"Such arrogance!" The owner of the adjacent room snorted coldly and then fell silent. Fang Jueyu indeed hadn't broken any auction rules. The rule was that the highest bidder wins, and as long as no one offered a higher price than him, there was no problem with him winning all the items.
The owner of Room 02 was a very burly middle-aged man. He had a head of neat short hair, and the cigar between his fingers was almost burnt out. His darkened expression clearly showed his anger.
"Who the hell is in Room 01?" the middle-aged man asked coldly.
"Sir, that room is usually prepared for members of the Ladinic Family," the person standing behind the middle-aged man said meekly.
"The Ladinic Family?" The middle-aged man's face showed a trace of caution, and there was even a hint of fear.
This middle-aged man was named Atom, someone who lived solely in the shadows. But he was a man more powerful than many national regimes because he was the Emperor of the dark world in Europe, controlling all the unseen forces beneath the continent.
Atom's influence was nearly everywhere; both the business and political sectors of Europe had his people. His power was almost on par with the Rothschild family, but the one family he dared not touch was the Ladinic Family.
Just how powerful was that family? There was a saying in Europe's high society: with a mere nod from them, the leaders of most European countries could be replaced in an instant!
This wasn't an exaggeration in the slightest, because for a politician to secure their standing in Europe, they needed a massive financial backing, and the Ladinic Family was that supporter. Many of the national leaders had become their puppets, with their influence stretching overwhelmingly.
"The people from the Ladinic Family came today?" Atom's face turned grave. If members of that family indeed came, he probably wouldn't be able to leave with anything today. "Weren't they supposed to have no interest in such auctions?"
"Sir, according to my information, no one from the Ladinic Family attended today. The owner of Room 01 shouldn't be from the Ladinic Family."
"Hmm?" Atom became more intrigued. The Rothschild family was a very proper family and wouldn't let untraceable people simply sit in a room meant for the Ladinic Family. "Go investigate. If it really is someone from the Ladinic Family, bring a gift and apologize for me. If not... hmph..."
"Yes, sir! Understood!"
"Ugh, there's always someone looking for trouble every day, such a buzzkill!" Fang Jueyu cursed as he sat back down on the sofa. However, the next batch of auction items were of higher caliber; their prices were bound to rise. Right now, Fang Jueyu had only spent twenty to thirty million Euros, which was still far from his small goal.
"Apologies for the little disturbance earlier. The next auction item, I believe all of you have been waiting for," Scarlett clapped her hands, and an intricately framed painting was brought onto the auction platform.
"The work of the famous Italian painter, one of the Renaissance trinity, Raphael's 'The Marriage of the Virgin'!"
"Whoa!" The audience erupted immediately.
No one was unfamiliar with Raphael's name. Every one of his works could fetch an astounding price. Most of his paintings were held in museums, and private collections were extremely rare. Whenever one appeared, it was sure to be auctioned off at a staggering price.
After introducing the piece, Scarlett raised her voice, "This piece starts at 40 million Euros, with each increase no less than 500,000 Euros!"
Many collectors had come specifically for this piece. Such a painting always had potential for appreciation. As long as it was within their means, many might even sell everything they had to buy it.
"This painting might sell for over 100 million Euros in the end!" Wang Cong said.
"You understand this kind of art?"
"My dad and I saw a Raphael painting at an auction once, and it sold for 180 million US Dollars. Although this painting is slightly smaller, the price definitely won't stay at this level!"
Wang Cong was indeed right. The price quickly surpassed 80 million Euros, yet it showed no signs of slowing. Furthermore, each collector was vying intensely, almost to the point of violence.
"Why do I feel like I've seen this painting somewhere before?"
"Nonsense, this kind of thing was probably in your art textbook from back in the day. What's so strange about seeing it?" Wang Cong remarked.
"No, I remember seeing the actual piece!" Fang Jueyu smacked his forehead. "Oh yeah! I think there's an identical piece hanging in my bathroom!"
Fang Jueyu suddenly remembered. His home was filled with art pieces, but he lacked any artistic talent or appreciation skills, so he didn't remember them. However, one painting was particularly memorable to him. Every time he saw it in the bathroom, he felt as if he was being blessed by the power of the Renaissance, making certain tasks go quite smoothly.
Once, he had joked about it with Guo Xinyu, sending her a photo of the piece. Guo Xinyu scolded him for being disgusting at the time.
"Look, it's this one!" Fang Jueyu pulled out his phone, and there it was, almost identical to 'The Marriage of the Virgin,' hanging squarely opposite the toilet.
"No way," Wang Cong looked closely, and in his eyes, the two paintings really were identical. "What's going on? Is yours a forgery or is this one here a forgery?"
"Young Master, the Rothschild family has a very professional appraisal team. Anything they bring to auction wouldn't be a fake," Zhuang Ying said.
"Then is the one at my house fake?"
"That's even less likely. Actually, both paintings are real!"
"Hahaha, although they're both 'The Marriage of the Virgin,' the two paintings were painted by different people. One was by Raphael, and the other was by your ancestor Fang Miao!"
"Explain clearly, I'm not understanding!"
"Mr. Fang Miao wasn't much of a businessman, but he loved to travel and paint. This painting he did back in 1504. At the time, Raphael was his most accomplished student. The one being auctioned now is the piece that Raphael painted imitating Mr. Fang Miao!"
"His ancestors were painters too?" Wang Cong was utterly confused. If his ears weren't deceiving him, Zhuang Ying just said Raphael was a student of Fang Jueyu's ancestor named Fang Miao?
"Hmph, what's so surprising about that!" Fang Jueyu retorted. "Not just painters, we've had pianists, violinists, there have been quite a few of them in my family. What's so special about it?"
"90 million Euros!" Fang Jueyu directly rounded up his previous bid.
"Is he starting again?"
"Oh no, this painting is going to end up in his hands again..."
"Gosh, how much money does he have?"
"Don't you already have one at home?" Wang Cong was anxious. "Why buy another?"
"There's only one painting, but my house has several bathrooms!" Fang Jueyu explained. "You have no idea, there's this mysterious force in the painting, it helps with urination and digestion. I plan on hanging another in the other bathrooms!"