Auction Begins

Just as Zheng Qian was exchanging all his valuables for silver notes, news of the death of Tongyang County Magistrate Fang Yujie had already reached Ziyang City and spread throughout the city at an extremely rapid pace.

If it were just an ordinary county magistrate, it naturally wouldn't have spread so widely.

But Fang Yujie was clearly not in that category; he was the son-in-law of the Commandery Governor, and the Commandery Governor's daughter had died with him.

In this Xishan Commandery, the Commandery Governor was the law.

Now, someone had actually stabbed this law in the back, which naturally caused a huge sensation.

Unfortunately, two days had passed, and no one knew who the murderer was.

Zheng Qian naturally heard the wildly spreading news, but he didn't care.

Not to mention that no one knew he was the one who did it, even if they did, they wouldn't be able to find him in a short time.

Moreover, with his strength, what if they did find him? They simply couldn't hold him.

Time is the most ruthless thing in the world; no one can make it stop.

Before he knew it, five days had passed in a flash.

During these five days, Zheng Qian only had one thing to do each day: eat, drink, have fun, and enjoy life.

However, the city had long been in chaos. First, the Li Family's marriage with the Commandery Governor, which was originally scheduled for half a month later, was postponed.

Then, all the city gates were under martial law, and everyone entering and leaving the city was strictly checked.

Even more city guards, family private soldiers, and Commandery Governor's soldiers were dispatched everywhere, frantically searching the world for the murderer.

Although these people were like headless flies without any target, there was still some effect.

In just five days, they had caught more than a dozen wanted criminals with murder cases on their hands.

Among them, there were even two experts who had reached the Innate Realm, and they were actually caught.

It must be said that Commandery Governor Mu Tingzhou had really gone all out this time.

Unfortunately, none of these people were the real murderer.

And now, five days had passed, and the auction had officially begun.

"Zhao Family Auction House? It's really grand..."

In front of a three-story high, ring-shaped building covering an area of more than ten acres, Zheng Qian looked at the large characters above the gate and muttered to himself.

This place was where the four great families were about to hold the auction.

Judging from its name, it should belong to the Zhao Family, one of the four great families.

Although the entire auction house only had three floors, each floor was more than five meters high, and the entire building was made of blue bricks and green tiles, with carved beams and painted rafters, making it clear that it was not a place that ordinary people could afford to go to.

In fact, this was indeed the case. To enter the auction house, an invitation was required.

And the method to obtain an invitation was very simple: deposit one thousand taels of silver.

Although that one thousand taels could be retrieved with the invitation after the auction, it was still one thousand taels of silver.

Ordinary people were afraid that they would not be able to earn that much money in their entire lives, let alone use it to exchange for an invitation.

Moreover, this was just the most ordinary Bronze Invitation, which only allowed the holder to sit in the hall on the first floor.

Above that, there was the Silver Invitation, which allowed entry into the boxes on the second floor, and the Gold Invitation, which allowed entry into the boxes on the third floor.

The Silver Invitation required a deposit of ten thousand taels of silver to obtain, while the Gold Invitation did not rely on money; it also required sufficient strength and status, and it was not sold to the public, but was actively sent by the organizer.

Zheng Qian didn't want to expose himself too much, so he just exchanged one thousand taels of silver for the most ordinary Bronze Invitation.

Soon, holding the invitation, he entered the auction house's No. 1 auction hall very smoothly, and under the guidance of the attendant, he came to a seat with the same number as his invitation--C35.

According to the attendant, there were a total of five auction halls in the entire auction house, and the No. 1 auction hall where he was now was the largest.

The remaining No. 2 and No. 3 auction halls were the same size, about half the size of the No. 1 auction hall.

The No. 4 and No. 5 auction halls were only about a quarter of the size of the No. 1 auction hall.

In addition, all the seats in all the auction halls were divided into three levels: 'A', 'B', and 'C'.

Among them, all the seats in the hall on the first floor started with the letter 'C', the second floor started with the letter 'B', and the third floor started with the letter 'A'.

On the table in front of Zheng Qian's seat, there were also three things: a pot of steaming, fragrant tea, a plate of good-looking snacks, and a sign with his seat number written on it.

The tea and snacks were provided free of charge by the auction house, and the sign was a bidding card. When you wanted to bid, you just raised the card and said your bid.

Whether in his previous life, this life, or in the simulation, this was Zheng Qian's first time participating in an auction, and everything in it made him very curious.

According to his observation, there were only about two hundred seats on the first floor of this No. 1 auction hall. Each seat was independent and very spacious, so it would not be crowded even if two people sat down.

Starting from the second floor, there were only boxes. There were about fifty B-level boxes on the second floor, and only twenty A-level boxes on the third floor.

As for what the boxes looked like specifically, he had no way of knowing.

At this time, there was less than an hour left before the official start of the auction. Half of the two hundred seats in the hall on the first floor had already been filled, and people were constantly entering.

As for the boxes on the second and third floors, they did not have the same entrance and exit as the first floor, so Zheng Qian did not know how many people were sitting in them, or who they were.

Time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, more than half an hour had passed. The originally empty seats in the hall on the first floor had now been filled by more than half.

At this time, some of these people were talking in low voices, seemingly discussing the upcoming auction items, while others were looking forward to the official start of the auction.

Finally, amidst everyone's anticipation, a robust old man with a goatee strode onto the auction platform at the head of the hall.

"Greetings, everyone!" The old man's voice was deep and magnetic, echoing through the spacious hall. "I am Song Tao. Many of you here probably know me, but I see many new faces, so allow me to introduce myself."

He paused, looked around, and continued, "I am Song Tao, and I have the honor of being the chief auctioneer for the Zhao Family Auction House. I will be hosting today's auction."

The old man's tone was humble, yet it revealed confidence and professionalism.

As his words fell, many people in the audience immediately began to clamor for him to hurry up and start.

To this, the old man named Song Tao simply smiled and nodded, then continued, "Very well! Then I won't waste any more time. Welcome everyone to today's auction. I hope you all find the treasures you desire here.

Now, the auction officially begins. Let us present the first item for today: one Meridian-Opening Pill!"