The Flourishing Era of Female Merchants

“Miss Yan, my name is Feng Xianglan. You can just call me Xianglan. Actually, Xianglan is from out of town. I came to Rongjin City with my mother after she married into the An family. My mother is the fifth concubine of the An family. Xianglan is well taken care of by my father and is outwardly a young lady of high birth. But Xianglan knows in her heart that she will always be surnamed Feng and will never be considered a member of the An family. She is constantly ostracized and suppressed. Look at all these injuries on my body. Aren't they caused by the former fifth young lady? But even though I am injured, she still got married and is doing well. Xianglan can only swallow her grievances.” Feng Xianglan said with a sorrowful face, every word full of bitterness.

An Mi listened. How could she not know about Feng Xianglan's situation? However, she only listened to her half-truths to see what she was up to. Frowning, An Mi sighed, "I didn't expect Xianglan to be such a pitiful person!"

“Isn’t that a tragic fate? But what can be done?” Feng Xianglan sighed, her eyes flashing, and said meaningfully, “So, yesterday I was fortunate enough to meet Miss Yan in the villa of the Prefectural Lady, and after hearing what Miss Yan said, I saw hope. I wonder if Xianglan is fortunate enough to follow Miss Yan by her side… I don’t seek fame or fortune, but only hope to live a peaceful life in a quiet corner of the world in the future.”

A slight smile played on Anmi's lips beneath her veil. So that's what Feng Xianglan was planning. But what was her purpose?

Now that Feng Xianglan is following An Yuefeng around, isn't she just after the An family's businesses? Logically speaking, she should be focusing her attention on the An family, so why is she coming here to follow her around?

Content with a corner? Hmph, she didn't believe that Feng Xianglan was really so obedient and willing to stay in one place!

However… An Mi thought of something, her gaze slightly lowered, “Miss Xianglan, I’ve said before that Shengshi Lieyan will not refuse any woman who wants to be independent. But, as you know, Shengshi Lieyan is not a charity. When you come to Shengshi Lieyan, I promise you a bright future, but in return, you expect them to do my bidding. To put it bluntly, Miss, you come to Shengshi Lieyan with an injured hand and a disheveled face…”

An Mi subtly observed Feng Xianglan's expression, but her sharp tongue remained undisguised. After a pause, she continued, "With your face unpresentable, what can Miss Xianglan do in my Prosperous Flame?"

As An Mi spoke, Feng Xianglan's body gradually stiffened. She was undoubtedly deeply wounded by An Mi's last words. She... she actually said that about her? Crippled... unable to show her face in public? Is that how the world sees her?

It felt as if something was tearing at her heart, but she had to admit that everything that Miss Yan said was true, every single word hit her sore spot!

Anmi sipped her tea gently, observing the pain in Feng Xianglan's eyes. After a moment of silence, she spoke, "I apologize; perhaps my words were too harsh. However, I've always been straightforward, saying what I mean. If you're not comfortable with that, I, Shengshi Lieyan, am afraid..."

“No, Miss Yan is not wrong. Xianglan is indeed injured. What Miss Yan said is true. But even if she is injured, it doesn’t matter. Xianglan can still do some counting work in this shop.” As Feng Xianglan said this, she suddenly stood up and knelt on the ground. “Please, Miss Yan, take Xianglan in. This is the only way for Xianglan.”

With a slight twitch of her beautiful eyebrows, Anmi actually knelt down? Ha! It seems Feng Xianglan is quite eager to stay!

What is it about this magnificent, blazing inferno that attracts her so much?

An Mi's eyes flickered slightly as her mind raced. Suddenly, as if she had realized something, she glanced knowingly at the cloak hanging on the screen by Bai Yi. Ah! Did Feng Xianglan come for Bai Yi?

What is her relationship with Bai Yi? Or rather, what was their relationship like in the past?

This sparked a sense of curiosity in An Mi's heart. Perhaps, keeping Feng Xianglan here would be a good decision!

However, if Feng Xianglan were to cause trouble in her Flourishing World, she would not let her off easily!

Having made her decision, Anmi spoke calmly, "In that case, you may stay. Let Cheng Ying arrange some things for you. But there's one thing you must remember: I, Miss Yan, am not a kind-hearted person. If anyone breaks my rules, I will not show any mercy. Do you understand?"

Feng Xianglan replied happily, "I'll remember, I'll remember. Xianglan will definitely behave herself."

"Alright, just behave yourself." An Mi's eyes narrowed slightly. Meet herself? Feng Xianglan's personality wasn't exactly peaceful. However, she actually hoped she wouldn't behave. As long as she didn't behave, An Mi wouldn't hold back!

"You may leave now," Anmi instructed, speaking entirely to her waiter.

Feng Xianglan was slightly taken aback. She used to be the young lady of the Feng family, showered with love and affection. But after that incident, she and her mother were kicked out of the Feng family. Although they lived a poor life, they never suffered any grievances. When she entered the An family, she was treated like a young lady. But here today, was she being treated like a servant?

This grievance felt like a slap in the face.

However, remembering the purpose of her efforts to stay, Feng Xianglan had no choice but to swallow her anger, curtsy, and turn to leave the room...

This place is undoubtedly the closest to the King of Bohai!

She had tried to avoid him before, but even then, her heart remained captivated by that man. Now, she no longer wanted to hide from him...

After Feng Xianglan left, An Mi called Cheng Ying up and instructed her to keep a close eye on Feng Xianglan's behavior. A few days later, Feng Xianglan indeed behaved herself.

As for An Yuefeng, she would occasionally follow him, but most of the time she would feign illness and secretly leave the An residence, spending her days in the blazing flames of Shengshi.

The Liu family sought help everywhere but to no avail. They could only lose money to rebuild the warehouse and start their business again. After this incident, the Liu family was undoubtedly severely weakened and was no longer as financially secure as before.

Across from the blazing flames of prosperity, Liu's Embroidery Shop had virtually no business and eventually had to close down.

Liu Zhan has also disappeared. Since the incident at the prefectural government villa that day, Madam Liu has stayed at home and no one knows what she is doing.

In recent days, An Mi has formulated many plans, which Bai Yi greatly appreciates and immediately supports. A few days ago, the people Cheng Ying sent to the Southern Frontier to find the merchant's mulberry garden also returned to Rongjin City and successfully persuaded the merchant to sell the mulberry garden.

An Mi was overjoyed and instructed Cheng Ying to personally take the silver and the contract to the Southern Frontier to sign the contract with the merchant.

With the merchant's mulberry garden, everything Anmi planned had a foundation.

More than a month later, when An Mi returned to the An residence, she noticed something unusual as soon as she entered the room. She subconsciously looked in a certain direction and saw a man in black sitting in a chair, holding a teacup and leisurely drinking tea. That man in black with hawk-like eyes, refined and lazy, was none other than Nalan Yu, the King of Southern Xinjiang.