The Flourishing Era of Female Merchants

Damn Empress Feng! Consort Rong had already cursed Empress Feng a thousand times in her heart. How could she not know what this woman was up to by deliberately keeping the Emperor?

But how could she let her have her way?

"Your Majesty, I am injured and fear I may have offended Your Majesty. I had no intention of driving you away." Consort Rong suppressed her resentment towards Empress Feng. She kept reminding herself that she could not be angry at this moment, and could not let things worsen. She needed time to heal her wounds and restore her appearance. She believed that as long as she carefully restrained herself and was no longer as presumptuous as before, she would eventually have a chance.

Emperor Mingde frowned, recalling the appearance of Consort Rong he had seen by Taiye Pond earlier, a flash of disgust crossing his eyes. "Never mind, I will come to see you again after you have recovered from your injuries."

Consort Rong was overjoyed. "Your Majesty, I thank you for your permission. I will definitely take good care of my injuries."

The Emperor promised to visit her after she recovered from her injuries, and he would never break his promise. She, on the other hand, had to do everything she could to keep the Emperor with her.

But Empress Feng was not happy. How could she give Consort Rong a chance? Her injuries had healed? Hmph, she wanted the Emperor to remember Consort Rong's terrifying face in the future. A wicked glint flashed in her eyes. Consort Rong, the more you don't want the Emperor to see your appearance, the more I will push you.

"Consort Rong, what if you catch a cold sitting on the ground like this? Get up quickly." Empress Feng suddenly spoke and immediately stepped forward, trying to help Consort Rong up. However, as soon as she touched Consort Rong's body, Consort Rong seemed to see a jackal or tiger and instinctively tried to dodge.

Empress Feng seemed to have anticipated her reaction, and frowned. "Consort Rong, what are you doing? It's one thing to throw a tantrum at me, but if you hurt yourself, you'll suffer the consequences."

As Empress Feng spoke, she skillfully and dramatically grabbed Consort Rong's hand. At this moment, how could Consort Rong possibly be stronger than Empress Feng? Instantly, the struggling Consort Rong was pulled up from the ground by Empress Feng.

"You viperous woman, let me go!" Empress Feng's domineering attitude seemed to shatter Consort Rong's rationality. She had been constantly reminding herself to remain calm, but now she exploded, struggling desperately to break free from Empress Feng's grasp.

"What kind of behavior is this!" Emperor Mingde shouted angrily from the side. This rebuke was clearly directed at Consort Rong. "The Empress is doing this for your own good, but you don't appreciate it..."

Consort Rong felt a deeper sense of irony. For her own good? Empress Feng was just putting on an act. Her cunning was truly profound. In other people's eyes, she was a good person, but how could they know that while Empress Feng outwardly cared for her, she was secretly plotting to push her into an even deeper abyss?

And what is Empress Feng's purpose at this moment?

Consort Rong pondered, her whole body on guard. Suddenly, she seemed to understand. Empress Feng wanted the Emperor to see her face, which was why she went to such lengths. Humph, what a vicious woman!

Consort Rong was determined not to let Empress Feng have her way. She used almost all her strength, ignoring the pain from her injuries, to try to turn her back to the Emperor. But when she suddenly looked up and saw the smile in Empress Feng's eyes, her heart skipped a beat. The next moment, Empress Feng, who had been holding her tightly, subtly let go. By the time Consort Rong realized what was happening, she had already lost her balance and fell backward...

"Ah... Consort Rong... don't fall!" Empress Feng exclaimed in alarm, her face showing only concern and worry. However, to Consort Rong, her voice sounded like a vengeance, wishing she could tear Empress Feng to pieces.

"Don't let her fall!" She deliberately let go, just to make her fall!

A faint smile appeared on Empress Feng's lips. If Consort Rong thought that her purpose was to make her fall, she would be too naive. She had gone to such great lengths, how could she only want her to fall?

Upon hearing Empress Feng's exclamation, Emperor Mingde, standing behind Consort Rong, reacted almost instinctively by reaching out his hand. Consort Rong, who was about to fall to the ground, felt a long arm around her waist, which relieved her anxiety. Feeling that familiar presence, Consort Rong was overjoyed. Had the Emperor caught her?

"Hmph, Empress Feng, your scheme has ultimately failed." But just as she thought this, Consort Rong's face froze. Suddenly, a thought flashed into her mind, and Consort Rong felt as if struck by lightning: "Your Majesty..."

Consort Rong lay in Emperor Mingde's arms, feeling not warmth, but fear—an unprecedented fear. This was the third blow, following the discovery of the lost child and disfigurement. The Emperor…

At this moment, Emperor Mingde clearly saw Consort Rong's injured face, which was covered with red and swollen bumps. Some of them still had some indescribable liquid left because of the medicine that had just been applied. This was hardly a face.

Emperor Mingde frowned, his eyes filled with nothing but disgust. Was this still Consort Rong? Could this face ever be healed?

Emperor Mingde's mind was filled with images of Consort Rong's former appearance, but these images were eventually replaced by the utterly repulsive face before him. He couldn't even accept the image of Consort Rong sleeping beside him!

"Ah..." Consort Rong suddenly covered her face, trying to block Emperor Mingde's view. He saw it, he saw it completely. He not only saw it, but she also saw too many emotions in his eyes: disgust, revulsion...

Consort Rong finally couldn't bear it any longer and cried out in alarm. What should she do now? How could she win back the Emperor...?

Consort Rong's mind was a jumble of thoughts, unable to find a single clue. Even with her eyes closed, she could almost see Emperor Mingde's expression...

Suddenly, her body was lifted up by a force. Before Consort Rong could react, Emperor Mingde pushed her in front of Empress Feng. He refused to look at Consort Rong again, and simply said, "Consort Rong, take good care of your injuries."

Clearly, the voice had turned much colder. After saying those words, Emperor Mingde didn't want to stay in the room for even a moment longer. He regretted it; why had he thought of coming to see Consort Rong? Now, he had only brought bad luck upon himself.

"Your Majesty..." Consort Rong panicked even more when she saw Emperor Mingde leave. She wanted to step forward to stop him, but she was afraid that if the Emperor saw her face now, he would show disgust again. What should she do?

Even after Emperor Mingde left the room, Consort Rong still hadn't come up with a solution. The figure disappeared from sight, and Consort Rong's eyes flickered with panic. "Oh no... what should I do? What should I do?"

"Hehe, what else can we do? Consort Rong, you saw it yourself, the Emperor was scared away by you. It's a good thing you didn't complain to him. Do you think if you had complained, the Emperor would have disliked you even more? Haha, did you see the Emperor's expression just now? I know the Emperor well. I bet he will never have any thoughts about you again." Empress Feng laughed triumphantly. Now that Emperor Mingde had left, she no longer needed to pretend.