During the weekend
Ryleigh and Maisie were the first to arrive at Antique Street, the largest antique trading market in
Bassburgh in addition to ceramics and gems, there were also painting collections, not to mention the
ancient jewelry
This area was an ancient street composed of two blocks of retro and elegant buildings. There were all
kinds of exquisite antique and local specialty delicacies sold by stalls and shop lots located all over this
street
Ryleigh and Maisie had already waited outside the auction building where the gem hunting event would
take place for quite some time when they saw Barbara walking towards them with two bodyguards
“I’m sorry, it must’ve been a long wait.” Barbara walked up to them and smiled apologetically. didn’t
expect that there would be so many people here on the weekend that my car couldn’t get in. It took such
a long time to find a parking space.”
Maisie smiled. “It’s okay Ryleigh and I just arrived.”
Barbara nodded. “What a relief. I’ve already reserved three seats for us, and they’re all located in the
front row. Let’s go, time to go in and get ourselves some raw gemstones.”
All of them walked into the auction building that housed the gem-hunting event, and the first thing that
caught their eyes was the magnificent and grand lobby. There were many people in it, and most of them
were wearing masquerade masks and dressed in extraordinary clothes
Those who would attend the gem-hunting event were either businessmen who had a thing for antiques
or people who were filthy rich, and they were here to try their luck
The ushers came toward them in masquerade masks and handed each of them a mask
Maisie put on the masquerade mask while Ryleigh asked her suspiciously, Why is everyone wearing
masks?”
Maisie leaned into her ear and explained, “On such an occasion, what’s on the line makes it enigmatic,
so the more mysterious the event is, the better Hence, wearing a mask makes things run smoother and
more conveniently.”
Ryleigh was still confused when Maisie was already halfway through her explanation. That was when
Barbara turned around to look at her and added with a smile, “What Ms. Vanderbilt is trying to say is that
wearing a mask can save all the attendees some unnecessary trouble. You’ll win the auction or bet
without knowing the identities of both parties, so it depends solely on the financial resources that both
parties possess and how confident one is. In short, no matter if you’re here to make a profit or give your
money away for nothing, as long as others can’t see your face, no one will catch up to you later on to
pick a fight with you.
“Making a fuss in the auction building is a forbidden action. Law and order here are extremely strict. So,
if someone were to be caught creating a stir here and got their identity exposed, it’d only be exceptionally
embarrassing for them.
“Some wealthy businessmen in the past were worried that they would be retaliated against by those who
had lost money and were jealous of their score. Thus, they came up with a way to prevent needless
incidents, and that’s by wearing masks.”
Maisie looked at her. “You’re no stranger to such occasions, huh?”
Barbara did not conceal her true colors. “To be honest, I’m only interested in antiques, especially gems,
compared to the other ladies who love their diamonds.”
The receptionists standing on both sides of the entrance bowed respectfully to welcome them into the
exhibition hall. The glass cabinets on display around the hall were filled with raw gemstones that had
been evaluated and had their prices marked.
All the raw gemstones were of different shapes and sizes, all arranged in order according to their pricing.
Strong spotlights were beaming on them from all corners of the cabinet, which allowed the guests to
distinguish the texture and pattern of the raw gemstones so that they could judge whether they contained
precious gems.
Ryleigh leaned over again. “Don’t these look just like ordinary stones? Where are the gems?”
Maisie chuckled. “Rough diamonds all look like stones too.”
Ryleigh pouted.
‘Well, what Zee said makes sense. I just asked a dumb question.
Barbara went to the other side to take a look at the other stones while Ryleigh followed Maisie around.
Maisie stared at the raw gemstones in the glass cabinet and asked her casually, “Why would Barbara
think of inviting us here to look at raw gemstones?” “She said she’s bored, and she’s always wanted to
come here to take a look at the raw gemstones that this place has to offer. However, Jenny has never
been interested in these, and she didn’t want to come alone, so she invited us.”
Maisie turned her head to look at her and tapped her fingertips lightly on the glass casing “Barbara has
only met me once, and she’s already helped me with Mr. Ludwig’s affairs. I can’t see through her
intentions.”
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