The Flourishing Era of Female Merchants

Yunxiu met her smile and nodded, "Thank you, Aunt Hanyu."

Having said that, she put on the cloak to cover her disheveled appearance and felt a little warmer, but her eyes were icy cold. This coldness was not directed at Han Yu, but at Empress Feng. She would remember this unexpected turn of events deliberately orchestrated by this woman today.

Just as Bai Yi had hoped, three days after Emperor Mingde bestowed a marriage upon the Prince of Bohai and Yunxiu on the Ghost Festival, news spread through the palace that Yunxiu had suddenly fallen seriously ill and would soon die. For the sake of his son, the emperor forcefully issued an edict to cancel the marriage bestowed upon the Prince of Bohai that day.

The news quickly spread throughout the capital. Those who had the good fortune to witness Yunxiu's stunning beauty at the palace banquet that day all lamented her tragic fate. How could such an unparalleled beauty suddenly fall seriously ill and not live much longer? It was truly a pity... This originally promising marriage was cut short in such a short time.

However, some discerning people sensed something unusual. The marriage was arranged and then suddenly canceled, with the excuse that Yunxiu had contracted a serious illness. It all seemed very strange. Some even speculated that Yunxiu had probably died for some unspeakable reason.

Of course, these speculations could only remain in people's minds, and no one dared to spread them. However, these days, everyone who saw the King of Bohai could see the undisguised smile on his face. Even those who frequently did business with the King of Bohai found that he seemed to have become much more "benevolent" in these recent transactions!

People recalled the widely circulated rumors about the Bohai King breaking off the engagement, and felt that the Bohai King's behavior was very abnormal. However, some people also saw some clues from the Bohai King's reaction. It seems that the Bohai King never cared about this marriage in the first place!

It is said that the girl Yunxiu was as beautiful as a celestial maiden descended to earth, beyond compare, but in the end she was not favored by the King of Bohai. What kind of woman would a man as handsome and unparalleled as the King of Bohai like!

Many high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital who wanted to befriend the Prince of Bohai, or even marry their daughters into his household to climb the social ladder, were speculating about this. However, at the Ghost Festival banquet that day, some shrewd officials also figured out some clues. On that day, the Prince of Bohai had initially defied the emperor's decree to marry a woman!

In a short time, these people secretly inquired about everything concerning that woman, but they obtained very little information.

It is said that the woman's name was An Mi. This time, she was commissioned to embroider the clothes for the concubines in the harem to wear at the banquet. It is said that she has an excellent embroidery skill. The flowers she embroiders can even attract butterflies to stop and linger. Even the embroiderers in the palace cannot compare to her skill.

Those who have met An Mi wondered if the King of Bohai preferred a woman like An Mi.

If she's beautiful, there are plenty of women in the capital who are more beautiful than her. If she's gentle, there's no shortage of gentle ladies from noble families. So what is it about this woman that makes the Prince of Bohai resist the Emperor's bestowed marriage for her?

Could it be that the woman named Anmi has exquisite embroidery skills, which is why the King of Bohai fell in love with her?

Everyone speculated, but the woman named Anmi remained an enigma to the people of the capital!

When a merchant hosted a banquet for the King of Bohai, he canceled the usual performance by dancing girls and instead had several beautiful young women perform embroidery on the spot. Bai Yi watched this and smiled meaningfully.

On this day, Bai Yi returned to the Bohai Prince's Mansion. As in the previous days, he arrived at Tianxiang Xiaozhu. Before even entering the door, he could hear the laughter of a woman and a little girl mingling together inside.

Standing outside the courtyard gate, Bai Yi's lips naturally curled into a smile. This tranquil happiness was exactly what he had been hoping for. No, it wasn't enough; it would be even better if he could join in.

Bai Yi pushed open the door and entered. As if hearing the commotion, the little girl, who had been laughing happily, paused for a moment, then exclaimed joyfully, "Uncle is back! Mom, Uncle is back!"

Liu'er couldn't hide her excitement. She grabbed An Mi's hand and ran towards the door. An Mi, afraid of spoiling Liu'er's mood, followed her towards Bai Yi. When Bai Yi saw the two women coming towards him, he stood still, opened his arms, and waited for them to come into his embrace...

Sure enough, Liu'er rushed into Bai Yi's arms, happily calling him "Uncle." However, An Mi was not neglected. The next moment, Liu'er got out of Bai Yi's arms and pushed An Mi towards Bai Yi, constantly calling out, "Uncle, Mommy wants a hug too."

Bai Yi naturally wouldn't waste the opportunity given Liu'er's kindness. He put his arm around An Mi's shoulder, but An Mi looked embarrassed. She no longer felt as resistant to Bai Yi as before; she could almost feel her heart falling for him inch by inch.

Bai Yi simply smiled at An Mi. As shrewd as he was, how could he not sense An Mi's softening? He was quite satisfied. It seemed that she had finally felt his sincerity!

Bai Yi squatted down, picked up Liu'er with one hand and put his arm around An Mi with the other, and the three of them walked inside. The scene looked exceptionally harmonious.

That day, Bai Yi took her away from the Empress's palace and did not let her stay in the palace. Bai Yi took her out of the palace and openly settled her in the Bohai Prince's Mansion. From the look in Uncle Ji's eyes, An Mi guessed that Bai Yi's actions must have provoked Emperor Mingde's anger.

Indeed, that was the case. Emperor Mingde suffered a great setback that day and was extremely unhappy. He originally wanted to keep An Mi in the palace. Since he couldn't stop Bai Yi from liking An Mi, he could only try to get to An Mi herself. However, before he could come up with any other plan, he heard the news that Bai Yi had taken An Mi out of the palace, which made him even angrier.

How could he tolerate Bai Yi's blatant disregard for him time and time again?

Therefore, he specially summoned Bai Yi and gave him a severe scolding. However, Bai Yi promised to contribute 100,000 taels of gold to replenish the national treasury, so Emperor Mingde had nothing to say. After calming down, he also realized that things had come to this point, and it was already a blessing to be able to obtain some compensation.

The matter faded away after that, but An Mi knew that it was not a wise move for Bai Yi to go against the will of a monarch. In the past few days, she had kept some things in mind.

"Bai Yi, I should go back to Rongjin City." An Mi suddenly spoke up. She realized that her existence might be a ticking time bomb for Bai Yi. Given Bai Yi's personality, as long as Emperor Mingde and the royal family did not accept her, Bai Yi would continue to rebel against Emperor Mingde. Emperor Mingde had not completely exploded these two times, but what about later?

Bai Yi's face immediately darkened. Back to Rong Jincheng? He had just said that this woman had sensed his feelings, and now, in the blink of an eye...