Getting Rich from Legend of Zhen Huan

Enough of rest, the last lot is about to be put on stage.

However, the one who brought the item to the stage this time was not a dignified maid, but Kangxi's personal eunuch, Liang Jiugong. After all, how could Kangxi's calligraphy be placed randomly? Liang Jiugong must have carefully kept it and taken it out when needed.

Liang Jiugong and Feiyan unfolded the scroll, on which were written eight characters written by Kangxi: "A family that accumulates good deeds will surely have more blessings." Kangxi's calligraphy was copied from Dong Qichang, and was greatly influenced by Dong's style. His brushwork was original, vigorous, elegant, plain and graceful, with sparse and even spacing between characters and lines, and an elegant and serene atmosphere filled the painting.

The two of them worked together to carefully place the scroll on a specially made wooden stand for display. Liang Jiugong stood beside the scroll, while Feiyan presided over the auction with a smile on her face.

The people upstairs and downstairs were bidding with red eyes. If Kangxi hadn't been watching from above, they would have wanted to fight directly and decide the winner by force. Soon, the silver had been bid to an extremely high price. It was unaffordable to pay any higher price, so everyone started to raise the price of disaster relief supplies.

In the end, Qian Youfu won the first place with one million taels of silver and three hundred thousand shi of grain. Feiyan smiled so hard that she couldn't close her mouth. She still remembered the content of the training given to her by the fifth princess, "one million taels of silver plus three hundred thousand shi of grain once, one million taels of silver plus three hundred thousand shi of grain twice, one million taels of silver plus three hundred thousand shi of grain..."

Before he could even say "three times", Brother Chen raised his sign again and said, "Five hundred thousand shi."

The whole audience was shocked when this offer was made. Qian Youfu tugged at Brother Chen's sleeve and reminded him in panic, "Brother, don't argue out of personal feelings!" The auction held by the royal family will not extend the deadline. If you fail to produce the item, it will be a crime of deceiving the emperor.

Brother Chen gave Qian Youfu a reassuring smile, indicating that he knew his limits.

Feiyan saw the indifferent look on Brother Chen's face and knew that it was not a momentary impulse, so she continued to preside over the auction, "One million taels of silver plus 500,000 shi of grain once, one million taels of silver plus 500,000 shi of grain twice, one million taels of silver plus 500,000 shi of grain... three times! Deal!"

This time there was no surprise, Feiyan successfully struck the hammer, and the auction officially ended.

Feiyan only then realized what the hammer that the Fourth Lady had requested was for. Once the hammer was struck, everything was over. The silver obtained from today's auction could only be described as a mountain of gold and silver. Feiyan herself felt as if she were in a dream. Otherwise, how could such wealth be earned by just her mouth and a small hammer?

A young eunuch came down from the top floor and said to Brother Chen with a smile, "Are you the winner of the item just auctioned?"

Brother Chen answered politely but without flattery, "It is me. My surname is Chen, my name is Shu, and my courtesy name is Qianchu."

The young eunuch waved his hand and said solemnly, "The Emperor summons Chen Shu to see you!"

Qian Youfu, who was standing next to him, felt weak in the knees after hearing this, and he regretted it very much. This was the emperor! If he had bid higher, he might have been the one to go up to see the emperor!

But Qian Youfu was just talking. If he was asked to take out more than 500,000 dan of grain, I'm afraid the family business would not be able to operate. By then, would the emperor still care about your family's bankruptcy?

Chen Shu walked up the stairs respectfully with his head bowed. The princes sitting below Kangxi looked at this strange man who offered a high price of "five hundred thousand shi" with curiosity.

Among them, the eyes of the Ninth Prince were the most passionate. It would be great if he could give him so much money. Why did he have to donate it? The Ninth Prince regretted not finding out about such an invisible rich man in advance so that he could blackmail him. After all, 500,000 shi was a high price, and so was 400,000 shi! But the difference of 100,000 shi was enough for the Eighth Prince to do so many things!

Kangxi was unaware of the Ninth Prince's thoughts, so he asked kindly, "Chen Shu, do you know which character 'Shu' is it?"

Chen Shu introduced that "the name of Caomin is taken from 'that millet is scattered, that millet seedling'."

Kangxi became interested and asked, "Have you read the Book of Songs?"

Chen Shu replied, "My elders in my family advocated reading to gain knowledge, and I have been studying with my grandfather since I was young."

Kangxi asked with some doubt, "From what I hear from you, you seem to be quite knowledgeable. Why don't you take the imperial examination?" As he spoke, Kangxi's eyes turned cold. Could it be that he was someone who stuck to the old Ming Dynasty and was unwilling to take part in the imperial examinations of the Qing Dynasty?

Chen Shu also noticed the change in Kangxi's mood and hurriedly explained, "My family has been growing sweet potatoes for generations and promoting sweet potatoes as a profession. I really don't have the energy to study for the imperial examination."

This reminded Kangxi of the past. He asked uncertainly, "When Jiang Wangxuan wrote a letter about sweet potatoes, he mentioned that a family named Chen in southern Fujian had made great contributions. Are they related to you?"

Chen Shu didn't expect that Kangxi still remembered his family, and replied with some surprise, "Master Jiang met my father."

Kangxi said with emotion, "Your family has never forgotten the will of your ancestors. The promotion of sweet potatoes has saved countless lives. Now you are willing to donate your family wealth to help the disaster victims. You are truly a 'family of good deeds'!"

Chen Shu was so excited to receive such praise from Kangxi that he was speechless.

Kangxi advised, "I see that you are still young. Now that Jiang Qing has taken over the promotion, why don't you find a way to enter the official career and assist Jiang Qing? It will not be a disgrace to the wishes of our ancestors."

I don’t know why the Chen family chose to show up at this time, but since they appeared in front of Kangxi, how could Kangxi miss the opportunity to serve as a publicity example?

Chen Shu also knew that the matter was urgent, so he agreed without hesitation, "Grandfather has this in mind. I came to Beijing to study, so that I can serve the emperor in the future."

Kangxi nodded with satisfaction. "Your father and Jiang Qing are old acquaintances. If you can't find a suitable teacher, you can go to Jiang's mansion to find him. Who knows, you may be able to pass the exam and become the top scholar."

Having said that, Chen Shu did not dare to refute and could only agree with Kangxi's words. He could only hope that his father really had a good relationship with Jiang Chen, otherwise he would cause trouble for Jiang Chen.

This auction took a lot of time. Kangxi was now in low spirits and felt very tired after talking to Chen Shu for a few words. He asked Chen Shu to leave and instructed the Fifth Princess to record the proceeds from the auction into the account and write a set of rules and regulations on how to use them and present them to Kangxi.

Having given the instructions, Kangxi returned to the palace through a dedicated passage without the need for anyone to see him off.

When the Ninth Prince saw Kangxi leave, he came over to try to get close to the Fifth Princess, "Fifth sister, the money and supplies from this auction are enough to provide disaster relief several times. If there are so many things, if you are too busy to handle them, I, your younger brother..."

Before the Ninth Prince could finish his words, the Fifth Princess politely declined. "This is the first important task that the Emperor has given me. I want to do it myself and show my ability to the Emperor. If it doesn't work, I'll ask my Ninth Brother to help me."