Auction Begins

Princess Mira finally quieted down. Bella Bell sat sipping her tea, subtly surveying the room.

Today, the place was packed with wealthy elites. Nearly every prominent restaurant owner in the Capital was present.

Bella Bell felt secretly delighted. With so many rich folks here, plus herself as a planted bidder, and Princess Mira—who was naturally at odds with Princess Lily Hayes—she was sure the spice prices would soar.

After waiting about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Mark Hunter appeared on the stage.

Mark Hunter had dressed up for the occasion. Tall, fit, and handsome to begin with, his special effort today could make a whole crowd of girls swoon.

Princess Mira stared at Mark Hunter and whispered to Lila, "Is this the owner of the spice shop, Mr. Hunter? He’s quite the looker."

Lila rolled her eyes, thinking, our princess never misses a chance to check out a handsome man!

Mark Hunter took the stage, noting that most guests had arrived—including Princess Mira, the special focus of this auction. He smiled.

"Honored guests, thank you all for coming to our spice auction," Mark Hunter began, his magnetic voice echoing through the room. "I imagine this is everyone’s first auction, so let me explain the rules."

"Each bidder must first pay a deposit of one thousand taels to qualify. After the auction, the deposit will be returned. However, if someone wins an item but refuses to pay, the deposit is forfeited as a penalty."

"Every spice has a starting price. The highest bidder wins! Each bid must increase by ten taels of gold. Raise the paddle on your table to place a bid. If no one bids higher after you, you win the item."

After Mark Hunter finished explaining, everyone was intrigued by this novel way of selling goods.

Without further ado, Mark Hunter brought out the first item—a bag of pepper.

Mark Hunter announced, "This bag of spice starts at one hundred taels of gold. Inside is something called pepper—a rare and precious spice. Used correctly, pepper can elevate a dish to a whole new level. Many of Eight Treasures Bistro’s signature dishes feature pepper. This time, ranking...

After Mark Hunter finished speaking, he took out a thin booklet and said, "Whoever wins the first bag of pepper will also receive this booklet. Don't underestimate it—inside are five rare recipes, all requiring pepper as the main ingredient. This booklet contains secret recipes from a famous chef. Previously, Princess Lily Hayes of Eight Treasures Bistro once obtained a single page of these secret recipes, and with that page, she founded Eight Treasures Bistro."

The crowd was amazed. So all those delicious dishes at Eight Treasures Bistro came from a famous chef’s secret recipes!

Anyone who could get even a single page of these recipes could open the top restaurant in the Capital. No wonder the booklet in Mark Hunter’s hand was so valuable!

Every food and drink tycoon in the room knew the importance of rare recipes. Their eyes gleamed like hungry wolves.

To get such a rare spice and the recipe booklet together was a steal! In fact, the recipes were almost as tempting as the spices themselves.

At this, Lila, Princess Mira’s chef, whispered in her ear, fanning the flames: "Princess, if we get those recipes, our business will boom—and we’ll finally put Princess Lily Hayes in her place!"

The moment she heard she could outshine Princess Lily Hayes, Princess Mira instantly raised her paddle: "One hundred and ten taels of gold! That pepper and those recipes—I must have them!"