The auction security leader blushed and said, "It was our mistake. Outside the venue, people were arranged to guard, but inside backstage, only two guards were assigned. One went to the restroom, and the other couldn't stop the person. We have temporarily detained that person and called the police."
Amelia felt very helpless.
Sophia thought for a moment and said, "I do have a circular jade pendant with a dragon pattern."
It was a dragon-patterned circular jade pendant.
In ancient times, these were mostly worn by emperors, nobles, or high-ranking officials.
Compared to the set of jade wine cups, this pendant was more valuable.
Hearing this, the people from Deron's group lit up with interest.
Before Sophia could say more, Amelia spoke for her, "Are there experts on site? It's best to have it appraised first, at least to estimate its value."
Right before the auction, such a big mistake happened. Amelia began to doubt if Deron Group was reliable.
She spoke up to fight for Sophia's protection.
Auctioneer Zhena, who was more familiar with Amelia, quickly agreed.
"That's for sure. Miss Sophia and Miss Amelia, rest assured."
"Time is tight. How about we send someone to escort you back to the hotel room to get it?"
Sophia and Amelia had no objections and quickly took action.
Because Sophia owned many jade antiques, she was careless with her notes and quickly took out the pendant from her backpack.
She wore it as a pendant and luckily hadn't damaged it.
After getting the item, the group hurried back to the venue.
Just as they were about to enter, Deron's security rushed in ahead.
Sophia was last. After showing her invitation card, as she was about to enter, a hand suddenly grabbed her.
"Sophia! Why are you here too?" Jessica questioned, looking at Sophia suspiciously.
"What? Did you really find a rich man? Did he bring you here?"
Sophia frowned slightly.
She signaled the security guard at the door.
Since Sophia had already shown her invitation card and was being harassed, the guard immediately stepped forward to separate Jessica.
Jessica was stunned for a moment, then shouted, "Sophia, stop right there!"
Sophia ignored her.
Amelia, noticing Sophia had fallen behind, came out looking for her and bumped right into her.
"Let's go! The auction started a while ago."
They entered the banquet hall and took their seats.
Sophia asked, "I saw people enter the first two sessions, but now they can't get in. Why?"
Amelia explained, "The first two auction sessions were public. As long as you passed the qualification and registered, you could join."
"Today's session and the next two are private auctions. The entry requirements are very high."
Sophia understood. The Jiang family was only moderately wealthy; judging by the people here, the status was clear.
She opened the booklet on her seat and saw there were only two more items before the jade wine cup set.
Security finally stopped having issues and sent the items to experts for appraisal.
After a while, just as the next item—one of the twelve jade wine cups—was about to be auctioned, security signaled Auctioneer Zhena from the stage.
Seeing the dragon-patterned circular jade pendant was brought in, Zhena quickly went on stage and explained.
"Due to an unexpected situation, the original Yuan Zhao jade wine cup item is replaced with a Yuan Zhao dragon-patterned circular jade pendant. Starting bid is 20 million."
As soon as she finished, bids came immediately.
"40 million!"
"45 million!"
"50 million!"
"70 million!"
Though Sophia had attended auctions before, she never joined one with such high-level collectibles.
The bidding was fast, very fast.
In the blink of an eye, the bids more than doubled.
When the price reached a certain high, the speed and amount of the bids slowed down.
"82 million!"
"83 million!"
"83 million, one time!"
Auctioneer Zhena held the hammer in one hand, raising it in the air, looking at everyone.
"83 million, two times!"
"83 million, three times!"
With one strike of the hammer, the sale was final.
Sophia and Amelia's hearts beat faster with the ups and downs of the bidding. When the item was sold, their nervousness finally eased.
The auction lasted almost two hours.
Outside, many people waited. As soon as the auction ended and they got the message, they went to the bidding center to make payments.
The socializing after the auction was the second goal for many people. They drank, made friends, and talked business.
Sophia and Amelia did not need this. When the auction ended, they left.
As they walked out of the hotel, they saw a police car parked outside.
Jessica was being taken into the police car.
Jessica's father and mother hit the car urgently, but the police car quickly drove away.
They were so anxious that they didn't see Sophia standing there.
Sophia and Amelia watched the police car leave along with Jessica's parents.
"Sophia, this way!" Amelia pulled Sophia who was distracted.
Sophia hurried to follow.
"What's wrong? Do you know them?" Amelia asked.
"If I knew them, I would tell Deron since it is because of you. It would not be a problem."
Sophia shook her head. "I don't know them."
In the next two days, Sophia did not see the Jiang family again.
After the auction, Sophia left the next day.
She came mainly out of curiosity and would probably not come again.
Sophia and Amelia had their own things and parted ways after the auction.
During the auction days, Sophia kept receiving spending information.
First, she went back to the factory in town. No one was there, but when she opened the shutter, she saw it full of grain.
The Zhao army rested in Chen Commandery for a long time. The takeover in Chen Commandery was orderly.
General Yves and the officers had started thinking about how to attack the states of Wu and Zhao.
"Commander, we are far behind Wu and Zhao. It will be hard to fight them alone."
General Yves looked at General Ulric. "General Ulric, your hometown is Zhao. You should know about Zhao, right?"
General Ulric took out a letter he had prepared.
"Wu is suffering drought and many uprisings. Zhao is controlled by noble clans. Many talents are ignored."
The biggest problem was that nobles ruled and treated people's lives carelessly. General Ulric's family were rich merchants. One noble son wanted the family's eldest son's wife. When refused, he killed all 63 family members.
General Ulric was an unimportant illegitimate son. That day, he had gone to herd cattle, got lost in the forest, and luckily survived.
He had no feelings for the Zhao family, but his real mother was still in Zhao and was also killed.
The auction and the events ended.