My Substitute Wife is a Bigwig (Loud and Lily) novel Chapter 218

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.

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 Weiss family…"

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 Redushil offered by the Weiss family.

"I believe that many of you are after the Redushil. As we all know, the Redushil 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 Redushil. The items will be auctioned in a randomized order as there isn't a crown jewel in this auction.

"It's luck and skill that will land you the real Redushil."

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 explain 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 I can't tell apart Redushil from the other herbs, you might have to bid for each herb just to be safe."