The Flourishing Era of Female Merchants

She didn't want this day to come, but what could she do?

As Feng Xianglan pondered, she left the hall without even noticing that she had returned to her room, and she didn't even notice that Jin Qiaoyu had followed her back to her room.

"Xianglan, tomorrow is the anniversary of your sister Jinlan's death. Tomorrow night, let's go to the temple together to pray for her!" Jin Qiaoyu's voice suddenly came, startling Feng Xianglan and bringing her back to her senses.

Feng Xianglan's face paled as she recalled what she had vaguely overheard. "Mother, what did you say?"

“Have you forgotten? Tomorrow is the anniversary of your sister Jinlan’s death. Back then…” Jin Qiaoyu stopped abruptly, her expression sorrowful, as if she didn’t have the courage to continue.

Feng Xianglan's eyes flickered. Thinking of the past and the dream she had that day, a chill ran through her. Was tomorrow the anniversary of her death?

"Xianglan, what's wrong?" Jin Qiaoyu frowned, noticing Feng Xianglan's unusual behavior. These days, whenever Jinlan was mentioned, Xianglan's expression would become extremely unnatural.

Feng Xianglan was taken aback, then forced a smile and quickly said, "It's nothing. I was just thinking about my sister's death. Mother, I miss my sister so much. Tomorrow, let's go to the temple to pray for her. I hope her spirit can rest in peace."

"Mm." Jin Qiaoyu nodded and patted Feng Xianglan's hand, only to find that her hand was ice cold. Jin Qiaoyu was slightly taken aback, but did not say anything. After a moment of silence, she said, "You go to sleep. I'll go back to my room first."

Feng Xianglan saw Jin Qiaoyu out of the room and finally breathed a sigh of relief. However, that night, she had just fallen asleep when the disturbing nightmare returned. Feng Xianglan slept very restlessly in bed, as if she had been greatly frightened. She suddenly woke up, sat up in shock, and cried out, "No, no... no..."

Feng Xianglan was covered in cold sweat. She realized it was a dream, but her fear still wouldn't subside. Would tomorrow be the anniversary of her death?

Thinking of her dream, Feng Xianglan's eyes widened in panic. Suddenly remembering something, she jumped out of bed, hastily threw on a robe, rummaged through her wardrobe, grabbed some things, and rushed out of the room. Unbeknownst to her, after she left, a figure in the darkness frowned, unable to conceal its suspicion, and cautiously followed her…

As Feng Xianglan left the room, she kept muttering, "I'm sorry, please don't come looking for me again, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

Soon, she arrived at a very secluded place. She stopped, but then seemed to remember something, her brow furrowing tightly. After thinking for a moment, she finally turned around and went back, as if she had finally made a decision. However, she did not go back to her room, but went to the garden.

Feng Xianglan carefully looked around to make sure no one was there before she put the things down with peace of mind. When she opened the package, it turned out to be a bundle of clothes.

Looking at the beautiful clothes, Feng Xianglan bit her lip and finally knelt on the ground. She picked up the clothes, lit them with a tinderbox, and the clothes instantly burst into flames. The figure in the shadows was none other than Feng Xianglan's mother, Jin Qiaoyu. Jin Qiaoyu frowned even more as she watched Feng Xianglan's actions. She was about to step forward to see why Feng Xianglan was acting this way, but she ultimately gave up the idea and secretly watched Feng Xianglan's strange behavior from the side.

At this moment, neither she nor Feng Xianglan, whom she was looking at, noticed that another person was also watching everything from the nearby artificial hill.

Anmi had already gone to sleep, but she couldn't fall asleep for a long time while lying in bed, so she put on her clothes. She thought that the moonlight was beautiful tonight and she hadn't been out for long, but she didn't expect that the garden seemed to be very lively tonight.

Feng Xianglan hurriedly approached, carrying something in a panic. Jin Qiaoyu, who seemed to be following her closely, was also suspicious. It was already highly suspicious that Feng Xianglan would appear in the garden in the middle of the night with something in a panic. Moreover, Jin Qiaoyu, as her mother, was following her daughter. How could she not see the slightest clue? She immediately followed without hesitation. From her current angle, she could see every move the two of them made.

On the other side, Feng Xianglan lit the clothes, looked up at the sky, clasped her hands together, and murmured repeatedly, "These are all your favorites. When you were still alive, you would fight me for any clothes I liked. Now, I'm giving you all the clothes I like. Please don't come to my dreams anymore. You've been dead for so long, can't you just let me go? You know I made such a serious mistake because of you. Can't you consider it my way of repaying me? Sister, tomorrow is your death anniversary. I will pray for you and burn lots of paper money for you. Also, from now on, I will burn any clothes I like for you. Please... please don't scare me anymore, please..."

As Feng Xianglan finished speaking, her expression became even more panicked, and the dream resurfaced in her mind. In the dream, her dead sister reached out to pull her into a dark abyss, repeatedly saying that she was wronged, that she was lonely, that she was cold, and constantly questioning her why she did that.

Before she woke up each time, that hand would grab her, either her wrist or her foot, dragging her backward. Sometimes, it would even choke her neck so hard she couldn't breathe.

"Xianglan..." An Mi frowned slightly upon hearing the awkward name Feng Xianglan uttered.

Xianglan? Feng Xianglan kept calling out Xianglan's name. What was going on? Recalling what Feng Xianglan had just said, something seemed to become clear in her mind.

An Mi's eyes lit up, and she subconsciously looked in another direction. Even she noticed this. So, who was the other person who knew Feng Xianglan better?

An Mi glanced over and saw Jin Qiaoyu's eyes widen in horror, filled with disbelief. Even in the darkness, An Mi could see it clearly.

An Mi understood, Jin Qiaoyu understood, and she was shocked. What would she do after discovering this?

Anmi's doubts had barely surfaced when Jin Qiaoyu made her move. She clenched her hands, her shock turning into anger, but she deliberately suppressed her rising rage as she emerged from the darkness.

Feng Xianglan, who was already frantically burning clothes and muttering to herself, was startled by the noise behind her. She instinctively turned around, but when she saw Jin Qiaoyu, her eyes flickered. She quickly got up, walked towards Jin Qiaoyu, and forced a smile, "Mother, it's so late. Why aren't you sleeping? What are you doing out here?"

What did she just say? Did she say anything that would raise any suspicion? How long has Mother been here, how long has she been watching, and how much has she heard?