"Have you no sense of public morality? Don't you know that part of the proceeds from this auction will be donated to the Red Cross charity?" someone retorted.
"That's still not right!" the man clearly protested.
"Hmph! Short-sighted! Blind as a bat! I bid 300,000!" A sweet voice came from a high platform on the side. A charming and beautiful young woman, adorned with jewels, suddenly raised her paddle to bid and made sarcastic remarks to the two middle-aged men.
The two middle-aged men were both millionaires with assets exceeding ten million yuan. They could afford to spend two hundred thousand yuan on a piece of calligraphy, but they were unwilling to do so, since they were not famous calligraphers.
Mocking the girl like that, the two men blushed and wanted to stand up and refute her or question whose daughter was so ignorant and ill-mannered.
Immediately, someone sitting nearby and on good terms with them whispered, "This is the daughter of the Jade Prince of Xinjiang. Don't mess with her!"
The two men's expressions immediately changed drastically, and they froze in their chairs as if their buttocks were nailed to the ground.
They might have a lot of money, but compared to a behemoth like Prince Yu, they're nothing.
They dared not offend the Jade Prince's daughter; it was only natural that she said that, given her immense wealth and power.
Yu Tihu's offer of 300,000 was like a bombshell dropped into the auction hall.
Immediately, some people's eyes lit up, and they began to wonder: Does this Yu Tihu know something? This person was chosen as their final performer, so he must have a close relationship with the organizers! Should they raise their bid to give this calligrapher some face?
But before those with ulterior motives could raise their signs, someone else immediately did—none other than Wang Yunyi, Xue Tao's personal secretary, who was practically her spokesperson.
"Four hundred thousand!" Wang Yunyi raised her paddle, and everyone was shocked again.
Four hundred thousand! One bid and it's a hundred thousand! Who is this person? How can they be so powerful? All the beautiful women are fighting over them!
"Five hundred thousand!" Ye Ziyan, who had remained calm and unmoved, suddenly raised her paddle.
When the auctioneer read out Ye Ziyan's bid number, everyone's expression changed, their faces filled with disbelief and incredulity.
Who is this person who can be favored and promoted by Ye Ziyan? Everyone's hearts were immediately in suspense.
Many people who knew Li Yang's reputation and strength started to wonder if they should also put up with him.
"Six hundred thousand!" Immediately, a middle-aged man with a broad smile raised his sign.
As soon as he took the lead, others immediately followed suit.
"Seven hundred thousand!"
"Eight hundred thousand!"...
"One million!" In the blink of an eye, a completely unnamed calligraphy work, which only bore Li Yang's name, fetched a high price of one million.
Although it cannot compare to the hundreds of millions that Qi Baishi sells for, it is still extremely high and belongs to the top price in China, after all, he was relatively unknown!
"That bastard seems to be here too!" Cao Xin's eyes were sharp and sensitive. As soon as she entered the hall, she felt the strange gazes and recognized Li Yang, who was covering his face and hiding. However, she did not point it out. At this moment, she whispered to Song Tian'er.
“He’s really showing off now! You want to make a bid?” Song Tian’er glared at Li Yang and turned back to say.
"Where would I get that much money?" Cao Xin said with a wry smile.
Indeed, as the daughter of a civil servant, and a teacher herself, how could she possibly have hundreds of thousands or millions in savings?
“If you want to take pictures, I can lend them to you. My dad saved up a sum of money for me back then, more than five million! It was my dowry! It’s pointless to bring up the dowry now, so I might as well lend it to you!” Song Tian’er said earnestly.
"Oh? So you're quite the little rich lady. I didn't realize you were hiding it so well. But I think I'll pass. Didn't you see someone here who's determined to have her?" Cao Xin glanced at Yu Tihu's domineering aura and sighed inwardly. Having a rich father is really great.
Song Tian'er was also annoyed. She had witnessed the grandeur of Prince Yu and Yu Tihu, especially after Li Yang discovered the jade mine, Prince Yu's wealth increased exponentially!
Even if all the wealthy people present were added together, they might not be as rich as this person!
Song Tian'er shook her head helplessly and stopped talking.
"One million five hundred thousand!" Encouraged by Zhao Lihua and with Xue Tao's approval, Wang Yunyi raised her paddle again and immediately saw the price!
"One million five hundred thousand! This lady has called out a high price of one million five hundred thousand. Is there anyone else bidding?" The auctioneer was also getting excited.
This is by far the most fiercely contested item since the start of tonight's auction.
He never expected that an item he thought would definitely go unsold would turn into such a dramatic scene.
"Three million!" Yu Tihu, standing on the high platform, once again proudly made the offer, her icy face filled with pride.
"Three million! This lady has offered three million, three million for the first time..."
The auctioneer became excited. Three million! And this is just for one piece of calligraphy. What if he wrote several more? A dozen or so? That would be...
Thinking about it like that, he got so excited he almost had a stroke.
Fortunately, this wasn't his first time participating in an auction, nor was it the first time he'd seen paintings and calligraphy fetch high prices, so he eventually calmed down.
Zhao Lihua glared angrily at Yu Tihu and muttered, "So what if you have money? Humph!"
Xue Tao glanced at Yu Tihu and sighed inwardly. Well, she had to give Prince Yu face. Besides, she couldn't keep pestering him, or people would definitely suspect her relationship with Li Yang.
Besides, the reason for auctioning Li Yang's calligraphy was Zhao Lihua's insistence. She came here to participate in the auction only to ensure that the item would not go unsold. She did not expect that there would be such competition, and it just so happened that she was competing with Yu Tihu. So she shook her head and stopped raising her paddle.
On the other side, Gao Qingmei stared wide-eyed at Ye Ziyan in disbelief, saying, "Cousin, I know you love classical literature, but you're offering 500,000 for a single piece of calligraphy? And it's by an unknown person, what's wrong with you?"
She almost said to her cousin, "Have you lost your mind?"
"You don't understand!" Ye Ziyan smiled slightly, neither confirming nor denying.
Gao Qingmei immediately became dissatisfied and pouted, saying, "How can I not understand! Weren't you just trying to save face for that person? In the end, you still didn't take it, did you?"
"Then do you know who this person is?" Ye Ziyan continued with a smile, which seemed somewhat mysterious.