A staff member walked over and respectfully handed Ling Yue a bidding paddle. "Miss Ling! This is your bidding paddle."
"You must be mistaken. She came in with my brother and has no right to bid." Song Yanxue snatched the paddle away.
Song Ziyuan also looked at Ling Yue in puzzlement.
The staff member bowed to Song Yanxue. "Miss Song! I did not make a mistake. The bidding paddle is from the guest in the Purple Hall for Miss Ling."
"What did you say?!" Song Yanxue stood up in disbelief. Only the legendary young master of the First Noble Family, Qin Lie, who was also the mysterious leader of the Fighting Wolves Group with unfathomable power, could be seated in the Purple Hall. Although the Song Family and the Qin Family were both among the Four Great Families, there was still a significant gap between them.
"The bidding paddle is from the guest in the Purple Hall for Miss Ling," the staff member could only repeat himself. As an ordinary staff member of the auction house, he dared not offend these noble guests.
Song Yanxue gritted her teeth and flung the paddle at Ling Yue. "How shameless, ruining your face but still shamelessly flirting around."
Ling Yue caught the paddle and slapped Song Yanxue's face in return. "I let it go before out of respect for Song Ziyuan, but it doesn't mean I don't have a temper."
Song Yanxue covered her burning face, staring at Ling Yue with shock and anger. "You dare hit me?" From childhood until now, even her parents had never laid a finger on her. How dare she hit her?
Ling Yue looked at Song Yanxue as if she were an idiot.
Zhou Mucheng gazed at Ling Yue with a complex expression, feeling a tinge of bitterness. If Ling Yue had been this assertive before, how could the Ling Family have bullied her like that?
"Brother, please kick her out," Song Yanxue cried, tugging at Song Ziyuan's clothes.
Song Ziyuan felt conflicted. His sister was indeed in the wrong, but as her brother, he couldn't just stand by and watch her get hit.
"Please help me change seats," Ling Yue stood up and called out to the departing staff member. She had never been one to tolerate humiliation. Since both parties were unpleasant, why should she stay here?
The staff member stopped and respectfully replied, "Certainly, please follow me."
"Ling Yue," Song Ziyuan called out to her. He had brought her here to help appraise antiques. What should he do if she left?
"Let her go. We have Uncle Li here, what are we afraid of?" Song Yanxue now despised Ling Yue and would definitely not let her off after the auction.
Ling Yue gave Song Ziyuan a faint smile and left.
The staff member led Ling Yue to the rightmost seat in the front row. "Miss Ling, please have a seat here."
Ling Yue nodded slightly and sat down.
Lan Ji had seen everything that happened and was so excited that he was about to wave a flag and cheer from the private box. "My Yue is so awesome! This is how you deal with rude people. Qin Lie, come and see how amazing my Yue is."
Qin Lie glanced at Lan Ji, pinching the bridge of his nose with a slight headache. When did this guy become so chatty?
As the host took the stage, the auction officially began. A staff member carried a tray covered with a red cloth onto the stage.
"The first item we are auctioning today is a blue and white lotus bowl from the Tianshun period of the Ming Dynasty. It stands 13.5 cm tall, with a mouth diameter of 33.2 cm and a foot diameter of 17 cm. The bowl has a flared mouth, a slightly rounded body, and a shallow foot ring. The body is slightly thick, with a glossy white glaze tinged with a bluish hue. The interior rim is decorated with a woven pattern, and the inner bottom depicts a double blue ring with a lotus design. The inner walls feature four groups of foliated peonies, roses, chrysanthemums, and camellia patterns. The outer rim near the foot and the foot wall are both decorated with double-string patterns in blue. The outer walls also depict lotus designs, with rippling water and wind-blown blossoms. The base is glazed white, without any mark. This generously sized bowl features densely decorated patterns, executed with bold and fluent brushwork, and the blue color is rich and vibrant, making it a superb piece from the Tianshun period."
The host smiled at the audience. "The starting bid for this blue and white lotus bowl is fifty thousand. Interested guests, don't miss this chance. The bidding starts now, with each bid increment no less than one thousand."
As he finished speaking, the audience began raising their paddles, and the bidding voices rose in a clamor.
Ling Yue gazed at the blue and white lotus bowl on the auction stage, sensing faint spiritual energy emanating from it, indicating that it was indeed a genuine piece.
She circulated her spiritual power, absorbing wisps of spiritual energy into her body.
Qin Lie, who had been observing the blue and white lotus bowl, moved his fingers slightly, a hint of surprise flashing in his deep, ocean-like eyes as he scanned the crowd below. He could confirm that there was a cultivator present; otherwise, the spiritual energy would not have disappeared without reason.
Lan Ji noticed Qin Lie surveying the venue, as if searching for something. "What are you looking at?"
Qin Lie withdrew his gaze. "Nothing." That fleeting trace of spiritual power disappeared too quickly for him to pinpoint its source.
Ling Yue glanced up at the private box. Earlier, she had felt a spiritual power trying to capture her own, so she hastily retracted her spiritual energy. She knew that Lan Ji and the young master of the Qin Family were in the private box. Lan Ji practiced martial arts without spiritual power, so it had to be the young master of the Qin Family.
She recalled the original owner's impression of the young master of the Qin Family. He constantly wore a silver mask, revealing only a pair of hawk-like eyes, and no one had ever seen his true face.
His name was Qin Lie, just like the one from her memory. If she could come to this world, it wouldn't be surprising for him to be here as well.
If it was indeed him, she would keep her distance from him in this lifetime and never become entangled with him again. She would not repeat the mistakes of her past life and focus solely on her cultivation and career.
For the subsequent auction items, even if they exuded dense spiritual energy, Ling Yue no longer absorbed any of it. Regardless of whether this Qin Lie was the one she knew or not, she would stay far away from him.
Qin Lie continued to wait for the other party to release spiritual power, but there was no movement. It seemed that his spiritual power had been detected. Who could it be?
"Now we are going to auction a painting. Please take a look," the host said as a yellowed painting was slowly unrolled, depicting distant mountains and nearby scenery, with overlapping peaks and breathtaking beauty.
"This painting was entrusted to our auction house by a client for sale. Although the historical background of this painting is unclear, the craftsmanship is exquisite, and the brushwork is delicate, clearly the work of a master. Interested guests, don't miss this opportunity. The starting bid is ten thousand, with a minimum increment of one thousand."
