Chapter 350: Suddenly Realizing

"They want the salt field?" Zu An frowned. Objectively speaking, it was normal for a lender to demand collateral, and the salt field was currently the Chu family's most valuable asset.

However, the Wei family proposing this condition at such a sensitive moment, especially given their imperial palace connections, made it difficult not to draw conclusions.

Perhaps the Wei family themselves recognized this issue, which was why they set the interest rate so low; otherwise, the Chu family would never have considered it.

"What does Madam intend to do?" Zu An asked.

Qin Wanru shook her head. "I haven't decided yet. I'll go back and discuss it with them."

As she spoke, she tiredly rubbed her forehead. Clearly, she had been overworked and hadn't rested well since her husband's incident.

Zu An, sensing her fatigue, tactfully left her carriage. His attention quickly returned to the box he had found at the Wei residence. He took it out several times during the journey, but unfortunately, he couldn't open the seal.

After escorting Qin Wanru back to the Chu Estate, Zu An was contemplating meeting Pei Mianman when he unexpectedly ran into Old Man Mi.

Zu An was startled and quickly said, "Greetings, Senior."

Old Man Mi frowned, pulling him aside. "Don't address me like that in front of others from now on. I'm not used to being watched."

"I've noted that," Zu An replied.

"I heard you just went to the Wei manor with Madam?" Old Man Mi gazed intently at him, as if trying to see right through him.

Fortunately, Zu An had been through countless trials, and his composure was unshakeable. "Yes, Madam wanted to borrow money from the Wei family. We just returned from there."

"Did you encounter the person you saw last time?" Old Man Mi pressed, his face tense.

"No, Madam was discussing matters with their family head; I was waiting nearby." Zu An wondered why Old Man Mi was so wary of that person.

"That's good," Old Man Mi visibly relaxed. "By the way, did you find the box I told you about at the Wei residence this time?"

Zu An shook his head. "No, didn't you say last time that I didn't need to look for it anymore?"

Old Man Mi frowned but said nothing.

At that moment, Zu An felt a cold sensation sweep over him. As expected, the other party was likely using their divine sense to probe him for something.

Fortunately, he had placed the box inside the space of the Glazed Treasure Orb earlier, or it would surely have been discovered now. The restrictions on the box likely had something that could be detected by a spiritual sense.

After a moment, Old Man Mi nodded. "That's right, that's right. As one gets older, memory tends to fail, hehe..."

With that, he shakily walked away, carrying his small gardening hoe. From every angle, he looked just like an old gardener.

Zu An walked around the estate, pretending to be looking for someone to discuss matters. Once he estimated that he wouldn't arouse Old Man Mi's suspicion, he quietly slipped out of the Chu Estate.

Along the way, he deliberately took several detours to ensure no one was following him before finally arriving at the agreed-upon pavilion.

Looking at the familiar pavilion, Zu An felt a pang of emotion. He had met Shang Liuyu here last time, and now he was meeting another woman in the same spot.

"What are you muttering about?" A pleasant, melodious voice sounded, and Pei Mianman emerged from the shadows.

Zu An breathed a sigh of relief. "It's good that you're safe. I was worried you wouldn't be able to escape that person."

Pei Mianman smiled, pursing her lips. "Speaking of which, I have to thank you for that fire. Otherwise, even with all my preparations, I nearly got caught by that person."

She still felt a lingering fear whenever she thought of how terrifying that person was.

"It was just a convenient move; your escape was thanks to your own skill," Zu An said with a smile.

Just then, he suddenly received a notification of anger points in his system.

Anger points from Wei Dan +358!

Wei Dan? That must be the name of the Wei family's mysterious expert.

It seemed the anger points were likely due to the courtyard being set on fire. Since the Wei family had extinguished the flames promptly, the damage to the courtyard was minimal.

He presumed they hadn't discovered the box had been replaced, or the anger points would have been much higher.

"By the way, did you find the item?" Pei Mianman asked eagerly.

Zu An took out the box. "I only found this."

He was curious about what was inside the box but couldn't open it. He hoped that Pei Mianman, being well-informed, might know how to open it or recognize it.

"Oh?" Pei Mianman took it, examining it from all angles for a moment.

Zu An warned, "Be careful, it's sealed."

Pei Mianman smiled slightly. "This is easy."

A small black flame flickered on her finger. With a gentle flick of her finger over the box, the flame instantly spread into a layer of fire, quickly burning away the iridescent glow surrounding the box.

