On the wedding day, my wife was abnormal

In a very short time, the first batch of skinny horses were sold out, and the guests' enthusiasm was even higher, with cheers and joy ringing in the ears.

Lin Zhen heard all of this and felt extremely proud.

This is the peaceful and prosperous era that I have created with my own hands.

Everyone was laughing, looking excited, and staring with eyes wide open waiting for the next wave of skinny horses to appear.

At this moment, the night pearls on the dome of the Royal Theatre suddenly flickered one after another, like the Milky Way falling to the ground.

At the back of the stage, twelve bronze chimes boomed out "Yu Shu Hou Ting Hua". Amid the music, host Bi, dressed in a black gold-woven robe, stepped over the steps covered with rose petals. The gilded folding fan in his hand unfolded with a swish, and the four large gold characters "thin bones and fragrance" on the fan flowed in the light and shadow.

"Everyone, I'm not lying to you, am I? The skinny horses from Yangzhou are absolutely the best in the world!"

At this time, someone around shouted.

"Stop wasting time and get the next batch."

"That's right, I'm getting impatient waiting, hurry up."

"We still want to see the girls!"

"Ha ha ha ha."

"Everyone, please be patient! Tonight's selection of skinny horses is definitely the largest ever, more than enough for everyone to choose from!" His voice, laced with camphor, echoed through the theater. "The Green Fly Skinny Horse from Wanjin Tower was just an appetizer. Next, please bring out the treasure of Yangzhou's premier restaurant, Zuixian Pavilion!"

After saying this, he pointed his folding fan towards the dome, and seventy-two silver lotus petals bloomed.

The crystal lamp suddenly turned blood red, and twelve girls slowly descended from the lotus platform.

Seeing this, Lin Zhen was quite curious. He asked Zhang Li beside him: "Li'er, has this kid rehearsed here before?"

"My husband is wise," Zhang Li replied, "They rented the entire opera house five days ago and have been rehearsing day and night just for today's performance."

"It's such a huge profit, I want to get involved."

Sima Chunlei was the most willing to make trouble. She gently covered her lips and laughed, "Haha, why don't you, my husband, really get a horse in the capital? Grasshopper legs are also meat, why don't you let them make money from them?"

"Hahaha." Lin Zhen smiled and shook his head. "Forget it. This thing is like the difference between West Lake Longjing and ordinary Longjing. Everyone knows that West Lake Longjing tastes better. Who would be willing to spend a lot of money on ordinary Longjing? Skinny horses are a specialty of Yangzhou. Only skinny horses from Yangzhou are valuable. We can't make them at all."

Zhang Li nodded.

As a businessman, he deeply agreed with Lin Zhen's words.

However, when she heard that Lin Zhen had no intention of doing these things, she was secretly delighted. After all, she really didn't like human trafficking.

"Wow!!"

At this moment, a chorus of exclamations came from outside.

When Lin Zhen looked over, he saw that the twelve skinny horses were wearing cicada-wing gauze clothes, with shackles made of oriental pearls wrapped around their necks, and silver bells tied to their ankles rang softly as they trembled.

The girl in red at the front is holding a Jiaoweiqin, and the emerald flower ornaments between her eyebrows make her eyes look like they are crying blood. She is the "crying pearls" that are said to be able to make the hardest-hearted people cry.

The salt merchant wearing peacock blue brocade overturned the candied fruit box beside him, and the pearls rolled all over the floor; the military officer on the second floor jingled the sword at his waist, his eyes fixed on the girls' vaguely visible waists.

After a brief silence, the guests gasped one after another.

"This, this is not a skinny horse, it's clearly a fairy from Guanghan Palace!"

"Isn't this too beautiful?"

"Look at her skin, it's so white! If I could touch it, it would be worth losing ten years of my life!"

"She has a great figure, fair skin, and beautiful looks! She's the best in the world. No one can fucking compete with me tonight. I want the whitest one!"

Not only the guests, but even Sima Chunlei, who had always been confident about her appearance, felt inferior.

Bi Zhizhan shouted loudly: "The girls in Zuixian Pavilion are all unforgettable - Qizhu'er is so good at singing "Heartbreak Song" that the Yangzhou prefect once spent all his family wealth on her; Hanxue speaks seven foreign languages ​​and can converse fluently with Persian merchants; and there is also this..."

He suddenly ripped open a young girl's gauze dress, revealing a pair of lotus flowers painted with cinnabar on her waist. "Yanzhi, the birthmark on her body is a natural auspicious sign!"

The skinny horse named Yanzhi frowned slightly, seeming to be very unhappy with Bi Zhizhu's action.

But she had no way to resist.

Only in this way can a large area of ​​snow-white chest be exposed and let thousands of people watch at the same time.

"Ah! The clothes are lifted up!"

"Oops, I can't see the key point!"

"Who said it wasn't? Just go a little lower!"

"But I have to say that the flower on her chest is really beautiful. This girl must be expensive!"

The noise of the guests almost blew the roof off.

Especially those big perverts, their eyes almost saw through Yanzhi's gauze skirt.

