The first lot only received tepid interest. Muchen had estimated that it would sell for around fifteen taels. It ended up only receiving three bids, finally going to a man in the back corner for twelve taels of silver. No wonder the Thousand Treasures Hall was starting off with the smaller lots. This way, they wouldn't suffer too much of a loss before the crowd warmed up.

Muchen felt a pang of regret that the lot he wanted hadn't come first. He had put down a non-refundable deposit of twenty taels of silver. It entitled him to bid up to ten times that amount, although there was a one percent transaction fee for the silver that was extended on credit. It should be more than enough to let him take home the lots he needed, but every tael he saved was an extra tael and ten wen in his pocket.

At least he didn't have to wait long before it was his turn to bid. The next four lots went for more or less what he had estimated, on anemic bidding. It was becoming clear that many of the people here had come as spectators only. Or at least they weren't interested in jewelry.

Finally, it was time for lot seventy-five. Muchen expected it to end up going for somewhere in the neighborhood of forty taels. He waited until the bidding reached thirty five taels before raising his hand. Once he was in, it was just a matter of raising his hand again every time the bid went up. Finally, the contest stalled out at forty-two taels.

The hostess looked at Muchen with a smile. "I have forty-two taels from the young man in the front. Forty two taels going once. Going twice."

"Forty-five taels."

Muchen glanced back in irritation. The bidding was still within the range that he could afford, but he couldn't help but be annoyed at the sudden increase in the price. Especially when he recognized the man with his hand raised.

The clerk from city hall had come to the auction. He probably hadn't come here just to mess with Muchen, but now that he'd spotted the opportunity he couldn't resist the temptation. At least, Muchen was pretty sure that the man didn't have any real interest in a set of jewelry appropriate for a wealthy teenage girl.

Muchen gritted his teeth and raised his hand. "Forty-six taels."

The hostess didn't even have a chance to solicit bids before a voice chimed in from behind him. "Fifty taels."

Muchen put his hand up once more. "Fifty one."

He could feel the curious gazes from the crowd. The earlier lots hadn't provoked anything like this level of competition. In all honesty, if he were buying this lot as an investment Muchen wouldn't have gone past forty taels. Unfortunately, he didn't have a choice.

"It seems I've been bested," the clerk said, just loud enough for his voice to carry down to Muchen. "What a shame."

The hostess asked for further bids purely as a formality before awarding the lot to Muchen. His task was one third of the way complete but he couldn't find it in himself to rejoice at the moment.

For the first time, he felt a pang of regret at the impeccable security of the Thousand Treasures Hall. He didn't mind legitimate competition, but the clerk's behavior of bidding purely to drive up the price and screw with him was infuriating. All Muchen could do for now was grit his teeth and wait for some future opportunity to punch the annoyance in the nose.

The bidding calmed down for the next lot. All of the jewelry collections save for lot seventy-five had sold for a little below their appraised value. It made sense. These items were being bought for resale, which meant the bidding ended once it reached a point where continuing was no longer profitable. It would take a real asshole to drive the price up past the breakeven point.

Muchen braced himself when lot seventy-seven came up. This one should end up selling for sixty five taels. Again, he inserted himself into the bidding when it neared the end. Again, he was all set to win. And again, the clerk broke in with a last second bid. He managed to drive the price up an extra twelve taels, putting Muchen out of pocket seventy six taels for a box of jewelry that was barely worth sixty.

It was annoying, but what could he do? If Heisan was telling the truth, he'd be a fool to let a hidden treasure go over a mere dozen taels. The situation felt all too familiar. Once more there was nothing he could do but swallow his frustration.

Well, that might not be true.

The only lot Muchen had left to buy was lot eighty one. He was the only one who knew that, though. The clerk couldn't possibly know ahead of time what he wanted to buy. He was just reacting and trying to throw a wrench in Muchen's plans.

That's why the next time Muchen bid, it was on lot eighty. The bidding ran him right up against his limit. Muchen was a little nervous when he found himself on top of the auction at a bid of seventy five taels of silver. If he won this, he'd really have to scramble to register his silver and get in the bidding for the next lot. Then the clerk came in and bid seventy six.

Muchen smiled and leaned back in his seat.

The hostess stared at him for a moment. Muchen might have been imagining it, but he thought he saw a ghost of a smile pass over her face before she announced the clerk as the winner.

It was too much to hope that he wouldn't be able to pay. The Thousand Treasures Hall wouldn't let you place a bid if you hadn't proved you could follow through. Having to drop a seventy six taels of silver on a bunch of jewelry that he didn't even want would sting, though. Even as a corrupt government official, there was only so much silver you could earn in a year.

More importantly, taking the money out of his pocket would make it harder for him to cause more trouble. With any luck, he would need to take the time to restock his line of credit with the Thousand Treasures Hall before he could jump back into the bidding. All Muchen needed was for him to sit out one auction.

