The Flourishing Era of Female Merchants

Tomorrow, the Liu family will be marrying the eldest daughter of the Mei family of Jicheng. It will also be the opening day of Anmi's silk reeling workshop and weaving workshop. Ah! I'm afraid there will be a good show to watch!

Uncle Ji said nothing, accepted the order and left. Bai Yi seemed to think of something, and loudly ordered, "Uncle Ji, give the order to prepare dinner and bring it here."

Inside the house, An Mi heard the words "dinner" and realized how late it was. Usually, she would have returned to the An residence from Shengshi Lieyan by this time. Thinking that if she returned late and someone noticed something was amiss, it might cause trouble. She immediately got up and said to Liu'er, "It's getting late, Mother should go back. Mother will continue teaching you calligraphy another day."

Upon hearing that An Mi was leaving, Liu'er's smiling face immediately fell. She grabbed An Mi's hand, looking pitiful and reluctant, "No, Mother, don't go. Tonight, Mother, will you sleep with Liu'er?"

An Mi frowned, looking at Liu'er's appearance, but couldn't bear to refuse. In a daze, the Liu'er in front of her gradually overlapped with her daughter. In her previous life, her daughter also liked to pull her and act coquettishly, asking her to sleep with her.

Those pitiful eyes left An Mi's heart utterly defenseless, but...

Just as she was in a dilemma, she didn't notice that someone's eyes lit up and became even more radiant. She quickly winked at Liu'er and whispered, "Mother loves Liu'er so much, she won't refuse to accompany Liu'er. Liu'er, why don't you quickly thank Mother?"

"Thank you, Mother! That's wonderful! Mother will stay and sleep with Liu'er." Liu'er cheered, dropping her pen and excitedly throwing herself into Anmi's arms.

Anmi snapped out of her daze, but her lips twitched. "No, Liu'er... listen to your mother..."

Liu'er's smile froze, and she looked at An Mi with a pitiful expression, "Mother, are you going to back out?"

Going back on her word? An Mi's lips twitched, but she couldn't say anything. Seeing Liu'er's tearful expression, her heart ached, and a bright smile immediately bloomed on her face. She squatted down and stroked Liu'er's lovely cheek. "How could I go back on my word? I promised Liu'er, how could I go back on my word? I'll stay with you, Liu'er. Don't pout, give me a smile."

"Oh, Uncle, Mother agreed, Mother agreed!" Liu'er immediately beamed with joy, gave An Mi a big kiss on the cheek, and then glanced triumphantly at Bai Yi. The two exchanged a knowing look.

An Mi froze, realizing she had fallen into their trap. Liu'er...

Looking up and meeting Bai Yi's deep, triumphant black eyes, An Mi couldn't help but shake her head.

A bitter feeling welled up inside her, but she felt no resentment. Even though she knew that Liu'er in front of her was not her daughter, she could still easily soften her heart because of this daughter. The image of her daughter from her previous life appeared in her mind. She pulled Liu'er into her arms and hugged her tightly, as if she were really holding her daughter.

The sudden action startled both Liu'er and Bai Yi. Liu'er let An Mi hold her tightly, tenderly raised her hand, gently stroking An Mi's back, and softly called out, "Mother..."

Even as a little girl, she could sense that her mother was a little agitated. What was wrong with her mother? Why was she holding her so tightly, as if she was afraid of losing her?

Bai Yi frowned slightly. From the moment he met An Mi, there were too many things about her that he couldn't understand. The first time she risked her life to save Liu'er, and the undisguised affection she showed every time she looked at Liu'er afterward, and the tenderness she showed for Liu'er right now, her feelings for Liu'er were beyond the ordinary.

He even felt that sometimes when An Mi looked at Liu'er, it was as if she was looking at someone else through Liu'er.

Who is the person Anmi truly misses?

"Mother, are you sad?" Liu'er's peaceful voice rang out in her arms.

An Mi was slightly startled, then gradually came to her senses. What was she doing? The person in her arms was Liu'er, not her daughter, but all along, she had been filling the void in her heart that she missed Liu'er. Taking a deep breath, An Mi pulled Liu'er out of her arms, carefully looking at Liu'er's adorable appearance, and a smile appeared on her lips. "Mother is happy, happy that Mother can hold Liu'er."

The naive Liu'er naturally believed An Mi's words and immediately beamed with joy, "Mother, Liu'er likes being held by Mother. Mother, shall we continue writing?"

Anmi nodded, took Liu'er's hand, and the two returned to their previous position. Anmi then taught Liu'er to write, hand in hand.

Inside the room, the two occasionally burst into laughter. Bai Yi looked at the harmonious scene before him and felt exceptionally calm. Thinking about An Mi's actions just now, he secretly thought that there would be plenty of time in the future, and he would eventually have the opportunity to slowly explore the secrets of An Mi.

Never before had a woman made him want to explore everything about her like Anmi, yet he was afraid that his impulsiveness or eagerness would frighten her and ultimately push her further away.

Every step had to be taken with utmost care and deliberation. As he gently stroked the teacup in his hand, Bai Yi's smile grew even more tender.

A few days ago, a letter came from Shao Shang in the capital, directly complaining that his trip seemed to have lasted too long. Even his father in the palace had hinted several times that he wanted to summon him back to the capital. However, even though he knew what his father meant, he was unwilling to leave Rongjin City and Anmi City just like that.

Thinking back to when he first arrived in Rongjin City a few months ago, how could he have imagined that he would lose his heart in this place during this trip?

Oh, Anmi, in this world, perhaps only you have the ability to make me so infatuated!

That night, An Mi had dinner at Bai Yi's place. Liu'er was reluctant to leave An Mi's side for even a moment, holding An Mi's hand tightly the whole time. Her clinginess made An Mi laugh, just like Liu'er in her previous life, who loved to pester people!

After dinner, Liu'er pulled Anmi into her room. Bai Yi naturally escorted the two most important women in his life back to their rooms. Time seemed to pass very quickly, and before long, Liu'er became sleepy.

An Mi personally washed Liu'er's feet, changed her clothes, and prepared to settle Liu'er down to sleep. However, she saw Bai Yi still sitting leisurely in the chair. An Mi looked over and met his bright eyes.

That one glance sent a shiver down An Mi's spine. For some reason, she felt uneasy under that somewhat intense gaze. She lowered her brows, trying to regain her composure, and said loudly, "Isn't Your Highness going to rest?"

Bai Yi raised his handsome eyebrows slightly, but showed no intention of leaving. "Rest, I usually wait until Liu'er falls asleep before leaving."

An Mi's lips twitched. Was she really going to fall asleep in front of Bai Yi?

Strangely, especially in Bai Yi's eyes, which were not as smiling as usual, An Mi felt a sudden unease. "Your Highness, with An Mi here tonight, you can leave first. An Mi will take good care of Liu'er."