The son of the wealthy businessman in the southwest corner didn't wait for Bi Zhizhu to finish his words before yelling at the top of his lungs, "I'll give you a thousand taels for the one in red!"

Before he finished speaking, the sound of jingling pendants could be heard from the third floor, and a noblewoman threw out a jeweled handkerchief: "One thousand five hundred taels! I will train Qizhuer!"

"Bullshit, you want to buy Weeping Pearl for fifteen thousand? I'll give you two thousand! You can use your fifteen hundred to buy a coffin!"

"How dare you! How dare you speak to me like that!"

"I'm talking about you, what's wrong?"

Lin Zhen heard someone arguing, so he went to see what was happening. He saw the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Works constantly pulling their wives, saying things like "calm down, calm down."

My goodness, how can you bring your wife to such an occasion? You really think you are Lin Zhen.

Lin Zhen listened to the quarrel downstairs, sipped the sour plum soup, and glanced at the out-of-control crowd below the stage.

The Imperial Censor, wearing a crimson official uniform, was arm in arm with a wealthy businessman, completely ignoring the fact that the uniform was askew; the usually dignified ladies of the Imperial Court also took off their phoenix hairpins as bidding chips.

He suddenly chuckled, tapping the agate with his black jade ring. "It seems that before the implementation of the 'Skinny Horse Rules', this market was even crazier than a casino."

Zhang Li stared at the stage, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the gold thread at the slit of her cheongsam.

When a frail young girl nearly fell because of her unstable standing and was pinched by the matchmaker's arm, her eyelashes trembled violently: "Poor girl, even breathing has to be taught. From the day she was sold as a skinny horse, her life has been worse than an object. Alas."

"Pretentious!" Sima Chunlei pointed at her rouge with her nail polish painted on. "Look at her beauty. It would be a blessing for any noble to buy her."

After saying this, she suddenly turned around and smiled at Lin Zhen, "Husband, shall we join in the fun? If we take a picture of Qizhu'er, it will be very prestigious for us to have banquets at the palace in the future!"

Lin Zhen just smiled and said nothing.

In fact, he also liked Qizhu'er very much, but he would have to be crazy to spend thousands of taels of silver to buy her as a concubine.

No matter how rich he is, he would not spend it like this. He is not a nouveau riche, but an entrepreneur who has experienced the hardships of the working class.

Soon, the bidding had climbed to alarming numbers.

The son of the wealthy businessman who had spoken first had his veins bulging, and he threw the entire bag of gold cakes onto the table in front of him: "Five thousand taels! Who will compete with me?"

A sinister laugh came from the second floor. A wealthy landlord, who appeared from nowhere, shouted, "Fifty Dongzhu! In exchange for the Weeping Pearl!"

At this moment, a wealthy businessman on the east side of the first floor suddenly stood up on a chair, shaking a stack of banknotes in his hand, his greasy face covered with fat. "Six thousand taels! I have plenty of money in the Jiangnan Weaving House. I want the Weeping Pearl!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of jingling bells and bracelets came from the second floor. Several noble ladies in gorgeous clothes exchanged glances. Madam Xu, the leader, stood up, the gilded coin in her hand swaying so hard that it made people dizzy. "Seven thousand taels! Let's see who dares to snatch it from me!"

On the stage, the girls were like puppets, subject to everyone's comments.

Hanxue kept her eyes downcast, staring at her toes, her nails digging deep into her palms, her pale lips trembling slightly; when Yanzhi's birthmark was being looked at by everyone, tears welled up in her eyes, but she dared not make a sound and could only bury her head even lower; only Qizhu'er stood still holding the Jiaoweiqin, the silver bell on her ankle was deformed by her blood-red skirt, and her eyes were full of stubbornness and unwillingness.

At this moment, in an inconspicuous small box on the fourth floor, Murong Yan almost broke the armrest of the chair.

"These idiots! They're asking thousands of taels for a skinny horse. I'm the only poor guy in Daqian!"

Sheyue knelt at her feet and gave her a massage, while Murong Wushe stood behind her to watch the door for her.

No one knew that the emperor was coming too.

Murong Yan didn't even tell Lin Zhen.

"Eight thousand taels!"

"Puff!" Murong Yan spat out a mouthful of tea. "What the hell? Eight thousand!?"

I wasn't shocked by the price, but by the fact that the person who offered it was Lin Zhen!!

Lin Zhen suddenly raised his sign, his voice drowning out the uproar in the audience.

"Wow!" Sima Chunlei screamed in surprise and hugged Lin Zhen's arm, her eyes gleaming with excitement: "My husband is so awesome!"

Zhang Li frowned slightly, and caught a glimpse of the corner of the draft of "The Rules of the Skinny Horse" that slipped from his sleeve, secretly guessing his intentions.

Everyone in the audience turned their heads and saw the prince make a move. The bidding froze instantly. Everyone held their breath, their eyes shifting back and forth between Lin Zhen and the other bidders.

The host's voice trembled with excitement, and his smile stretched almost to his ears: "Who else is there——"

"Ten thousand taels!" A clear female voice came from the corner.

Everyone was surprised to find that it was Murong Yan in disguise.

