In the back hall of the auction house, Shopkeeper Yun and Huang Quan sat across from each other. One was comfortably sipping tea, while the other maintained a watchful eye.
It had been six days since the last incident. During this time, members of the Qin family had been in and out of the palace frequently. In the court hall, Qin Yuan’s former disciples had petitioned the emperor to order Huang Quan’s arrest.
Initially, the emperor pretended not to hear these pleas. However, as time went on, he grew irritated. He finally announced that Huang Quan, a nominal student of Capital College, was scheduled to compete at the Tianqi Imperial College in two months.
The emperor pointed out that Huang Quan, capable of defeating an eighth-level spiritual master with a single move, would likely achieve a high ranking in the competition, bringing honor to Tianhuang and the academy. Thus, she could not be arrested.
The ministers and the Qin family understood this explanation. They believed that it was the academy’s protection that influenced the emperor’s decision.
What they didn’t know was that the emperor’s decision was not solely due to the college dean’s influence but also because of Di Qin. The emperor was aware of Di Qin’s capabilities, which made him cautious.
Shopkeeper Yun’s apprehension stemmed from the last time an incident nearly took place near his auction house. Although no one was killed during that incident, it was a close call. The aftermath had a significant impact, which he attributed to his statement: “He is the prime minister of Tianhuang Kingdom after all, and it would not be good for him to die at the door of the auction house.” He had no intention of admitting this, though.
Huang Quan noticed Shopkeeper Yun’s watchful gaze and inquired, “Why have you been staring at me? Is there something written on my face?”
Shopkeeper Yun replied with a smile, “There are no words, only flowers.”
Huang Quan raised an eyebrow and asked, “Oh?”
Shopkeeper Yun continued, “As beautiful as a flower.”
Huang Quan responded, “Got it.”
“Ahem,” Shopkeeper Yun cleared his throat, realizing that his previous comment might have been too embarrassing. He continued, “Miss Nangong, I don’t know why you’ve come here today. Your name has spread throughout the capital, but people with connections to aristocratic families prefer to address you as ‘Nangong Girl’ or ‘Nangong Miss.’ You’ve accepted these titles since you are indeed from the Nangong family.”
Huang Quan nodded in acknowledgment. She had no issue with these titles, as she did hail from the Nangong family.
She explained, “The bone flowers I obtained were refined into elixirs. Shopkeeper Yun, you must be aware of the effects of the medicine made from bone flowers.”
Shopkeeper Yun pondered this and inquired, “So, Miss Nangong, do you intend to place the elixirs made from the bone flowers for auction at our establishment?”
Huang Quan affirmed, “That’s right.” She presented a porcelain vase containing three bone elixirs and continued, “There are three bone elixirs in here, with a starting price of one million each. After a successful auction, the auction house will receive its commission.”
“Three, three?” Shopkeeper Yun was taken aback. “But didn’t you only obtain one bone flower? How did you manage to create three elixirs?”
Huang Quan didn’t disclose the full truth to him, contemplating how shocked he might be if he learned that she had fifty-seven more bone flowers stashed away. It was an amusing thought.
Instead, she replied, “Shopkeeper Yun, you’re not the only one who possesses bone flowers.”
Shopkeeper Yun was astonished by this statement. Bone flowers were exceedingly rare, and if anyone else had them, the news would have circulated far and wide.
Although he suspected that Huang Quan wasn’t revealing the whole story, he chose not to press her further and instead said, “Miss Nangong, the auction house can indeed conduct the auction for you, but…”