"There!" Pei Mianman's lips curved upward, and she reached out to open the box.

"Careful!" Zu An quickly stopped her. Given that even Old Man Mi wanted this item, he worried there might be some trap inside.

Pei Mianman nodded, and they both retreated several meters. Then, Pei Mianman waved her hand, and a gentle surge of energy flowed towards the box, as if an invisible hand was opening it.

They waited for a moment, and seeing no traps emerge, they quickly moved closer.

Inside the box, the inner walls were lined with soft, silk-wrapped padding. In the very center lay an object, wrapped in a fine brocade handkerchief and tied several times with red thread.

Pei Mianman immediately felt a little disappointed. Judging by its size and shape, it clearly wasn't the token she was looking for.

Zu An, however, curiously untied the red thread and slowly unfolded the brocade handkerchief. He then paused, puzzled. "What is this?"

Inside the handkerchief was a dark, shriveled object, resembling a dried earthworm.

Remembering Old Man Mi's solemnity, Zu An couldn't help but bring it to his nose to sniff. "Could it be some kind of miraculous elixir?"

It did have a faint medicinal scent, but it was very strange, unlike the herbs he had smelled at Ji Xiaoxi's house before.

Hearing his words, Pei Mianman also became interested and leaned in to examine it. "It doesn't look like it. There's no energy fluctuation whatsoever, no sign of it being a rare treasure."

"This thing must be very important," Zu An stated emphatically. Otherwise, Old Man Mi wouldn't have been so persistent about it.

"Where did you find it?" Pei Mianman asked curiously.

"In a secret compartment under his bed. It was hidden so deeply, it must be extremely important," Zu An replied.

"Hidden under the bed..." Pei Mianman looked a little puzzled, then suddenly realized something. Her face instantly flushed, and she tossed the box away as if it had burned her hand.

"Whoa, whoa, careful there!" Zu An fumbled, barely managing to catch the object and prevent it from falling to the ground. He asked, curious, "What on earth is wrong?"

Pei Mianman, her face still flushed, turned away and spat. "Only men would consider that thing a treasure."

It was rare to see her so flustered. Zu An grew even more curious. "Do you know what this is?"

As he spoke, he brought the object closer to his eyes for another look.

Pei Mianman was initially too embarrassed to speak, but seeing him about to sniff it again, she finally couldn't help but stop him. "Hey, don't! That's... that's a eunuch's... a eunuch's 'root of worry.'"

"'Root of worry'?" Zu An didn't immediately grasp it and was about to ask again when he suddenly realized what she meant. He then threw the object and the box away as if they were scorching hot. "Holy crap!"

Recalling how he had just been holding the thing, examining it from all sides, and even sniffing it, Zu An felt his stomach churn. He quickly rushed to a nearby bush and began to retch.

Seeing his discomfort, Pei Mianman found herself both annoyed and amused, yet she thoughtfully patted his back.

Zu An looked exasperated. "Big sis, why didn't you say something earlier?!"

"I just remembered," Pei Mianman replied, her face flushing. "Besides, you're a man; how could you not recognize it yourself?"

Zu An became even more dejected. "I'm used to seeing eagles spread their wings. How was I supposed to know someone's would be as small as an earthworm?"

The more he talked, the more disgusted he felt, and he retched again.

Pei Mianman suppressed a laugh and explained, "Some eunuchs enter the palace as children and are castrated at a very young age. Then, it's preserved with various medicines to prevent decay, and after being air-dried and dehydrated, it's probably only this... this small."

Zu An was speechless.

Although he knew about eunuchs, they were quite distant from his reality, so he had no idea about such specifics.

At this point, Pei Mianman suddenly grew concerned. "Eunuchs value their... they call it their 'treasure.' For a peaceful burial, it must be retrieved and buried with them. This symbolizes a complete body, allowing them to be reborn as whole people in the next life. However, typically, these items are kept in uniform custody within the palace and cannot be privately removed. Eunuch Wei holds a special position in the palace, so it's likely the Emperor granted him special permission to retrieve his."

"But if you've stolen his treasure and he finds out, it will definitely become a life-or-death situation. Perhaps you should find an opportunity to return it."

This item is completely useless to others, but it's a profound insult to eunuchs, enough to drive any of them mad. The potential gain is completely disproportionate to the risk.

"Don't worry, I tampered with things over there, so it shouldn't be discovered anytime soon." Zu An's expression was odd. As the previous clues connected, he finally had an epiphany, understanding many things that had puzzled him before.