The Flourishing Era of Female Merchants

An Xinlian struck first, showing no mercy. After all, since An Mi's mother died, although Master An had been cold towards this second young lady, they were still a prominent family in Rongjin City. How could he allow his daughter to be a slave? If word got out, it would only make Master An a laughingstock. However, Madam An and her two daughters couldn't stand seeing An Mi live peacefully. Fortunately, Master An was often away on business, traveling far and wide, and rarely stayed at the mansion. The An mansion was practically under the control of these three women. Not only were the servants afraid to speak out of fear, but even An Mi herself was prevented from having any chance to explain the truth to Master An. These three women were virtually everywhere.

At this moment, An Xinlian resorted to her old tricks again, which An Mi was all too familiar with. A hint of sarcasm flashed in her eyes. If it were in the past, the next thing would be for the mother and her two daughters to add fuel to the fire and distort the truth to "attack" her. However, An Mi would not allow such a thing to happen again.

Sensing Master An's obvious anger, An Mi seemed not to have heard An Xinlian's "accusations" earlier. She raised her eyes, glanced at the middle-aged woman, and then fixed her gaze on the young woman in the lake-blue outer garment. Her expression was complex, but she appeared calm. "Father, who are these two guests...?"

With a single sentence, An Mi successfully diverted everyone's attention from her, carefully observing the reactions of the others. The middle-aged woman and the woman in blue smiled even more broadly, while Madam An and her two daughters, especially Madam An herself, had their faces darken.

"Hehe, Qiaoyu, come here..." Old Master An changed his cold demeanor from before, his face softening again. He stood up and reached out his hand to the middle-aged woman. This intimate gesture, however, stung Madam An's eyes.

"Master!" Madam An called out. She wasn't stupid; the moment these two women entered the An residence, she sensed something was amiss, and she absolutely wouldn't allow her fears to come true.

Master An frowned and shouted sternly, "You know I'm the master!"

Madam An's anger surged even higher. She tightly gripped the handkerchief in her hand, trying her best to suppress her rage. Master An turned to look at the middle-aged woman who had come to stand beside him, and a smile appeared on his face again. "Qiaoyu, you will live here well from now on. From today onwards, you are the fifth concubine that I, An Yuefeng, have brought into the house. Since you are new here, if you need anything, just tell the servants."

An Yuefeng paused, then turned to Madam An and instructed, "Fangfei, have you listened carefully to what I'm saying? From now on, you two are sisters, and you must look after each other and get along well. You have a strong personality, and if I find out you've bullied Qiaoyu..."

"Brother Feng, how could you say that to my sister?" Jin Qiaoyu tugged at An Yuefeng's sleeve. "My sister is well-educated and reasonable; she would never make things difficult for me."

“You are the one who is so knowledgeable and reasonable, you haven’t changed at all.” Ignoring everyone present, An Yuefeng patted Jin Qiaoyu’s hand and enveloped her hands in his large palm.

This scene, like a thorn, pierced deep into Madam An's heart. She caught a glimpse of something in Master An's words: nothing had changed? What did this mean? Did this woman and Master An have an old acquaintance?!

An Mi noticed that Madam An's body was trembling slightly, and a subtle smile appeared on her lips. Her gaze returned to the young woman. Although she already knew her identity, she still spoke up, "Congratulations, Father, congratulations, Fifth Concubine, this..."

"Xianglan is Qiaoyu's daughter, but from now on, she is also my daughter, An Yuefeng's daughter. Xianglan is about the same age as you, so you sisters should get along well in the future!" An Yuefeng instructed. Although Xianglan was Qiaoyu's daughter with her ex-husband, he liked her very much because of her well-behaved nature.

"Hmph, I don't want to be sisters with a vixen's daughter. My mother is a vixen, and I'm no better. Xianglan, is that right? Why don't you and your mother bewitch my father so you can become his sixth concubine!" An Xinhe never knew how to be patient. She vented her displeasure all at once, pointing at the young woman and cursing like a shrew.

But as soon as he finished speaking, Mr. An's face darkened, and he raised his hand and slapped An Xinhe hard across the face. With a loud slap, the force of the blow sent An Xinhe staggering back several steps. Fortunately, Madam An caught her from behind, preventing her from falling to the ground.

"Father..." An Xinhe cried out in pain, her face swelling up instantly. She looked at her father with a wronged expression. Her father had always doted on her, but today he had beaten her for this vile woman! How could she swallow this insult?

"Master, she is your daughter, how could you..." Madam An said with heartache, determined to seek justice for her daughter.

"Apologize!" An Yuefeng interrupted Madam An sharply, his tone leaving no room for argument. Veins bulged on his forehead as he roared, "Apologize to Xianglan!"

An Mi watched all this. Xiang Lan, Feng Xiang Lan, that's right, she was the concubine that Liu Zhan took in after marrying her in her previous life!

Remembering the embroidery appreciation gathering in her past life, a hint of sarcasm flickered in An Mi's eyes. Their entanglement all began at the embroidery appreciation gathering!

Throughout the entire event, Feng Xianglan wore a faint smile, as if what was happening before her had nothing to do with her. In her past life, wasn't Feng Xianglan's greatest skill to secretly start a fire and then watch it from the sidelines?

Now, she found that smile particularly irritating. Anmi lowered her brows. At this moment, she should be the one watching from the sidelines!

An Xinhe glared fiercely at the young woman, her teeth itching with hatred. Apologize? An Xinhe was to bow down to such a woman? No way! However, sensing her father's anger, she had no choice but to swallow her pride and say, "I'm sorry."

The few words seemed to be squeezed out from between her teeth, and anyone could see the resentment in them. Feng Xianglan could see it too, but she didn't care about An Xinhe, who was so brainless. She smiled gently and said softly, "Sister Xinhe misspoke. Xianglan won't take it to heart."

“Father, you and Fifth Aunt have been traveling for days, you must be tired. Xinlian will have the other courtyard arrange accommodations for Fifth Aunt and Sister Xianglan so they can rest early.” An Xinlian, who had been silent all along, spoke up warmly. She knew that the mother and daughter had won today. If the confrontation continued, they would not get the better of them. However, there would be plenty of time in the future. Besides, she was just a concubine.

Master An frowned and said in a deep voice, "There's no need to arrange accommodation in the villa. Just arrange for them to stay in the mansion."

Upon hearing this, everyone present reacted with varying expressions, and Madam An and her two daughters all turned pale.

"Master, this is absolutely unacceptable!" Madam An immediately objected. She knew that according to the rules of the An family, the ancestral home was the residence of the principal wife. Although Master An had several concubines, they were all housed in separate courtyards. Years ago, An Mi's mother was placed in the ancestral home by An Yuefeng, which undoubtedly infringed upon her authority. She hadn't been able to stop it then, and later had to go to great lengths to kill that woman. Today, she absolutely could not allow Jin Qiaoyu to move in, and she would never allow anyone to challenge her authority again!