The tyrannical father was so intimidated when his own daughter was found during the raid.

Su Yaoyao's clear voice ignited the atmosphere.

She held a glass ball in her hand, her face full of unfathomable mystery.

"Your Majesties, this is no ordinary luminous pearl! Look at its color, look at its glow!"

Su Yaoyao continued her charade with an air of seriousness, "It's filled with celestial spiritual energy!"

"Just place it by your pillow every night, and in less than three months, I guarantee your skin will be smooth and supple, like that of a young woman in her late teens."

As she spoke, she shook the glass ball in the sunlight.

The fluorescent powder mixed with glass shards refracts a dazzling halo of light under sunlight.

The women's eyes gleamed with a hungry, wolf-like light as they stared at the glass ball.

"I'll offer fifteen thousand taels!"

In the crowd, a palace maid dressed in a pink palace dress raised her hand high and shouted loudly.

This was one of the servants Su Yaoyao had arranged in advance, and her acting skills were excellent.

"What's fifteen thousand taels? This is a magical item that can grant eternal youth! You'll never get another chance like it!"

Another undercover agent, disguised as a nanny, also jumped out, waving his hand with great bravado, displaying an air of certainty.

"I'll offer twenty thousand taels! Don't try to take it from me, I'm buying my youth today!"

With two envoys setting the pace, the concubines who were initially hesitant could no longer sit still.

"I'll offer twenty-five thousand taels!"

"Thirty thousand taels! Plus the red gold and ruby ​​headdress I wear!"

Prices skyrocketed, and the elegant pavilion was transformed into a frenzied, competitive vegetable market.

Lin Wan'er stood to the side, her pure and elegant face contorted, her fingers twisting a handkerchief.

She stared at the pink luminous pearl in Su Yaoyao's hand, her heart bleeding with jealousy.

She is known as the most talented woman in the capital, destined to be the empress and outshine all others.

If the treasure that keeps you young falls into someone else's hands, what advantages will she have left?

Moreover, she set up this scheme today to suppress Su Yaoyao and show off her wealth and power!

Now that this wild girl has stolen all the limelight, how can she swallow this humiliation?

"I'll offer fifty thousand taels!"

Lin Wan'er gritted her teeth, took a step forward, and spoke in a sharp voice.

The room fell silent, and everyone turned to look at her.

Fifty thousand taels!

This is definitely not a small amount; it's enough for ordinary people to live on for several lifetimes!

Su Yaoyao was secretly overjoyed, but on the surface she pretended to be in a difficult position.

"Oh dear, cousin, these celestial treasures are awarded to the highest bidder; it's not something I can control."

"Fifty thousand taels is a lot, but isn't it a bit meager for eternal youth?"

Su Yaoyao secretly gave a wink to Tuo'er in the crowd.

The disguised old woman understood immediately and shouted loudly.

"That's right! I'll offer sixty thousand taels! If Miss Lin doesn't have the money, she shouldn't bother coming here; it'll only make her look foolish!"

These words were like a poisonous thorn, piercing deeply into Lin Wan'er's fragile, vain heart.

No money?

How could she, the cousin of a great general, be poor!

What she has in abundance is confidence!

"Seventy thousand taels!"

Lin Wan'er's eyes were bloodshot as she shouted the number with all her might.

She quickly pulled the gold hairpin from her hair and took off the mutton-fat jade bracelet from her wrist, slamming them all onto the stone table.

"Including the jewelry I'm wearing, it's worth at least ten thousand taels!"

Looking at the high-quality jade jewelry, Su Yaoyao's mind was racing with calculations.

Wow, these chives are quite plump; looks like we can harvest one last big batch.

Su Yaoyao deliberately sighed and shook her head in disappointment.

"Cousin, although your jewelry is valuable, it is still just inanimate objects."

"If you want to exchange for a celestial treasure, you're probably still a bit short of the required level."

"Cousin, maybe you should just forget about it. After all, you still need to raise winter clothes for the soldiers at the border. Don't let a small thing cause you to lose more than you gain."

This provocation tactic, used on Lin Wan'er who was blinded by vanity, was a fatal blow!

"Who says I can't afford it! I need this bead today!"

Lin Wan'er was carried away, her reason vanished, and she forgot all about being gentle.

She turned her head and shouted sternly at the maid behind her.

"Bring me pen and ink! Quickly!"

