CHAPTER 305: CHAPTER 98: EPHEMERAL FLOWER SAINT HAND

After such a grand opening scene, nobody paid attention anymore to whether the "five hundred million" figure touted outside was truly realized.

The final amount of the auction was locked in around three hundred million, which was already far higher than the highest auction total price in the country thus far. What’s most commendable is that Subi Auction House, which had never hosted any major auctions before, did not have a single item passed in; each exhibited item was sold for at least twenty percent above its reserve price.

Perhaps it was the novelty of this unique auction that was too intriguing, or maybe it was the patriotic blood lurking in the veins of the people of Z country, but these guests, accustomed to the glitter of money and accustomed to measured advances and retreats in the business battlegrounds, all lost their sharpness, contributing to the great success of the auction.

When the auction ended, the city’s leadership praised Su Qingzhang thoroughly, equating the triumph of the auction to the Su Family building another landmark structure in Mo City.

The media surrounded Miss Su Ziceng and the organizers. They questioned whether such a rare cushion implied that Subi Auction House, coated in a merchant’s sugary shell, was in reality feeding on royal provisions.

"No comment, thank you," Su Ziceng squeezed out from under the spotlight, her countless experiences telling her that silence was the best explanation when facing the media. The more room for imagination left to the outside world, the more spectacular the various reports would be tomorrow.

Besides, up to now, she herself did not understand how such an ordinary cushion could become a treasure in others’ eyes. The only one who could answer her question was Pello, but he had vanished after handing over the auction item to Shang Yin.

The dispersing guests were still savoring the joy of successfully acquiring their collectibles, while the ladies and misses admired the fans in their hands, and the generous hosts even provided a special auction wine afterward, supposedly sponsored by "Fig Wine Shop."

Outside the auction house, the crowd was also slowly dispersing. A twelve-seater van turned into the back alley of Subi Auction House under the transport of an inconspicuous male driver.

Pello stood at the end of the alleyway, watching as Shang Yin instructed people to move the Dragon Chair inside.

"Was this your doing?" Although Shang Yin and Pello had worked together for many years, they both acted independently. Just like this time Shang Yin secretly took the Dragon Chair without informing Pello beforehand.

"Just a woman’s debt," Shang Yin had to reconcile with Chang Chi over the Dragon Chair, but also had to recover some of his outlay of the two million in real gold and silver.

"Having been a businessman for a few years, you’ve become more and more practiced," Pello detected Shang Yin’s playful smirk, "Without my subtle intervention, how could you have had the chance to win the lady’s heart?"

Su Ziceng would surely be immensely grateful for Pello’s timely intervention.

"I don’t need such methods," Pello still remembered Su Ziceng’s pale face and forced, helpless smile when she first saw the Dragon Chair missing, his displeasure grew more apparent.

"Alright, alright, even if I did a bad thing with good intentions, what will you do with this cushion that has been hyped to the skies?" Shang Yin couldn’t figure out Pello’s mind, as Su Ziceng was clearly one of his enemies. Sometimes, he seemed to care especially, saying that only a woman’s heart is as inscrutable as a needle at the bottom of the sea, but Pello, a man with equally meticulous thoughts and intelligence, was even more enigmatic.

"Send it back to the Central Military District," Pello’s purpose in having Shang Yin purchase the cushion was just to have it returned to its original owner, "Doing things in Z country is a lot simpler with the government’s help."

Pello walked to the entrance of the alley, the night hiding his face in the shadows. Su Qingzhang and other wealthy city merchants filed out one by one, luxury cars merged into the night, leaving behind a trail of tail lights.

"Ephemeral Flower Saint Hand? Miss Su Ziceng was actually called the Ephemeral Flower Saint Hand?" Chang Chi, not following Su Qingzhang and the others, was determined to confront Hang Yishao, but she could not hold back any longer after receiving a call from the gossip media she had specifically invited to "support" the event.

"The mainstream media all wrote it like that, claiming that this auction was as sudden and elusive as a rare bloom, and that Miss Su Ziceng, who organized and managed this auction project, was a once-in-a-lifetime master hand," said the gossip media, though marginal, still had basic professional integrity. They could not deliberately "smash" an auction widely regarded as successful by public opinion, so they rejected the space Chang Chi had paid for.