The glass box that had been brought was simply placed on the table.

The Eighth Prince had no interest in business. Seeing so many merchants gathered didn’t stir the same leisure and curiosity in him as it did in Wei Yu—he had no inclination to go over and chat with them.

So he just watched as his Ninth Younger Brother mingled with everyone, making connections with ease. In no time, he had bonded with the crowd and had a group of people gathered around him.

“Oh? Your family runs a cloth shop? What kind of fabric do you sell?”

“Your family once sent people to Youzhou? Well, that’s quite something…”

“What does my family do? Ah, shameful, truly—just a small business, selling a few ceramic vases and such…”

Wei Yu was like a colorful butterfly, quickly charming a group of people to follow him around.

Especially when he mentioned he was from Xijing and that his family owned a kiln. He then casually brought up the story of how the Ninth Prince had publicly embarrassed the envoys from Xiqi.

“You wouldn’t know if you’re not from the capital, but when the Xiqi envoys came to court, they brought many rare goods. One of them was a certain item that the nobility called colorless glass, used exclusively by their royal family. They originally meant to present it only to His Majesty, but guess what happened?”

Everyone loves gossip, and Wei Yu looked every bit the stereotypical storyteller. The merchants, having never heard of this, were very curious and pressed him to continue.

“Ha! Our Emperor actually said the Ninth Prince could make it too—and he actually did!”

A group of people gasped, “Wow—”

“Can you believe a mere barbarian nation had something our Great Wei had never seen before? If that’s not insulting, I don’t know what is. Not only did the Ninth Prince replicate it and slap their faces with it, he even personally established a kiln in the capital just to produce this colorless glass!”

A collective intake of breath: “Oooh—”

“It was pure luck, really. This colorless glass isn’t yet available on the market, but my family has some connections and managed to get a few pieces. So, well, for today, hehe…”

Everyone understood, and all turned to look at the red cloth-covered table.

The Eighth Prince, who had been observing all this: …

Shamelessness truly ran in his Ninth Younger Brother’s blood. Even his own reputation wasn’t spared from being used to boast.

Wei Yu, of course, had no idea he was being mocked. He was quite at ease with everything.

What were fame and face worth anyway?

He could use his own name without taking any risks, and he didn’t have to worry about anyone coming to demand royalties or compensation for using it. What could be better?

Thanks to Wei Yu’s boastful promotion, the merchant fair hadn’t even officially begun before many people were deeply curious about this colorless glass supposedly used by Xiqi’s royal family.

They had all seen glass before. As major merchants, they’d encountered all kinds of rare glass, but this “colorless glass” was something new.

Even if the name gave a hint of what it was, it couldn’t compare to seeing it with their own eyes.

So when the fair began and everyone started showcasing what they had brought, most people—aside from Wei Yu, who could still leisurely browse—had their attention fixed on the last unopened box.

One by one, the boxes on the table were opened, until only one was left. Then, Wei Yu stepped forward.

“This young man is named Wang Yu. It’s my first time here, so let me first greet everyone.”

Faced with a crowd, Wei Yu had no fear of losing face or stage fright.

The handsome young man smiled confidently and spoke clearly. Without wasting time, he signaled his servant to open the box and reveal its contents—at last letting the long-curious merchants lay eyes on the so-called colorless glass.

The merchants were stunned when they saw it clearly.

They reacted just like the ministers at court who had seen glass for the first time.

“So this is the colorless glass used by Xiqi’s royal family? It’s truly beautiful.”

“Who knew such crystal-clear material could exist in the world! This is even more transparent than regular glass…”

“Young Master Wang, are you selling this colorless glass? I’ll pay three hundred taels!”

As soon as someone offered to buy it, Wei Yu was overjoyed. He quickly looked at the man, feigning hesitation: “Oh? This uncle wants to buy it? But I only brought this one with me…”

There was only one piece, so once it was sold, it was gone.

Looking at the group of wealthy merchants, Wei Yu smiled to himself.

Raise the price, go ahead, all of you—raise it!

Let’s see how much something rare like this is worth in this world!

And the merchants were indeed big spenders. Wei Yu had barely finished speaking when they started bidding furiously—by the dozens, even hundreds of taels!

“Five hundred taels! I’ll take it!”

“Young Master Wang, I offer six hundred fifty taels.”

“I’ll pay seven hundred!”

“…”

“Twelve hundred taels!”

The moment someone shouted a price of 1,200 taels, the Eighth Prince was stunned.

He glanced at Wei Yu, then at the glass bottle in Fang Sheng’s hand, and finally at the fool who offered the high price—completely baffled.

A large jade bottle carved from stone would cost at most about a thousand taels. How could this useless glass bottle be worth so much?

They were all crazy.

His Ninth Younger Brother had clearly gone money-mad!

While the Eighth Prince was feeling a headache coming on, even Wei Yu was surprised by the high bid.

He had thought seven or eight hundred taels would be the ceiling, but he hadn’t expected someone to foolishly offer over a thousand for it!

Did they just have money burning a hole in their pocket?

Or did this person secretly own a gold mine?

Once the 1,200 tael offer was made, no one else bid further.

The price was simply too high. No matter how exclusive the item might have been for Xiqi’s royalty, it wasn’t something used by Great Wei’s imperial family.

So while displaying colorless glass at home might offer some prestige, it wasn’t all that impressive.

A scholar’s calligraphy hanging in one’s study would carry more cultural weight.

The bidder was an unremarkable-looking middle-aged man. Even after offering such a high price, he didn’t seem distressed. He just smiled at Wei Yu with a pleasant demeanor.

“Young Master Wang, I’ve offered 1,200 taels. Would you be willing to sell?”

Wei Yu quickly sized him up and smiled. “You’ve offered such a generous price—you must be determined to have it. If I say no, wouldn’t I ruin everyone’s good mood?”

Back when he was hyping up the product among the merchants, Wei Yu hadn’t noticed this man in the crowd.

The truly interested parties hadn’t made it to the final bidding round. Who would’ve thought the highest bid came from someone he didn’t recognize?

Wei Yu was actually one of the founders of the glass factory. He knew full well how widespread the uses of glass would become in the future, so whoever paid 1,200 taels for this now was definitely a sucker.

So after the fair ended, he had Fang Sheng pass on a message to that man:

“My young master says, if you ever run into trouble in the future, take this glass item and head to Qiping Town in the capital. Look for an estate steward named He Yong.”