Skinning the Cow Twice

As soon as Princess Mira sat down, a well-trained maid arrived to serve her tea.

Then the attendant responsible for appraising the goods came over, his face beaming with a smile. He said to Princess Mira, "Your Highness, we've finished appraising your items. They're all top quality and extremely valuable!"

Princess Mira, feeling proud, turned to Bella Bell at the next table and said, "Did you hear that, you wretched maid? My things are royal treasures, rare and priceless. What do you know, you lowly maid!"

Bella Bell snorted, giving Princess Mira a look as if she were watching an idiot.

Princess Mira hadn't even enjoyed her pride for three seconds when the attendant, still smiling, continued, "But we have rules at the auction. For bartered goods, we value them at half price. For example, if your item is worth a hundred taels, it counts as only fifty taels when exchanged for silver."

"What? What did you say!?" Princess Mira's eyes nearly popped out of her head.

How did it... just lose half its value all of a sudden?

Bella Bell tried not to laugh, her stomach aching. Her master was truly cunning—skinning the cow twice! First, they slashed the value of the goods, and Princess Mira had fallen right into Princess Lily’s trap!

The attendant, still smiling, explained again.

Princess Mira was annoyed. "All my things are treasures from the palace! Outsiders can't even buy them. How come they're only worth half here?"

The attendant’s face didn’t change. "Your Highness, here’s the thing: we sell spices, so if we take your goods, we first have to pawn them for silver. The pawnshop takes a cut—about thirty percent. Then, converting so many goods to cash takes time, and our spice shop needs a steady cash flow. If we use your goods to pay debts, we’ll have to borrow money at high interest until they sell, which costs another twenty percent. That’s why your goods are valued at half. We’re really honest merchants!"

Bella Bell couldn’t help but laugh. Her master was ruthless—she could rob someone blind while sounding perfectly reasonable.

Princess Mira, meanwhile, was completely convinced by the attendant’s explanation. She thought it made perfect sense!

After all, goods aren’t as convenient as cash or silver notes.

But valuing everything at half price? That’s just outrageous!

Bella Bell seized the moment. "Oh, Princess Mira, if you can't bear to part with your silver, maybe you shouldn’t join the auction. No money? Don’t try to act rich and buy spices. You might as well take your ten carts of treasures home—after all, you’ll never beat Princess Lily Hayes. Why bother?"

Princess Mira hesitated, but Bella Bell’s words stung. Fired up, she slammed the table and stood up. "Fine! Half price it is! Does this princess look like she’s short on money!?"

"All right then!" The attendant walked off cheerfully.

Bella Bell waved her hand and clicked her tongue. "Who knows if she's just talking big now, and will regret spending it later."

Princess Mira was so angry she wanted to kick Bella Bell, but Green Lily quickly held her back. "Princess, don’t forget—Miss Bella is a Xiao family secret guard…"

The moment the Xiao family secret guards were mentioned, Princess Mira remembered being chased through the streets by hornets and shuddered. She glared at Bella Bell and sat down, defeated.