Chapter 198: The Auction of the Imperial Wind Pavilion
“So soon?” Ye Chen looked at Wang Meng, rather surprised.
“I heard the auction amended the date at the last minute, so it’s been brought forward.” Wang Meng nodded and spoke again, “Many wealthy families and bosses joined this time, but they’re there just to support the auction. The Su family is taking on the real leading role. They’ve released the news that they want the Imperial Wind Pavilion. Naturally, nobody will fight them on that.”
He paused as he said to this point. He hesitated before saying, “My lord, are we really fighting the Su family over that?”
“Of course.” Ye Chen chuckled. He lifted his head and looked at the lights far away, his eyes glinting brightly. “Su family and Su Tao, the game has officially begun. Although I’ve no idea what you’re doing, I don’t believe that you’d just sit back and watch.”
…
At 8:30 p.m, Wang Meng drove his Audi A6 to the biggest auction house in Beijing, the Beijing Rongbao Auction House. It was an auction house that was located in the middle of the city in a high-traffic area.
Wang Meng was introducing the Imperial Wind Pavilion garden to Ye Chen along the way. A couple from abroad who found themselves in huge debt due to gambling had left it behind, so the bank could only get the Rongbao Auction House to auction it.
After the car drove into Rongbao Auction House underground garage, Ye Chen carried his daughter out of the car and got Wang Meng to leave.
Just when he was going to take the elevator to the eighth floor where the auction was, five luxurious cars happened to arrive before him.
Three men and two ladies walked out of the five cars after the doors were opened. They were Li Yuanqing, Han Xu, Su Jian, Wei Nan, and Xue Xuejiao.
A couple of them had shock on their faces as soon as they saw Ye Chen.
Wei Nan frowned as disgust flashed across her face. She thought that he was like a fly whereby she would see him no matter where she went. He could not be gotten rid of no matter what.
On the other hand, Su Jian squinted. He was rather shocked because he heard from Xue Lei earlier that the Fast Attack Group had destroyed the Qi Medical Hall while Ye Chen had hidden. How could he dare to show up now?
Could he have something to do with the Fast Attack Group being destroyed?
As he thought to this point, he could not help but look at Xue Xuejiao who was standing beside him. This young mistress usually did not care about being with them. Why was she here for the auction this time?
And where was Xue Lei?
Li Yuanqing walked over while smiling. “What a coincidence, Brother Ye. Why are you here?”
“Just to watch.” Ye Chen smiled lightly.
Li Yuanqing did not think too much about it and he smiled kindly. “We’re here to watch too. Do you want to join us?”
Ye Chen nodded and followed them into the elevator. Han Xu looked deeply at him and asked, “Brother Ye, I heard that the Fast Attack Group smashed your store earlier. Are you alright?”
As soon as he said that, apart from Xue Xuejiao who already knew about the news, everyone in the elevator could not help but glance at Ye Chen.
If one were to ask what the biggest news in the past few days was, it had to be the news that the Fast Attack Group had been destroyed overnight. Besides that, the perpetrator had left no traces behind. Even the government was ambiguous about it.
Ye Chen looked normal as everyone stared at him. “I’m fine. I happened to be out the other day, but the store has been destroyed.”
“It’s good that you’re fine. You can always fix your store if it’s smashed. It’s fortunate that the Fast Attack Group has been destroyed,” Li Yuanqing comforted as he looked at Xue Xuejiao who was next to him intentionally.
Everyone there knew that the Fast Attack Group belonged to the Xue family. They wondered how it would feel like for the Xue family’s young mistress to be in the same room as Ye Chen.
However, Xue Xuejiao said nothing as if she had not heard that, which made them very curious now.
Han Xu looked at Ye Chen with an underlying meaning in his gaze. He had a feeling that it was not as simple as Ye Chen described, but he had no idea what exactly it was.
Su Jian was secretly scoffing, ‘You got lucky, but do you think Xue Lei would really let you off so easily?’
The elevator arrived on the eighth floor as they were chatting. As soon as the door opened, they saw rows of auction staff in uniforms standing at the entrance, welcoming them while bowing.
As soon as they walked out of the elevator, a lounge that was over 300 square meters appeared in their field of vision. The floor was covered in a red carpet, and there were hundreds of red couches and round tables close to the auction stage.
At that moment, most of the tables were occupied. Li Yuanqing led them straight to a round table that was at the far front.
