The Flourishing Era of Female Merchants

Yu Fangfei's face paled even more. An Xinlian's words struck her heart like a knife. Yes... it was her idea, she was the one who harmed her daughter...

"Ah..." A cry of despair escaped Yu Fangfei's lips. How could this be!

Yu Fangfei's grief made An Xinlian frown. She spoke again, her voice even colder, "Get up quickly, we can't delay any longer, Xinhe, she..."

Thinking of the river-drowning ceremony, An Xinlian couldn't help but sigh. She abruptly stood up, ignoring Yu Fangfei on the ground...

Perhaps she shouldn't have ruined her reputation like this. Perhaps she could still do something to salvage it. Yes! She's still young. For a lady of such high birth, if her reputation is ruined, her whole life will be ruined, and then everything she wants will be lost.

Do you want to live a mundane life, or even live amidst the scorn of others?

No, she was certain that wasn't what she wanted. She glanced indifferently at Yu Fangfei on the ground, her eyes icy cold. "Mother, you can be so heartbroken for Xinhe? And what about me? What can you do for me?"

A dark glint flashed in her eyes, and a plan took shape in her mind...

River bank.

The prison van had stopped. Not far from the Jinhe River, a large stone platform stood on the riverbank, more than a meter tall.

At this moment, on the stone platform, there were many constables who had come from the yamen, carrying a lot of tools. The sight of those tools made the surrounding people feel a chill.

Beneath the stone platform, King Donglin was still gazing at that figure, still unable to make out her face, only…

"Fourth brother? I never expected the usually cold-hearted fourth brother to join in the mortals' fun. Am I seeing things?" A voice entered the ears of the King of Donglin. It was very distinctive. Who could speak with a smile, yet make people feel cold?

Aside from his third son, King Donglin wouldn't think of anyone else.

Turning around, I saw Bai Yi standing there, his handsome face smiling, his eyes shining brightly, and his shrewdness between his brows making it seem as if he could easily lead someone into his trap.

Besides Bai Yi, there was also his eldest brother. The two stood side by side, and the scene looked strange no matter how you looked at it.

After being enfeoffed as kings, these brothers went to their respective territories. They would only gather in the capital on their father's birthday or other grand festivals. The eldest brother, being the eldest son, was not enfeoffed as a king according to the rules, so he lived in the capital. The King of Bohai was deeply favored by his father and also enjoyed the privilege of living in the capital. However, according to reports from his spies in the capital, he knew that although the eldest and third brothers lived close by, they rarely interacted.

These brothers had always been distant in their relationship. He knew this was his father's scheme; he wouldn't allow his sons to get too close, and he wanted to eliminate any possibility of them forming cliques for personal gain.

The two approached, and the King of Donglin glanced at Qinglan before finally speaking, "Big Brother."

Qinglan frowned slightly, but simply nodded in agreement.

The three brothers fell silent for a moment, but some things were understood implicitly: the eldest prince of the Great Jin Dynasty, after being missing for many years, was about to return to his rightful place, and that meant…

Thinking of Empress Feng and the Second Prince's faction in the capital, they all knew that once the First Prince returned, the capital would likely be in turmoil.

"Fellow citizens, today, a shameless and dissolute woman has appeared in our Rongjin City. According to the rules, she shall be drowned in the Jin River right now. Rongjin City cannot tolerate such a filthy and filthy woman. Guards, bring this shameless person to this prefecture so that everyone can see the face of this vile woman!" The prefectural magistrate stood on the stone platform and said loudly.

As soon as the order was given, the constables dragged An Xinhe off the prison cart and roughly threw her to the ground.

An Xinhe crashed to the ground, letting out a cry of pain. The next moment, she felt a large hand grab her loose hair and pull her back, exposing her entire face to everyone.

"She... the fifth young lady of the An family, was divorced yesterday by the richest young master..." The prefectural governor looked at everyone with an extremely serious expression.

Beneath the stone platform, when the Prince of Donglin saw that face, his tightly pursed lips now curled into a faint smile. The fifth young lady of the An family was not An Mi!

Ah! For some reason, I suddenly felt relieved.

Yu Ling'er, standing beside her, seemed to have been struck by lightning. Fifth Miss? How could it be the Fifth Miss? It should clearly be the Second Miss, An Mi, shouldn't it?

Looking closely at the person on the stone platform... Yu Ling'er's eyes narrowed. Damn it! She had never truly seen An Mi's face. Even when she was closest to her on the street at the city gate that day, she hadn't paid any attention to this person.

But... how could the governor say something wrong in front of so many people?

Even if she didn't want to believe it, she had to admit that the person on the stone platform was not An Mi!

So peaceful? Shouldn't it be her? Where is she?

At that moment, how could she know that she was too confident that Anmi would be drowned? She was focused on the man beside her and paid no attention to the people's conversation.

Yu Ling'er glanced at the man beside her, and the slight upturn of his lips made her heart tremble. A surge of jealousy ran through her. She knew that it wasn't An Mi. Was her brother-in-law happy?

Thinking of this, Yu Ling'er gritted her teeth, her jealousy and hatred towards An Mi growing stronger.

Below the stone platform, the people pointed at An Xinhe on the platform, their faces full of disgust and contempt. On the platform, however, An Xinhe's expression changed slightly. What had she heard? Who said she had been divorced by Liu Zhan? No!

Perhaps because the person holding her from behind did not expect her to resist in any way, An Xinhe suddenly stood up and rushed towards the prefectural magistrate. Just as she was about to collide with him, she was grabbed even more firmly by the constables behind her.

The prefectural governor was clearly startled. Seeing An Xinhe's aggressive demeanor, his face darkened, and he roared, "This woman... hold her tight!"

An Xinhe glared fiercely at the prefectural governor, then turned to the crowd and said, "Liu Zhan did not divorce me, don't listen to his nonsense!"

Immediately, the pointing and whispering from below the stage intensified. An Xinhe, watching this scene, felt a bit dizzy and unwell. Gradually, fear appeared in her eyes, and that fear seemed to grow larger and larger.

What's going on? What is she doing here?

The scene before her seemed to have triggered her, making her begin to see everything clearly.

The contempt, disgust, and disdain in their eyes overwhelmed her like a nightmare.