Hehe, seeing that MiFen'er's work was almost finished, Stone was overjoyed. Originally, this product, which had never appeared in this other world before, was already attractive enough, and Stone had added a lot of precious metals to it. He also had Lan'er fix a space in the base of the toilet, and then had MiFen'er use various jewels to refine it.
Hehe, is that still a flush toilet? It's a work of art!
By the way, Lan'er is the space magician that Hua Da Zongguan seduced. He's only 8 years old this year, and he also has another identity: Hua Da Zongguan's adopted son.
You should know that when Steward Hua brought Lan'er to Stone, Stone was quite startled. The reason was simple: Lan'er was not a pure human.
Note that this passage says he's not a purebred East Asian, but rather not a purebred human. Lan'er has waist-length, silvery-white hair and large, bright blue eyes. That's not all; what's even more striking are his ears—small, white, and pointed, covered in white downy hair.
For a moment, Stone even mistook him for an elf. However, compared to Mi Fen'er, Lan'er's appearance was far more outstanding.
However, later, after the explanation from the head steward, Stone learned that Lan'er was not an elf at all, but a snow fox.
The snow fox clan lives in the far north, a place of perpetual ice and snow, harsh climate, and, of course, sparsely populated by humans. Generations of snow foxes have lived there, enduring hardship, but also a relatively peaceful existence.
But, Lan Er...
The head steward explained to Stone that Lan'er was a snow fox who couldn't find its way home, and he found Lan'er during one of his travels. Later, he simply raised him as his son. This time, Stone wanted to find a space magician, and he thought of his precious son. Although he was still young and had little magic power, making a small space device a month wouldn't be a problem for him.
Stone readily accepted Lan'er's offer and even arranged a bedroom for her in the VIP area of Ironforge, right next to the bedroom of the Grand Steward Hua.
However, after the father and son left, Shi Tou sat silently on the sofa for a long time, holding his teacup. Hua Wushuang had suddenly come to Shi Tou's house one dark night, without any luggage. However, after learning that Lan Er was a spatial mage, Shi Tou wasn't surprised. Spatial devices come in various sizes, and if Hua Wushuang had had one, no one would have noticed.
However, Lan'er is only 8 years old this year, and his talent as a spatial mage hasn't been long. But Shi Tou has been taking Hua Wushuang in for almost a year, and he has never mentioned to Shi Tou that he has an adopted son. If Shi Tou hadn't wanted to find a spatial mage this time, Hua Wushuang would probably still have continued to hide his appearance.
A master-servant contract can only bind the servant with their life, but it doesn't mean the servant will truly be loyal to the master. Shi Tou was naturally aware of this, but since the master-servant contract was entirely proposed by Hua Wushuang himself, Shi Tou felt that if he hadn't been willing at the time, he probably wouldn't have done it.
With this thought in mind, Shi Tou became wary of Hua Wushuang. After all, she didn't really believe that she exuded an aura of dominance, but rather that warriors from all walks of life were flocking to her.
"Giggle, Master! Baozi has something to tell you!" To be fair, Stone was a little wary of Hua Wushuang, but he completely trusted Baozi. Oh no, it should be said that he had no interest in paying attention to it.
"explain!"
Baozi hesitated for a moment before slowly speaking: "Hehe, Master, do you want that Bodhisattva Tia Divine Sword?"
Bodhisattva Tia's Divine Sword?
Stone blinked, indicating that he seemed to have heard the name somewhere before: "What sword? What is that thing?"
Baozi collapsed to the ground, exclaiming, "Gah! That's a divine artifact! It's a real divine artifact! How could Master forget about the Bodhisattva Tia Divine Sword?!"
While Stone has been living a carefree life these days, Baozi's life hasn't been so easy. Although Stone wouldn't do anything abusive, Baozi is plagued by nightmares every day. And, each nightmare is almost identical.
In his nightmares, Baozi is always pinned down by a huge, plump, white steamed bun. The bun's butt twists and turns, rubbing against Baozi, who lies on the ground wailing and begging for mercy. But each time, the bun pretends not to hear and sings a song in its seductive voice that terrifies Baozi.
"Whoosh whoosh, Your Highness! Wahahahaha, Your Highness is the best! Gagagahaha, Your Highness is mighty! Hmph hmph hmph, whoever dares to disobey Your Highness, Your Highness will turn them into a roujiamo (Chinese hamburger)!"
Waaaaah, Baozi is scared! Being forced to become a big steamed bun is already a tragedy, but if I were to be flattened and turned into a roujiamo (Chinese hamburger), oh my god! I really couldn't live like this.
"Oh, amazing artifacts." Unfortunately, Stone was unaware of Baozi's thoughts; she was preoccupied with organizing the rare items to be auctioned off in a few days: "I have plenty of amazing artifacts here."
