Chapter 43: The Fight between Princes

“Who are you?” The servant beside Wang Ping shouted angrily, pointing at the young man.

Unexpectedly, Wang Ping swung his hand and slapped the servant in a wide arc. “Second Prince, forgive my servant for his lack of discipline. May I ask what insights you have regarding Li Xian’s actions?”

Insights? This was a counterattack. The Second Prince had his own pride—after all, his elder sister was the favored Consort Hua, and the entire Wang family supported the Third Prince.

The Second Prince sneered, “I have no insights, but I do have some foolish opinions. However, it’s better not to share them.”

With that, the Second Prince turned and left, too lazy to explain himself to Wang Ping.

Wang Ping watched the Second Prince depart, snorting coldly to himself, “What can a merchant’s offspring possibly achieve!”

It turned out the Second Prince was born to the beauty Yue Zhao Hua, the daughter of a merchant. Her status was merely that of a concubine, and naturally, the Second Prince had little support.

Currently, old officials like Li Yulong supported the First Prince, the Crown Prince; the Wang family backed the Third Prince. Only the Second Prince was a lone figure in this struggle.

On another side, the First Prince arrived, accompanied by Li Wei—Li Xian’s second brother—and Yuan Cai, Yuan Zhao’s elder brother.

“Li Wei, your younger brother is quite something,” the First Prince said with a broad smile, seemingly unconcerned about the struggle for the throne.

“Just a bit of cleverness,” Li Wei replied humbly.

“Cleverness? Ha! This is not just cleverness; it’s great wisdom,” the First Prince began to analyze. “If the bidding were too fierce, it could hurt relations. However, this approach not only adds a festive atmosphere but also maintains the fair pricing principle that the Brilliant Stars Trading Company has always upheld, aligning perfectly with the theme of this fair—a low-cost New Year celebration.

“Your younger brother is remarkable! This move, I only understood afterward.

“Li Wei, when the New Year passes, how about you invite Li Xian to my residence for a visit?”

"That would be an honor."

Meanwhile, Li Xian had already distributed paper and pens. Faced with this novel bidding method, many in the crowd, especially those with deeper pockets who could afford 55 taels of gold, were intrigued.

Feeling motivated, they wrote down what they thought was a decent number, along with their father's and grandfather's names. With three generations of names combined, it was unlikely there would be duplicates.

Next, Li Xian selected a dozen people from the audience to act as counters, supervisors, and recorders.

"52 taels of gold, 3 taels of silver, 665 copper coins."

"51 taels of gold, 7 taels of silver, 6 copper coins."

...

With many participants, the counters were busy for half an hour—around an hour in total.

In front of everyone’s gaze, the first round of the silent auction concluded, yielding an average bid of: 53 taels of gold, 1 tael of silver, and 8.92 copper coins.

Li Xian picked up a piece of paper. "Congratulations to Han Yuanshan, Han Dapeng, and Han Yunxiang for winning the first red crystal chandelier. Their bid was 53 taels of gold, 1 tael of silver, and 10 copper coins, closest to the average value."

"Ah..." A rather elegantly dressed man jumped up. "I—I'm Han Yunxiang, Han Dapeng is my father, and Han Yuanshan is my grandfather."

He squeezed his way to the red crystal chandelier, gazing up in a daze. Though smaller than the Emperor’s chandelier, it still stood 9 feet tall, with over 30 wine-red crystal strands reflecting magnificent and dazzling light. Each crystal was perfect, as if plucked from the stars.

Han Yunxiang circled the chandelier again and again, unable to stop.

“Ahem…” Seeing that this guy was completely mesmerized, Li Xian had to gently remind him—he should say something.

Well, Han Yunxiang was so filled with surprise that he could hear nothing. All he could think was—this chandelier is mine! It’s mine! The heart-shaped chandelier in the center is so beautiful…

Li Xian forced a smile. “Han Yunxiang, first of all, congratulations. But I must remind you of one thing: if you have the means to take this chandelier away, then you can take it yourself. If not, you should auction it off now; it should earn you a nice profit.”

Finally, Han Yunxiang came back to his senses after a long pause and wisely entrusted Li Xian to help him auction it off.

The auction quickly concluded at 228 taels of gold, making Han Yunxiang even happier. Through this indirect method, Li Xian had successfully raised the profile of the crystal chandelier—look, even though we only sold it for 50 to 55 taels of gold, its true value is clear for all to see!

Next, Li Xian auctioned off the remaining six crystal chandeliers, and everyone wrote down their bids in order. Surprisingly, all six winners were ordinary merchants—one couldn’t help but admire their vision and capability. These winners cleverly resold the chandeliers, turning a good profit.

With such arrangements, Li Xian kept his promise, invigorating the entire expo while also considering the interests of the prominent families—everyone got their chandeliers, making it a win-win situation.

"Impressive!" The Crown Prince approached him, saying, "Li Xian, I've been hearing your name a lot lately. This morning, Father praised you for a whole hour."

"Ah... Greetings, Your Highness, Second Brother, and Brother Yuan," Li Xian quickly responded; this was his first time meeting his Second Brother, Li Wei, in this world. Compared to his older brother Li Liang, Li Wei was much more valiant and had the demeanor of a general.

Yuan Cai, too, was a great general who had fought several battles against Chen and achieved many victories.

Li Wei laughed heartily, "You’ve done well, Brother Xian. It’s been a year, and look at all you’ve accomplished!"

Brother Xian...Li Xian felt awkward. Can’t you change how you address me? I’m your younger brother!

Yuan Cai also laughed heartily and came over to give Li Xian a strong hug; however, the next moment, Li Xian's face changed—this guy was at the Foundation Establishment stage, and the hug made Li Xian's bones tremble.

"Ha ha..." Yuan Cai laughed, "Not bad, not bad. You didn’t cry this time; you’ve improved."

Memories of the past flooded back; the former Li Xian had always been weak, unable to withstand Yuan Cai's "enthusiasm," and would always end up in tears.

Before Li Xian could ponder this, Yuan Cai’s big hand came crashing down, and Li Xian felt as if his shoulder had collapsed.

I'll remember you! You’re a great general, aren’t you? Just wait until I form my armored special forces; I’ll make sure to give your cavalry a run for their money!

Fortunately, the Crown Prince remained composed. "Li Xian, do you have time to talk?"

It seemed the Crown Prince was so impressed by Li Xian that he couldn’t wait for Li Wei to relay the message tomorrow; he took the initiative to approach Li Xian directly.

Hearing this, Li Xian felt a wave of helplessness wash over him—he really disliked being drawn into the conflict among the princes. There was almost a fifty percent chance it would lead to disaster, a forty percent chance it would bring a lot of trouble, and only a ten percent chance of success; but the trouble was guaranteed to be four hundred percent—three princes plus one emperor.

With that time and energy, I’d rather focus on developing technology.

But the trouble didn’t end there; the Second Prince also sauntered over, "Elder Brother, you’re here too."

The Crown Prince smiled, "Second Brother, you’re here to check out the industrial expo as well?"

"Yes, yes," the Second Prince replied with a gentle smile. Then, without waiting for others to speak or greet, he suddenly turned to Li Xian, "Li Xian, your business acumen is impressive; I want to do business with you. How about it?"

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