The Flourishing Era of Female Merchants

This slap completely stunned Yu Ling'er. Her whole body staggered and fell heavily onto the stone table next to her. Another wave of pain came, and Yu Ling'er cried out in surprise. It seemed that something was flowing from her forehead. The pain was even more excruciating, but no matter how painful it was, it was not as bad as the slap that had just hit her face.

Brother-in-law... Brother-in-law hit her! In her memory, her brother-in-law had never hit her before, but today... was it because of this Yan girl?

Yu Ling'er felt as if countless needles were piercing her heart, leaving it bleeding profusely. She looked up at the man she had always loved, but saw no trace of heartache or guilt on his face, only his unchanging coldness and anger.

"Ah...he's bleeding!" someone exclaimed.

When the King of Donglin saw the blood flowing from Yu Ling'er's forehead, he merely frowned, showing no pity whatsoever.

This made Yu Ling'er's face even paler. She covered her face with one hand and whispered, "Brother-in-law..."

King Donglin ignored him completely, turned around and looked at An Mi, who was being protected in Bai Yi's arms. His gaze fell on An Mi's face, which she was covering with her hands, and his brows furrowed even more.

Anmi frowned, not only because Yu Ling'er had slapped her, but also because of the Donglin King's attitude towards Yu Ling'er. She had always known that the Donglin King had a cold face and that he was cold-hearted, but at this moment she felt that it was not cold-heartedness, but ruthlessness. Yu Ling'er was clearly full of love for this Donglin King. She remembered that in her previous life, the Donglin King had married the second daughter of the Yu family a few years after his first wife, the eldest daughter of the Yu family, died.

In this light, the second young lady of the Yu family is truly pitiful. The man she loves so much doesn't love her back, yet she insists on marrying him! Isn't this just asking for trouble?

Looking at Yu Ling'er, a hint of irony rose in his heart: the wicked will be punished by the wicked!

"Let me see how your face is!" Bai Yi reached out, wanting to lift the veil from An Mi's face, his face full of worry and self-blame. Just now, why didn't he hurry up? He let that woman hurt An Mi!

An Mi realized his actions and was startled. She reacted quickly and moved away. What a joke! Revealing it in front of everyone like this, wouldn't everyone know that Miss Yan is An Mi, the second young lady of the An family?

How can this work!

Bai Yi's outstretched hand froze in mid-air. He frowned slightly, naturally understanding her concerns. He withdrew his hand, but his anger had not subsided. He turned to look at Yu Ling'er, his eyes filled with a terrifying sharpness, as if he wanted to tear Yu Ling'er to pieces.

Donglin King realized Bai Yi's anger, and his expression turned slightly grim. He knew that if his third brother really got angry, Yu Ling'er wouldn't be able to handle it. Thinking of the interests in the capital, Donglin King called out loudly, "Third Brother!"

Bai Yi's eyes sharpened as he met the gaze of the King of Donglin, understanding his meaning, but his anger did not subside because of the King of Donglin.

For a moment, the atmosphere was tense. Even someone as intelligent as An Mi understood the concerns of the Prince of Donglin. Indeed, Yu Ling'er was the second young lady of the Yu family. If Bai Yi really did something to her, the Yu family would certainly not let it go. It wasn't that Bai Yi was truly afraid of the Yu family, but since Bai Yi was not in the capital, it was inevitable that the Yu family would receive the news and secretly do something to harm Bai Yi's interests. That would be a loss for them. An Mi knew how complicated the network of relationships in the capital was just by thinking about it. One move could affect the whole situation.

An Mi frowned slightly, reached out and tugged at Bai Yi's sleeve, speaking softly beside him, "Your Highness, it was just a scratch. I'll remember this slap and get my revenge someday. You don't need to do it for me."

Yu Ling'er had already been punished by the King of Donglin, and her forehead was bleeding again. Perhaps the best lesson for Yu Ling'er was to let her see the man she loved so cold and indifferent to her. The pain on her face at this moment was probably because the person who hit her was the King of Donglin.

Bai Yi glanced at An Mi, how could he not know what she meant?

However, a hint of joy instantly welled up in Bai Yi's heart. An Mi was thinking of him!

This was the first time she had shown him any concern, so he naturally couldn't refuse her!

but……

"Keep your people under control, don't let her out and bite people!" Bai Yi looked up, met the eyes of the Prince of Donglin, and spoke coldly. Then, he grabbed An Mi's wrist and strode towards the outside of the courtyard...

An Mi didn't struggle and followed Bai Yi's steps closely. In her heart, she was thinking that after what had just happened, in everyone's eyes, her ambiguous relationship with Bai Yi would probably be even more complicated.

As An Mi had expected, everyone watched the two leave with different expressions. The ladies and young women all understood what was going on. That Miss Yan was really lucky to have caught the eye of the dignified King of Bohai!

The King of Donglin frowned even more deeply. Although he did not want to get involved with An Mi and did not want to be enemies with Bai Yi for the time being, his heart tightened when he saw Yu Ling'er slap An Mi. He knew that Yu Ling'er was the only remaining daughter of the Yu family and was the apple of the eye of all the men in the Yu family. She was not someone to be trifled with, but he still slapped her without hesitation. At this moment, he did not feel any regret.

Ha! He admitted that tranquility attracted him, but he underestimated the extent of that attraction!

“Brother-in-law…I…” At this moment, Yu Ling’er only had the anger of the King of Donglin in her heart. She looked at the King of Donglin cautiously, as if afraid that his anger would intensify.

The King of Donglin looked at her for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "Tomorrow, I will have someone send you back!"

Yu Ling'er's heart skipped a beat. Her brother-in-law's anger hadn't subsided after all. Go back? Go back where? Jicheng? Or the capital?

"Brother-in-law..." Yu Ling'er called softly.

However, as soon as she uttered those two words, the King of Donglin strode away...

Yu Ling'er froze, and without thinking, she could only endure the pain and resentment, and hurriedly chase after him...

In the garden, only the prefectural governor and his wife and some guests remained. They watched the direction the others had left in, all falling silent as the scenes that had just unfolded flashed through their minds, their expressions varied.

At this moment, Feng Xianglan, who had been silent all along, bit her lip tightly under her veil. The image of Bai Yi pulling Miss Yan away just now flashed through her mind, and the jealousy in her heart grew wildly. Bai Yi... his concern for that woman stung her eyes. Why?

She thought that the King of Bohai was heartless, and even his recent interest in An Mi was just a slight one. She thought that this man would never truly fall in love with any woman in his life. But was she wrong after all?

With her fists clenched tightly, Feng Xianglan recalled the scenes from several years ago, her heart breaking!

Miss Yan... Miss Yan... What is it about her that makes the once ruthless King of Bohai fall for her?