Tang Dynasty Little Godfather

Chapter 147 Charity Auction
Actually, the most nervous person wasn't the students performing on stage, but Li Linfu.

He could arrange everything he could, making the entire banquet dazzling and spectacular, but there were some things that were beyond his control.

Including the students performing on stage, he was so afraid of making a mistake that he wasn't fully immersed in the role. After the performance, he immediately rushed backstage to arrange the next program.

This banquet is called a charity banquet, and although the money for the seats is also to be used for charity, there must be some charitable activities at the banquet, otherwise it would not be right.

The guests in the audience are all talking about opera, and most of them have forgotten that this is a charity banquet.

The grand finale was the charity auction.

Since this kind of behavior is relatively rare, whether among the common people or in the imperial court, no one knows how to conduct an auction. Li Linfu only knows what it is, but he doesn't know how to explain it in detail. This is something that Wang Xi can only do personally.

After a short rest, especially after Wang Xi was ready, Li Linfu had the master of ceremonies go up and announce the program.

The etiquette officer came up on stage, announced that the upcoming event would be a charity auction, and explained some of the rules.

But the guests didn't have much expectation after hearing this. Some even whispered among themselves, thinking about how to donate a little bit as a token gesture.

After the etiquette official left, Wang Xi returned to the stage. This time, he had changed into the most popular round-necked red robe of the Tang Dynasty. After all, this was also a cultural promotion event, and the attire was very particular.

Wang Xi's superb acting skills made the guests feel very close to him.

As soon as he stepped onto the stage, someone blurted out, "Liang Shanbo!"

Wang Xi smiled and nodded at the man, appearing poised and confident, without any stage fright.

Li Longji grew to like his nephew more and more; he was truly a handsome young man.

Shang Gongbu gave a soft hum and lowered his head to fiddle with the porcelain cup in front of him.

"Greetings, uncles and elders. My name is Wang Xiaoque, and I am the emcee for the charity auction."

Wang Xi first bowed to the surroundings with his hands clasped.

Hearing someone address them as "uncle" or "elder brother" brought a sense of relief to everyone.

Then Wang Xi bowed to the sky and said, “Everyone in the world knows that His Majesty is benevolent and wise, and also values ​​frugality. Even for this New Year’s Day banquet, His Majesty still felt that it was too extravagant and wasteful. Thinking of the people of the world, he felt very guilty.”

It is a pleasure to have friends coming from afar, and we should certainly treat them well, as this is the proper etiquette.

One can have both fish and bear's paw, therefore His Majesty decided to hold this charity banquet, not only to remind himself, but also to hope that everyone present, no matter when or where, should keep the people in mind.

As Emperor Taizong once said, "Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it."

This flattery was so skillful that no one could find fault with it.

Even ministers like Zhang Yue, Yuan Qianyao, and Han Xiu nodded repeatedly.

Li Linfu was slightly annoyed. "You should at least mention me!"

Zhang Jiazhen took the lead in standing up, cupped his hands to Li Longji, and said, "Your Majesty cares deeply for the people of the world; this is truly a blessing for the nation."

Whether they were court officials or foreign envoys, they all rose and bowed to Li Longji.

It refers to the world, not the Tang Dynasty.

There's no way around it; this is an empire.

The Tang emperors were universally acknowledged as the rulers of the world, and even the Tibetan Empire outwardly acknowledged this.

This kid really knows how to talk. Li Longji was very pleased and quickly said, "Gentlemen, there's no need for such formalities, please sit down."

After everyone was seated, Wang Xi continued, "For this purpose, His Majesty and the Empress have donated some precious items for auction. Part of the proceeds will be donated to the poor, and another part will be used as scholarships for international students."

"scholarship?"

All the envoys were taken aback.

"Yes."

Wang Xi said, "Our Great Tang hopes that students from all countries can learn real knowledge in our country, instead of eating, drinking and having fun here. Therefore, we will set up scholarships to reward those students who have achieved excellent results abroad, as an incentive."

What a surprise!
This is such a pleasant surprise!

The foreign envoys were overjoyed.

"it is good!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Your Majesty's care for our scholars is deeply appreciated."

The foreign envoys cheered and applauded, or thanked Li Longji.

