Mysteries of the Great Zhou Dynasty

Chapter 175 Dirty Bowl
The attendant instructed the maid to lead the way, then turned around and apologized: "My esteemed guest, to prevent you from going to the wrong place, please just follow her."

The servant gestured for him to enter, polite but also distant.

"No need, no need, I can go by myself." Rong Wanyin took a step back and quickly declined.

The servant merely smiled at her, not even lowering his hand, his gaze resolute. Rong Wanyin sighed inwardly, helpless, and could only follow the maid.

Rong Wanyin was kept under close surveillance the whole way and couldn't find a chance to escape.

Rong Wanyin suffered a defeat in her first battle and could only return to her seat dejectedly. She sat there with a pout, chewing on a piece of candied fruit.

Seeing this, Yan Mingzhang pondered for a moment, then walked straight to the white-robed boy below the stage and said directly, "Young man, I want to see your manager; I have important matters to discuss. How can I get an audience with him?"

The white-robed boy's smile remained unchanged, but his tone carried an undeniable distance: "I'm sorry, esteemed guest, but I'm afraid I cannot comply. If everyone wanted to see our manager, he would be too busy. Jiuqu Pawnshop has its own rules, and the manager is not so easy to meet."

After saying that, the white-robed boy looked around and a meaningful smile appeared on his lips: "However... if you want to see our manager, it's simple. The manager will naturally meet with you to hand over the treasures you bought at the pawnshop today."

Yan Mingzhang knew full well that he was willing but unable to do so. His salary was not high, and five thousand taels was already his limit. Looking at the glittering treasures on the stage, and then at the white-robed boy's confident expression, his throat tightened—to win the top prize at the auction, he would have to spend a fortune, but such a lavish act was simply beyond his means.

The price of the Chai kiln square vase has already been raised to four thousand taels, while the customers in rooms number one and two of the "Heavenly Class" are still competing, adding one thousand taels at a time. No one knows how high the price will be raised.

Several more treasures were auctioned off, including a jade ruyi and a bronze tripod...

Wealthy merchants and dignitaries below the stage vied for the bids, their shouts rising and falling. But these treasures, each worth thousands of gold pieces, were simply out of reach for Yan Mingzhang. He could only stand silently in the crowd, watching as the treasures fell into the hands of others one by one.

Finally, the last stage of the auction has begun.

The boy in white slowly walked onto the stage, and his attendants brought up ten identical wooden boxes, which were then lined up in a row. He stood smiling next to the boy in black; both of them were exquisitely beautiful and pleasing to the eye.

"what is this?"

"I do not know……"

The boy in white cleared his throat, a smile as always on his face, and announced loudly, "Gentlemen, let's play something fun! These ten boxes contain ten items, some valuable and some cheap. It costs five thousand coins for one chance to open a box. Whatever you open, you get. If you can guess today's prized item, then our Jiuqu Pawnshop can grant you one request, of course, something within our capabilities that is not illegal, disorderly, or immoral."

"What's inside? How are we supposed to film this?"

"Exactly, what if it's empty inside? Wouldn't we lose money?"

"That's right, that's right, nobody's money grows on trees!"

The boy in white and the boy in black exchanged a glance. The boy in white nodded to the ten attendants, who opened the box one by one. Inside were various items: the first three were a wooden spoon, a pair of copper chopsticks… and a dirty bowl. It was a bowl covered in grease and grime, and it looked like it hadn't been washed at all!

"Why are you selling broken spoons, broken chopsticks, and broken bowls? Are you kidding us?" "What, are you telling us to buy them and then go begging?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a burst of laughter erupted from the audience. People whispered among themselves, their eyes filled with mockery and contempt.

Rong Wanyin's eyes were sharp, and she immediately recognized it as the old beggar's bowl!
Rong Wanyin turned her head and looked at the old beggar not far away.

The old beggar, however, was focused on the food in front of him, not even looking up, and was wolfing down the roast chicken: "Another roast chicken, please!"

The old beggar sat in the main seat not far from Yan Mingzhang and the others. He tore off a glistening leg of roast chicken, the oil stains winding down his wrist and staining his clothes.

He swallowed the torn pieces of meat almost without chewing, and then held the bones to his mouth and sucked on them.

Everyone frowned upon seeing this, and those around him moved their chairs further away, clearing the space around the old beggar. He, however, remained unperturbed and showed no sign of shame.

Rong Wanyin didn't want to watch anymore, so she turned her head to see what would happen next.

The next seven items, however, look quite valuable.

The attendant opened the remaining seven boxes, revealing seven rather valuable items: a gold-inlaid jade ruyi, a Ru kiln celadon vase, a Hetian white jade thumb ring, a kingfisher feather and pearl phoenix crown, a bronze ancient sword inlaid with gold and silver, a jadeite court bead necklace, and a sable fur coat.

However, if each item costs five thousand taels, upon closer examination, it seems rather unreasonable.

This is nothing more than a game for the rich to pass the time and have fun.

The attendants carried the treasures off the stage and circled the arena. However, each item only stayed in front of the audience for a short while. Even those who knew the most about these treasures would probably find it difficult to judge their value in a short time.

After reading it, everyone present started discussing it.

Seeing that he had achieved the desired effect, the boy in white nodded to his attendants with satisfaction, and the attendants returned to the stage and closed the box again.

Then the curtain fell, and when it was opened again, the order of the boxes had been scrambled.

A gasp of amazement erupted from the audience. "Who could have guessed that?" "Exactly!"

Just as everyone was discussing, in room number one of the "Heavenly" suite, the curtain embroidered with golden cloud patterns suddenly trembled slightly. A slender, jade-like hand deftly lifted the curtain, and a silver bell on the wrist jingled softly with the movement. Immediately afterward, a pretty maid waved a silver note in her hand and said, "Our young master has offered fifty thousand taels to buy all ten boxes in the room."

Yes, as long as you have enough money, you can buy the most prized item directly. You should know that Jiuqu Pawnshop is not just a pawnshop. It has many informants and can find out many secrets. So, being able to get Jiuqu Pawnshop to do something for you is worth the 50,000 taels!
The white-robed boy bowed respectfully towards Room Number One, then politely declined, saying, "I'm truly sorry, but for the sake of fairness, I didn't have time to explain earlier—each distinguished guest can only choose one box at a time. If the treasure of the venue is not selected, we will immediately replace it with another one. In this way, there will always be ten boxes available for everyone to choose from each time, until the treasure of the venue is selected."

The maid pursed her lips, her face full of displeasure, and angrily went back to report to her young master.

A short while later, she came out again, waving the 5 taels of silver notes in her hand like a proud peacock.