She took off her bronze mask, her eyes were full of majesty, and she exuded an unquestionable aura.

"I want this Weeping Pearl!" As soon as she said this, the entire theater fell into silence, with only the sound of heavy breathing coming one after another.

Soon, some officials knelt down and shouted.

"See Your Majesty!!"

Then everyone knelt down in unison, including Sima Chunlei, Zhang Li, Huanbi, host Bi and the skinny horses on the stage.

But Murong Yan only looked in one direction.

That’s Lin Zhen.

She was very angry.

Normally, Lin Zhen would be very stingy with the money he gave her, trying to give as little as possible, but what happened? What happened? He actually spent eight thousand taels on a skinny horse!

Hate! This guy is so annoying!

She is nice to everyone except herself!

"Congratulations, Your Majesty, the Weeping Pearl has been won by Your Majesty!" Host Bi was also a clever man. He knew that at this juncture, he couldn't bid any more because no one would dare to compete with the emperor, so he simply announced the result directly.

Murong Yan said angrily, "Lin Zhen will pay for this ten thousand taels, humph."

After saying that, Murong Yan turned around and left.

Everyone shouted again: "Farewell, Your Majesty."

Only Lin Zhen was dumbfounded.

No, I was just joking, is that a big deal?

In fact, Lin Zhen saw Murong Yan wearing a bronze mask and deliberately raised the price to tease her.

In his opinion, the final transaction price of Qizhu'er would definitely be around ten thousand taels, but who knew that this girl would be so impatient and directly overturn the table.

And you want me to pay? Why?

Funny.

Lin Zhen looked at Murong Yan leaving and touched his nose.

"It seems someone is angry again."

Zhang Li stood up with lingering fear and said, "My husband, His Majesty will not make things difficult for you, right?"

"How could that be? Even if she's the emperor, she's still my woman. She's just being a little bit capricious."

Sima Chunlei's voice trembled a little. She took Lin Zhen's hand and said, "No matter what, I will not go back today. Your Majesty is too terrible!"

Lin Zhen patted her hand and said, "Then go home. I've missed you quite a bit these days."

"Hehehe, really? That's great! I can sleep with my husband in my arms tonight!"

Murong Wushe held a whisk in his hand and personally came down to take Qizhuer off the stage.

Lin Zhen clearly saw that Qizhuer looked up at him when she stepped down from the stage.

There was relief in that look, but also a sadness that saw through everything, as if silently telling the helplessness of fate.

Poor girl, she might be abused when she returns to the palace.

But Lin Zhen couldn't do anything about it, because this was her fate. He hoped that Murong Yan would not do anything to her.

......

At the entrance of the Grand Theater, Murong Yan's very low-key carriage was in the parking space. Murong Yan jumped onto the car angrily and was about to get in. Suddenly, she saw Wushe walking towards her with the girl from before from the corner of her eye.

She snapped, "Why bring her?"

Wushe shuddered.

"Your Majesty, she is yours."

"What a filthy thing! I don't want it! Send it all to Lin Zhen and tell him that this is the skinny horse he bought for ten thousand taels!"

After saying that, Murong Yan went in.

Wushe stood there awkwardly, watching the carriage go farther and farther away. Finally, he said helplessly to the girl beside him: "You're lucky to have saved your life."

"Thank you, father-in-law."

Qizhu'er's voice was very weak and she looked very fragile.

Even a eunuch in his seventies was a little moved by her appearance.

He shook his head helplessly and ran to the palace with crying Zhuer.

The subsequent auctions became increasingly crazy. When Hanxue was bought by a wealthy businessman for three thousand taels of silver, Yanzhi's birthmark was considered auspicious and was eventually sold for six thousand taels of silver.

As the auction continued, the appearance of each skinny horse triggered a new round of scramble.

A young girl with two buns on her head timidly walked onto the stage. She looked only about thirteen or fourteen years old, and her whole body was shaking uncontrollably.

Someone in the audience immediately shouted, "This little guy is so cute! I'll give him five hundred taels!"

"Six hundred taels! My house is in need of someone to serve tea and water!" The girl's tears rolled down her cheeks after hearing these words, but she didn't dare to wipe them away.

Another graceful girl came over with a pipa in her arms.

She tried to remain calm, but her fingertips trembled slightly on the strings.

"What a beauty! With this figure and this pretty face, I'll give you a thousand taels!"

"One thousand five hundred! This pipa skill must be unique!" Amid the bidding, the girl's eyes gradually dimmed, as if she had foreseen her future fate.

Inside the box, Zhang Li looked at the mess on the floor. The jade bracelet made a cold sound when it hit the agate table, and her eyes were full of regret.

"These figures are enough to provide relief to the victims of three counties, but their lives are worth less than a feather."

Sima Chunlei was tired of the farce and yawned on the sofa, her tone full of disapproval: "In the end, it's just a business, each taking what they need. They were born into poor families, and being bought is a blessing, better than starving to death on the streets."

Lin Zhen did not respond, and his mood changed from excitement at the beginning to dullness.

Finally he stood up and said, "There's nothing more to see. Let's go."