It was the Little Demon King who reacted first. He quickly wiped the water off his brother and blew on his skin to prevent any burns from hurting.
The next moment, Zong Wenxiu's tears fell.
The Little Demon King was stunned. "Brother, was it really that hot? I just took a sip earlier..."
Zong Wenxiu, his eyes red, said, "It's Tongya. She's alive. She's here..."
"Who's Tongya?" He Zheng had no idea.
But the Little Demon King suddenly remembered. His brother had once mentioned that his aunt's daughter had gone missing in the slums four years ago, and his aunt had since lost her mind.
"Is she your... sister?"
Zong Wenxiu nodded, tears streaming down his face. "Yes, it's her. I found her. She's alive."
The Little Demon King immediately stood up. "I'll buy her."
He knew that the dancers in the dance hall could be bought with silver.
When the young servant heard that he wanted to buy someone, he glanced between the Little Demon King and Tongya with a sly look in his eyes. "Young master, don't be in such a hurry. Once this young lady finishes her performance, we'll hold an auction. That's the rule."
The Little Demon King glared coldly. "If you keep looking at me like that, I'll knock your brains out."
The young servant: "..."
What a violent child. No wonder he's out here causing trouble at such a young age.
The Little Demon King sat back down, while Zong Wenxiu fidgeted nervously, forced to watch Tongya's performance from above.
Tongya was a year younger than him. She used to be lively and cheerful as a child. But after four years, she no longer smiled. Her face was icy, and Zong Wenxiu couldn't bear to imagine what she had been through.
Tongya's dance was something she had learned over the past four years. Paired with her cold demeanor, it was a huge hit. When she finished her dance, the crowd erupted into applause, shouting for her to dance again.
Tongya remained expressionless, while Zong Wenxiu was so angry he wanted to slam the table. If his mother and aunt knew that their sister was dancing in such a place, entertaining others, they would be heartbroken.
Fortunately, Tongya didn't continue dancing. Instead, she was led by a woman to the center of the stage, where the auction began. "This young lady is making her debut. The starting bid is one hundred taels. Please begin bidding."
"I bid one hundred and ten taels!"
"One hundred and fifty taels!"
The bids kept rising. When it reached five hundred taels, the crowd began to slow down.
The Little Demon King called the young servant over and instructed him to announce, "The esteemed guest from the Plum Blossom private room bids one thousand taels."
The private rooms upstairs had curtains, so the people downstairs couldn't see who was bidding. They were all curious but couldn't make out anything.
"The esteemed guest from the Apricot Blossom private room bids two thousand taels," another young servant announced.
The entire room erupted in shock.
The bids had been increasing by tens of taels, but now the two guests from the private rooms were raising the stakes by thousands.
"Three thousand taels," the Little Demon King continued.
This was his brother's family. No matter what, he had to save Tongya.
Silver? The Marquis's household had plenty of that!
"The esteemed guest from the Apricot Blossom private room bids four thousand taels!"
The Little Demon King's face turned cold. "Five thousand taels."
He Zheng was stunned.
Bro, that's five thousand taels, not five thousand coins.
Are you... are you really that rich?
Zong Wenxiu was also at a loss. "Jin Cheng..."
The Little Demon King said firmly, "Don't worry, Brother. We have the money. If Mother deducts it from my monthly allowance, so be it. I can keep studying."
Zong Wenxiu was deeply moved.
Five thousand taels. It would take his brother seven years to repay that.
With tears in his eyes, he said, "I'll help you repay it."
"Okay," the Little Demon King smiled.
They had united their forces, but the Apricot Blossom private room was still raising the stakes. This time, they made a bold move: "Eight thousand taels."
"Eight thousand taels! The Apricot Blossom private room bids eight thousand taels!"
"My heavens, am I dreaming? This girl is beautiful, but even a heavenly beauty isn't worth eight thousand taels! What are they doing?" Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by novel·fire.net
"The battles of the wealthy are truly terrifying," those who had been eagerly bidding earlier all gave up.
The Little Demon King's face darkened at the mention of eight thousand taels. Damn it, this shouldn't be happening. Which family in the capital could be wealthier than the Marquis's household?
He refused to believe it and turned to the young servant. "Don't you need to verify if they actually have that much silver before they bid? What if they're just bluffing and can't actually pay?"
As he spoke, the Little Demon King lifted the jade pendants he and his brother were wearing as proof. "Five thousand taels—we can pay that right now. What about them? Can they really come up with eight thousand taels?"
He refused to believe that anyone in the capital could casually spend that much silver without batting an eye.
Judging by the way they were raising the bid by three thousand taels at a time, they might even push it to tens of thousands.
Tens of thousands of taels? He'd be studying at home until his hair turned gray.
This was too abnormal!
The young servant sent someone to check on the other party. The Little Demon King saw a plaque being displayed in the opposite private room, though he couldn't make out what it said. Soon, the young servant returned and said, "Young master, rest assured. The other party is legitimate."
The Little Demon King gritted his teeth. "Damn it, who is he?"
The young servant apologized, "I'm afraid I can't disclose that. Of course, we haven't revealed your identity either."
"Will the young master continue bidding?" the young servant asked.
The Little Demon King didn't want to raise the bid anymore. Earlier, he had been desperate to save Tongya for his brother and had followed the dance hall's rules by participating in the auction. But now that he had calmed down, he realized how strange the whole situation was, from start to finish.
He turned to the young servant and asked, "I just want to buy a dancer. Five thousand taels is enough to buy your entire dance hall, yet I can't buy her? Don't you think that's absurd?"
The young servant thought to himself: It is absurd. I've never seen such a young buyer.
But wealthy families have all sorts of eccentricities. Who knows who this arrogant little brat really is?
Zong Jincheng pressed further, "I've only heard of courtesans being auctioned off. This is the first time I've seen a dancer being auctioned. She's only ten years old. What do these people want with her?"
The young servant was slippery with his words. "Young master, what you want to do with her is what others want to do with her."
The Little Demon King felt like smashing a hammer over his head.
He steadied his emotions and said, "Where is this girl's contract? I need to see if she actually belongs to your establishment before I decide whether to continue bidding."
The young servant's expression immediately changed. He narrowed his eyes and said, "Young master, if you can't afford the price, you can look at other girls. Don't interfere with our business."
The Little Demon King tilted his head and asked, "How am I interfering with your business? I pay, you provide the person and the contract. Isn't that the proper procedure for a transaction? Or is it that your people are of questionable origin—you have the person but no contract?"