Chapter 352 Auction Bid
This group of lovely young people attracted the attention of all the guests. Compared with the arrogant Prince Linaru and the solemn Prince Alsiel, they were lively and cheerful, and their fresh and sweet smell had a different flavor. For a while, the only sounds in the venue were their playful laughter and rustling footsteps.
"These...are all candidates for the next prince?" Ren Anzhi exclaimed.
"Yes, look at this." Guan Yu, who had just walked around the venue, said, and he pulled out a newspaper from his bag, which contained gossip about the royal family. Xiao Zhen leaned over to take a look and found that this gossip tabloid had a row of dynamic images, which were several of the beautiful boys who had just entered the venue. Guan Yu pointed to two of the most eye-catching boys and said that they were the most likely candidates for the next prince to win the Queen's favor, and some people even opened a bet on the black market.
"You understand it very well..."
"Royal gossip is the topic that the locals are most concerned about. Just chat with them and you will know." Guan Yu said, he unfolded the newspaper and placed it in front of Zhang Fei, "Take a look, who do you think is most likely to be the next one?"
"Hmm? This one?" Zhang Fei said casually, pointing at one of the popular ones.
"Okay." Guan Yu quickly placed a bet on another popular candidate on the data board.
"Hello!"
Liu Xingquan whispered, "Is this something that can be discussed openly?"
"Discussing the future queen's next Bazalu is something that the whole country enjoys," said Mr. Cat, "and it's not taboo."
"I thought this kind of monarchical dynasty would be more controlling of speech and stuff like that."
"Xiyiqi is a Zerg society dominated by matriarchy. There are many matriarchal tribes on this planet, and the fighting between them is extremely fierce. Each tribe will select male candidates of appropriate age to enter the palace. Once selected by the queen, it is not only a personal honor but also an improvement in the status of the tribe. In the history of Xiyiqi, every queen would widely accept Bala Lu to balance the power of each tribe. Now this queen has maintained her favor for Prince Alsiel for ten years, which is a rare and unusual thing."
"Oh..." The scenes of evil concubines bringing disaster to the country from various Chinese costume dramas emerged in Liu Xingquan's mind again.
"One dominant power is not conducive to the stability of the dynasty." Mr. Cat said, "Each tribe hopes that the queen can have her own tribe's Bazalu, and the local people also talk about it with relish. This is a local custom, so don't be too surprised. The biggest problem now is to confirm the status of the next heir."
"A fight between the eldest princess and the youngest princess?"
"Yes. Remember, the struggle here is extremely brutal."
Mr. Cat seemed to want to say something else, but a communication cut in. He turned around to deal with his own communication. At this time, the auction had already begun.
In Xiaozhen's opinion, this auction was more like a political social event. The young Balaru candidates appeared in front of the guests one by one, showing their charm as if they were the future stars of tomorrow. After the young boys dispersed into the Coral Hall, almost everyone was surrounded by several guests who were very attentive to them. They seemed to have no reservations at all and talked and laughed in public.
Ren Anzhi was shocked to see a handsome young man (one of the candidates for Bazaar) sitting intimately with two guests (also in human form). According to the understanding of Earthlings, concubines in the harem should keep a certain distance from outsiders. Even if you look at it from the perspective of gender, it is really full of disharmony.
"Those concubines..." Ren Anzhi used this word with some difficulty, "There are quite a few people around them."
"Well, after all, these people are princes who may rise to great heights in the future, so there will naturally be many people who want to curry favor with them."
"But this is a bit strange." Ren Anzhi said, "It's quite different from the concubines I imagined."
"What?"
"Shouldn't the concubines in the harem stay in the palace? I thought they wouldn't be so free and come into contact with so many people..."
"Hmm?" Xiao Zhen narrowed his eyes and replied, "Because I'm just a candidate."
"Even if I'm a candidate, I'm..."
"Oh." Xiao Zhen replied, "Do you know how the marriage system on Earth came about?"
"Um?"
"The original is the control of the paternal bloodline." Xiao Zhen said, "Homo sapiens mothers are definitely the mothers of their children, but fathers are not necessarily. Under the two-parent breeding system, the origin of marriage on Earth is the paternal control of the inheritance of their own bloodline, using marriage contracts to ensure that women can reproduce offspring that can truly inherit their genes. Requiring female chastity is essentially to regard women as the inviolable property of their husbands. In the past history of Earth, many ridiculous and pathetic customs have been derived from this."
“…”
"So in a patriarchal society, there would be eunuchs in the harem of feudal emperors. In order to ensure the purity of the royal bloodline, men who could get close to the women in the harem had to remove their reproductive ability."
Ren Anzhi looked away a little uncomfortably. It was a little incongruous for Xiao Zhen, who had a childish face, to say this. Should we say that today's middle school students are becoming more and more amazing? He looked at the candidates for "harem concubines" who seemed to be unconstrained by any rules not far away. He still didn't understand the meaning of Xiao Zhen's words.
"So... does this have something to do with the customs of this planet?"
"Yes." Xiao Zhen said, "First of all, in a matriarchal society, there is no need to worry about the purity of the offspring's bloodline. Secondly, these prince candidates will not do anything immoral."
"Ah? Why?"
"Have you noticed that these candidates are all teenagers?"
"Yes, what's the matter?"
"Because they haven't metamorphosed yet." Xiao Zhen thought for a moment, "Let's just use the word metamorphosis for now. They are not real male insects. They have no reproductive capacity."
"ah."
"Only when the queen bestows him with royal jelly will his body be truly transformed and turn into a true male capable of mating with the queen. Only then will he become a true Bazhalu."
