The Flourishing Era of Female Merchants

An Xinlian had wanted to ask Qinglan about the embroidered handkerchief she had just bought since she got into the carriage, but she stopped herself several times because of Qinglan's modesty. She thought to herself that Qinglan would give it to her eventually, and if she lost her composure first, she would be looked down upon.

But even after the carriage stopped outside the An residence and everyone got off, Qinglan didn't mention giving An Xinlian the embroidered handkerchief. An Xinlian became anxious. Seeing Qinglan turn to leave, An Xinlian didn't care about anything else and immediately stepped forward to grab Qinglan's sleeve, "Young Master Qinglan..."

Qinglan frowned slightly, turned around, and smiled broadly, "Miss An, is there anything else?"

Something's happened! Of course something's happened!

An Xinlian lowered her brows, maintaining her elegant demeanor as a young lady, "Young Master Qinglan, that embroidered handkerchief..."

"An embroidered handkerchief?" Qinglan took out the embroidered handkerchief from her bosom, frowned, and asked, seemingly puzzled, "What's wrong with the embroidered handkerchief?"

An Xinlian's expression changed. She had already given him such a hint, why wouldn't he take the opportunity to give it to her?

"This embroidered handkerchief is very beautiful, Xinlian likes it very much, I wonder..." An Xinlian hesitated, wondering how best to ask for it, but before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted by someone, whose words immediately changed her expression, and her blood surged...

“If Miss An wants an embroidered handkerchief, she can buy it herself. I believe Miss An shouldn’t be short of money.” Qinglan showed no mercy. These past few days, he had taken the initiative to invite the An sisters on outings, and he knew all too well why. However, he didn’t want An Xinlian to misunderstand his intentions, and clearly, An Xinlian had misunderstood!

As soon as she finished speaking, An Xinlian's face flushed red, then turned pale, and then turned ashen—a truly fascinating sight.

Qinglan raised an eyebrow at An Xinlian, then turned and got into the carriage. It wasn't until the carriage turned around and drove away that An Xinlian came to her senses. Her heart was filled with anger, her chest heaving violently. She tried her best to suppress it, but she looked as if she would explode if poked lightly.

“Sister, how could Young Master Qinglan humiliate you like this? Humph, do you think a young lady of the An family can’t afford an embroidered handkerchief? He…” An Xinhe said indignantly.

"Shut up!" An Xinlian shouted sharply, abandoning her usual elegant and refined demeanor, her hands clenched tightly.

An Xinhe paused slightly, glanced at her sister's face, and seemed to understand something, but she didn't shut up. Instead, she chuckled, "Sister, Xinhe thought that Young Master Qinglan was interested in you, but now it seems that's not the case. Tell me, who is he going to give that embroidered handkerchief to? He's willing to spend fifty taels of silver, he's really generous!"

This further fueled An Xinlian's resentment, which was exactly what she cared about!

She thought the embroidered handkerchief was a gift for her, but she never expected it to be...

Who? Who is that woman? Qinglan actually spent fifty taels to buy that embroidered handkerchief; that person must be very important to him!

Thinking of this, An Xinlian became even more unwilling, "What I, An Xinlian, want, no one can take away from me!"

Thinking of the secret she had overheard in the governor's mansion, Qinglan was too tempting a piece of meat. She was determined not to give it up. She would use any means necessary to get it. If anyone tried to take it from her, she would make sure that person didn't even know how they died!

She took a deep breath, a cold smile playing on her lips, sinister and chilling, sending shivers down one's spine. She wanted to see just who that woman was!

Liu Mansion.

As night fell, the entire Liu mansion was adorned with lanterns, small lanterns every three steps and large lanterns every five steps, illuminating the entire mansion and making this residence of the richest man appear even more magnificent.

Liu Zhan clutched the embroidered handkerchief in his hand, his expression filled with barely concealed excitement. After leaving Liu's Embroidery Shop, he didn't dare to linger for a moment and rushed straight back to the Liu residence. His hurried manner surprised even the servants he encountered along the way. Why was the young master in such a hurry? Could something serious have happened?

Upon entering the mansion, Liu Zhan headed straight for the Buddhist hall, where his mother, Madam Liu, was known for her love of Buddhism and should be reciting scriptures at this hour.

Upon arriving at the Buddhist hall, Liu Zhan was about to eagerly push open the door when a woman guarding the entrance stepped forward to stop him. "Brother, Mother is currently worshipping Buddha, so please do not disturb her. Xu'er has already prepared the meal. Why don't you go to the dining room now? Mother should be coming out soon."

Liu Zhan glanced at his younger sister. She should have been the daughter of the richest man, with all the luxury of wearing gold and silver. But now she was dressed in plain clothes. What did it matter if she was the daughter of the richest man in the Liu family? She never received any love or pity!

"Get out of the way!" Liu Zhan said, his tone displeased, remembering that he had important business with his mother.

Liu Xu shrank back slightly, then forced a smile. "Brother, you know Mother doesn't like..."

"Who's making such a racket outside? Liu Xu, you can't even guard the door properly, what use are you? I really regret it back then..." A cold voice came from inside the house. A moment later, the door creaked open from the inside, and a noblewoman stood in the doorway, her gaze fixed on Liu Xu, her eyes full of disgust.

“Mother…Xu’er…” Liu Xu’s body trembled, and she immediately knelt on the ground, feeling terrified. Although the person in front of her was her own mother, she always felt a strange sense of oppression. Her mother had never been close to her.

The Liu family's daughter has never been favored by her elders!

My aunt once said that being a daughter of the Liu family is an extremely difficult thing, simply because they are not sons!

In the eyes of the Liu family, their only purpose was to be given to those the Liu family hoped to curry favor with once they reached marriageable age.

And her fate...

"Get out of here! Just looking at you annoys me, you're bad luck!" Madam Liu frowned, unwilling to look at her daughter even once, as if she weren't her daughter at all.

Liu Xu dared not be so flustered, so she quickly bowed and withdrew.

Madam Liu turned to look at her son, then smiled, her tone no longer as cold as before, and her attitude completely different. She said softly, "Zhan'er, what is it that you have to rush to find your mother?"

Thinking of his find, Liu Zhan's face lit up with joy. "Mother, look what this is!"

Madam Liu glanced thoughtfully at her excited son, then took an embroidered handkerchief from his hand. "Alright, let me see what could possibly excite you so much..."

At this point, Madam Liu suddenly stopped, her whole body stiffening. She stared repeatedly at the embroidered handkerchief in her hand, her expression becoming agitated. "This...this...this is..."

"Mother, we found it! The embroidery technique on this handkerchief is exactly the same as the one shown in the Embroidery Manual. If it weren't so complicated, and if the Embroidery Manual didn't record the method, our Liu family wouldn't have had to go through the trouble of searching for someone who knows how to do it." Liu Zhan's eyes shone brightly. You see, in order to find someone who knows this method, they even went to great lengths to prepare for the embroidery appreciation event that was to be held half a month later.