Rules

This person, whom Xiao Lingyan had recruited from who-knows-where, was incredibly eloquent, witty and humorous, making everyone laugh several times in just a few words.

After a few opening remarks, Xu Zhou got down to business. "As everyone knows, this auction is organized by His Fifth Highness Fifth Highness. His Highness's purpose in organizing this auction is not to compete with the people for profit or to make money for himself, but to do charity. Of the profits from today's auction, he will use 80% to establish an orphanage to take in and raise homeless children under the age of thirteen from the capital and Beining County; the remaining 20% will be used to operate and maintain the auction house and to build a new auction venue."

Hearing this, Zhao Ruxi immediately felt relieved.

Xiao Lingyan's move was quite good.

Although there were no explicit rules in the royal family, there was always an unspoken rule: princes must not compete with the people for profit. Otherwise, if a prince used his status to make money, no amount of the people's hard-earned money would be enough to satisfy him. If the emperor was unwilling to punish his own son, it would be a disaster for the civil and military officials and the common people.

Since Xiao Lingyan of this auction house was a novelty, neither Xiao Ge nor the civil and military officials understood how it worked for a while. They heard that it made profits by taking a cut, and since the auctioned items were all high-end luxury goods, making a profit from their transactions wouldn't be considered competing with the people for profit. Therefore, Xiao Ge did not object, and the censors also remained silent for the time being.

But once they see the huge profits and Xiao Lingyan's auction houses are flourishing everywhere, and calculate his earnings, jealousy will make people ugly. Not to mention the ministers, the princes will definitely be envious, and then they will try to trip him up, both openly and secretly.

There's no need to do much more. Just have a few censors submit memorials impeaching the Fifth Prince, saying he's competing with the people for profit and amassing wealth on a large scale; and then have Consort Jin put on a pitiful act for her son in front of Xiao Ge. Xiao Lingyan's business will fall through.

But now that he's doing this under the guise of charity, it's a different story. Eighty percent of the profits are going to charity, so no matter how jealous others are, they can't impeach Xiao Lingyan. The entire court will have to praise the Fifth Prince for his benevolence and righteousness.

A good reputation is something money can't buy.

Xu Zhou continued on stage, "... The purpose of this auction is to facilitate everyone in selling their unused or unwanted items and exchanging them for things they like. It's a buying and selling platform. The auction does not participate in bidding; it only charges a 10% commission on the final sale price of the items."

"For example, you have an item that you really liked when you bought it. But as time goes by, you no longer like it. Unfortunately, you spent a lot of money on it, and now it's just sitting idle, tying up assets. When you see something you like even more, but you're not financially well-off, you can't buy it. If you want to pawn it, firstly, the price will be too low, and you'll lose too much; secondly, it's embarrassing—people might think you're so poor you have to pawn your entire fortune."

Everyone burst into laughter at this.

"What's poison to one may be honey to another. What you dislike might be a treasure to someone else. That's why we've organized this auction, allowing you to put your unused treasures up for auction so that those who appreciate them can acquire them, making your initial affection for these items worthwhile."

"So..." Xu Zhou raised his voice slightly, "For the sake of fairness, to avoid mixing personal feelings and grudges into the auction, and for security reasons, we will keep the identities of the owners of the items to be auctioned confidential. We also hope to ensure fair competition among the bidders. You wouldn't want to make enemies or be targeted after bidding on an item, would you? Confidentiality is a prerequisite for fairness, impartiality, and security."

"Therefore, before the auction, please draw a number. We will use this number to bid, not based on the box or seat number. Our designated auction staff will relay the message."

After he finished speaking, everyone started discussing it.

A small minority felt this was wrong, but the majority agreed.

Even those in the upstairs private rooms aren't sure if they won't put their items up for auction later, so it would be best if the auction house could keep the original owner's identity confidential.

Furthermore, even if the auction isn't conducted discreetly, those in the private rooms might have an advantage due to their status during the bidding. However, unless they are the highest-ranking person, they will still be suppressed by others. If they want to back out of the auction because the item is too expensive, their status and position will prevent them from being ridiculed, which would be embarrassing.

Therefore, participating in the auction anonymously also has its advantages for them.

For the people sitting downstairs, this is fantastic news.

"That's a good idea," Wu Huaisi said, "To avoid arguing over something."

Kang Yannian nodded, about to add a few words of agreement, when two servants dressed in auction house uniforms entered carrying a box. They smiled at Kang Shilin and said, "Mister Kumu, please draw a number."

Kang Shilin didn't say anything, but reached into the box, took out a wooden plaque, and handed it to the servant.

The servant, after carefully examining the number, smiled and said, "Mister Kumu, you are number eleven."

The servant next to him wrote down the number.

After writing it down, he looked up at Wu Huaisi and said with a smile, "Lord Wu, the number you drew for your private room is twenty-three. If you are interested in bidding on anything, you can have the servant at the door pass on the message, and just say number twenty-three."

Wu Huaisi nodded. "Understood."

As the head of the Six Ministries, Wu Huaisi was naturally given a private box by the auction house, and his box was located in front of Kang Shilin's.

Before arranging the private rooms, Xiao Lingyan consulted Kang Shilin about how to arrange the seating.

As Wu Huaisi's teacher, it was not a problem for Kang Shilin to be seated in a private box in front of the Three Ministers and Six Ministries. In addition to this identity, he was also the son of the long-deceased Grand Princess. Although he was not the eldest son and did not have a title, he was still a member of the royal family, so it was barely acceptable for him to be seated in front of the Three Ministers and Six Ministries.

Kang Shilin rejected the offer.

Kang Shilin was an extremely shrewd person.

His superior status stems from the honor bestowed upon him by the late emperor and the respect given to him by the current emperor. But in truth, he has no noble title or official rank, and his son Kang Yannian is not the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. Placing him in a position before the Three Ministers and Six Ministries will certainly cause some people to object.

After all, who doesn't have a teacher? If we included all their teachers, wouldn't that create chaos? As for the imperial relatives, there are countless people in the Great Jin Dynasty who are related to the royal family.

Since Kang Shilin refused, Xiao Lingyan followed the original rules and arranged the heads of the Three Ministers and Six Departments in order, with Wu Huaisi taking the lead.