Many people who were dressed sophisticatedly walked toward Li Yuanqing and the rest to talk to them. Meanwhile, they ignored Ye Chen.
Nevertheless, Ye Chen did not mind that. He peered around with interest on his face while carrying Mengmeng.
At that moment, Su Jian glanced at them while he had his eyes on Li Yuanqing, Han Xu, Wei Nan, and Xue Xuejiao. He said in his deep voice, “Guys, you guys should understand that my family will definitely get the Imperial Wind Pavilion.”
His mission this time was to take ownership of the Imperial Wind Pavilion no matter what.
“Don’t worry. We’re just checking it out. We’re not fighting with you,” Li Yuanqing said annoyedly in a half-joking manner.
Han Xu, Wei Nan and the rest nodded too. It was the rule between the major wealthy families. If one were to interfere, they would upset the balance.
Upon seeing that, Su Jian’s expression was much more at ease now. As for Ye Chen, he did not bother asking. To him, Ye Chen was just here to see the world. He had no guts and fortune to fight with him.
Li Yuanqing smiled and said, “Su Jian, it’s too early to be relieved. Although we won’t fight with you, it doesn’t mean that others won’t dare to.”
“Do you think they dare?” Su Jian glanced at the people around coldly, not hiding the disdain on his face.
Li Yuanqing shook his head. “I’m not sure if they’ll do it, but I heard that someone else is interested in the Imperial Wind Pavilion.”
“Yes, I heard about that too, but I’m not sure exactly who it is.” Han Xu nodded. The family had also heard such rumors.
Su Jian said in his deep voice, “Is that person from one of the major wealthy families?”
“I don’t think so.” Li Yuanqing shook his head.
Su Jian mocked as soon as he heard the person was not from one of the Beijing wealthy families. He said, “I’d like to see who dares to fight my family.” Killing intent flashed across his face as he spoke to this point.
From the side, Wei Nan pursed her lips. “Is that person insane? Didn’t he see that we’ve given up on the bidding?”
What they did not notice was that Xue Xuejiao, who had been quiet, peered at Ye Chen and came to a realization. Subsequently, she looked at Su Jian in a playful way.
‘Su Jian, oh, Sujian, do you really think your family can cover the sky with one hand and suppress the crowd apart from the major wealthy families like us? I’m afraid you’ve no idea that there’s a man who doesn’t care about your family. He’s even fearless of all the wealthy families in Beijing. Most importantly, that man is just sitting next to you but you’d never guess it.’
Xue Xuejiao wanted to laugh. After witnessing what Ye Chen was capable of doing while fearing him, she was eager to point Ye Chen’s muzzle at the other wealthy families.
At that moment, a middle-aged man in a suit and a tie walked slowly to the auction stage.
The crowd became quiet.
The middle-aged man looked around the entire auction and spoke after focusing on Ye Chen’s table, “The auction for the Imperial Wind Pavilion has begun. The starting price will be 100 million, and the minimum bid is 10 million.”
Su Jian stood up as soon as that was announced. He looked at the people arrogantly and said, “Everyone, my family is keen to purchase the Imperial Wind Pavilion. I hope that all of you will give me face regarding that.”
A plump man, who had extraordinary charisma, said as soon as he heard that, “Don’t worry, Young Master Su. We’re just here to watch.”
“That’s right, Young Master Su. I wonder if I’d have the chance to have a meal with you after the auction ends.” A beautiful girl with heavy makeup smiled lightly.
At that moment, nobody in the entire auction dared to fight with the Su family. Many of them even showed kindness to him.
Su Jian smiled in pride and lifted his head to look at the auction host. “100 million from the Su family!”
“The Su family has placed a bid for 100 million. Going once. Do I hear a higher bid?” the auction host repeated in a robotic manner. Even he knew that nobody would fight with the Su family, he still had to go through the protocol.
Nobody said anything and it was silent at the scene. The few hundred of them looked impatient as they were eager for the auction host to get over with the bidding so that they could go home to sleep.
“The Su family has placed a bid for 100 million. Going twice. Do I hear a higher bid?” the auction host repeated in a robotic manner again.
As usual, nobody responded to him. Some of them even began to pack and were ready to leave.
Su Jian showed a smile of satisfaction. He thought this mission was extraordinarily easy.
Wei Nan shook her head lightly. “Let’s go.”
“The Su family has placed a bid for 100 million. Going thrice…”
“200 million!” a cold voice echoed through the whole place just when the host was going to call the bid for the third time.