The Flourishing Era of Female Merchants

Empress Feng's face was also solemn. Suddenly, she realized what was happening and immediately said in a serious tone, "Prince Bohai, I would like to ask you, this is my bedroom. How dare you barge in like this?"

Bai Yi glanced indifferently at Empress Feng, then turned his gaze to Emperor Mingde. "Father, all the officials are waiting for your morning court session, but you have been gone for a long time. Your son and the ministers are very worried, so I inquired about your whereabouts last night and came to the Empress's palace. However, I did not expect that your reason for the delay..."

Bai Yi's words were flawless, word by word.

Empress Feng's eyes narrowed. She wanted to continue blaming the Prince of Bohai, but she couldn't find any way to break through. Instead, her mind became even more chaotic.

A silence fell over the air. Emperor Mingde and Empress Feng looked at the bulging veins on the forehead of the Prince of Bohai, and they really didn't know how to start the conversation or what kind of explanation to give him.

They all wanted to escape something, but they never expected it to happen so quickly.

They wanted to escape, but Bai Yi wouldn't let them. He narrowed his sharp eyes and met Emperor Mingde's gaze without any hesitation, gritting his teeth, "Is this how Father treats his son, this how he treats his son's fiancée?"

Bai Yi's words were eloquent, and Emperor Mingde's expression darkened further. As an emperor, when had he ever been questioned like this by a subject? However, even if he wanted to defend himself, he had no grounds to do so.

The facts are clear, leaving him no room for argument.

"Your Highness... It's not the Emperor's fault, it's this servant's fault... The person this servant admires is the Emperor, all of this was voluntary, it's not the Emperor's fault." Yunxiu tightly gripped Bai Yi's clothes, urgently trying to exonerate Emperor Mingde. Her face, already swollen and red from the beating, was now covered in tears, her delicate and pitiful appearance making her all the more endearing.

Her willingness to take the blame upon herself in order to protect Emperor Mingde undeniably touched a soft spot in his heart.

However, Bai Yi burst into laughter, "Well, it seems you've all forgotten about the arranged marriage yesterday. What kind of situation have you put me in?"

As Bai Yi spoke, he forcefully pushed Yun Xiu away. The moment that strong, powerful body left, a sense of loss welled up in Yun Xiu's heart. She bit her lip, "Your Highness..."

Yunxiu met Bai Yi's angry and sad eyes and was stunned. If this were his true reaction, how wonderful that would be. However, Bai Yi's calm face when he reached an agreement with her yesterday kept reminding her that this was an act. She had to admit that Bai Yi's acting skills were exceptionally superb.

Although she had only known Bai Yi for a short time, the feeling she had for this man was very clear. He was the kind of man who disdained showing intimacy to any woman, yet just now, he had gotten so close to her in order to play this role well. And the reason for this... Yunxiu's mind conjured up the image of An Mi, and she also recalled how, in the main hall, the King of Bohai had defied the imperial decree to refuse marriage for An Mi's sake. She felt even more envious of that woman named An Mi.

An Mi must possess some extraordinary abilities to gain such favor from the King of Bohai.

"Bai Yi, listen to me, I will definitely give you an explanation for this matter." Emperor Mingde, who had been silent all along, finally spoke.

"An explanation? What kind of explanation can Father give me? He'll just bestow even more beauties upon me, haha... who knows, those beauties might not even enter the Bohai Prince's residence before they've already ended up in Father's bed." Bai Yi snorted coldly, showing no restraint whatsoever because the person before him was the emperor.

Now, he is in control of the situation. He knows that even if Emperor Mingde doesn't feel much guilt towards him, he will at least worry that this matter will become public knowledge. Therefore, Emperor Mingde will definitely handle this matter properly.

As Bai Yi had expected, Emperor Mingde was indeed very cautious. After hearing Bai Yi's words, Emperor Mingde frowned even more deeply. "Bai Yi, this time it was an accident."

"An accident? Who can guarantee there won't be another accident?" Bai Yi chuckled. "Father, I accepted your arrangement yesterday and agreed to this marriage. However, before I've even entered the family, I've been given a green hat, and it was Father who put it on me. Does Father know how I feel right now?"

"Bai Yi... I said, this was not my original intention. Yun Xiu was given to you, so she is yours!" Emperor Mingde raised his voice. If it were any other prince, he would not have lowered himself like this. However, Bai Yi was different. He could not lose this son, and even more so, he could not lose his loyalty to him.

"Alright, if Father Emperor commands his son to obey, then his son will continue to marry Yunxiu." Bai Yi twitched the corners of his mouth, making no attempt to hide the sarcasm in his smile.

Emperor Mingde was slightly taken aback, his brows furrowing even more. It seemed that the marriage between Yunxiu and Baiyi could only come to an end. Thinking that the marriage had only been arranged yesterday, and that it had already encountered such a situation today, Emperor Mingde felt inexplicably frustrated. How could things have turned out this way? It was completely out of his control!

"Bai Yi, I will issue an edict to cancel this marriage." Although Emperor Mingde was extremely unwilling, he had no choice but to do so.

A sense of triumph rose in Bai Yi's heart. He had said that he would make his father regret yesterday's decision, and canceling the engagement was just one of them. Bai Yi had to admit that in some ways, he was an exceptionally greedy person, such as An Mi's affection, and also Emperor Mingde's concession at this moment!

Bai Yi gave a bitter smile. "Father, let's not cancel this engagement. Even if we cancel it, Father will eventually bestow another marriage upon his son. What difference does it make?"

"You..." Emperor Mingde's eyes narrowed, and he felt a surge of anger. He had already made concessions, so why was Bai Yi still going to continue to pester him?

"Bai Yi, you've gone too far! The Emperor meant well, but you're ungrateful. You're deliberately making things difficult for him. Where is the Emperor's face?" Empress Feng, seeing Emperor Mingde's anger, naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity to put the Prince of Bohai in a bad light.

The sudden appearance of the King of Bohai had already disrupted her plans, and she was still feeling frustrated and upset. But at this moment, how could she know that she was nothing more than a pawn in Bai Yi's scheme?

Bai Yi ignored Empress Feng's rebuke and continued to speak sarcastically, "Father, rest assured, even if I marry Yunxiu, I will not let anyone know about your affair."

Shouldn't it be kept secret? Emperor Mingde knew that even if Bai Yi didn't tell anyone, he had deeply hurt Bai Yi's feelings, and it would probably be very difficult to repair the relationship between father and son in the future.

Emperor Mingde narrowed his eyes, his mind racing. He found this matter even more troublesome than matters of the court. Exhausted, he asked helplessly, "Then what do you want?"