Water Mirrored Moon - 水鏡月

Part III - Beloved of the Seventh Prince: 47. Auction Pit

What the...? Oh right...I was drugged, she thought.

When Cui Xi came to, she tried to move around, but found that she could not. The drug in her system was making her light-headed, but she felt there was still enough time to try to assess what was going on before deciding on a next move. They had not killed her, so they meant to keep her alive as yet.

She remembered being snatched in the street and a cloth hurriedly pressed over her nose and mouth. After that...ugh...nothing...

Her wrists hurt and she looked around, realizing that she was tied to some sort of altar atop a raised dais. They'd draped a loose red robe around her, while somewhere above a bright light was shining down on her. Twisting around, she squinted to try to see better, but outside the circle of the dais there was only darkness. She closed her eyes breathing slowly to calm her heart. Breathe!

Although they had removed her clothes, they had not removed her jewellery, as such her crescent moon pendant and the jade ring still hung around her neck and the silver snake ring was still on her finger. She wriggled her hands again...it was just rope. Oh. Excellent! Now, she only had to wait for an opportunity to present itself...or better still, she would make one.

As her eyes began to adjust to her surroundings, she saw that all around the edges of the dais were the shadows of hooded men, their faces covered with masks, a low murmur echoing in the room. The men suddenly parted and a woman with a red mask strolled in and stepped onto the dais.

A bell rung and the chatter immediately stopped.

The woman turned on the dais and looked straight at Cui Xi with a malevolent smile. Recognizing those eyes, Cui Xi felt a quiver of unease lick up her spine. It was the Second lady of the Chrysanthemum Tower, Gu Jia Er.

So...it's like that.

The woman stepped forward and loosened the sash of the robe revealing Cui Xi's body and there was a collective sigh.

"My lords the girl is a virgin. Completely untouched. Bidding will start at one hundred thousand silver..." said Gu Jia Er.

Hah! A slave auction?! Only Gu Jia Er could be so unoriginal.

There was a spurt of surprise from the crowd. One hundred thousand was not a small amount.

"Gu Jia Er, Gu Jia Er, ah," Cui Xi laughed, her voice low and seductive. "Saying it like that is so very... boring..." she mocked.

Shouts of laughter and chuckles rippled through the crowd along with a keen murmur of interest.

Cui Xi smiled to herself. She could already tell that the attitude of the crowd was shifting. So, she was on an auction block. So what? What did those idiots expect her to do? Scream? Of all the weapons she had, her brain was still the best. And Gu Jia Er had made a huge mistake by not gagging her.

Cui Xi smiled at the woman's hiss of displeasure.