Lot eighty one was finally up. The silver earrings, amber paperweight, and wooden bracelets headlined a fairly mediocre assortment of jewelry, but that was no reason to take it lightly. Muchen was almost certain that this lot was Heisan's true goal in this whole scheme.

Muchen joined in the bidding from the beginning. He didn't bother to put on any pretense, simply bidding up the price immediately any time another bidder joined in. The aggressive tactic worked, leaving him with the leading bid at fifty-two taels, a bit under the assessed value.

He turned and gave the clerk a challenging look, as though he was trying to goad him into wasting more money. This time, the clerk just smirked at him as the gavel came down, awarding him the victory.

Muchen smiled to himself, content. All in all, it had been a good day. He was out a little more silver than he'd hoped, but it was well within the acceptable range. He'd also managed to get a bit of petty revenge on the guy who had tried to mess with him.

Muchen didn't bother sticking around to see what happened to the big ticket items at the auction. None of it had anything to do with him. He might have been tempted to enjoy the spectacle if he hadn't had somewhere to be.

He had to squeeze his way out through the crowded row, taking advantage of the gap before the next lot was put on display to escape without offending anybody. An usher was waiting for him as he emerged into the aisle, politely but firmly leading Muchen to the back area of the Thousand Treasrures hall, to the unremarkable set of offices where money actually changed hands.

Muchen was led to a small waiting room. A hot cup of tea was waiting for him. He took a seat and took a sip. Whatever method the Thousand Treasures Hall used to produce hot tea on demand, he had to admit that their product was superior to what he could provide. He was pretty sure he could beat them on price, of course.

He didn't have to wait long. He was halfway through his cup of tea when the rear door opened to admit a beautiful woman. She could have been Hong Canglan's daughter, or perhaps her younger sister. She was followed by a trio of attendants, each carrying a jewelry box.

Muchen did his best to look professional as he stood and offered a greeting. It seemed to work, or at the very least the manager was all business as she looked at the clipboard in front of her.

"Lots seventy five, seventy seven, and eighty one, collective purchase price one hundred and seventy nine taels. With a deposit of twenty taels," she said, "your remaining balance is one hundred and sixty three taels and five hundred and ninety wen."

Muchen started to agree, but caught himself as he ran the numbers in his head. "A one in one hundred fee for the bid in excess of twenty taels should be one tael and five hundred ninety wen, should it not? That would make the total one hundred and sixty taels and five hundred ninety wen."

"Correct," the woman said, giving him a sharp nod. "The containers for the jewelry are an additional tael each. If you brought your own cases, we can of course transfer the contents and omit the fee."

"Never mind," Muchen said, allowing himself a wry grin. Part of him wanted to fetch a burlap sack from his cart and have the jewelry dumped inside, no matter how badly it would affect his image. Sometimes, though, you had to be practical about things. "One hundred sixty three taels and five hundred and ninety wen it is."

He was planning to resell the jewelry eventually. Keeping it properly stored would help preserve its value. Knowing the Thousand Treasures Hall, there was some profit for them in the tael he was paying for each box, but they shouldn't be outright gouging him out of his money. Each box was likely worth at least eighty percent of what he was paying. Muchen wasn't in the habit of overpaying for anything, but he could overlook a little wasted silver if it helped him stay on the good side of the Thousand Treasures Hall.

He began pulling silver ingots from the pouches he'd secured about his body. He'd been holding on to most of them since he'd made his big sale of spirit rice. At twenty taels each, he just didn't have much call to use them in day to day transactions. He laid the eight oversized ingots on the table in front of him, then fished out another five tael ingot to complete the set. Gazing at them, he felt a pang at losing such a weight of silver all in one go. He consoled himself with the thought that he'd soon be getting half of it back. More than half, if he played his cards right.

It was the work of but a moment for the manager to weigh out his silver and offer him his change. Muchen tucked the resulting bits of broken silver and copper coins in the money pouch on his waist. It hurt, the visceral reduction in heft of his wealth. At least the bulk of his silver was back on the wagon, under Xinyi's watchful eye.

He and the manager each signed two copies of the receipt declaring the results of the auction. With that, their transaction was complete. Muchen was the official owner of three boxes of semi precious jewelry. Even though everything was going to plan, he couldn't help but worry as he piled the three boxes into his arms.

He was on edge as he walked down the front steps of the Thousand Treasure Hall. He was not only carrying three boxes full of jewelry that he had won at auction, but also had pretty much all of his life savings stored on his cart. He couldn't help but feel like a walking target.

Fortunately, the Thousand Treasure Hall's reputation was the real deal. Nobody was willing to mug a guest, at least not while he was practically standing on their doorstop. He made it to the cart without incident.and took a seat next to Xinyi. Her shell was a reassuring presence as he drove the cart onto the capital streets and made his way towards his rendezvous.

Maybe the thugs were waiting for juicier prey. After all, the richest pickings from the auction wouldn't even be up for bid for another few hours yet. Or maybe the imperial capital's guards weren't just for show. Either way, Muchen wasn't bothered as he drove through the city and out through the western gate.