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The invited guests and agents took their numbered paddles and sat down one after another.

Since they were relatively unknown, Zhou Mu and the other two had been assigned seats at the very back. Zhou Mu looked around the room and gradually got a sense of the situation.

The blond, blue-eyed person in charge stepped onto the stage. Amid his fluent introduction, one exhibit after another was brought out.

Zhou Mu had a clear objective. The item he wanted to bid on was the Yongzheng imperial seal, the auction's grand finale. None of the earlier appetizers could hold his attention.

Gu Jiuque, on the other hand, raised his paddle several times for lots that caught his interest. He spent over six hundred thousand euros on a jade bangle, more than eight hundred thousand euros on a gemstone brooch, and another hundred-odd thousand euros on a small-leaf red sandalwood seal carved with an inscription. It had been the personal seal of Shen Zhou, a renowned master of the Ming dynasty.

Like a child who had just received a new toy, he had bid more than twenty times in total. Before the auction had even reached its halfway point, the fifteen million in compensation Zhou Mu had paid had already been almost entirely spent.

Zhou Mu looked at Gu Jiuque again and again. He recalled how, when he had returned to the hotel last night to report to the boss behind the scenes, the other man had merely fallen silent for a moment before telling him to proceed as planned.

Zhou Mu did not know what the boss behind the scenes was thinking. But he felt that if Gu Jiuque kept raising his paddle, the public opinion they wanted to create would probably have no effect at all.

Was Gu Jiuque really going to spend tens of millions at this auction?

Zhou Mu glanced at Gu Eight Blades again. His grandson was spending money so freely—wasn't this grandfather going to do anything about it?

In a room hidden from everyone's sight, an old man and a young man watched Gu Jiuque repeatedly raise his paddle on the surveillance monitor with amused expressions. The refined young man adjusted his glasses, his gentle gaze falling on the boy's exquisite, handsome face, as flawless as a white jade statue. He said leisurely, "The young master of Antique Appreciation Studio certainly has a lively temperament."

The old man sneered. His gaze was fixed intently on Gu Eight Blades, who sat beside Gu Jiuque, as he said grimly, "The Gu family truly does have deep foundations."

Unfortunately, their prior arrangements had failed to take effect. Otherwise, Gu Eight Blades probably would not have been in the mood to indulge his grandson's frequent bidding at the auction.

The refined young man continued scanning the auction hall. After a while, he said hesitantly, "It seems President Shen of Dongyi Group isn't here..."

They had not sent an invitation to President Shen in the first place. But the information Zhou Mu had reported last night had been too concerning to ignore.

No one knew what exactly President Shen's relationship with Gu Jiuque was. After receiving Zhou Mu's tip-off, the refined young man had investigated Gu Jiuque's connection with President Shen overnight. Yet all he had found was that they had met at an antiques market—and only that one time.

"There is no need to concern yourself with it." The elder slowly closed his eyes, seeming somewhat weary. "No matter what intentions President Shen has toward that brat from the Gu family, this is Country B."

Those with intent had the advantage over those without. President Shen might not even know of their plans against the Gu family. Even if he did, he might not care. And even if he cared, what could he do?

After all, this was Country B.

Hearing his grandfather's words, the refined young man smiled faintly and gradually relaxed. "True. I thought he would come today."

Since he had not come, this probably was not all that important to President Shen.

Time passed second by second. At last, the host on the stage announced with a smile, "The next lot to be introduced is an imperial seal used by the Yongzheng Emperor of the Qing dynasty—the Yongzheng Emperor's Imperial Treasure White Jade Square Seal with Nine Chi Dragon Knobs."

Like a drop of cold water falling into a pan of hot oil, the auction hall instantly erupted as the host continued his introduction and an image of the Yongzheng Emperor's Imperial Treasure White Jade Square Seal with Nine Chi Dragon Knobs appeared on the large screen.

Zhou Mu took a deep breath and went up onto the stage accompanied by Grandpa Gu, who was serving as his appraiser. After carefully examining and dating the seal, Grandpa Gu nodded at Zhou Mu.

Gu Jiuque, whose Jade Celestial Pivot appraisal ability allowed him to see the light emanating from the imperial seal, also wanted to go onstage to inspect the Yongzheng Emperor's Imperial Treasure White Jade Square Seal with Nine Chi Dragon Knobs up close. Unfortunately, the organizers allowed only guests who had received invitations to bring one appraiser onto the stage.

Zhou Mu had chosen Grandpa Gu as his appraiser, leaving Gu Jiuque with no choice but to watch from afar below the stage.

"...The starting bid is three million euros!"

The moment the host finished speaking, someone in the auction hall impatiently shouted, "Four million!"

"Four and a half million!"

"Five million!"

"..."

In almost no time at all, fierce competition among the guests drove the price up to ten million euros. Sitting in the back row, Zhou Mu drew a deep breath and raised his paddle as well. "Eleven million!"

But before his words had even faded—

"Twelve million!"

"Twelve and a half million!"

"..."

The intense bidding finally eased somewhat after breaking through thirteen million.

Zhou Mu had long known that the Yongzheng imperial seal would not sell cheaply, and it was not his money being spent. Yet when the atmosphere reached this point, he still became so worked up that his face turned red and sweat covered his forehead.

Several professional agents in the hall kept communicating with their clients over the phone, while the bidding price slowly climbed from thirteen million euros to fourteen million.

After the host called for bids twice, Zhou Mu gritted his teeth, raised his paddle, and named the sky-high price of fifteen million euros. He had thought victory was assured this time, but to his surprise, another client agent wearing an earpiece immediately followed with an even more outrageous bid of twenty million euros.

The bid, a full five million euros higher, not only stunned Zhou Mu into silence but also shocked every other guest in the room with such a lavish display.

Although he had been instructed beforehand to secure the imperial seal at any cost, Zhou Mu still broke out in a cold sweat at this critical moment.

He hastily found an excuse to call the boss behind the scenes. The person on the other end of the call was also stunned by the sudden bid.

In fact, as the auction's organizers, they had investigated every guest's financial situation beforehand. Fifteen million euros was already an astronomical price for the invited guests. Once various commissions and handling fees were added, the final transaction price would even exceed sixteen million euros—more than 120 million Huaxia yuan.