The Flourishing Era of Female Merchants

The words of the Prefectural Governor's wife undoubtedly shifted everyone's thoughts from the fifth-grade phoenix pearl to the real phoenix pearl.

An Mi understood the prefectural lady's intentions, and her smile deepened. She thought to herself, "Madam Liu really has quite a few enemies!"

Just as An Mi was about to speak, Yu Ling'er's voice came from the other side...

"Who has ever seen the real Phoenix Pearl? Back then, after the late emperor gave the Phoenix Pearl to the late empress, the empress kept it until she became the empress dowager. More than ten years ago, the empress dowager gave the Phoenix Pearl to one of the current emperor's favorite concubines. After that, the Phoenix Pearl disappeared and no one has seen it since." Yu Ling'er glanced at An Mi, seemingly dissatisfied that she knew everything and stole all the limelight, and deliberately spoke first before her.

"Disappeared? That's a real shame!" someone sighed.

"Wasn't it given to a concubine? It should be in her hands!" someone asked, puzzled.

Yu Ling'er glanced at the woman who had asked the question, then looked at the woman in white gauze. She saw that the woman was holding a teacup, her eyes were not flustered at all, and she raised the corners of her mouth and said smugly, "You don't know this. That concubine died many years ago. After she died, she didn't know who she handed the phoenix pearl to before she died, so she disappeared."

After Yu Ling'er finished speaking, she glanced triumphantly at An Mi. An Mi knew exactly what she meant, but she just smiled and remained silent. This Yu Ling'er was really quite hostile towards her! But where did this hostility come from?

This second young lady of the Yu family has always been pampered and arrogant. For An Mi to be targeted like this by her, it really shows that An Mi is overestimated!

"Maybe it's with the Empress Dowager!" someone speculated.

"What do you know? If you don't know, don't talk nonsense. The Empress Dowager entered the Buddhist temple more than ten years ago and has been living a life of quiet contemplation ever since. Even the Emperor rarely sees her. She has already renounced the mortal world and worldly affairs are no longer relevant to her. Why would she care about a string of phoenix beads?" Yu Ling'er scolded lightly.

The person who asked the question involuntarily shrank back.

At this moment, An Mi was drinking tea when she looked up and saw two figures standing not far away. One of them had a cold demeanor and was undoubtedly the King of Donglin. The other person was dressed in brocade and exuded nobility. However, he was somewhat different from Bai Yi, whom she knew before. The aura he exuded made people feel cold. This was a Bai Yi she had never seen before.

An Mi was slightly taken aback, and a little water accidentally spilled from the teacup in her hand. Bai Yi, that was so unfamiliar! Yet so heartbreaking!

"Miss Yan..." The lady of the prefecture noticed her unusual behavior and called out softly.

Anmi snapped out of her daze and realized everyone's eyes were on her. She quickly forced a smile, "Look at me, how could I be so careless..."

"It's alright, it's alright," the lady of the prefecture said warmly. "Miss Yan, why don't you go to my room and change your clothes? I have some clothes from when I was younger."

An Mi glanced subtly in Bai Yi's direction, but he was already gone. She frowned slightly, and after thinking of something, she spoke, "In that case, I will have to trouble the Lady of the Prefecture."

An Mi got up, and the lady of the prefecture instructed her maid to lead An Mi to the other side room. The maid took An Mi back to the room, got a set of clothes, and An Mi quickly changed. On the way back, An Mi thought about Bai Yi's appearance earlier and had a strange feeling in her heart. After walking a short distance, An Mi asked the maid to go back first, and she wanted to walk around in the garden. The maid had a good impression of Miss Yan and didn't say anything. She went back alone, which pleased An Mi.

An Mi searched for that figure in the garden and finally saw Bai Yi by the lake. Overjoyed, she immediately went up to him and looked at his back. "What's wrong? Are you feeling sentimental here all by yourself? This is not like you, the King of Bohai."

The figure suddenly paused, seemingly not expecting An Mi to come. He turned to look at An Mi, and that turn startled her. Yes, that was it. Seeing him up close now, the feeling from before was even stronger, and she subconsciously uttered, "Bai Yi..."

As soon as she uttered the call, the tall man stepped forward and pulled An Mi into his arms, holding her tightly.

An Mi bumped into a broad chest, which was stiffer than she had expected, like an iron wall. An Mi was stunned for a moment, then realized something, but she did not break free from him. Her intuition told her that Bai Yi was vulnerable at this moment, too vulnerable to withstand any push or resistance.

Anmi let him hold her like that. By the lake, a cool breeze was blowing. Bai Yi kept his eyes closed, as if he was enduring something.

Not far away, King Donglin stood with his hands behind his back, watching the two people by the lake. His eyes were filled with changing emotions. How could he not know why Bai Yi was acting this way? That phoenix pearl must have stirred up his memories!

However, seeing him holding Anmi like this, he felt a little uneasy. He frowned. Was coming to Rongjin City the right or wrong thing to do? Now, he was a little confused.

Over there, after an unknown amount of time, Bai Yi finally released An Mi. An Mi left Bai Yi's chest and looked up to meet his eyes, wanting to understand what was wrong with him. However, before she could speak, Bai Yi seemed to know what she was going to say, and a bright smile bloomed on his previously gloomy and complicated face. "Why aren't you drinking tea over there? What are you doing here?"

His expression held a hint of reproach, and An Mi's lips twitched. "You..."

"What do you mean, 'what do you mean, 'what do you mean'? Hurry up and go! That Madam Liu is clearly trying to use this opportunity to curry favor with those ladies and young misses so they can speak to their masters and lend a helping hand to the Liu family. If you don't go and keep an eye on things, do you want that old woman to succeed?" Bai Yi interrupted her again and turned her around. "Go back now!"

An Mi frowned, feeling that Bai Yi was acting even more strangely at this moment. Why did she feel that Bai Yi's attitude towards her was similar to his attitude towards Liu'er?

Intimacy? Or even a hint of doting?

This thought startled An Mi. She quickly dismissed the thoughts in her mind, realizing that even if she wanted to find out why Bai Yi had reacted that way, Bai Yi probably wouldn't tell her. They were just business partners, and she seemed to have overstepped her bounds!

With a sigh, Anmi stopped thinking about it and strode towards the garden over there...

Only after An Mi left did Bai Yi's smile disappear, and his handsome face became serious again, his deep eyes like a bottomless pool.

He turned around and looked into the lake, his expression complex, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.

A moment later, footsteps sounded behind him. Bai Yi frowned slightly, but then relaxed.

King Donglin stopped beside Bai Yi, also gazing into the lake. After a moment of contemplation, his voice remained devoid of warmth, "It seems you truly treat An Mi differently."