The Flourishing Era of Female Merchants

Just as the Emperor was saying that he would thoroughly investigate the matter, find the person harboring evil intentions, and punish them severely, the palace maid suddenly cried out in pain and knelt on the ground.

"Could it be you?" Anmi frowned.

An Mi's words successfully shifted all suspicion onto the palace maid. The maid trembled, and before she could react, she looked up and met the Emperor's dark and angry eyes. A chill ran down her spine. "No, Your Majesty, it wasn't me...it wasn't me..."

The Eighth Princess glanced at the palace maid. She was already displeased after falling into the water, so who would dare to harm her!

Seeing this palace maid now, she was even less likely to believe any of her explanations. Naturally, she thought of the koi's death earlier, and her anger flared up even more. She shouted angrily, "You wretched servant! Just now you falsely accused An Mi of killing the koi that Father Emperor bestowed upon me. Now, you are using An Mi to poison me. What are you up to? Humph, I think you are the one who killed the koi."

The Eighth Princess's words saved An Mi a lot of trouble. An Mi knew that there was nothing for her to do now, and she could just watch the show.

The palace maid panicked even more after hearing what the Eighth Princess said. "It wasn't me. Even if I had the greatest courage in the world, I wouldn't dare to harm the Eighth Princess!"

As the palace maid spoke, she glanced at Han Yu in a panic. Han Yu's face darkened, and realizing something was wrong, she quickly said, "Your Majesty, Your Highness, I was wrong. This servant is from my hometown. When she came to the palace, she begged me to take care of her. I was soft-hearted and arranged for her to serve the princess because we were from the same hometown. But I never expected that she would have such a wolfish ambition."

After saying this, Han Yu walked up to the palace maid with a look of exasperation, "You, you, have you forgotten your parents and siblings? Your service in the palace is an honor for them, but you've done such a thing, sigh..."

Han Yu sighed. The palace maid's expression froze, and a hint of despair appeared in her eyes. She forced a smile and said, "This servant knows her mistake. It was all my doing. The Eighth Princess has always treated me badly. I hate the Eighth Princess and wish she were dead. So... that's why I took advantage of this girl from outside the palace. This servant knows her mistake and will atone with my death."

The palace maid stood up, leaped into the lake, and everyone watched without saying a word. After a few moments, she struggled in the water and then fell silent.

The Empress and Han Yu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, noticing An Mi's changing expression. This An Mi was quite cunning; they had wanted to teach her a lesson today, but unexpectedly, they ended up losing one of her servants.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please punish this servant for failing to investigate. This servant was unaware that she harbored harmful intentions towards the princess. This servant should not have disregarded our shared hometown and allowed her to serve the princess." Han Yu knelt down to plead guilty.

The Empress glanced at the Emperor and sighed, "Your Majesty, Hanyu has served me for many years, and I know her character well. She has simply misjudged her. I beg Your Majesty to forgive her for my sake."

Emperor Mingde frowned slightly but said nothing more.

An Mi had seen everything that had just happened. She wasn't stupid; how could she not understand what had just happened?

What Han Yu said to that palace maid just now sounded like a disappointed and distressed expression, but it was actually a threat.

She was threatening the palace maid with her parents, siblings, and other family members. She was telling her that if she didn't take responsibility for these things, her parents, siblings, and other family members would suffer.

Concerned for the safety of her parents, younger siblings, and other family members, the palace maid had no choice but to jump into the water and seek death.

Hmph, Empress, even your personal maid is such a formidable character!

"Anmi, you saved the Eighth Princess today, so you deserve a good reward. However, before that, your clothes are wet. Hanyu, take Miss Anmi downstairs and change her wet clothes first." The Empress smiled gently and ordered Hanyu in a loud voice.

This Anmi seems to be even more capable than she imagined!

The Empress frowned, seemingly plotting something. Being capable and valued by Bai Yi was not a good thing for her!

Han Yu accepted the order and left with An Mi. The Eighth Princess was also sent back to the palace by the palace maids. An Mi went with Han Yu to the Empress's palace to change out of her wet clothes. When they returned to the Imperial Garden, Emperor Mingde, Empress Feng, Prince Bohai, and the eldest prince Qing Lan sat down to drink tea and admire the flowers, creating a harmonious scene.

An Mi glanced around and saw that besides these people, there was also a woman in a purple-red palace dress sitting next to Emperor Mingde. She was charming and her every smile and frown exuded a thousand kinds of charm.

She must be a concubine! Or perhaps a favored concubine!

Anmi searched for the information she had gathered and formed her own judgment.

"This commoner, Anmi, greets Your Majesty and Your Majesty the Empress." Anmi curtsied. Because Anmi had just saved the Eighth Princess, the Emperor had a very good impression of her. However, thinking of certain things, Emperor Mingde's gaze towards Anmi became more profound. "Some time ago, I heard someone mention you, saying that you are a remarkable woman in Rongjin City, and your embroidery skills are renowned."

What he didn't say was that she even had the ability to make his son linger in Rongjincheng for her sake!

An Mi was taken aback, sensing that the Emperor's gaze was somewhat strange. She quickly said, "Your Majesty, those are just rumors. An Mi is just an ordinary woman. Even if I have some rudimentary skills, it doesn't change anything."

She was telling the emperor that she was utterly ordinary and not worth his attention.

Emperor Mingde smiled slightly; it turned out to be a woman who could speak.

"Your Majesty, is she the embroiderer from Rongjin City? That's wonderful!" Consort Rong exclaimed excitedly. She had been waiting for this person for so long. Thinking of the dress that the Empress had taken from her that day, her resentment resurfaced. She glanced at Empress Feng without leaving a trace, then rose and walked to An Mi. "She is quite beautiful, and her hands must be skillful. To say that her skills are rudimentary would be an understatement. Humility is a good quality, but when you are actually embroidering and making clothes, you must put in a hundred times more effort than you usually do!"

Anmi lowered her brows and said, "I will follow Your Majesty's teachings."

Consort Rong found An Mi increasingly pleasing to the eye. Thinking of An Mi's craftsmanship, Consort Rong became somewhat impatient. "Your Majesty, the Ghost Festival is not far away. Since Miss An Mi has already arrived, let her stay in the palace to finish making clothes. That way, it would be convenient for her to stay in my palace, wouldn't it?"

Consort Rong was plotting in her heart that she would keep An Mi's skillful hands for herself. She did not want An Mi to embroider clothes for her and then embroider even better ones for others. She was determined to make herself the most stunning person on the Ghost Festival to avenge the day Empress Feng took her clothes.