“I must win the bid for it tonight,” declared a wealthy young man, holding a beauty in each arm.
Those who could afford to buy the jade pendant usually kept it as a collection piece, meticulously hidden away, rarely showing it to others. They were not short of money, so openly reselling the jade pendant was almost unheard of.
The jade pendant had gradually become a priceless commodity, and seeing it today piqued everyone’s curiosity.
The bidding price soared rapidly.
Across from the mid-air pavilion was a private room, separated by a thin veil. As the bids climbed higher, someone behind the veil lifted it with a fan and entered the room.
Shortly after the man entered, Aunt Cui also lifted the veil and walked in.
Although Aunt Cui still wore a silver mask, revealing only the upper half of her face, it didn’t hide the twinkle of amusement in her eyes. Her tone was light as she asked the man why he had time to come to her auction house today.
She poured him a cup of tea.
Her gaze casually swept over the jade pendant hanging from his waist. Aunt Cui remembered that he loved wearing jade pendants and thought he must have come because he heard about the auction of the jade pendant tonight.
The man drank the tea Aunt Cui poured for him and casually asked about the jade pendant, “When did this jade pendant appear?”
Aunt Cui sat beside him.
She was wearing a new blue silk dress tonight, accentuating her timeless charm.
Aunt Cui replied, “The day before yesterday.”
The man took her hand, “Why didn’t you send someone to inform me earlier, to have it sold to me privately? You know I love collecting jade pendants, and the jade pendant is exceptionally rare.”
Aunt Cui held the jade pendant on the man’s waist, “You know I’ve been in business for a long time, and I respect my clients’ wishes. If they want to auction it, we auction it; if they want to sell it privately, we sell it privately.”
“If they knew the price I would offer, they might change their minds.”
He said.
Ultimately, he was blaming her for not sending someone to inform him earlier.
Aunt Cui could easily discern this. She released the jade pendant on the man’s waist and said, “No, that client is unlikely to change their mind.” Qi Buyan wouldn’t easily change his mind once he decided on something.
The man looked at her and asked, “Do you know this client?”
Aunt Cui replied, “In a way.”
He smiled and didn’t pursue the matter further. Wanting more tea, he let go of Aunt Cui’s hand. “No wonder you’re so certain the client won’t change their mind—you know them.”
Aunt Cui responded professionally, “If you want the jade pendant, you can participate in the auction.”
“Very well.”
The man took a sip of tea. “It’s not that I must have this jade pendant.”
After finishing his tea, he mentioned that he had other matters to attend to and needed to leave. Aunt Cui didn’t try to detain him, and her smile faded as he left. She picked up his cup and poured herself some tea.
He wouldn’t come here without a reason. What was it for?
Aunt Cui lifted the veil in the private room.
She first looked at Shen Jianhe standing in the mid-air pavilion holding the red brocade box, then at Qi Buyan and He Sui’an standing by the railing on the third floor, slowly drinking her tea.
Was it because of that jade pendant?
Was it because of those holding the jade pendant?
Aunt Cui slowly rotated the teacup in her hand, her gaze fixed on them.
He Sui’an could feel someone staring at her. She looked up to find the source of the gaze and saw that it was Aunt Cui. She was somewhat puzzled.
Aunt Cui lowered the veil, as if she had just glanced their way by chance.
He Sui’an didn’t think much of it.
The auction lasted a long time.
The jade pendant was eventually purchased by a generous foreign merchant who loved collecting rare items. He spent a fortune to buy the slightly flawed jade pendant.
Those who couldn’t get the jade pendant congratulated him courteously, though some felt spending thousands of gold pieces on a purely decorative item was not worth it.
Shen Jianhe was so astonished he couldn’t close his mouth.
He knew the jade pendant was valuable, but he didn’t realize it could fetch such a high price.
To be honest, Shen Jianhe had never seen so much gold in his life. In his tomb raiding, he mostly found burial jewelry or porcelain, rarely encountering coffins filled with gold and silver.
From the mid-air pavilion, Shen Jianhe enthusiastically made faces and gestures towards He Sui’an and Qi Buyan.
He showed none of the seriousness expected of a senior.
He Sui’an looked towards the foreign merchant, wondering if someone had sent him to bid on their behalf. She called over a servant from the auction house to inquire.
The servant happened to know about the foreign merchant because he was wealthy and received special attention upon arrival. Everyone had to register their identity before entering the auction, including him.
The merchant had arrived in Chang’an today and had come to the auction house after learning about the event.
It didn’t seem like he was bidding on behalf of someone else.
He Sui’an looked at Qi Buyan.
He was no longer looking at the crowd below. “He isn’t the person we’re looking for.”
They were in agreement. He Sui’an was worried about another matter. “What about the jade pendant? Once it’s sold, we can’t go back on our word.” How would they explain this to Princess Luoyan?
Qi Buyan replied, “As long as I find the true culprit who killed her brother and sister-in-law, I won’t make any other guarantees.”
That’s true.
As long as they could find the real culprit for Princess Luoyan, the jade pendant would be irrelevant. Princess Luoyan hadn’t kept it because of its value.
