Free Web NovelChapter 117: Chapter 89: Shawu’s Wish is Finally Granted
Cheng Shawu’s face paled when she heard this, but she couldn’t say anything.
No one else in the room spoke. For a moment, Cheng Shawu wondered if everyone present was too afraid to contend with those three.
Xu Lei didn’t say anything either. After all, a war of words was pointless.
「Another half an hour passed in a flash.」
The auction items were brought out one by one.
That’s right. They weren’t starting with the Official Slaves, but were auctioning other items first.
Xu Lei had no interest in any of these items.
That is, until an item the Madam hosting the event called a "heavyweight" was brought to the stage!
"This grand finale item is—a painting by the Divine Monk Wu Tan... *Portrait of Wei Qingning*!"
The Madam pulled back a silk curtain, revealing a painting. "This painting was long lost, but today, it has finally reappeared!
I’m sure you all know what astronomical prices the Divine Monk Wu Tan’s other works, like the *Portrait of Yu Fengying*, have fetched, correct?
The Divine Monk Wu Tan left few paintings to the world—only a handful.
The others that have surfaced have all been auctioned for exorbitant prices!
Only one remained unaccounted for: the *Portrait of Wei Qingning*, described in the notes of Elder Mr. Xipo. He wrote that when he visited the Divine Monk Wu Tan, he saw a portrait of Wei Qingning so beautiful it was as if she were a celestial being!
It has never before appeared in public!
And today’s auction item is that very painting!"
Everyone in attendance grew excited.
"This Wei Qingning is an utter mystery!"
"Countless scholars have scoured the annals of history, yet they’ve found so little about her!"
"But in all the paintings left by the Divine Monk Wu Tan, the women depicted are all extraordinary figures!"
"One was the wife of the founding Duke, Wei Qingning!"
"Another was a female court physician from a previous dynasty!"
"Another was a consort from a previous dynasty!"
"Therefore, for the Divine Monk Wu Tan to have painted her portrait, this Wei Qingning must also have been an extraordinary woman!"
"Wei Qingning’s name is phonetically similar to Duke Wei Qingning’s. Many scholars believe she must have been Duke Wei’s sister, either older or younger!"
"She must have been a great heroine of her time, contributing immensely to the founding of the Great Shang and the establishment of the Wei Family’s power! She simply remained hidden in the shadows!"
"In the Wei Family at the time, Duke Wei Qingning was likely the one in the forefront, while this Wei Qingning was his shadow, operating from behind the scenes!"
Discussions erupted both on and off the stage.
"The starting bid for this painting is five thousand taels of silver!" the Madam finally announced loudly.
Xu Lei was slightly stunned.
He never expected that the few paintings he’d left behind all those years ago would now be circulating in the world, every one of them worth a fortune.
For all these years, Xu Lei had been living as a monk focused on his cultivation and had paid no attention to the contemporary art market.
So he had no idea his paintings from that era had become items that fetched astronomical prices.
’Wait a minute. Most of my paintings from that time were left at the temple.’
But then he thought, ’But the *Portrait of Wei Qingning*... I distinctly remember burying it together with the Jade Pendant. How could it possibly be circulating now?’
When Xu Lei had gone back to retrieve the Jade Pendant, he had naturally taken the portrait as well.
Therefore, the real *Portrait of Wei Qingning* was still in Xu Lei’s possession, lying right inside his Qiankun Cloth Bag!
Xu Lei examined it closely and, just as he’d suspected, discovered the painting on stage was a forgery, created by someone imitating the style of his other works, like the *Portrait of Yu Fengying*.
The forger’s skills were quite good, but the depiction of Wei Qingning’s face was completely wrong.
But that made sense. The world didn’t know that Duke Wei Qingning and the woman in the portrait, Wei Qingning, were the same person.
People’s ideas about Wei Qingning all came from the written descriptions left behind by Mr. Xipo and a few other contemporaries.
"I bid five thousand five hundred taels!"
"I bid six thousand taels!"
"I bid six thousand two hundred taels!"
"Six thousand four hundred taels!"
But even though it was a forgery, many people in the crowd were still eagerly placing bids.
"We’ll bid ten thousand taels!"
Just as Xu Lei was considering whether to expose the painting as a fake, Liu Linzhang and his companions unexpectedly placed a bid.
Seeing them bid such a high price for a forgery, Xu Lei naturally decided to just sit back and watch.
After all, the three of them had already declared their intention to bid for Cheng Shawu, which meant they would undoubtedly be Xu Lei’s rivals.
It was just as well to let this forgery drain some of their funds first.
Although Xu Lei had money, he was more than happy to avoid spending too much if he could.
At this point, most of the other bidders fell silent. After all, ten thousand taels was a significant sum of money.
"Eleven thousand taels!" But just then, a middle-aged man’s voice called out from another section.
"Twelve thousand taels!" The three brothers’ brows furrowed as they called out again.
"Thirteen thousand taels!" But the middle-aged man immediately countered.
"Fifteen thousand taels!" The three brothers exchanged a look, conferred briefly, and called out again.
The two parties went back and forth, driving the price all the way up to a full thirty thousand taels of silver!
Of course, by this point, the price was clearly starting to strain the three brothers.
The middle-aged man was about to bid again.
Just then, Zhi Jian’s wife came over to stop him in private.
Xu Lei had sent her.
The middle-aged man’s surname was Liang, and Xu Lei guessed that he was a descendant of his and Liang Fangying’s from all those years ago.
Therefore, Xu Lei didn’t want his descendant to waste his money. Conversely, he had no intention of stopping the three brothers from wasting theirs.
"What? The painting is a fake?"
Master Liang was stunned by the private message. "Madam Shen, are you certain? Shouldn’t all the items at this auction house have been authenticated?"
"If Master Liang trusts me, then please heed my words."
Madam Shen then said, "The one who says this painting is a fake is a disciple of the Divine Monk Wu Tan himself!"
"What?" Master Liang was startled. "The Divine Monk Wu Tan has a disciple still living in this world?"
Although it was only her word, he ultimately chose to believe her and did not place another bid.
And so, Liu Linzhang and his two companions successfully won the bid for the counterfeit painting.
After that, the Official Slaves were brought up one by one to be auctioned.
Cheng Shawu was the last to be brought up.
Although she was already the most valuable of this batch of Official Slaves.
