Chapter 25: The Auctioned Pearl King (1)

Yet, how could they possibly outmatch the Madam? Bizhu felt a twinge of worry; she vaguely sensed that the Pearl King might be helpful for her young mistress’s complexion.

Changge Yue curled the corners of her lips slightly. "Bizhu, go fetch a few brushes. We need to scrub those fakes under our bed clean so we can sell them for silver." Those items were tainted with toxins harmful to a woman's complexion; she needed to concoct an antidote before offloading them for profit.

Although they were mere imitations, their craftsmanship was so exquisite that even Changge Yujiao could not tell the difference—they were, quite literally, the cream of the crop among counterfeits.

Bizhu’s jaw dropped, her lips trembling uncontrollably. "Young Mistress..." Those were things left behind by the late Madam.

Changge Yue, however, remained entirely indifferent. The origins of those toxic objects were likely far more complex than the simple label of "the late Madam's legacy" could explain.

She patted Bizhu on the shoulder. "Bizhu, Mother left those things behind so that I might live a better life. Is there anything more wonderful than restoring my appearance?" In truth, a single Taihu Pearl King was merely for maintenance; her true recovery relied on her own efforts.

The auction day at the Zhenbao Pavilion fell on the first of every month, which happened to be the day after tomorrow.

Changge Yue meticulously treated several pieces that still looked convincingly "authentic," a satisfied smile playing on her lips.

As she smiled and prepared to finish her work, her gaze suddenly fell upon a golden hairpin. She picked it up. "Pure gold?" Not a fake?

A single genuine article amidst a pile of counterfeits? Was it a case of passing off fish eyes as pearls?

Changge Yue smiled faintly, yet she felt something was off about the hairpin. Two massive pearls, one black and one white, shimmered brightly upon it.

She traced the pearls carefully. As they shifted, a silver needle suddenly shot out from the hairpin, embedding itself deep into the bed frame.

Changge Yue was startled at first, but then her eyes lit up. It was an exceptional hidden weapon.

She pulled the silver needle from the wood. Perhaps due to the passage of time, it had turned slightly blackened. "Piaoxian?" Piaoxian was a rare, supposedly incurable poison from a past dynasty, its formula long lost. Had she not spent a century tempered by the Bridge of Helplessness, she would never have recognized it.

The victim would fall into a trance, feeling as if they were floating in bliss, only to die within that dream. It sounded beautiful, but the death was gruesome: the victim would bleed from all seven orifices, and the blood itself would be poisonous. Anyone who touched it would fall into a state of hysterical madness, like a beast, eventually dying in a frenzy—a condition known as "Secondary Piaoxian."

Though the poison was bizarre and insidious, Changge Yue found it somewhat redundant. It required extremely harsh conditions: it had to be administered during intimate relations, and the venom had to be introduced via a silver needle.

Still, it was an essential tool for palace infighting. It was just a pity that if an unlucky emperor were to touch the blood of the deceased, the Secondary Piaoxian would send him straight to the afterlife.

Playing with the hairpin for a moment, Changge Yue tilted her lips and pinned it directly into her hair.

On the first of August, at the Zhenbao Pavilion.

Clad in white and wearing a veil, Changge Yue arrived at the back hall of the pavilion. A middle-aged man who appeared to be a manager looked her up and down, his tone polite. "Miss, are you here to receive a bid number or to consign items?" The rules of the Zhenbao Pavilion were clear: consignors could enter the auction hall for free, while "receiving a bid number" was merely a euphemism for paying for an entry ticket.

Changge Yue opened her satchel, and an antique, painted porcelain piece appeared before the man in green.