Chapter 92: A Gamble I
A fortnight passed, and Gu Wanrong, along with Fu Zhenzhuobao’s team including Tong Shenqi, flew to Nandian.
Fu Zhenzhuobaoâs Rongcheng haul was inferior to Gu Wanrongâs casual selections. Tong Shenqi personally attended this year’s annual domestic jade auction.
Gu Wanrong, possessing a personal invitation from He Yucheng, didn’t need to enter with Fu Zhenzhuobao.
A commotion arose; An Group had arrived.
This ignited gossip. People whispered, aware of the internal strife within An Group.
“How dare he show his face?” someone scoffed.
“He’s An Runliang’s son. An Runliang controls most jade imports from Myanmar, so he has a right to be here,” someone countered.
“But didn’t he ruin Wanxi Jewelry’s reputation in Rongcheng?” someone questioned, possessing Rongcheng jade market information.
“Yes, the He family is targeting Wanxi Jewelry,” others agreed.
“But He family’s third master’s wife is An Xuliang’s aunt,” someone added.
“Why hasn’t An Runliang punished An Xuliang?” someone exclaimed.
“He’s his son. An Jiayan brought him to the auction,” someone explained.
“Look, An Jiayan isn’t even looking at An Xuliang,” someone observed.
“If I had an illegitimate son trying to seize my inheritance, I wouldn’t give him a good look either!” another retorted.
“And look at the other illegitimate childrenâAn Jiayan ignores them completely,” someone added, gesturing discreetly.
Suddenly, someone warned, “Shh! An Group is coming! If they hear us, we’ll have to mine jade in Myanmar ourselves!”
Silence fell. Everyone watched anxiously as An Group approached, fearing they’d offend them. They were small merchants, powerless against An Group. Myanmar’s instability made them unwilling to go there.
An Jiayan, leading An Group, entered. His forced smile almost faltered. He knew his illegitimate half-siblings were vying for power, eager to see him fail.
He’d successfully seized Wanxi Jewelry’s Rongcheng operations using his connections with the He family. But now, he had to clean up the mess!
It was better to give control to his sister, An Jiahuan, than to An Xuliang. An Jiahuan was his sister, and unlike the illegitimate children, wouldn’t fight for An Group’s assets.
On their way, An Xuliang endured taunts from the other illegitimate children.
“An Xuliang, your mother is impressiveâcausing chaos yet escaping punishment,” sneered An Shangren, a rival of similar age.
“It’s because his aunt married He family’s third master,” added An Rihao, two years younger.
âŚ
An Xuliang, though furious, endured silently. An Runliang had stripped him of everything except his status as his son.
“Uncle.”
Entering the auction, An Xuliang approached He Jingkun.
Since He Yukang’s arrest, He Jingkun’s attitude towards An Xuliang had soured. Heâd channeled his anger towards Gu Wanrong, influenced by his wife and son.
He Yukang believed that Gu Wanrong was responsible for his arrest. He and An Xuliang’s mothers, lacking support, needed to ally for survival in high society.
As Gu Wanrong entered, she sensed two hostile gazesâAn Xuliang and He Jingkun.
“Ms. Gu, please help us appraise these,” Tong Shenqi greeted Gu Wanrong.
Tong Shenqi excelled in gemstone design and appraisal but not jade. Her primary goal was to find the reason for Fu Zhenzhuobao’s shortage of rare jade materials.
Gu Wanrongâs sent jade had shown her superior judgment.
Most stones in the auction were windowed, increasing prices but reducing risk.
Gu Wanrong examined Fu Zhenzhuobao’s selected stones, all windowed.
But her brow furrowed.
The quality is far inferior to other merchants, even worse than Rongcheng’s auction. This shouldn’t be the case for the biggest annual auction.
Seeing her displeasure, a subordinate stammered, “Ms. Gu, the quality isn’t ideal. We’ve done our best to select.”
Gu Wanrong realized someone was preventing Fu Zhenzhuobao from getting good jade.
Considering the jade sourcesâthe He family and An Groupâboth were suspects.
“He family or An Group?” Gu Wanrong asked Tong Shenqi, confirming her suspicion.
The He familyâshe’d sent He Yukang to jail. While He Yucheng was respectful, the doting third master remained.
An Groupâshe had clashed with them. Theyâd fought over land in the capital city; she’d exposed Jiu Yu Zhaiâs scheme and contributed to Wanxi Jewelry’s troubles; sheâd warned An Jiahuan.
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