Actually, the scholarships are secondary, because those who can study in the Tang Dynasty are definitely nobles from various countries and don't lack money. The key is the significance of the scholarships, which is to help them learn real knowledge. This attitude is very important to them.

In today's world, whether they are enemies or allies, who wouldn't want to learn about imperial culture?

Countries from all over the world are scrambling to come here to study, but they can only learn a censored version; things like Sun Tzu's Art of War aren't taught.

Li Longji was completely unaware of this beforehand. His focus had always been on opera, so he was pleasantly surprised and thought to himself, "I never expected Que'er to be so thoughtful. He truly deserves to be my nephew."

There are many foreign envoys here, and it wouldn't be right to just encourage them to donate money to the people of the Tang Dynasty.

Zhang Jiazhen whispered, "I really didn't expect that Que'er, who is usually so reckless and mischievous, would be so mature and experienced on stage, like a completely different person."

Li Longji was overjoyed and chuckled, "Now I understand what Mr. Wuming meant. If he hadn't been a little mischievous, he probably wouldn't have been able to utter a single word at his age standing on this stage!"

Zhang Jiazhen nodded and said, "Yes!"

The officials from the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Academy were somewhat displeased, thinking, "Isn't this the job we're supposed to be doing?"

After explaining the origins and purpose of the charity gala, the auction officially began.

Wang Xi stood in front of a peculiarly shaped table, holding a small wooden hammer.

This setup is quite intriguing.

Shang Gongbu said in a low voice, "No matter what we sell later, don't say a word. We won't get involved."

The beggar Nan nodded.

A woman emerged, dressed in a court dress that revealed her snow-white, slender swan neck, adorned with a string of crystal-clear pearls.

Yamato Nagamine and Shimomichi Shingo stared intently, then looked at each other with a hint of doubt in their eyes, as if asking, "Did we see it wrong?"

"The pearl necklace worn by this lady is the first item to be auctioned, donated by the current Empress - Mermaid's Tears."

As Wang Xi spoke, he gestured towards the Empress.

Everyone instinctively turned their heads to look, and vaguely saw the Empress sitting gracefully in the hall, nodding slightly to signal to everyone.

Inevitably, another round of praise followed.

Wang Shouyi finally cheered up. He only felt embarrassed when people praised Wang Xi; no one knows a son better than his father, and he knew all the despicable things Wang Xi had done. But when people praised his younger sister, he was very happy. Wu Xin was unhappy. He picked up a cup of wine and drank it all in one gulp. Suddenly, he saw that Shang Gongbu was also sitting there, drinking alone, not even glancing at the stage.

Then Wang Xi continued, "Legend has it that this necklace originated from a coastal country. About a hundred years ago, a mermaid saved the prince of that country and fell in love with him. In order to be with the prince, she did not hesitate to exchange her beautiful voice for legs. However, the prince mistakenly thought that the one who saved him was another princess. The little mermaid could not speak and could only watch helplessly as the prince was about to marry another bride."

The mermaid was heartbroken, and her tears fell, turning into pearls—this is the origin of the mermaid's tears.

Without blushing or panting, he spoke nonsense with a straight face, and with his excellent oratory skills, everyone listened with great interest.

This little story is truly imaginative.

When Li Longji saw that the young man spoke with such conviction, and that the envoys were listening with utter fascination, he almost burst out laughing.

This kid is really good at making things up.

To be honest, this is stolen goods.

Yamato Nagamine and Shimomichi Shingo also had extremely strange expressions.

At this moment, the Silla envoy suddenly said, "Indeed, this is the legend of my Silla Kingdom. I never thought that this necklace would end up in the Tang Dynasty. This time, I must bring this mermaid's tear back with me."

Li Longji looked at the Silla envoy in shock.

Yamato Nagamine and Shimomichi Shingo also looked at the Silla envoys with utter bewilderment.

Ah this?

Did we really see it wrong?

The Silla envoy's confident words made them both doubt themselves.

"You shall not be so rude."

The Balhae envoy immediately replied, "As everyone knows, the coastal country refers to my Balhae Kingdom. What does it have to do with your Silla? This is a legend of our Balhae Kingdom."

