The Flourishing Era of Female Merchants

Seeing her sister's excitement, An Xinlian twitched the corners of her mouth. She had long understood Xinhe's feelings for Liu Zhan. The identity of the richest man's wife had once been attractive to her as well. However, after setting her sights on Qinglan, her ambitions grew. Her gaze fell on the figure in green in the audience, her eyes gleaming with determination. What she wanted was an even more prestigious identity!

"Xinhe, the embroidery competition hasn't even started yet, how can you be so sure?" Feng Xianglan, standing behind An Mi, said coldly. She hadn't forgotten her bet with An Xinhe, and as for her identity as the richest man's wife...

Feng Xianglan glanced subtly at someone on the stage, the King of Bohai... He was still as spirited as ever, no, even more handsome and dashing, so dazzling that one couldn't look away. Did he see her just now?

She never expected to meet the Prince of Bohai again at this embroidery appreciation event, and she never expected that he would be involved with the second young lady of the An family. What is their relationship?

Feng Xianglan suppressed her complex emotions and looked at Anmi right in front of her, her mind filled with countless questions.

She deliberately avoided the King of Bohai's gaze, but in her heart, she desperately longed for him to see her. What would his expression be when he saw her? The image of his furious appearance from years ago flashed through her mind, and her heart trembled. A chill ran from the soles of her feet, spreading throughout her entire body. No one could withstand the King of Bohai's wrath!

But... today's embroidery appreciation gathering... Feng Xianglan's eyes flickered uneasily. If she wanted to make a name for herself at this gathering, she would inevitably have to be exposed to the Prince of Bohai's gaze, and then...

"Hmph, we'll see. Don't you dare admit defeat!" An Xinhe sneered, determined to teach Feng Xianglan a lesson!

As An Mi listened to the back-and-forth between the two, she gave a faint smile, a hint of coldness gathering in her eyes. Just then, Liu Zhan announced the rules: the embroidery competition would be divided into two rounds. In the first round, the participants would present their completed embroidery pieces for the guests to judge and select the best. Soon, the maids responsible for collecting the embroidery pieces went to each of the women present and collected the pieces they were holding. When they reached An Mi, An Mi took out a purse that she had prepared beforehand and placed it on the maid's tray.

The collected embroidery pieces were brought to the stage. Liu Zhan was the first to eagerly search through the many pieces. An Mi looked at his eagerness, her eyes filled with even more sarcasm. Was he so impatient to find someone who knew that embroidery skill?

Anmi's lips curled up slightly as she thought of the gift she had prepared for him.

"No...no...how...how could there be no one?" Liu Zhan's face turned pale, his eyes filled with undisguised disappointment and resentment. He even disregarded the presence of others and searched carefully again, but this time, he still returned empty-handed.

Seeing Liu Zhan's expression, the experienced Madam Liu immediately understood what was going on, and her face darkened.

"Young Master Liu, are you looking for something important? Judging from your appearance, it seems you haven't found it." Bai Yi's handsome face was full of smiles, but the smiles didn't reach his eyes. His shrewd eyes flashed with a look of anticipation. What tricks was An Mi playing?

Qinglan frowned slightly. Like Baiyi, he knew that the person Liu Zhan was looking for was An Mi. However, An Mi had participated in the embroidery appreciation event and he had watched her hand in her embroidery. So why...? Qinglan silently turned his gaze to An Mi and saw the slight smile on her lips. He was startled. She was doing it on purpose, deliberately preventing Liu Zhan from finding her!

"No, it's nothing." Liu Zhan forced a smile, suppressing the disappointment in his heart.

Bai Yi smiled but remained silent. At this moment, he was even more looking forward to what was about to happen.

"Since there's nothing wrong, then we should fulfill our duties. The Liu family invited us here, so naturally we must select the most outstanding talent for them. By the way, this person is the young mistress of the Liu family! We can't be careless." Bai Yi said with a faint smile, then turned to Qing Lan, "Don't you think so? Qing Lan... Doctor?"

"That's natural," Qinglan replied calmly.

As soon as these two spoke, even the governor, who was also a guest of honor at the embroidery appreciation event, did not say anything. Liu Zhan immediately arranged for a maid to present the embroidered handkerchiefs to the guests. There were five guests of honor at the embroidery appreciation event: the Prince of Bohai, Qinglan, the governor, and Madam Liu and Liu Zhan.

In this round, each embroidery enthusiast can select one piece to compete in the next round.

Each embroidery piece had the embroiderer's name attached to it. With just one glance, Bai Yi saw the name, a smile appeared on his lips, and he reached out to take the embroidery piece in his hand, carefully stroking it. Looking at the stitches on the purse, Bai Yi's shrewd eyes gleamed.

If it weren't for the word "Peaceful" written on it, he wouldn't have been sure that this purse and the one Anmi showed him that day were made by the same person. Not to mention that the stitching of this purse couldn't compare to that one, even its level of detail was inferior to other embroidery.

Almost instinctively, he felt that An Mi was doing it on purpose, deliberately hiding her abilities, deliberately not wanting to be chosen?

Haha, interesting! He seems to think things are more complicated than that!

She looked again at the purse embroidered by Anmi in her hand, then gripped it tightly. Her deep eyes remained unfathomable.

Soon, the other guests also selected their favorite embroidery pieces. The five embroidery pieces were held in the hands of the five guests. All the women attending the embroidery appreciation event watched the stage with bated breath, both nervous and expectant.

Those five women are potential wives of the richest man!

"Since everyone has chosen one they like, let's announce the results. Distinguished guest, please go first..." Madam Liu nodded to Bai Yi, her attitude extremely ingratiating.

Bai Yi glanced at An Mi, who remained calm and composed, and smiled knowingly. "No rush."

Madam Liu looked slightly embarrassed, but ultimately said nothing. She stood up, glanced at everyone, and said loudly, "Then let this old woman begin. Those whose names are called will be able to participate in the next round of competition."

Having said that, she looked at the name attached to the embroidered handkerchief in her hand and a smile bloomed on her face. "This old woman thinks that the embroidered handkerchief by Miss An Xinlian is really quite good."

Upon hearing this, all the women looked at An Xinlian with envy, but An Xinlian frowned slightly.

"And the work I have chosen is Miss Feng Xianglan's," Liu Zhan said loudly. "Where is Miss Feng Xianglan? Could you please come to the front?"

When the second woman was revealed, An Xinhe unconsciously clenched her fist and glared fiercely at Feng Xianglan. She had actually been chosen! And what about her?

At that moment, the person on the stage, upon hearing this name, instantly changed expression. His previously deep and relaxed eyes narrowed, and a strong sense of danger flashed forth...