Baozi was about to cry: "Hehe, the Bodhisattva Tia Divine Sword is a true divine weapon! It's a divine weapon personally crafted by the gods! Master, you really don't want it?"
"No." Stone refused without even thinking. What a joke! Divine artifacts are the most troublesome things. Besides, for some reason, the name "Bodhisattva Tia Divine Sword" immediately reminded her of a very famous sword from her past life.
The Heaven Sword!
The supreme martial arts master wields the Dragon-Slaying Saber, commanding the world with unparalleled obedience. Without the Heaven-Reliant Sword, who can rival him?
Damn, how much bloodshed did that Heaven-Slaying Sword cause back then? Besides, although Stone didn't know exactly what that divine sword was all about, she clearly remembered that it seemed to have an owner.
Divine artifacts are indeed valuable, but risking one's life for them is hardly desirable. Besides, she's not short of money right now; she'd be better off spending her time making a few more flush toilets instead of fighting over divine artifacts!
-----
Writing in winter is truly painful!
There will be another chapter later ↖(^ω^)↗
...
☆, Chapter 153 The Fourth Prince, Exuding Charm
"The Elf Queen's Blessing! Starting bid is 10,000 gold coins, and each bid must be at least 1,000 gold coins!"
A few days later, the first auction in Ironforge began. Surprisingly, the new flush toilet, named by the stone "Blessing of the Elf Queen," was not the final item; it was the first one to be auctioned.
The invited nobles and the merchants who came spontaneously stared wide-eyed at the magnificent—flush toilet—on the stage. Well, even with its new name, it was still essentially a flush toilet.
"I'll bid 20,000 gold coins!" A fat man with big ears made the first bid.
Here's where Stone's quirky sense of humor comes in. She thinks auction houses should be lively and bustling; why bother with private boxes? How boring! Besides, while the items she's auctioning are all quite good, none of them are truly unique, so they're not enough to tempt anyone to do anything malicious.
Therefore, Ironforge set up an auction venue, which is the large shopping mall right inside the main gate. Initially, it served as a launch venue for stone sales, later it was used by the stone as a venue for various new product launches, and now it has a new function: an auction venue.
Hehe, so energy saving, environmental protection, and multi-purpose use are what Stone likes.
"30,000!" This time it was a man with a very aristocratic air. Compared to the previous one, this one was truly elegant and refined.
Stone stood beside the makeshift platform, watching the auctioneer shout and yell with great interest. Beside her stood the head steward, Hua.
"Beautiful master, why won't you let me preside over this auction?" Although Steward Hua always believed that his master's orders were correct, this time, his master's orders had wounded his heart.
Stone glanced down at the black diamond ring on his left middle finger and said leisurely, "Because you lack passion."
Yes, perhaps the head of the auction house is a great manager, but his zombie-like face and flat, emotionless voice make him unsuitable to be an auctioneer.
Tsk tsk, in her past life, Stone had seen plenty of those TV shopping hosts; they were so full of enthusiasm! It was as if you'd be doing them a disservice if you didn't buy something. However, because of the short timeframe, Stone didn't have time to train a qualified auctioneer; she had to ask Grandpa Huo to borrow one from the Imperial Capital Central Auction House.
"50,000!"
As they were talking, the bidding outside had reached a fever pitch. Stone touched the ring on her hand. She had advertised beforehand, only saying that today's auction would be for the Elf Queen's blessing, but what was the reality?
Hehe, she would never tell those people outside about the flush toilet or anything like that. It's just an appetizer.
"70,000! This prince wants it!"
Stone raised an eyebrow and stood up in surprise. She looked at the VIP seats in front of her through her special one-way mirror.
Although there were no private boxes at the auction, there were still VIP seats. However, she didn't recognize the man in front of her.
"Wushuang, do you recognize him?"
Chief Steward Hua glanced at the man in the VIP section who looked determined, and frowned slightly: "The Crown Prince of the Royal Family."
"Oh?" Shi Tou was curious. Having been in this strange world for so long, she had never actually seen anyone from the royal family. The eldest prince? That's equivalent to the crown prince, right? "Wu Shuang, do you know how many princes there are in the current royal family?"
After thinking for a moment, the head steward said somewhat uncertainly, "There should be three, right?"
"Should?" Stone asked in surprise, "Are there a few princes whose identities are kept secret?"
“That’s not how it is.” Chief Steward Hua lowered his head and thought for a moment. “The eldest prince is not actually the king’s biological son. He was born to the king’s elder brother. The second prince was the king’s biological son, but unfortunately he passed away a few years ago. The third prince is also the king’s biological son, but he seems to be in very poor health. The fourth prince…”
"What's wrong?" Seeing the hesitant expression on Steward Hua's face, Stone became even more suspicious: "Can someone who isn't biologically related be called a prince? And what about the fourth prince? What happened to him?"
