Unhappy

Eunuch Xie was somewhat Gao Xing. He felt that the price was already so high; hadn't you noticed the momentary pause after he announced it? Guan Wentao hadn't instigated the crowd, the deal might have been settled for 25,000 taels directly. Why would he need any special treatment?

Even if the competition intensifies, the number of bidders will decrease. Eunuch Xie believes he can secure the contract for a maximum of 27,000 taels of silver.

Although the emperor complains about being poor every day, as the emperor, he is definitely not short of two thousand taels of silver.

Now things are really messed up. They paid a high price, and the entire court felt that the Emperor was using his status to intimidate them, which made Eunuch Xie very Gao Xing.

However, he couldn't say that the Fifth Prince's actions were bad. After all, it was the Fifth Prince's way of showing filial piety to the Emperor and not wanting the Emperor to spend too much money. The Fifth Prince also didn't let Guan Wentao place his hammer on Guan Wentao's initial bid of 18,000 taels, but on 25,000 taels, which was also a consideration for the Emperor's reputation.

Therefore, he really couldn't find fault with the Fifth Prince.

"Sir, this should be Mister Kumu's painting," the young eunuch who had come with Eunuch Xie said, pointing to the stage.

On stage, Guan Wentao had already brought out the fifth item for auction, which was also a painting.

Eunuch Xie immediately put aside his earlier minor emotional outburst and perked up.

He came here today with a mission: to photograph Kang Shilin's painting.

He was representing the Emperor, and his box was the first place all the auction items were examined.

A short while later, Eunuch Qin arrived with his servant, carrying a scroll in his hands.

The scroll was unfurled, and Eunuch Xie glanced at it before nodding.

The ethereal style in Kang Shilin's paintings is extremely unique and cannot be replicated by others. Eunuch Xie had served Xiao Ge for many years and had seen Kang Shilin's paintings more than once; he could recognize them at a glance.

At this point, Eunuch Qin should have left, but he gestured for his servant to go out first, then leaned close to Eunuch Xie's ear and whispered, "Mister Kumu just sent word that the price of his painting should ideally not exceed that of the previous one."

Eunuch Xie was taken aback.

Before he could react and ask why, Eunuch Qin had already quickly retreated.

"What... what does he mean by that?" he asked the young eunuch, pointing at Eunuch Qin's retreating figure.

The young eunuch, knowing that Eunuch Xie had been somewhat Gao Xing, smiled and chimed in, "Indeed. Eunuch Qin, aren't you making things difficult for us? You came with the Emperor's orders. And you're not the only one bidding. If some hothead insists on bidding against you, how can we control whether the price goes up or down?"

When the young eunuch said this, Eunuch Xie shook his head and remained silent.

The price of that painting was sold so suddenly that everyone with eyes could tell who number nine represented. And it's no secret that the Emperor admires Mister Kumu's paintings. Once he makes a move, no one will dare compete with him.

So whether the price is high or low really depends on him.

Alas, it seems he won't be able to enjoy the thrill of an auction.

After a short while, everyone had seen the painting, and Guan Wentao announced on stage, "This painting is the last item in our auction today. Guests who haven't participated yet, please seize this opportunity!"

He struck a small drum. "The landscape painting ' Fairyland ' has a starting price of ten thousand taels of silver. Let's begin."

Kang Shilin's paintings have a distinctive style, and anyone who has seen them can recognize them at a glance.

Therefore, as soon as Guan Wentao finished speaking, people started making offers.

Inside Kang Shilin's private room, everyone was relieved to hear that the starting price for his painting was ten thousand taels of silver, and they secretly praised the Fifth Prince for being reliable.

The final transaction price is determined by the market, but the auction house knows the artist's identity from the beginning, so it has to be based on their status. No matter how good Zhao Ruxi's painting is, she is currently unknown and is Kang Shilin's apprentice, so the starting price naturally has to be lower than Kang Shilin's; otherwise, it would be illogical.

"Master, can I bid?" Zhao Ruxi asked eagerly.

Everyone knows the painting is by Kang Shilin, and everyone knows they're sitting in this private box. Although no one knows their auction number, if someone happens to find out and spreads it around, they could easily inflate the price of Kang Shilin's painting and attract negative attention.

Kang Shilin's situation is different from Zhao Ruxi's.

Zhao Ruxi is a junior, and the fact that her master and fellow apprentices raised prices for her is a sign of their care for her. Kang Shilin is a renowned scholar, highly respected, and possesses a strong sense of integrity; his paintings are also extremely popular. If the juniors were to raise prices for him as well, it would easily raise suspicions that his previous painting prices were also inflated by his own family.

However, as an apprentice, Zhao Ruxi felt it wouldn't be right for her not to show her support when her master's paintings were being auctioned, which is why she asked this question.

"Yes, Master, can we bid?" Wu Zong asked, trying to join in.

Kang Shilin glared at them. "Stop fooling around, you two, stay put."

Zhao Ruxi made a face at Wu Zong and obediently sat back down.

However, they didn't need to do anything; the bidding outside was fierce. The starting price was already high, and with a few shills and genuine fans of Kang Shilin's paintings pushing the price up, the painting quickly soared to 20,000 taels of silver.

This was also influenced by Zhao Ruxi's painting. Kang Shilin's paintings used to sell for eight or nine thousand taels of silver. Under these auction conditions, a premium of several thousand taels was possible. If there hadn't been the price of Zhao Ruxi's painting beforehand, everyone would have intentionally kept the price below fifteen thousand taels for his painting, and the price increase wouldn't have been so large.

Having experienced the frustration of not being able to buy a painting even with 25,000 taels of silver, people were starting to bid more aggressively.

In the central private box, Eunuch Xie breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the price reach 20,000 taels of silver. He summoned the messenger and instructed him, "Go down and tell the person raising the paddle number nine that when the price reaches around 23,000 to about 24,000 taels, raise your paddle and bid 25,000 taels."

After the servant left to deliver the message, the young eunuch asked, "Sir, isn't this... a bit inappropriate?"

"Hmph, it would be bad if I underestimated it. Eunuch Qin's words were a trap," Eunuch Xie scoffed.

The young eunuch's eyes widened. "Impossible!" No matter what, Eunuch Qin was just a eunuch serving a prince; how could he dare to frame Eunuch Xie?

"He may not have meant it; those words were indeed spoken by Mister Kumu. But I am wholeheartedly devoted to protecting the Emperor, and no one can say anything about it," said Eunuch Xie.

He was able to become the emperor's favorite, which shows he was extremely shrewd.

Kang Shilin was the Emperor's cousin, and the Emperor respected him greatly. If he listened to Eunuch Qin and offered Kang Shilin's painting a lower price than others, the Emperor would surely reprimand him upon returning home.

Regardless of whether the man surnamed Qin was trying to rip him off, and whatever his reasons for Kang Shilin for a lower price, he felt that asking for 25,000 taels of silver for both paintings was the safest option.