My Substitute Wife Is a Bigwig (Lily Brooks and Loid Laurier)

Squinting coldly, Loid asked, “Will Jaiden Quinn be able to offer an antidote to the Mindshroud poison?” 

Lily answered, “No. Given his state, he has, at most, one year to live.” 

Shane shuddered before he turned to Loid. A glint appeared in Loid’s eyes, but he said nothing Original content from NôvelDrama.Org.

by the Weiss family…” 

At that moment, the auctioneer began, “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend the auction hosted by 

The auctioneer rambled on with some formalities before getting to the point. “We have six items on auction today–five of them antiques provided by some esteemed families, and one of them the Redashil offered by the Weiss family. 

*1 believe that many of you are after the Redushil. As we all know, the Redshil is a rare plant, indeed. It might be on auction, but Mr. Weiss hopes that it’ll fall into the hands of those worthy of it.” 

Taking a breath, the auctioneer continued, “Therefore, we have increased the number of auction items to ten. The four newly added items are rare herbs that bear a close resemblance to the Redushi The items will be auctioned in a randomized order as there isn’t a crown jewel in this auction. 

“It’s lock and skill that will land you the real Redushit” 

The hall erupted into a commotion after the participants listened to the announcement. 

“What are they doing? Not many of us have seen Redushil in person precisely because it’s so rare! Who’s going to get the real deal with those rules in the way?” 

“Layton Weiss, you’d better explan yourself!” 

While the less esteemed families grumbled and complained in the hall, the VIPs in the boxes remained composed. 

Seated in Box No. 2, Jaiden turned to the old man beside him. “Mr. Jaggernaut Senior, can you tell Redushil apart from the other herbs?” 

“I saw Redushil once 20 years back, but I might not be able to recognize it if it’s displayed next to the other herbs. The man, Augustus Juggernaut, admitted with a grave expression 

“Mr. Quinn, brace yourself. If Ecan’t tell apart Redushil from the other herbs, you might have to bid for each herb just to be safe. 

A man standing beltind Jaiden raged. “Mr. Quinn, the hosts are playing dirty! I’ll meet with Layton Weiss and force him to hand us the Redushil.” 

The man was about to storm out when Jaiden stopped him. “Finley, come back!” 

Finley Castor stopped in his tracks. He worriedly stated, “We only have three billion dollars, yet we’re up against many bidders. What happens if the last herb is the real deal but we run out of funds for it? The Weiss family is trying to suck us dry. Since they’re playing dirty, we shall not hold back.” 

Glancing at Finley, Jaiden replied coolly, “Remember, rules are defined by the host. In this case, the Weiss family has the prerogative of setting their own rules at their auction. 

“But 

Jaiden cut off Finley, “Enough. Let’s take Mr. Jaggernaut Senior’s advice and bid for everyberb” 

An old man sat in the front seat of Box No. 7, surrounded by three males and two females. 

Scanning the situation in the hall, he narrowed his eyes in an imposing manner. “Are you confident in winning the bid for all four herbs?!! 

“Grandpa, are we going to follow the rules of the Weiss family? That will mean quadrupling the funds we spend in the auction,” the young man seated beside him questioned. 

Taking a sip of tea, the old man replied grimly, “We have to do as the Romans do on the Weiss family’s turt. The Hidden Families will need to make sacrifices for a chance to present ourselves again in society. 

“This is not the right time to make ourselves enemies of the Four Great Families, Quadrupling our spending is still better than losing the Redushil to other families.” 

“But I fear we might not have enough funds,” another young man to his left spoke up. “I’ve been prodding around. The Reeves, the Aurums, the Mckees, and the Lopezes are all here. The Four Great Families of Bridgeport are in attendance as well 

“I’d be less concerned if we were to compete against one family, but if the four families decide to join hands, we’ll be no match for them.” 

“Well, what are you waiting for? Get our family to gather all our available funds. Our priority is winning the bid for the Redushil,” the old man commanded with a stem look. The others in the box exchanged Inoks but ultimately said nothing