Yamato Nagamine thought to himself, "This is clearly the necklace we gave to Wang Shaolang, how did it become yours?" He immediately said, "This is clearly a legend from Japan."

Li Longji looked at the Japanese envoys in surprise, thinking to himself, "Are you blind? This is clearly a gift from you."

Upon seeing this, Wang Xi was secretly delighted. If this didn't fetch an astronomical price, he would be ashamed. He immediately said, "The starting price for this Mermaid's Tear is 100,000 coins. Raise your hand once, and the price will increase by 10,000 coins. You can also bid directly."

Shang Gongbu immediately began chanting a spell, "Can't sell, can't sell, can't sell!"

"One hundred and fifty thousand."

The Silla envoy immediately raised his hand, displaying an air of certainty.

The envoy from the Bohai Kingdom replied without hesitation, "Two hundred thousand."

Yamato Nagamine said, "Two hundred and twenty thousand."

The Silla envoy replied directly, "Two hundred and fifty thousand."

"Two hundred and fifty thousand! Two hundred and fifty thousand!"

Is it going to be this exciting right from the start? Wang Xi quickly added fuel to the fire, saying, "It seems that the Mermaid's Tears really did originate from Silla!"

The envoy from Bohai Kingdom gave Wang Xi an annoyed look. "What are you doing, kid? This is nothing." He raised his hand and said, "Three hundred thousand."

Yamato Nagamine said, "Three hundred and twenty thousand."

The Silla envoy immediately replied, "Three hundred and thirty thousand."

Upon hearing this, Yamato Nagamine hesitated, knowing the necklace's value—it could fetch at most 300,000 coins.

At the time, it was said that it would be given to Wang Xi as a gift upon meeting him, but this generous gift has not yet been presented.

The envoy from the Bohai Kingdom replied, "Three hundred and fifty thousand."

The Silla envoy laughed and said, "Four hundred thousand."

The higher the price, the happier he is.

Li Longji was dumbfounded. Could it be that my little sparrow knows some kind of bewitching magic? Why do all these people want this necklace so much?

These foreign envoys are all well-traveled and knowledgeable; they've seen all sorts of treasures. They should know exactly how much this necklace is worth.

The other court officials were also very surprised and inquired about the origin of the necklace, wondering if they should also participate, in case it really was a treasure.

Yuan Qianyao whispered to Li Longji, "Your Majesty, what is the significance of this necklace?"

Li Longji dared not tell the truth, and vaguely replied, "Didn't Que'er just say so?"

Yuan Qianyao refused to believe it. Just as he sat back down, Zhang Jiuling behind him suddenly laughed and said, "Husband, they might not be fighting over the necklace."

Yuan Qianyao turned around and looked, "What's that?"

Zhang Jiuling said in a low voice, "It might be that story."

"story?"

The Turkic prince whispered, "Uncle Dunshan, why do they want it so much? Is this necklace really some kind of treasure?"

Dunshan, who was also an envoy, saw it very clearly and said with a smile, "What they want is not the necklace itself, but the story behind it."

The Turkic prince was even more puzzled, saying, "The story is very touching and interesting, but it's not worth spending money to buy it, is it?"

Dun Shan said, "You don't understand. After this auction, this story will soon spread to various countries. Whoever wins this necklace will undoubtedly make more countries aware of their country. These hundreds of thousands of coins are really not much."

The Turkic prince suddenly realized what was going on and said, "Should we compete for it?"

Dunshan said, both amused and exasperated, "We Turks are not a coastal country. If we take it, we will only become a laughingstock."

The Turkic prince blushed. "Yes! I had completely forgotten about that."

"Four hundred thousand! Four hundred thousand!"

On stage, Wang Xi, still full of passion, said, "The Silla envoy has offered 400,000. Is there anyone offering a higher price?"

Yamato Nagamine suddenly said, "Four hundred and fifty thousand."

"Half a million!"

The Silla envoy shouted again.

Suddenly, someone shouted, "One million!"

"One hundred. Cough cough cough!"

Before he could even utter the word "ten thousand," Wang Xi suddenly realized that it was his own father, Wang Shouyi, who had raised his hand. He instinctively tried to swallow his words, but ended up coughing violently.

(End of this chapter)