He Sui’an also sensed Qi Buyan’s implication: although the person who bought the jade pendant wasn’t their target, they might have already achieved their objective. They just needed to wait for the right moment.
Shen Jianhe descended from the mid-air pavilion, “Miss He, Young Master Qi.”
The manager followed behind him.
After the auction, they had to complete the transaction face-to-face, exchanging money for the jade pendant. The auction house would oversee the process until the transaction was completed.
He Sui’an looked at the delighted Shen Jianhe, wanting to warn him of potential danger, but the presence of the manager made it difficult to speak openly.
By the time they finished the transaction, it was already late.
The auction house provided them with a carriage.
Most of the gold the merchant paid was in the carriage; the manager only took the auction house’s share, leaving the rest for them.
The three of them sat in the spacious carriage, departing through the auction house’s back gate.
He Sui’an and Qi Buyan sat on one side, while Shen Jianhe sat on the other with the gold, making envious noises as he enjoyed handling the gold.
At this point, she had no choice but to involve Shen Jianhe. Without informing him about the jade pendant, he wouldn’t understand the danger and wouldn’t be cautious.
She wasn’t worried about Shen Jianhe divulging the information; they were now in this together.
He Sui’an simplified the explanation.
Shen Jianhe’s smile gradually faded as he listened, and his hand slowly withdrew from the gold.
This gold wasn’t a windfall of wealth; it was a deadly curse. If the gold belonged to Shen Jianhe, he would accept it, but it didn’t. He blamed himself for showing off and going on stage.
Deeply regretful, Shen Jianhe tried to maintain his dignity as a senior, refusing to show fear. “You two youngsters aren’t afraid, so why should I be? I’ll be fine.”
He Sui’an’s eyes were filled with doubt.
Shen Jianhe slapped the gold, hurting his palm. “What kind of look is that? Don’t underestimate your Senior Shen. I’ve been wandering the Jianghu for over twenty years.”
To preserve Shen Jianhe’s dignity, He Sui’an tempered her skeptical look.
Qi Buyan lifted the carriage curtain with one hand and looked outside, spinning a bone flute in his pale fingers as if playing.
Night had fallen, and the streets were ablaze with lights.
Many pedestrians and carriages passed by.
As the carriage passed the street where Shen Jianhe was staying, he called for the driver to stop.
Shen Jianhe jumped out of the carriage, bid them farewell, walked a few steps, then returned, saying that if they encountered danger, they could come to him for help. He would be staying in Chang’an for a few more days.
After saying this, Shen Jianhe saw Qi Buyan’s bone flute. He suddenly felt that he need not worry about their safety out of a sense of Jianghu chivalry. He should be more concerned about his own safety.
Shen Jianhe left.
A while later, He Sui’an returned to the inn. The carriage driver, who worked for the auction house, dropped them off and left. The gold-laden carriage remained, and she asked a servant to take care of it.
The servant wouldn’t open the carriage without permission; he would only feed the horse. He Sui’an went upstairs with Qi Buyan.
Once in her room, she collapsed onto the bed, exhausted and ready to sleep.
Her embroidered shoes were casually tossed off, one landing east, the other west.
Her skirt hem was caught under her leg as she lay on the bed. She lay there for a while, eyes closed, undoing the ribbon in her hair. Today she had braided it and tied it with a long ribbon, which was easy to remove.
After undoing the braid, He Sui’an tucked the ribbon under her pillow, then rolled over to the inner side of the bed. Recently, Qi Buyan had been sleeping on the outer side.
Qi Buyan sat at the table, unhurriedly removing the silver ornaments from his hair.
The silver ornaments made a crisp sound in the room.
He Sui’an heard the faint sound of the silver ornaments and opened her eyes to look around the room. A candle burned on the table, casting light and shadow on Qi Buyan’s face, creating a beautiful silhouette.
Qi Buyan had been adept at tying and untying his silver ornaments since childhood. It didn’t take him long to remove all the silver from his hair.
His slightly curly hair fell to his slender waist. He raised his hand to undo the buckle of his belt.
The belt and silver ornaments were neatly put away.
She thought Qi Buyan’s next step would be to return to bed and rest. Unexpectedly, he didn’t go back to bed but walked over to the wardrobe and opened a bundle.
Was Qi Buyan planning to change into new clothes before sleeping? He Sui’an glanced down at her own clothes. It didn’t seem necessary; their clothes weren’t dirty since they had changed into fresh ones before going to the auction in the evening.
He Sui’an’s gaze followed Qi Buyan.
She wanted to ask if he was going to change clothes. If he was, she would turn around.
But then she saw that what Qi Buyan took out of the bundle wasn’t clothes; it was a book. Seeing this, He Sui’an quickly scrambled to her feet. “Why do you suddenly want to read that book today?”
He looked at her as she stumbled towards him. “Didn’t you tell me to read more books besides those about Gu?”
He Sui’an was speechless.
But this wasn’t the kind of book she meant. “That’s not what I meant…”
Before she could finish her sentence.
Qi Buyan opened the book.
His long fingers just happened to press down on a page with a vivid illustration.