"..." Ren Anzhi and Liu Xingquan both widened their eyes. It was obvious that the amount of information was a bit beyond the scope.
"Ah, so this is not just about power. Only the Queen's grace can make them real male individuals." Ren Anzhi whispered, "The huge difference between customs and those on Earth lies in the physiological differences."
A bell rang in the hall.
The broken pieces of pottery from the ancient Qing Dynasty were sold at a price of 5.23 million. The person who bought it was a candidate for the Bazaar, a handsome young man. When the host announced that the pile of broken pottery pieces belonged to him, Master Kelan,.
Master Clan stood up and accepted the guests' congratulations with a smile on his face. He was one of the most popular candidates listed in the gossip newspaper that Guan Yu brought.
Captain Ban said, "Is this the man Zhang Fei said he could win?"
Guan Yu said, "Yes."
"Okay, he's hopeless."
"Hello!!"
The subsequent lots were auctioned off one after another, and most of them did not have particularly exaggerated premiums. Only when it came to the turn of the ancient biological fossil, an archaeologist from the Moth Blue Star who came from afar and a local Xiyiqi guest briefly bid for it, but the increase in price was not high, and it was finally auctioned off by the local Xiyiqi guest for 9 million credit coins.
So far, the bidding ranges for all the auction items have been within the normal range. Xiao Zhen thought that if his target, the Zhenxuan Special Drink, could also be kept within this range, then he should be able to win it with his five million.
Zhang Fei said, "Mr. Yan Zhen, I think you are a ..." Before he finished speaking, Liu Bei and Guan Yu covered his mouth. Xiao Zhen silently thanked them.
Then, it was finally their turn to be their target this time - the truly selected special drink.
The holographic image of the bottle of drink appeared in the center of the auction venue.
Just as Xiaozhen remembered, the plain packaging he designed himself, the plain bottle he purchased casually, now just had a few collector's stamps on it.
"This is the drink that the extremely evil criminal Chakodo missed so much when he was dying - the True Selection Special Drink!" The auctioneer announced in an unusually high tone, and the venue was buzzing with discussion. He then used a series of exaggerated phrases as adverbials for the True Selection Special Drink, and Xiao Zhen was shocked as he listened. In the host's words, this bottle of True Selection Special Drink was made by a mysterious hermit, and it was a rare and divine wine. In addition to Chakodo, the host listed several galactic celebrities who were rumored to collect and love the True Selection Special Drink. When he read out the name of His Majesty Mansfield, the venue was immediately filled with an excited and enthusiastic atmosphere, and the guests' discussions became louder. Xiao Zhen had blocked most of his superficial consciousness, but he could still feel a headache from the tidal wave of desire.
Captain Madara said, "Damn it, your three-no drink is almost as good as Shameidi's finest century-old fragrant brandy."
"..." Xiao Zhen glared at the cat beside him, but Mr. Cat showed a cold attitude, as if it had nothing to do with him, and completely ignored Xiao Zhen's resentful light waves.
After the host heated up the atmosphere, he looked at the reactions of the audience with satisfaction and waved his hand at the right time. Thus, the bidding officially began.
"Three million and one hundred thousand!"
"Three million, one hundred and fifty thousand!"
"Three million and two hundred thousand!"
Such bidding sounds continued one after another.
Xiao Zhen cautiously raised the price in the smallest increment. The price of the Zhenxuan Special Drink continued to rise as the bids from all sides rose, and after a few minutes it exceeded four million.
Xiao Zhen and his group watched the numbers jump upwards, and a guest's bid suddenly climbed to 4.5 million. Xiao Zhen followed suit after a few seconds of silence, and the bidding became a little slow afterwards.
"Four million six hundred thousand!"
"Four million six hundred and fifty thousand!"
…
…
After reaching 4.8 million, the bidding suddenly stopped. The host asked if anyone else wanted to bid, but no one answered him. When the needle in front of the auction table was about to turn around, Xiaozhen pressed the bidding button.
"Four million nine hundred thousand."
"Four million nine hundred thousand! Four million nine hundred thousand!!"
After the third time of asking, no one answered. Xiao Zhen breathed a sigh of relief.
"Anyone else want to bid? If not, this bottle of Genuine Special Drink will be..."
"Five million." A steady voice suddenly shook the venue. It came from the largest box in the Coral Hall - Prince Alsiel. The guests looked at him one after another, and there was an uproar in the venue.
"It was the honorable Prince Alsiel who bid five million! Thank you, kind Prince Alsiel! If nothing unexpected happens, this bottle of precious genuine special drink..."
Another voice suddenly sounded from the other end of the venue. Compared with the previous voice which was deep and steady, this voice was extremely clear and gorgeous.
"Six million."
It comes from Prince Rinaru.
Then the venue fell into silence, and the needles and strings in front of the auction table moved slowly. The guests looked at Prince Linaru, then at Prince Alsiel, and everyone pricked up their ears (or auditory system) and watched the two princes compete directly on the stage with concentration .
"Eight million." Prince Alsiel spoke. There was no emotion in his voice.
"Fifteen million." Prince Linaru bid again without hesitation.
“…”
The guests looked curiously at Prince Alsiel in the box. He was sitting quietly in his seat, looking straight ahead. He did not look at Linaru, and his solemn and melancholy face still showed no expression. He spoke -
"Twenty million."
"Forty million." Prince Linaru said loudly.
…
…
Captain Madara said, "I think there is nothing left for you to do."
Xiao Zhen said viciously: "Shut up!!"