"The fourth prince is not the king's biological son, but he is the most likely to inherit the throne. As for who his biological parents are, I really don't know."
The stone looked up at the ceiling. What an intricate royal family.
"As for why he's called a prince even though he's not the kingdom's biological son, it's because the eldest prince's father was actually the former king. When the former king passed away, the eldest prince was still in his mother's womb, but a country cannot be without a ruler for a day, so the current king became king." Steward Hua patiently explained to Stone, "In addition, the fourth prince's identity is very special. If I'm not mistaken, the person next to the eldest prince is the fourth prince."
puff!
Stone was shocked. Was that the fourth prince next to the eldest prince? She had mistaken him for the eldest prince's concubine!
"That's a man?!" Stone's tone was filled with undisguised shock: "Wushuang, you're not mistaken, are you?"
Steward Hua's lips twitched: "Beautiful master. Haven't you been in the capital before? Or have you only been concerned with the business in Ironforge and neglected these things? Everyone in the capital knows that the Fourth Prince's beauty is unparalleled."
(⊙o⊙)
Stone thought she was really pathetic. "A beauty that could topple kingdoms"—isn't that a term used to describe women?
"Ahem, the Fourth Prince is so handsome!" Although this sounded strange, it was absolutely from Stone's heart. Even though they were quite far apart, Stone could still see the appearance of the person next to the First Prince.
How can I describe this?
Let's talk about the eldest prince first! The eldest prince is quite good-looking, with broad shoulders and a strong waist, and an upright demeanor, but he looks a little rugged.
And what about the fourth prince beside him?
Beautiful face, elegant temperament, alluring figure, seductive charm...
Ahem, wrong, that's called elegance! Absolutely elegant!
"Wushuang. Doesn't the royal family have any princesses?" Shi Tou thought that if the royal family had princesses, they would definitely be driven mad by the Fourth Prince. Seriously, why is a man like you so beautiful?
"Yes, the royal family has two princesses. One is the Fifth Princess, who is the Fourth Prince's younger sister, and like him, her background is unknown. The other is the Sixth Princess, who seems to be quite young, and there aren't many rumors about her." Chief Steward Hua performed his duties as steward very well. He was quite knowledgeable about these kinds of gossip.
"Then aren't they living with inferiority complexes since they were little?" Stone's mouth immediately broke into a grin as he watched the eldest prince finally bid 110,000 gold coins for the otherworldly toilet.
Steward Hua also saw this scene, but he wasn't as greedy as Stone: "Beautiful master, shall we proceed with the next auction?"
Stone nodded and took something out of his ring space: "Take this to the auctioneer!"
The head steward took the item, his face still as expressionless as ever, and walked out. A short while later, he returned: "The auctioneer said he knows what to do next."
Shi Tou smiled as she watched the crowd below the stage, their eyes fixed intently on the platform. Although Steward Hua hadn't concealed the items when she brought them out, Shi Tou's creations were usually kept unexplained. No one could guess their purpose. So, watching was pointless.
"This next item is a high-end collectible that Ironforge will be focusing on launching next season!" The auctioneer's voice was penetrating as he held the item up in his palm, displaying it to everyone: "This collectible also has a resounding name: Heart of the Ocean!"
Shi Tou looked at the audience below the stage, who had instantly fallen silent except for the sound of breathing, and felt incredibly pleased.
The Heart of the Ocean is a piece of jewelry that was well-known in the Stone's past life. However, in the Stone's eyes, it does not represent the meaning of jewelry.
"Master, will displaying this item cause dissatisfaction from the Huo family?" Although Steward Hua's face was calm, there was a hint of worry in his eyes.
Stone, however, wore a smug expression: "No, because I just gave Grandpa a thousand Hearts of the Ocean yesterday."
A thousand Hearts of the Ocean! That's an absolute grand gesture!
The head steward's gaze towards the stone had changed. He really wanted to ask, "Since you can mass-produce it, why are you still auctioning it off as a high-end collectible?"
"Now, I'd like to invite a distinguished guest to give me a demonstration!" The auctioneer didn't directly explain the function of the Heart of the Ocean, but instead walked to the VIP seats, looking intently at the guests: "Who would like to come up?"
The people below looked at each other, and for a moment, no one stepped forward.
"Master, what should we do now?" Steward Hua looked at the silent auction hall. He wanted to go out and help, but in the end, he lowered his head and asked Stone for his opinion.
Stone looked at the eager-to-try eldest prince below the stage with a smile. Beside him, the fourth prince looked helpless. An idea suddenly popped into his head: "I'll do it!"