The Flourishing Era of Female Merchants

"Is there something wrong with this Phoenix Heart Pastry?" Emperor Mingde said loudly. He actually hoped that there was something wrong with the Phoenix Heart Pastry. Whether someone instructed An Mi or it was done by An Mi alone, as long as this matter was related to An Mi, then he would have a bargaining chip. An Mi would definitely obey his orders in order to save her life.

Everyone looked at the imperial physician, waiting for his results. The imperial physician looked at the Phoenix Heart Pastry and shook his head. "Your Majesty, I have already examined it. There is nothing wrong with the Phoenix Heart Pastry, and it does not contain musk that can cause a miscarriage."

One sentence was like a bomb dropped in the hall, causing an uproar among the crowd. No problem? So, after all this time, there was nothing wrong with the Phoenix Heart Pastry. Then Consort Rong's suspected miscarriage earlier had nothing to do with An Mi.

The people in the main hall had different expressions. Anmi frowned slightly. Is there no problem?

Since Consort Rong staged such a play to frame Empress Feng, how could she not have made thorough preparations? If she said there was something wrong with the Phoenix Heart Pastry, then there should be something wrong with it, shouldn't there?

An Mi had already prepared a countermeasure, but she did not expect that the imperial physician's words, "There is no problem," would render her preparations useless. She glanced at Consort Rong without making it obvious, and seeing the shock in her eyes, An Mi could not help but feel a little schadenfreude.

Consort Rong probably didn't expect that the Phoenix Heart Pastry would suddenly be fine.

An Mi shared the same doubts, but then, she noticed the palace maid named Xin Rou standing behind Consort Rong. A sudden realization struck her; she remembered what Xin Rou had said to her yesterday when Consort Rong ordered her to take the Phoenix Heart Pastry and leave. Could it be…

Some things became clear in Anmi's mind. Just then, Anmi's gaze met Xinrou's in the air. Although Xinrou quickly looked away, Anmi confirmed her guess from that look.

So... so it was Xinrou who helped her?

But why? In just a moment, Anmi understood. Thinking of the note Xinrou had given her last night, Anmi frowned, and the corners of her mouth subtly turned up. It was Qinglan. Qinglan had helped her.

Taking a deep breath, An Mi glanced at Qing Lan intentionally or unintentionally. Just as she expected, she didn't see any shock or relief in his reaction.

Hehe, Consort Rong, you never imagined that your scheming would end like this.

Indeed, this was a result that Consort Rong had never expected. She had arranged everything, even personally tampering with the Phoenix Heart Pastry, confidently hoping to see Empress Feng framed and reprimanded by the Emperor. However, she did not expect that the imperial physician would receive the reply, "The Phoenix Heart Pastry is fine."

"How could this be? This Phoenix Heart Pastry is clearly..." Consort Rong murmured unconsciously. She had tampered with it herself, how could it be without problems? There must be some mistake. Consort Rong was getting anxious, unaware that some people were looking at her with a strange gaze. She still loudly demanded, "Imperial Physician, please examine it carefully again. There must be something wrong with this Phoenix Heart Pastry. I ate this Phoenix Heart Pastry..."

"Hehe, how funny, Consort Rong, do you really want there to be something wrong with this Phoenix Heart Pastry? I think the one with the problem is you." Empress Feng hadn't expected things to turn out this way. She had been worried just now, but now all her worries had vanished. However, things couldn't just end there.

This Consort Rong wanted to frame me, but she didn't even do her homework. This is too disrespectful to Empress Feng. She thinks she can fight me with such clumsy methods? I'll teach Consort Rong a lesson for falsely accusing me.

Consort Rong realized something and hurriedly forced a smile, but it looked so unnatural. "No, what are you saying, Empress? Of course, I don't want there to be anything wrong with these Phoenix Heart Pastries."

A vague sense of unease crept into Consort Rong's heart, making her restless and uneasy.

"Sister, why are you doing this? If you want to frame me, you can think of other ways. There's no need to risk your unborn child. You should know that the child in your womb is not just yours, but also the Emperor's flesh and blood, the bloodline of the Great Jin Dynasty's royal family. How can you be so indifferent to it?" Empress Feng was no pushover either. Once she got the chance, she would be aggressive and domineering. She might even be more ruthless than Consort Rong. Once she had the opportunity, she would crush her opponent under her feet.

Her words were quite clear. Considering Consort Rong's behavior earlier, everyone realized that she had indeed been too hasty, which made people wonder if Emperor Mingde was a shrewd man who had already figured out Consort Rong's intentions when he heard that there was no problem with the Phoenix Heart Pastry.

He disliked the intrigues and conflicts in the harem the most, especially since they involved the unborn child in Consort Rong's womb. Immediately, Emperor Mingde felt a sense of displeasure, and his expression changed.

Consort Rong noticed the Emperor's unusual behavior and quickly took Emperor Mingde's hand, "Your Majesty, please listen to what I have to say..."

"What else is there to say? Continue to say that there's something wrong with the Phoenix Heart Pastry? Or that there's nothing wrong with the Phoenix Heart Pastry, and that something else is the problem? What is that thing? What exclusive thing do I have that you could use to frame me?" Empress Feng didn't give Consort Rong a chance to argue, interrupting her and speaking in a way that made everyone even more contemptuous of Consort Rong's methods.

Immediately, the guests in the hall began to whisper among themselves.

"Your Majesty..." Consort Rong panicked even more. How did things turn out like this? She hadn't figured out which link had gone wrong yet. She didn't have much time to think about where things went wrong. Seeing the Emperor's gloomy face, Consort Rong was conflicted. How could she appease the Emperor's anger?

This time, however, she only managed to utter the words "Your Majesty" before Empress Feng's voice rang out again, interrupting her, "Your Majesty, so many people are watching. You must stand up for me! I have always hoped for harmony in the harem, but some people insist on causing trouble. Today is the Ghost Festival, and Consort Rong intentionally or unintentionally implied that I wanted to harm the child in her womb. Fortunately, Heaven has eyes and has uncovered the truth. Otherwise, our ancestors in heaven would think that I am a vicious woman who cannot tolerate concubines, let alone royal offspring."

An Mi raised an eyebrow, thinking to herself that Empress Feng was much more ruthless than Consort Rong. These words had raised Consort Rong's punishment to a whole new level. Even if the Emperor couldn't bear to punish Consort Rong because she was pregnant, he had no choice but to give her a small punishment as a warning in front of the ancestors.

As expected, Emperor Mingde shook off Consort Rong's hand, saying, "Consort Rong, you have disappointed me greatly in this matter."