Chapter 149 - 127: The Storied Ship
Following Chubby’s gaze, Fang Yue also looked out the window.
At some point, the flower boat had sailed out onto the Hun River, beyond the city walls.
It was, after all, the second-largest river in the Great Wei Dynasty. Even this close to its source, the river was still extremely wide—roughly a thousand feet across.
The river’s surface was vast, and under the moonlight, wispy layers of thin mist drifted over the water.
’A grand event?’
’What kind of grand event could be held on a brothel’s flower boat?’
’And why would it be held out here?’
While Fang Yue was lost in thought, a pleasure barge, even more luxurious and extravagant than their own, parted the waves and slowly approached from a short distance away.
At the same time, the melodious sound of a Guqin rang out, and a graceful, clear female voice drifted across the water.
"Tonight, the full moon coincides with this grand event. It is our supreme honor to have all you distinguished guests with us. This evening’s gathering will feature many treasures recently acquired by our establishment, and we are certain you will all leave satisfied."
Accompanied by the melodious Guqin music, a woman draped in red gauze slowly ascended to the deck of the central pleasure barge, her graceful figure faintly visible through the sheer fabric. Her large, glistening eyes swept shyly across the other surrounding boats.
"This is an auction?" Fang Yue asked, looking at Chubby beside him in surprise.
’He really hadn’t expected this. Chubby had brought him onto a flower boat for wine and women, but it turned out to be for an auction.’
’Was this really the same Chubby who had sworn he was going to show him the world?’
’And this auction was certainly interesting.’
’It was held on the Hun River outside the city, under the guise of a brothel’s pleasure cruise.’
’The bidders were all on separate boats, so when the time came, you would only hear their voices, not see their faces. When it was all over, the boats would simply disperse and return to the city, saving everyone a lot of potential trouble.’
"Heh, we just happened to catch it. This Blessed Ship gathering is held once a month, and you can often find some real treasures. Never mind the various Secret Medicines and Spirit Pills—sometimes you can even find a Qi Sensing Secret Manual."
Chubby said, putting on an air of importance.
’A Qi Sensing Secret Manual... In a small place like Xiahe County, only a few lineages possessed one, making them incredibly precious.’
’But here in the Prefecture City, one could appear at an auction. It was truly beyond his imagination.’
Chubby then added, "But that also depends on luck. It’s not like they have one every month."
Fang Yue nodded in understanding.
’If a Qi Sensing Secret Manual was auctioned off every time,’ he thought, ’then there wouldn’t be so few of them in Xiahe County. Or, to be more precise, there wouldn’t be so few Martial Artists who had reached the Qi Sensing realm.’
’After all, with their years of accumulated wealth, many of the factions in Xiahe County could surely afford to buy a Qi Sensing Secret Manual if they were truly willing to part with the silver.’
’But since there were still so few, there must have been a reason why.’
"Our first item today is brought to us by the Yuezhong Mountain Tea House. It is their finest new tea, ’Enviable Fragrance.’ This tea is plucked by maidens using only their lips and is given its initial drying by their body heat..."
The woman’s voice rang out from the central pleasure barge.
Her words immediately drew Fang Yue’s attention. He hadn’t expected this particular tea to appear at the auction.
"The Yuezhong Mountain Tea House has provided a total of two pounds. The bidding starts at three hundred taels of silver per pound, and each raise must be no less than fifty taels."
As soon as the woman finished speaking, voices calling out bids rose one after another from the surrounding boats.
As a hot commodity in Shanyang Prefecture City and the opening item for the auction, it attracted a flurry of bids.
In the end, each of the two pounds of tea was sold for over a thousand taels of silver.
The price was more than ten times what it sold for in the shop.
’It had to be said, there were quite a few rich people in the Prefecture City who threw silver around like it was nothing.’
The auction continued.
Though the items that followed were impressive, Fang Yue simply watched. There was a well-forged Treasure Sword, Spirit Medicines for beauty and skincare, and calligraphy and paintings by famous masters.
Later, they even auctioned off the daughter of a disgraced official—a pitiful, sheltered young lady.
However, Fang Yue wasn’t interested in any of it. Of course, the main reason was that his pockets were empty. He hadn’t planned on any shopping for this trip to the Prefecture City, so he hadn’t brought much silver with him.
’Besides, even if he had brought more, with his current net worth, he probably couldn’t have competed with these people anyway.’
Chubby, on the other hand, bid frequently.
However, it seemed he was just driving up the price, as he would always back out at the last moment.
The only thing he actually won was a three-hundred-year-old wild mountain ginseng.
"Next, we invite Shanyang Prefecture’s newest musical sensation, the lovely Miss Xiangjun, to perform for us!"
Halfway through the auction, the woman in red on the central pleasure barge walked to the center of the high platform, her delicate voice echoing across the fleet of flower boats.
As her words faded,
a woman appeared on the deck. She was dressed in red, her face was as white as snow, and her skin was flawless. She had an enchanting figure and carried a Guqin. She walked to the center and gave the audience a slight bow.
The woman was utterly captivating, her entire being exuding a bewitching aura. And yet, she also possessed an air of incomparable purity—a truly rare combination.
But after only a moment, everyone’s attention was drawn to the Guqin in her hands.
The Guqin itself wasn’t particularly exquisite; its beauty lay in its rustic simplicity. Her fair, slender hands rested on the instrument, and with a light pluck of the strings, a stream of pleasant notes flowed forth.
"What a coincidence," Bai Xingqiu explained. "This Miss Xiangjun is also from Xiahe County. She wasn’t very well-known back then, but she’s shot to fame since coming to Shanyang Prefecture. She’s been the talk of the town lately."
As he spoke, there was a knock at the door of their private room.
The wild mountain ginseng that Chubby had just won was being delivered.
At this, Fang Yue understood. The auction had paused for this short performance precisely to handle the transactions for the items that had just been sold.