Jiang Yulou was stunned upon hearing this. He understood Manager Fang’s discerning eye well—if even Manager Fang couldn’t identify something, yet it was still a treasure, that was rather intriguing.

Helian Yu’s face lit up with joy: “It couldn’t be that little girl who just went in, could it? Haha, she’s probably just playing with you. What treasure could there be?”

Fu Yunxi, who was holding a wine cup, paused and shook his head: “Not necessarily.”

Jiang Yulou had already straightened his robes and stood up, saying lazily: “Very well, it’s been a long time since anything fresh appeared in the capital. I’ll go downstairs and see what kind of treasure this is. You all keep drinking, don’t wait for me.” He lifted the pearl curtain and followed the servant downstairs.

Helian Yu snorted lightly: “I’m afraid he’ll return disappointed.”

Fu Yunxi, however, stared thoughtfully at the carriage below, his expression unchanged.

Now, as for Jiang Yulou following the servant to the shop, upon entering the main hall, he immediately saw a young girl sitting in the chair in the center.

When Manager Fang saw him arrive, he breathed a sigh of relief: “Young Master.”

He waved his hand: “This is the young lady who wants to pawn a treasure?”

Han Yan met his gaze and said clearly: “Young Master speaks too highly of me. I wouldn’t call it a treasure, just a curious novelty.”

Jiang Yulou was somewhat surprised by her response. Looking again at the half-eaten pastries and clear tea on the table, he became even more intrigued. Earlier, she had appeared to be a child who hadn’t yet come of age, so he hadn’t paid much attention. But seeing this girl had some courage—when people from the capital came to his Fugui Tower, who wasn’t cautious and careful? This girl was composed and calm, as comfortable as if she were in her own back garden, even having the leisure to eat and drink. He wondered if she was simply a newborn calf unafraid of tigers.

While he observed Han Yan, Han Yan herself was desperately trying to appear composed. A place like Fugui Tower made even distinguished people from the capital feel somewhat uneasy, but she couldn’t show timidity. Because this place—she would need to come here frequently in the future, and today’s first battle must not lose momentum.

Jiang Yulou raised an eyebrow and walked straight toward the wooden box. With a glance, two servants lifted out the contents.

Han Yan’s palms were damp with sticky sweat as she carefully observed Jiang Yulou’s expression. This legendary richest man in the capital was much younger than she had imagined, appearing quite shrewd. His temperament was refined and his appearance handsome, but his clothing made Han Yan frown—it was as if he feared others wouldn’t know he was wealthy.

Such ostentatious wealthy attire, gaudy yet precious, truly wasted that refreshing good looks. Just as she was secretly feeling sorry for him, he had already raised his head, meeting her gaze directly. Han Yan was startled and blushed slightly, turning her face away.

Jiang Yulou was puzzled—this girl was looking at him with a face full of pity, though he didn’t know why. Seeing Han Yan embarrassedly turn away, he smiled: “Miss, this treasure of yours seems to have some background. I wonder if I’ve guessed correctly.”

Han Yan stared at him, watching as he slowly spoke two words: “Hao Peng.”

The object the servants had lifted out, after removing the outer black cloth, was revealed to be a huge golden cage. Inside the cage was a palm-sized bird lying within, its eyes rolling around.

The bird looked ordinary, appearing no different from a sparrow. The only difference was its entirely black body with a tuft of white feathers on its long tail—not a particularly precious species at all.

Han Yan smiled inwardly. Indeed, he was someone who knew goods. She nodded: “Exactly right.”

Peng nature is lustful and poisonous. When it appears, all other birds flee. When it encounters beautiful women, it immediately pecks and seeks to mate. The local people bundle grass into human form, dress it in red clothes and adorn it with flowers. The peng mounts it without leaving, spilling its essence upon it. This is collected to give to women, and those who receive its essence become even more vigorous.

This Hao Peng in the cage was a type of bird from Burma. This species had a lustful and poisonous nature—upon seeing beautiful women, it would release its essence on them. The essence they released was called Mianling, a precious aphrodisiac. Just its scent alone could produce reactions in people upon smelling it. If consumed, it was even more of a miraculous medicine.

Rather than saying the Hao Peng bird itself was precious, it was more accurate to say that the Mianling drug it produced was precious. If Han Yan hadn’t spent all her time at home reading books after the mountain bandit incident in her previous life, and hadn’t accidentally come across ancient texts recording this type of bird, she wouldn’t have thought that such a small bird could have such a complex history.

However, though this was a treasure, it was absolutely untouchable.

After his initial surprise, Jiang Yulou was amazed. It seemed this girl knew about the Hao Peng species, and facing him, a man, she was so generous and frank. His expression immediately became somewhat strange.

“Since Young Master Jiang knows the value of the Hao Peng, could you estimate a price?”

Jiang Yulou stroked the folding fan in his hand, his eyes flickering: “Though the Hao Peng is a rare item, it’s not easy to sell in the capital. May I ask, Miss, is this a living pawn or dead pawn?”

Han Yan became annoyed upon hearing this. This thing was naturally a dead pawn—surely she wouldn’t want to redeem it with silver someday? She immediately replied curtly: “Dead pawn.”

Seeing her anger, Jiang Yulou found it even more interesting: “What does Miss think it’s worth?”

“One thousand taels of gold.” After saying this, Han Yan stared unblinkingly at the person opposite, trying to read some clue from his expression. Unexpectedly, Jiang Yulou simply waved his hand: “Manager Fang, go get the banknotes.”

Just like that? Han Yan was greatly shocked. She had originally thought such a high price would surely lead to an argument with Jiang Yulou, but she hadn’t expected him to agree so easily. To know that a dozen taels of silver was enough for an ordinary household to eat for a year. Could this lustful bird be worth an even higher price? Wouldn’t that mean she’d made a loss! Thinking of this, she immediately said urgently: “That’s just the price for the bird. The cage requires two hundred taels of gold.”

Jiang Yulou smiled: “Go get it.”

Seeing his happy smile, Han Yan was even more certain she had made a losing deal. But then she thought that since he was the richest man in the capital, if she had profited from him, how could he still be considered capable? Today she had made a loss, so be it—she would still need to do business here in the future. After calming down, she said: “I need one hundred taels in broken silver, I trouble Young Master Jiang.”

After everything was arranged, Han Yan tucked away the banknotes, had Ji Lan and Shu Hong secure the broken silver, and curtsied to Jiang Yulou: “Please don’t speak of today’s matter to others, Young Master. This young lady takes her leave.”

Jiang Yulou called out to stop her: “I presume to ask—where did Miss obtain this Hao Peng?”

An unmarried young lady should not have such a thing under any circumstances.

Han Yan didn’t turn back: “Someone gave it to me.” But the corner of her mouth curved into a cold smile. Yes, Zhou Shi had given it to her.

Jiang Yulou raised an eyebrow and quietly instructed someone beside him: “Go, follow the carriage and find out which family’s young lady this is.”

To actually dare to conduct such business with him—his gaze fell on the birdcage on the table, and he laughed again. He should take this upstairs to show Yunxi and the others this novelty.

Just as she returned to the residence, Nanny Chen urgently said to her: “Miss, the young master is waiting for you in the courtyard.”

Han Yan raised an eyebrow: “He came quickly indeed!” But her face carried some smile, and her gaze softened.