The maid trembled with fright and quickly laid out the paper and pen she carried with her on the stone table, and ground the ink.

Lin Wan'er picked up a brush, her wrist trembling, and quickly wrote an IOU on the rice paper.

"One hundred thousand taels of silver!"

Lin Wan'er slammed the IOU down in front of Su Yaoyao, her chest heaving violently, her eyes filled with madness.

"I will have this 100,000 taels of silver delivered to Zhaoyang Palace shortly. I will not go back on my word!"

Su Yaoyao glanced at the still-wet ink on the IOU, but did not immediately reach out to take it.

A sly glint flashed in his clear, large eyes.

"Cousin, words are no proof. What if you renege on your debt with an IOU?"

"This young lady is very particular about cash on delivery; I do not accept credit."

Lin Wan'er was so angry that she trembled all over and almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

She's the niece of a great general, surely she wouldn't try to cheat me out of 100,000 taels of silver!

"Fine! Since you want ready-made collateral, I'll give it to you today!"

Like a gambler who has lost everything, Lin Wan'er reached into her sleeve with trembling hands.

He took out three slightly yellowed contracts and slammed them on the table with a "thud".

"These are the land deeds for three prime shops in the best location on Zhuque Street in Beijing!"

"These three shops were a birthday gift from the General, and they bring in at least tens of thousands of taels of silver every year!"

"Adding the 100,000 taels IOU from earlier, that should be more than enough to exchange for this luminous pearl of yours!"

Lin Wan'er's eyes were bloodshot as she stared intently at Su Yaoyao, her gaze filled with a morbid stubbornness.

These three prime shops are actually Lin Zhenxiong's core assets, which she secretly used to enhance her image.

Now, for the sake of this bead that can keep her young forever, she doesn't care about anything else, since the general dotes on her so much anyway.

Once she possesses unparalleled beauty and has all the men in the world under her thumb, what are a few shops compared to that!

Su Yaoyao's eyes lit up when she saw the three land deeds.

Holy crap! A prime shop on Zhuque Street in Beijing! This is a money-printing machine in a golden location!

[This is a huge windfall! Not only did they secure funding for military R&D, but they also have a storefront for future weapons experience stores!]

With quick reflexes, Su Yaoyao snatched the land deed, IOU, and jewelry into her arms.

They acted so quickly, as if afraid Lin Wan'er would change her mind.

"make a deal!"

Su Yaoyao grinned from ear to ear and readily shoved the glass ball into Lin Wan'er's hand.

"My cousin is so generous! This 'Pink Pearl' is yours from now on!"

"Remember, every night before you go to sleep, make sure to place it on your heart to absorb the essence of the sun and moon. Sincerity will bring results!"

Lin Wan'er held the glass ball, which emitted a pinkish glow, in both hands as if it were a priceless treasure.

She felt a warm current flowing across her face as soon as she held the beads in her hand, and her skin felt firmer.

This is the power of a celestial treasure!

It was worth it for her to go bankrupt!

Lin Wan'er arrogantly surveyed the women around her who were filled with envy, her vanity greatly satisfied.

Although it cost us all our savings and even cost us the General's shop, it was all worth it!

This fundraising banquet ended in such an absurd way.

The women dispersed reluctantly, each secretly plotting how to find a magical treasure on the black market.

As the sun sets, the Imperial Garden returns to tranquility.

Su Yaoyao, accompanied by Cui'er, swaggered back to Zhaoyang Palace.

As soon as she entered the room, Su Yaoyao couldn't wait to dump all the things she was carrying onto the canopy bed.

"Hahaha! I'm rich!"

Su Yaoyao propped her little face up, looked at the IOU for 100,000 taels and the land deeds for three prime shops, and laughed out a cheerful goose-like quack.

These ancient idiots are incredibly stupid.

[The fluorescent powder and glass shards that were rubbed off were exchanged for 100,000 taels of silver and three prime shops. This was an incredibly lucrative deal!]

Now we have the R&D funding, and we also have the prime retail space.

Su Yaoyao sat cross-legged on the bed, folded the land deed with satisfaction, and stuffed it into her small purse.

A thoughtful look quickly surfaced in her clear, peach-blossom eyes.

She held a charcoal sketch of a Gatling gun in her hand and gently tapped her head.

We have the money, but we still don't have enough materials to build a Gatling gun.

Looks like I'll have to take Prince to another round of free shopping tonight.