Chapter 780: Competing for the Courtesan

The crowd below exchanged glances—the current bid had far exceeded their budgets. They had always known they were merely extras in this grand spectacle, never truly expecting to win the courtesan. Their earlier bids had been partly for fun and partly out of fleeting hope, but the fat man’s offer had brought them back to reality.  

“No higher bids than five thousand taels of gold?” After a brief pause and seeing no further offers, the madam smirked knowingly. She had already gauged the limits of those below and deliberately—or perhaps not—glanced toward the private rooms upstairs.  

“If no one else bids, the beauty is mine!” the fat man bellowed impatiently, as if eager to rush over, pull the veiled beauty into his arms, and indulge to his heart’s content.  

“Six thousand taels!” A cold, clear voice rang out from a nearby private box. 

Song Qingshu immediately recognized it—it was the yellow robed woman.  

‘So she’s here for the Song princess.’ He nodded inwardly. Given her Song heritage, it wasn’t surprising she wanted to rescue these pitiable royal women.  

A thought struck him: ‘Could her repeated infiltrations of the palace have been targeting the Laundry Courtyard as well?’  

“Seven thousand taels!” The fat man, furious at being challenged, immediately raised the bid by another thousand.  

“Eight thousand!” The yellow robed woman’s voice remained icy, but Song Qingshu could sense the suppressed rage beneath it.  

“Ten thousand taels!” The fat man roared, declaring his unshakable resolve. 

Yet Song Qingshu noticed the trembling of his chubby cheeks—clearly, even he winced at such an exorbitant sum.  

The yellow robed woman’s box fell silent. She had clearly given up. Song Qingshu chuckled inwardly: ‘When I treated her injuries, she didn’t seem to have any silver notes on her. Ten thousand taels? She probably couldn’t even scrape together a hundred. How did she even get into this VIP section?’  

“Any more bids? If not, I’m taking the beauty!” The fat man gloated, smug at having defeated the yellow robed woman. ‘These VIPs aren’t so impressive after all—had me worried for nothing.’  

“Bidding in increments of a few hundred is far too stingy. Let’s make it twenty thousand taels.” Finally, another voice spoke from the upper boxes.  

Wanyan Liang glanced over, and Xiao Yu leaned in to whisper, “It’s someone from the Tushan clan.”  

Wanyan Liang nodded in acknowledgment before turning back to Song Qingshu. “Brother Tang Kuo, let’s enjoy the show for now.”  

Song Qingshu was impressed. ‘Now this is how a true boss acts. Just like in those movies—no matter how much the side characters strut around, they’re just paving the way for the main villain’s grand entrance.’  

The real battle began among the VIP boxes. From Xiao Yu’s whispers, Song Qingshu learned the bidders were the sons of high-ranking ministers or marquises.  

The bids grew increasingly outrageous, leaving the wealthy merchants below stunned. Even Song Qingshu was taken aback—‘tens of thousands of taels of gold could fund an army of thousands for a month, and here they’re spending it all for one night with a woman. Tsk tsk tsk…’  

Eventually, the bids hovered around sixty thousand taels. Even these nobles had their limits—no matter how rich, they weren’t fools. Spending such a fortune for a single night of pleasure required serious consideration.  

Seeing the timing was right, Wanyan Liang gave Xiao Yu a look. With a faint smile, Xiao Yu stood and announced, “One hundred thousand taels.”  

The entire Autumn Fragrance Pavilion fell silent. All eyes turned toward their box. 

Song Qingshu couldn’t help but laugh bitterly. ‘One hundred thousand taels? The palace really knows how to do business. They bought her from the Song for just a thousand ingots of gold, and now they’re selling a single night for a hundred times that.’  

“His Majesty is truly wise,” Wanyan Liang said meaningfully. “This move humiliates the Song barbarians while filling the imperial coffers—a masterstroke. As his subjects, it’s only right we share his burdens.”  

Song Qingshu was speechless. ‘Humiliating the Song? More like Emperor Xizong extorting bribes from his own officials. What a ruler…’  

But it seemed Wanyan Liang was the only one who saw through this. By showing favor to Song Qingshu while subtly currying favor with the emperor, he had secured Xizong’s trust.  

The moment “one hundred thousand taels” was announced, the VIP boxes fell silent. Had this been for the courtesan’s permanent ownership, even such a sum wouldn’t have deterred these noble families—expensive, but buying a princess would be a status symbol. But for just one night? No one thought it worth it.  

Moreover, word quickly spread that the bidder was Prince Hailing. No one wanted to offend such a formidable figure over a woman. After a long silence, no further bids came.  

“Brother Tang Kuo, it seems the beauty is yours tonight.”  

Just as Wanyan Liang finished speaking, another voice called out from a different box:  

“One hundred fifty thousand taels!”  

‘Hiss—’  

The crowd gasped, shocked not just by the astronomical sum but also by the audacity of someone openly challenging Prince Hailing.  

Wanyan Liang’s eyes narrowed. He glanced at Xiao Yu, who shook his head—he didn’t recognize the bidder. Wanyan Liang ordered a subordinate, “Find out who that is.”  

The atmosphere in the box grew tense and strange. Wanyan Liang remained silent, and Song Qingshu, curious to see how he’d react, said nothing either. Fortunately, the scout soon returned:  

“It’s Prince Wei.”  

Wanyan Liang’s expression turned odd. After a long pause, he turned to Song Qingshu with a wry smile. “Brother Tang Kuo, if it were anyone else, I’d help you secure her no matter the cost. But Prince Wei… I can’t afford to cross him. You know the emperor has only one son—he’s the future ruler. If I offend him now, I’ll have nowhere to bury my corpse in the future.”  

“Of course,” Song Qingshu said quickly. “I’d never put you in such danger.”  

‘As if you didn’t know Prince Wei would be here. Keep pretending.’  

Wanyan Liang sighed apologetically. “I’ve failed you today. But I keep my word—come back to my manor tonight. Any woman in my household is yours to choose.”  

‘Here it comes!’ Song Qingshu’s heart jumped. Just as he was about to think of an excuse, another bid rang out:  

“Two hundred thousand taels!”  

This time, even Wanyan Liang was stunned. Temporarily forgetting his earlier offer, he blurted out in disbelief:  

“Now this is strange. Who in the capital would dare snub Prince Wei so openly?”