Chapter 23 I am the prince! You all bully me!
The auction conference quickly got to the point.

The first painting to be auctioned was "Ode to the Goose", which depicts a large white goose floating in a pond with its neck facing the sky and ripples forming on the water.

There is a painting on the left and a poem on the right. The blank space on the right is Li Changan's handwritten poem about the geese, written in the elegant and graceful Slender Gold script, and stamped with Mr. Sanyong's red seal.

Although everyone present had seen this painting before, they were still filled with emotion when they saw it again.

"I have practiced hard for decades, but my calligraphy and painting are not as good as those of Prince Yong when he was only ten years old!"

"Your Highness's name has already surpassed Master Zhuang Mohan!"

"The goose is so lifelike, and paired with this poem, it's so meaningful!"

Fan Ruoruo, who was standing next to Li Changan, opened her mouth and stared at the painting in a daze. This poem was given to her by Li Changan that year!

But she knew that her family could not afford this painting at all. The starting price was ten thousand taels of silver, which was too expensive.

"When you grow up, I will give you another one, which will be better than this one."

Fan Ruoruo, who was feeling disappointed, almost had stars in her big eyes when she heard what Li Changan said.

"Thank you, Your Highness Prince Yong. I will work hard to learn calligraphy and painting, and I will sell my calligraphy and paintings to repay you in the future!"

Li Changan smiled and said, "No need, as long as you have this intention, that's enough."

Little Fan Sizhe couldn't wait to say, "Okay, okay...bride price...hmm!"

As soon as he opened his mouth, Fan Jian covered his mouth.

Fan Jian hesitated for a long time but still did not refuse. That was a painting and calligraphy worth ten thousand taels of silver!

Although court officials were not allowed to make friends with vassal kings, Prince Yong only mentioned it and did not actually give anything to them.

Why are you in such a hurry to refuse? Wait until it’s really given to you! While he was thinking about it, the bidding had already begun.

"I'll give you 20,000 taels!"

Shopkeeper Hong of Zuixianju spoke very urgently.

He was very anxious because if the dignitaries asked for it, it would be difficult for him to snatch it away.

The presence of so many powerful people means that Li Changan’s three paintings and calligraphy works can no longer fall into the hands of ordinary people.

For example, if His Royal Highness the Crown Prince likes one of the paintings, as long as the bids are similar, who would dare to compete with him?

Boss Hong directly doubled the price in order to prevent the nobles from offering a price, so as not to offend anyone.

Twenty thousand taels of silver is not a small sum, and I'm afraid that even ordinary dignitaries cannot afford it.

"Twenty-five thousand taels!"

The person who spoke was actually Prince Jing Li Zhi. Having been a prince for more than ten years, he had some extra money.

Li Changan said to Li Zhi, "Thank you for your support, second brother!"

Li Zhi glared and said, "I watched you write this poem. Who dares to snatch it from me?"

Fan Jian, who was considered wealthy in Kyoto but poor here, looked even darker. This poem is for my daughter!
"Thirty thousand taels!"

The one who spoke was the eunuch of the Crown Prince’s Eastern Palace, and the Crown Prince’s fate was indeed met with!

Li Chengqian was the crown prince when he was born, with an annual salary of ten thousand taels of silver, and Emperor Qing also gave him large rewards during festivals.

Therefore, although it would be painful for him to ask the prince to take out tens of thousands of taels of silver, he could definitely do it.

Others are afraid of the crown prince, but Prince Jing is not. "Thirty-five thousand taels!"

The prince's official said without hesitation, "Forty thousand taels!"

Not long after, the first painting was unsurprisingly raised to 50,000 taels!

The owner of Zuixianju was dumbfounded. He had underestimated the determination of the powerful and wealthy to buy the painting.

Little Fan Sizhe was already stunned. He couldn't understand calligraphy and painting, but he could understand the amount of silver!

"It's so exciting!"

"Is this crazy? Fifty thousand taels of silver!"

"I'd have to save up for several lifetimes to have that much money!"

When the price reached 50,000 taels, the prince felt the pain in his heart, as this was already one-tenth of his wealth.

The current Crown Prince and the Second Prince were not very powerful yet, and they had no property, so they were far from being able to spend ten thousand taels of silver. "Sixty thousand taels of silver!"

