The charity auction hosted by the Ministry of Revenue was a great success. Cui Shixue, upon seeing the large sum of donations, smiled so broadly his eyes turned into lines. It had surpassed two million taels, reaching almost three million. It was an astonishing amount.
However, he also understood that most of the funds came from the most valuable items: the Saint's ink treasure and the five slots allowing merchant registration to take part in the imperial examination. The most expensive slot was auctioned at five hundred thousand taels.
It is clear that there are wealthy merchants in Da Feng. What they lack is an opportunity to change their social status, and being allowed to participate in the imperial examination is one such opportunity.
