The Flourishing Era of Female Merchants

Liu Zhan's face paled. He glanced at Madam Liu sitting beside him, seemingly processing Liu Xuan's words. Suddenly, as if realizing something, he immediately took out an embroidered handkerchief from his bosom, unfolded it, and saw the image on it. His eyes widened, and he murmured repeatedly, "No, no... how could this be?"

"What do you mean it won't? The warehouses in the north, east, south, and west of the city were all burned to the ground." Liu Xuan's blood surged. He didn't believe it at first, but just now, he had gone to see for himself and saw only devastation.

Liu Zhan's hand holding the embroidered handkerchief trembled. Thinking of what Miss Yan had said to him earlier, a chill ran down his spine. What did she mean?

Could the embroidery on this handkerchief hold any other meaning? He had initially thought that the Flame Maiden had embroidered this scene to test him, or perhaps to tell him that she already knew who had set the fire, but he hadn't expected...

Look closely at what's engulfed in flames; it resembles a house, but it's much taller than the houses in Widow's Village.

Even if Liu Zhan didn't want to believe it, he had to face the fact that he had been tricked by that Miss Yan!

The way Miss Yan gave him this embroidered handkerchief was a challenge to him! No, it was more than just a challenge; Miss Yan had probably already taken action when she issued the challenge!

"The raging fire of a prosperous age! The raging fire of a prosperous age!" Liu Zhan gritted his teeth, threw the embroidered handkerchief in his hand to the ground, stomped on it heavily a few times, his eyes flashed, as if he had thought of something, Liu Zhan's heart was filled with hope, "Father, report to the authorities, report to the authorities immediately, we must find out who set the fire."

It must have been that Yan girl who did it. Damn it, he actually fell into the hands of a woman. Thinking of the losses caused by the burning of those warehouses, Liu Zhan's jealousy and hatred intensified. "If I find her, I will definitely cut her into a thousand pieces!"

"Zhan'er, calm down. Your father has already reported it to the authorities. The prefectural magistrate even personally led a team to the warehouse in the north, but after searching, they couldn't find a single clue." Madam Liu's brows were also tightly furrowed. Seeing Liu Zhan's reaction just now, her unease suddenly rose. Could it be that his calling for the blazing flames of prosperity just now was related to them?

Liu Zhan took a deep breath. He knew that he absolutely could not let his father know what he had done to the widow's village last night. If his father found out... Liu Zhan's eyes narrowed involuntarily. The consequences would be something he could not bear.

However, with Liu Xuan's sharp eyes, even under the heavy blow at this moment, Liu Xuan realized Liu Zhan's unusual nature, "What is that thing?"

Liu Zhan was slightly taken aback. He glanced at the embroidered handkerchief at his feet and exclaimed inwardly, "Father, it's nothing, just an embroidered handkerchief."

“Father, that’s a gift from Miss Yan of the Flourishing Era to my elder brother.” Liu Jing suddenly spoke up, looking like he was watching a good show. Although he didn’t know what the flame on the embroidered handkerchief meant, he could smell something unusual. Thinking of the news he had heard earlier, the corners of his mouth couldn’t help but turn up. Many things became clear in his mind.

Liu Xuan frowned. "The Flourishing Flame? You were calling it the Flourishing Flame just now. Bring it here, let me see!"

Liu Zhan took a deep breath, "Father..."

"Give it to me!" Liu Xuan urged sharply.

Liu Zhan sighed inwardly, knowing that he probably couldn't escape, so he could only pick up the embroidered handkerchief on the ground and hand it to Liu Xuan.

Liu Xuan stroked the embroidered handkerchief in his hand, his sharp eyes unusually bright. Looking at the scene being consumed by fire, his face darkened even more. That place... it was clearly the Liu family's warehouse in the west of the city. Even if it were reduced to ashes, he would still recognize it.

"Tell me, what exactly happened?" Liu Xuan slammed the embroidered handkerchief on the table and shouted sternly.

The embroidery was so lifelike, it was as if one were actually there, seeing it with their own eyes. Realizing something, Liu Xuan's eyes narrowed. "This was given to you by Miss Yan of the Flourishing Flames? Why would she give you something like this…?"

Is the fire at the Liu family warehouse related to the Shengshi Lieyan fire?

At this point, Liu Zhan could no longer hide it, especially with Liu Jing still around. Now, he regretted bringing Liu Jing to Liu's Embroidery Shop today. He thought he could show Liu Jing his skills and make him back down, but he didn't expect that Liu Jing would watch his own show and now become an obstacle for him.

"Father, listen to me! It must have been Shengshi Lieyan who did this. Shengshi Lieyan is targeting our Liu family. The burning of those warehouses must have been done by that Miss Yan." Liu Zhan said urgently, blaming everything on Miss Yan.

But his evasive gaze made Liu Xuan suspicious. How could he not know his son's temperament?

Just then, Liu Jing frowned and said, "This is really strange. Why are there so many fires? Just now, I heard that a village called Widow's Village was burned down last night, and the villagers were brutally murdered. I also heard that the source of Shengshi Lieyan's products is Widow's Village. Father, are our Liu family and Shengshi Lieyan being targeted by someone?"

Liu Xuan's expression hardened further. He was incredibly astute, and by connecting everything, he figured it out. It wasn't that the Liu family and Shengshi Lieyan were being targeted; it was clearly Shengshi Lieyan that was going after the Liu family!

There's no smoke without fire, so why would someone burn down their four warehouses?

Madam Liu gave Liu Jing a subtle glare, her gaze shifting between Liu Xuan and Liu Zhan. How could she not know what Liu Zhan had done last night? However, she hadn't expected things to turn out this way.

If the warehouse fire was Shengshi Lieyan's doing against the Liu family, then they must have known about what happened last night. But according to Zhan'er, no one saw it, and it happened without anyone noticing! How... how did Miss Yan find out?

"Since Miss Yan gave this to you so openly, you must have done something! Explain clearly what happened? Did you do the things that happened in the widow's village?" Liu Xuan shouted again, his forehead veins bulging.

Liu Zhan's face turned pale, and he suddenly knelt on the ground, "Father, no, it wasn't Zhan'er who did it!"

"No? Then how do you explain this?" Liu Xuan pointed to the embroidered handkerchief on the table, which depicted a scene of a warehouse burning down, making his anger burn even more fiercely.

“This…” Liu Zhan frowned, momentarily at a loss for words to explain.

“My lord, there must be some misunderstanding. You must believe Zhan’er. If Zhan’er was the one who did the things in Widow Village, then Shengshi Lieyan would have already taken the evidence to the government to sue Zhan’er. But he hasn’t. I think there must be some misunderstanding. It must be a misunderstanding.” Madam Liu also stepped forward, her eyes flickering, but she appeared calm on the surface.