A servant, holding a scroll, hurried to Xue Susu's side and whispered in her ear.
The guests all noticed the brief look of surprise on the courtesan's face before she quickly regained her composure.
"The next item is a late addition to the auction." Xue Susu took the scroll from the servant, smiled faintly, and slowly unfurled it.
The masterpiece Fan Li had entrusted to the servant was now revealed to all the guests on the Smoke and Waves Pleasure Barge.
"This piece is titled 'Tao Te Ching.'"
"The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name. The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth. The named is the mother of ten thousand things. Therefore, constantly without desire, one observes its essence. Constantly with desire, one observes its manifestations. These two emerge from the same source but have different names. Together they are called the Mystery. Mystery within mystery. The gateway to all wonders…"
The five thousand words of the Tao Te Ching, written in the Slender Gold Script.
As the scroll unfurled, a strange phenomenon occurred. Outside the Smoke and Waves, auspicious clouds gathered in the sky, vast and boundless. Inside, a fragrant aroma filled the air, and a surge of auspicious energy pulsed through the barge.
Golden light, radiating the essence of the Tao, bathed the scroll in Xue Susu's hands.
The guests gasped!
"The words of a sage?!"
"The merit of enlightenment?!"
"The Tao Te Ching? What a magnificent piece of writing! What profound wisdom! What masterful calligraphy!"
"This work deserves to be passed down through generations!"
"This work can govern the world!"
"This work can save the world!!!"
Even Fan Li, in his private room, was stunned.
What was going on?
He had simply submitted a piece of calligraphy he practiced daily, and it had caused such a commotion?
It was just the Tao Te Ching. Why were they reacting so dramatically?
Could it be… that this world had no Tao Te Ching?
Fan Li realized, with a hint of embarrassment, that he had been too flamboyant. If he had known, he would have simply written a piece from the Three Character Classic.
Xue Susu was also clearly shocked! She couldn't help but glance towards Fan Li's private room. Thankfully, the guests below, their interest piqued, urged her to explain the origin of this treasure.
"This…" Xue Susu took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "This item for auction was provided by the Fan Clan Trading Company. The calligraphy of Duke Jin of the Great Chu, the 'Tao Te Ching.'"
The guests were stunned!
"What? Such a treasure, and it's from the enemy nation?!"
"Duke Jin of the Great Chu? Isn't he a notorious traitor?"
"How could a traitor write such a piece?"
"Could it be that a reclusive Confucian scholar wrote it on his behalf?"
"I've never seen this calligraphy style before, but I sense an imperial aura!"
"A subject's calligraphy? I don't believe it! This is clearly the work of an Emperor!"
Xue Susu summoned a servant and whispered in his ear. The servant hurried to Fan Li's private room. This exchange was to discreetly inquire about the "details" of the Tao Te Ching.
"Everyone." Xue Susu, now confident, continued her introduction. "The 'Tao Te Ching' is indeed the work of Duke Jin, Fan Li. The calligraphy style used is called the Slender Gold Script. It was created by Fan Li himself."
Fan Li, in his private room, touched his nose awkwardly.
Claiming credit for the Tao Te Ching and the Slender Gold Script was a necessity.
The atmosphere had reached this point. He had to slightly "mythologize" his image to ensure the piece fetched a good price.
Moreover, creating a sensation would help him, under the alias of Fan Zhe, befriend the Great Ming's elite.
And indeed, the guests, hearing that Fan Li possessed such literary talent, were stunned.
A work that resonated with Heaven and Earth!
An imperial calligraphy style!
This was a Confucian treasure. To study it day and night would surely bring immense benefits!
It didn't matter whether it was created by an enemy official. The treasure itself was blameless!
"Starting bid…" Xue Susu considered what an appropriate starting price would be.
Grand Secretary Yan Song's calligraphy had started at one thousand taels.
Junior Grand Secretary Xu Jie's calligraphy had started at eight hundred taels.
Duke Jin of the Great Chu's calligraphy, with its extraordinary quality, a low starting price wouldn't be appropriate, but a high price might offend the Grand Secretary and the Junior Grand Secretary.
"Ten thousand taels!" Someone suddenly shouted, interrupting her thoughts.
The first bid, and it was ten thousand taels?!
Xue Susu glanced at the bidder and secretly sighed with relief. It was Xu Fan, the son of the Great Ming's Junior Grand Secretary.
"Hehe, a mere ten thousand taels? You think you can take home such a treasure for that?" Yan Shifan's mocking voice came from his private room. "One million taels!"
The guests were stunned!
The sons of the Grand Secretary and the Junior Grand Secretary, with just two bids, had driven the price of the "Tao Te Ching" to one million taels?!
The guests present were all wealthy and influential. Most of them were officials. They were acutely sensitive to the Great Ming's political climate.
They immediately realized that their Emperor, obsessed with Daoism and cultivation, if this "Tao Te Ching" were presented to him… wouldn't it guarantee their rise to power?!
"I… I'll offer one million five hundred thousand taels!"
Someone from the main hall raised the bid. This was the first time, aside from Xu Fan, that a guest had dared to compete with Yan Shifan.
"Hmm?!"
Yan Shifan, clearly hadn't expected this. He was furious.
But he looked down from his private room and saw that the bidder was a descendant of a founding father of the Great Ming Dynasty. He held a hereditary title that, in terms of prestige, was even higher than Grand Secretary Yan Song's.
"Humph!"
Yan Shifan, unable to do anything, continued bidding begrudgingly.
"Two million!"
"Two million one hundred thousand!"
"Two million two hundred thousand!"
"Two million three hundred thousand!"
The price kept rising!
Grand Secretary Yan Song's face was important, and Yan Shifan couldn't be easily offended. But in the face of this Daoist text, a treasure that could surely please Emperor Jiajing and earn them his favor, all other considerations became insignificant.
Finally, as the price continued to climb, silver was no longer a suitable currency.
"One hundred thousand top-grade spirit stones!"
"Three hundred thousand top-grade spirit stones!"
"Five hundred thousand!"
"…!"
The fierce bidding finally stopped at a staggering two million top-grade spirit stones, plus ten ninth-rank Earth-grade spirit treasures!
It wasn't that the guests had reached their financial limits and couldn't offer Heaven-grade spirit treasures.
The Great Ming Dynasty had many hidden dragons and crouching tigers. There were prestigious families who possessed one or two Heaven-grade treasures. But Emperor Jiajing was notoriously stingy and ungrateful. Even if they pleased him, the rewards would be limited.
This Emperor truly resembled his ancestors. Similarly powerful, but even more miserly.
"Sold! Thank you, Young Master Yan, for your generosity in supporting the widows of our fallen soldiers from the northern territories."
In the end, Fan Li's "Tao Te Ching" was purchased by Yan Shifan. Thus, Fan Li and Yan Shifan had established a connection at tonight's auction. And indeed within moments, someone knocked on Fan Li's private room door.
The auction continued. The next item was a painting by the new Top Scholar, Chen Deyan – "Ten Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains in the Great Ming."
With the previous three calligraphy pieces setting such a high bar, the starting bid for the Top Scholar's masterpiece was a mere one hundred taels of silver.
But this was no longer Fan Li's concern.
"Master Fan, please, my master awaits you inside."
Fan Li followed the Yan household servant and entered Yan Shifan's private room. He immediately saw a man in luxurious clothes with a face sharp as a hawk's.
"So! It's you, you little brat, who made me spend so much!"