As soon as he finished speaking, the other four were all struck by sudden realization.
"Brilliant!"
Li Heng smacked his lips, unable to stop himself from raising a thumb as he praised sincerely,
"Young Master Qin, this plan of yours is truly formidable!"
"Hehe, now I'm looking forward to seeing the look on that man's face when he opens the boxes later."
"Just watch. There'll be a good show."
Outside, Steward Lü had already called out several times.
"Twenty thousand taels, second call! Does anyone wish to raise the bid?"
Seeing that Qin Yue's private room remained silent, Steward Lü finally announced with lingering reluctance,
"Twenty thousand taels, third call!"
"Sold! The ninth batch of 'Myriad Forms Wonder Boxes' goes to Young Master Shen in Room C!"
The bronze gong rang sharply—clang!—and the dust settled.
Lü Cheng let out a breath, looked up toward the second floor, and spoke again.
"Young Master Shen, according to the rules, once a Wonder Box is sold, it must be opened and inspected on the spot. Would you like to come onstage and open them personally, or shall this old man do it for you?"
From behind the window lattice came Shen Xiuhan's calm, even voice.
"Sorry for the trouble, Steward."
Steward Lü was not surprised. He smiled and cupped his hands slightly.
"It is my duty."
With a wave of his hand, two attendants carried the entire case of Wonder Boxes to the purple sandalwood table on the left side of the platform.
Lü Cheng rolled up his sleeves and stood before the table, opening them one by one.
The crowd below craned their necks, their gazes fixed in unison upon the black boxes on the table. Even their breathing grew lighter.
Everyone harbored a measure of curiosity and schadenfreude.
What treasure could