped lightly on the table.

……

The auction went smoothly.

It wasn't even noon yet, and most of the photos had already been taken.

The sales rights within Qingguo were secured by four families: Liu, Guo, Cui, and Su. This was all secretly arranged by Her Highness the Eldest Princess.

The city of Dongyi fell to the royal family.

The other smaller countries also each had their own rulers.

Now, it's the Northern Qi's turn.

Below the stage, several groups of people from the Northern Qi side were seated.

Wei Cong sat in the front seat, dressed in a scholar's robe, his expression calm. Beside him sat Wei An, whose face was still a little pale.

A few chairs away, Shen Zhong, dressed in a silk robe commonly seen in Northern Qi, wore a polite smile, but his eyes were shrewd.

Further back were the families of Pei, Cheng, Zhao, and Chen, who were talking to each other in hushed tones.

"The last one, Northern Qi," Ye Songnian announced loudly, "Starting bid is also 100,000 taels... Begin!"

"110,000!"

"120,000!"

The four families of Pei, Cheng, Zhao, and Chen made their move very quickly.

Wei Cong did not move.

Shen Zhong didn't move either.

Both of them sat firmly, as if watching a play.

Wei Cong was confident.

He had already secretly reached an agreement with Wu Feng: three million taels, with an 80% profit margin; the auction would just be a formality.

The same goes for Shen Zhong.

He has investigated over the past two days and found that among the families in Northern Qi, only the royal family and the Wei family could come up with more than 1.5 million taels of silver, excluding the cost of goods.

He has the authority to manage two million taels of silver.

He didn't believe the Wei family would give up more than that amount.

The price quickly reached 800,000 taels.

The voices of the four families gradually faded away.

At this moment, Wei Cong finally raised his sign.

"Eight hundred and fifty thousand taels." His voice wasn't loud, but it was clear.

The Pei family gritted their teeth: "Nine hundred thousand!"

Wei Cong immediately raised the price: "One million."

At this point, the Pei, Cheng, Zhao, and Chen families all fell silent.

Ye Songnian began the countdown: "One million taels from the Wei family! Any bids higher?...One million once...One million twice..."

"One million one hundred thousand."

Shen Zhong raised the sign.

Wei Cong looked over, and their eyes met.

Shen Zhong still had a smile on his face.

"One million two hundred thousand," Wei Cong said.

"One million three hundred thousand."

"One million four hundred thousand."

"One million five hundred thousand."

The two of them talked back and forth, and the price kept rising.

The audience watched with bated breath.

Until Shen Zhong shouted, "Two million taels!"

Wei Cong looked shocked and suddenly turned to Shen Zhong.

Two million taels?

Is the Zhan family giving up?

Ye Songnian started counting down again: "Two million taels once... two million taels twice..."

Wei Cong suddenly gritted his teeth and fiercely raised his sign: "Two million two hundred thousand!"

The entire audience erupted in uproar.

Shen Zhong's eyes widened, and he almost dropped the sign in his hand.

Has the Wei family gone mad?!

Wei Cong sat there, feigning an indignant expression of being pushed to the limit.

Only he himself knew that he would ultimately have to pay three million taels of silver. But his Wei family would get 80% of the profits, which was unique!

Shen Zhong did not raise the sign again.

He only has authority over two million, that's too much.

He couldn't understand how the Wei family could possibly break even on 2.2 million taels of silver.

Or did the Wei family really reach some kind of agreement with Wu Feng that he was unaware of?

"Two million two hundred thousand taels once... twice... three times!"

The gavel fell.

"make a deal!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

After the auction, it's time to sign the contract.

Qingyutang prepared several separate rooms, and families went in one by one to sign in.

When it was Wei Cong's turn, Ye Songnian took out the contract he had prepared in advance.

Wei Cong examined it carefully.

The terms are pretty much the same as other companies', the only difference being the profit sharing.

Qingyutang only takes 20%, while the Wei family takes 80%.

But there's one last point:

"If the Wei family is unable to maintain its sales channels in Northern Qi, Qingyutang has the right to unilaterally terminate the contract."

Wei Cong smiled and didn't seem to care.

The Wei family has been rooted in the north for hundreds of years, with connections throughout the government and the country.

Who would dare to touch the Wei family?

He picked up the pen and signed his name deftly.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

evening.

Chang Le Palace.

Emperor Qing leaned back on the soft couch, holding the newly delivered message in his hand.

Eunuch Hou stood respectfully to the side, not daring to utter a sound.

Emperor Qing read it very slowly.

He showed no expression when he saw the Wei family bid 2.2 million taels for the sales rights to Northern Qi.

Finally, he gently placed the paper on the table.

The movements were very gentle.

But Eunuch Hou felt that the air in the hall had suddenly become heavier.

Emperor Qing sat there, motionless.

The candlelight flickered on his face, making his eyes appear unfathomable.

In his view, giving the sales rights of the three major workshops to other countries is a way of telling the world.

After Ye Qingmei's death, the Qing Kingdom fell into decline.

He couldn't even protect the businesses of the three major workshops.

In the eyes of the world, he, the emperor of Qing Kingdom, was actually not as good as Ye Qingmei?

He couldn't tolerate this!

"Have Li Yunrui come over here."

"Yes, Your Majesty," replied Eunuch Hou.