The Flourishing Era of Female Merchants

“Master Lu, you don’t need to worry about that. If you don’t have anything to do recently, you can take Madam Lu to travel around and see the landscape of our Great Jin Dynasty. As for what the Prince promised you, there will be good news when you return,” An Mi said.

Having been a businessman for so many years, Mr. Lu was certainly not stupid. Hearing Miss Yan say this, he knew there must be some clues behind it. She was telling him that staying in Rongjin City might cause him trouble. "Yes, Mr. Lu will make the arrangements right away. I will return to Rongjin City in a month."

"Very well then, I wish Mr. and Mrs. Lu a pleasant time." An Mi lowered her brows, and after speaking, she said nothing more.

Master Lu then took his leave and left. Once again, only Bai Yi and An Mi remained in the room. An Mi's gaze lingered on the stack of certificates, as she pondered what Master Lu had just said.

Yao Family Tea Garden? Hmph, does Liu Zhan still place his hopes on Yao Family Tea Garden? Ha! The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. He probably never imagined that Yao Family Tea Garden would become the last straw that broke the camel's back for the Liu family!

Bai Yi's deep eyes flashed. As he separated the black and white pieces on the chessboard, he casually said, "Yao Family Tea Garden? Back then, you told me to give up the cooperation with Yao Family Tea Garden. It seemed like you knew that something bad would happen to Yao Family Tea Garden. And you also knew that once I withdrew my investment, the Liu family patriarch, who was waiting for the opportunity, would definitely not let go of such a big piece of fat as Yao Family Tea Garden. Ha! It seems that the hidden danger you planted back then is about to explode?"

An Mi raised her eyes and glanced at Bai Yi. "Your Highness speaks of me as if I can predict the future. If word gets out, people will probably think I'm a monster."

"Oh?" Bai Yi's gaze narrowed slightly, locking onto An Mi's eyes. "You're not a monster, then tell me, how can you foresee the future?"

An Mi's expression stiffened slightly as she endured Bai Yi's gaze. Despite the immense pressure, her smile quickly returned, showing no fear of Bai Yi's probing and aggressive eyes. "Predicting the future? Your Highness overestimates An Mi. How could An Mi possibly predict the future?"

"Don't you?" Bai Yi lowered his brows, the color in his eyes becoming even deeper.

From the very beginning, he wanted to explore the unusual aspects of An Mi, but now he was completely captivated by this woman. He hadn't yet figured out her secrets, and instead found her increasingly mysterious and unfathomable.

Oh, Anmi, what is the secret within you?

"Your Highness, distrusting friends is a grave taboo," An Mi said calmly, taking a small sip of tea.

Bai Yi quickly cleared his mind of thoughts and laughed out loud, "Of course I trust you unconditionally! If I don't trust you, who else can I trust?"

As they spoke, An Mi was met with that unsettling gaze again, making her scalp tingle. She immediately stood up and, under the pretext of placing the land deeds and title deed, hid behind the screen.

Meanwhile, having received enough silver, Liu Zhan had it all moved to his study. Sitting on a stool, looking at the several large boxes before him, he was unusually excited. He stood up, opened the boxes, and, confirming they were filled with gleaming silver, burst into laughter. "Once I, Liu Zhan, get through this hurdle, once my Liu family grows stronger, I will make those people regret it! Regret it!"

Liu Zhan gritted his teeth; he had never felt so pleased with the gleaming silver as he did at this moment.

Are the Mei family and Miss Yan trying to take down the Liu family? Hmph, how could they possibly bring down the Liu family so easily?

At this moment, in his excessive excitement, little did he know that the Liu family was nearing its end!

The next day, the creditors who had promised to have Liu Zhan repay the debts early in the morning arrived at the Liu family's gate. When they arrived, they found the gate already open, and Liu Zhan had set up a stool, sitting there with a teacup in one hand, legs crossed, waiting for them to arrive.

In front of him were several boxes. Everyone looked at them in surprise, and someone said jokingly, "Young Master Liu, these boxes aren't empty, are they?"

After all, he had just heard some news from the King of Bohai yesterday. How could Liu Zhan have prepared several large boxes of silver in such a short time?

“Yes, could it really be empty?” someone echoed again.

A hint of displeasure flashed across Liu Zhan's face, but it quickly turned into disdain. He said loudly, "Everyone, Liu Zhan said he would repay the money today, and he will definitely do so today. How could the Liu family not be able to come up with this money? You all underestimate the Liu family and Liu Zhan!"

These scoundrels, Liu Zhan will not let them go if he gets the chance! When he becomes successful, he will definitely trample these people under his feet.

"Ha! Young Master Liu, who dares to look down on you? Since you're not going to let anyone look down on you, then hurry up and return the money!" Master Yun said, taking out a piece of paper from his pocket and instructing the servants behind him, "Get ready, move the money!"

Liu Zhan glanced at Master Yun indifferently. He had the money to pay now, so he was naturally not afraid. He arrogantly ordered his servants, "You, give me some silver. Don't shortchange Master Yun by a single coin. Do you understand?"

"Yes," the servants responded. The accountant took the receipt from Master Yun, watched the servants count the silver, and then watched Master Yun order the silver to be moved away. Next person came to collect a debt...

Before long, all the original boxes of silver were distributed. Liu Zhan looked at the empty boxes, his eyes filled with gloom, and his hand holding the teacup tightened.

Wait a little longer, it will be fine next month!

The people of Rongjin City continued their lives as usual, but for the Liu family, the atmosphere remained oppressive for the past month.

Regarding the death of the eldest son of the Mei family, the prefectural magistrate has been saying that he is investigating, but there has been no conclusion. As this drags on, Liu Xuan and Madam Liu are still imprisoned and have not been released. Liu Zhan has visited them a few times, each time for only the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

Liu Zhan told Liu Xuan about Liu Jing's situation. Upon hearing this, Liu Xuan fainted on the spot. Madam Liu was even more furious. In front of so many prisoners in the jail, she cursed Yun Niang and her son, and even loudly rebuked Liu Xuan for being blind and bringing a traitor into the family.

Since then, Liu Xuan has rarely spoken, and he seems to have aged ten years, with his temples turning gray overnight.

On this day, Liu Zhan had just come out of the prison after seeing Master Liu and Madam Liu. When he returned to the Liu residence, he saw Mei Yingxue sitting in the garden in a daze, a coldness spreading in her eyes. These days, he had kept his word. If the Mei family did not make things easy for the Liu family, he, Liu Zhan, would make things difficult for Mei Yingxue.