Before the Storm (Part 2) [Please Vote]

"What are you looking at?"

The attendant was wary, but a touch of curiosity also stirred within him.

The eunuch's belly was astonishingly huge, as if he were a full-term pregnant woman. When he bent down and knelt halfway, his belly nearly touched the ground. The attendant frowned, worried that the weight of it might break the man's back. "Are you pregnant?"

Could this eunuch actually be a woman?

The eunuch gave a wry smile. "Please don't tease me, Attendant. Though I've been cut and no longer have a man's parts, I haven't grown a woman's, either. How could I possibly be pregnant? Please wait a moment. This thing is tightly wrapped and not easy to undo."

He stayed bent over in his half-kneeling position and struggled to untie the belts wrapped around him in layer upon layer. At last, he supported his heavy belly with one hand and tossed the final belt aside with the other. Panting lightly, he carefully lowered the object to the ground with both hands.

The attendant heard the soft thump of something hitting the floor.

He looked closely. It was a clay jar.

He asked, puzzled, "What is this?"

The eunuch answered quietly, "Duke Yan's remains."

For a moment, the attendant couldn't recall who "Duke Yan" was. After all, everyone at court knew that Yan An's remains had been chopped up and fed to the dogs. Only after he and the eunuch had stared at each other for several breaths, with the latter gazing at him expectantly, did a bold thought take shape in the attendant's mind. It coursed through him like an electric current. His eyes flew wide, and he pointed at the clay jar, whispering in disbelief, "I-is this Yan Xingning?"

The eunuch nodded. "It is Duke Yan."

The attendant was so