Li Zhi has been living in seclusion in recent years and has not cared about appearances. He just directly bid the price himself.

Sixty thousand taels for a painting has already surpassed the auction record set by Huangshan Sanren of the Northern Qi Dynasty!
The scene became noisy again!

The wealthy merchants were dissatisfied. It was not that they had no money, but they did not dare to compete with Prince Jing and the Crown Prince!

"Congratulations, Prince Jing. His Royal Highness Yong's Ode to the Goose is now yours!"

The bidding for the second painting, "Ode to Snow," was about to begin, but no one on the scene was very enthusiastic.

Because, this painting must be of the prince!

Seeing how determined he was to win, who among the people present would dare to compete with him?
Prince Jing is the Crown Prince's uncle, so it's fine if he wants to rob him, but no one else has the courage to do so.

"When His Royal Highness Prince Yong was five years old, it snowed heavily, and His Royal Highness wrote this poem!"

"When I wrote poems about snow, I didn't see any snow. This forced the Northern Qi Dynasty's five-character verse Great Wall to stop writing poems from then on!"

"The poem about the Snow King in the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests is a legend that will be passed down through the ages in Daqing!"

"The bidding begins!"

Li Chengqian's eyes were burning with enthusiasm, but before his subordinates could open their mouths, someone immediately started bidding.

"Fifty thousand taels of silver!"

When this price was called out, the scene instantly boiled over!
First of all, directly bidding five times the starting price is really scary!
Secondly, someone dares to compete with the prince!
The crown prince, the heir apparent to the throne, the future emperor!
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw an ordinary-looking young businessman sitting in the middle of the crowd with no expression on his face.

Li Changan took a look at the person's faceplate. He had never heard of this name. He was an upper-level eighth-rank expert with extremely high talents in martial arts and espionage.

Needless to say, these are the intelligence elites of a certain force. They could be Emperor Qing, the eldest princess, the Northern Qi royal family, or a big gang.

Li Changan laughed secretly, that was great, the troublemaker he had prepared didn't have to go on stage.

Li Chengqian stood up and looked at the man deliberately, but the man simply ignored him!
The rich people at the scene suddenly became excited. No matter who disrupted the situation, they all had a chance to bid.

The prince felt very upset. It was bad enough that he was robbed by Prince Jing just now, but who is this person now?
He secretly ordered the experts around him to keep an eye on this man and check his background!
The prince's official immediately raised the price, "Sixty thousand taels of silver!"

The young businessman almost didn't hesitate, "Seventy thousand taels!"

The young prince was both depressed and angry, but he could not lose his temper as so many people were watching him.

When he just entered the door, these people were still kneeling on the ground and kowtowing. Now they dare to steal his things!
But there was nothing he could do, he had no money!
Seeing that the prince remained silent for a long time, the wealthy businessmen suddenly became active!
"Seventy-two thousand taels!"

"Seventy-five thousand taels!"

……

"Eighty thousand taels!"

"Ninety thousand taels!"

Li Changan's masterpiece that made him a king is so valuable that its price has skyrocketed!
Fan Sizhe's drool had already flowed all over the floor, and the servant just stood there and forgot to wipe it for him.

Fan Ruoruo clenched her fists, looking very nervous, "It's going up! It's going up again! It's almost reaching ten thousand taels of gold!"

She may be the only one, besides Li Changan, who hopes that the price will continue to rise.

The second prince took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his face, feeling extremely excited.

"It's so profitable! When I become a literary duo with Uncle Yong, I think we can make that much money!"

The prince felt very aggrieved. It turned out that power alone was not enough, one also needed money!
Several big businessmen had approached him before, but he rejected them all.

At this moment, his subordinates handed over several notes.

"I, the King of Hongqi Pavilion, am willing to take this picture for Your Highness!"

"I, Zhang from Biyuanxuan, am willing to vent your anger for His Highness!"

"The He family of Chunfeng Tower only follows your Highness' lead!"

……

The depression in Li Chengqian's chest was instantly relieved a lot. Power is still more important!

With authority, so many people are willing to be driven!
These families are all big merchants in Beijing!
(End of this chapter)