The Flourishing Era of Female Merchants

Uncle Ji hesitated, but ultimately dared not say anything more. He had followed the prince for many years and knew his temperament. Once the prince made a decision, no one could change it. He silently withdrew.

Bai Yi, who was holding Liu'er, stood at a distance for a moment, seemingly pondering something. Hearing steady footsteps, Bai Yi looked up and saw the person walking towards him, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

Who else could that figure in the green robe be but Qinglan?

Bai Yi raised an eyebrow, calmly waiting for the other to approach. The two brothers looked at each other with unfathomable eyes. Finally, Qing Lan walked up to Bai Yi, but he only paused for a moment before walking past Bai Yi.

Bai Yi frowned slightly, turned around and saw An Mi not far away, then suddenly realized that Qing Lan had come for An Mi!

The smile on Bai Yi's lips widened slightly as he looked at Qing Lan's retreating figure and said meaningfully, "How come I didn't discover that Rong Jin City was such a wonderful place sooner? My eldest brother has much better taste. Don't worry, eldest brother, when I return to the capital, I will definitely not mention that I saw you here."

Qinglan stopped in her tracks, frowned slightly, but did not turn around. "Thank you for your kindness, Third Brother. I will hold a banquet to thank you when we return to the capital."

He knew in his heart that he could no longer stay in Rongjin City. What he had to face would have to be faced sooner or later. He would rather return to the capital on his own than let those people find him outside the capital!

Bai Yi smiled but remained silent, understanding his meaning: Was Qing Lan going to return to the capital on her own initiative?

The capital? Bai Yi's eyes darkened slightly, as if something was gathering within them. He turned with a half-smile and strode away...

Qinglan walked towards Anmi and stopped in front of her, her gentle eyes fixed on Anmi. "I'll take you back to the An residence."

An Mi was slightly taken aback by Qing Lan's directness. For some reason, Qing Lan was still as gentle and elegant as a spring breeze, but An Mi always felt that he had a different aura at this moment.

"Let's go!" Qinglan urged when she saw that Anmi didn't move.

Anmi snapped out of her reverie, then realized something, "I... I can't leave yet."

Qinglan looked at Anmi with a hint of doubt in her eyes. Anmi saw this and tugged at the corner of her mouth. "What I mean is, Xinhe won the championship today and confirmed her marriage with the young master of the Liu family. It is a great joy for the An family. As her second sister, I should naturally go to the banquet to congratulate her."

Qinglan's brows furrowed even more, but after a moment of contemplation, they gradually relaxed. "Let's go! I'll go with you."

He had heard about An Mi's situation in the An family. The two legitimate daughters of the An family did not treat An Mi as a sister at all. And with all that had happened, it was not hard to understand what An Mi was planning. However, since An Mi did not say what she was planning, he did not ask.

An Mi did not refuse, nodded, and then headed in a certain direction with Qing Lan. She thought about what she knew about Qing Lan from her past life. Soon, he should leave Rongjin City and return to the capital!

Back in the capital, it was a completely different world for him. The power struggles within the royal family and the infighting in the court would eventually overshadow his current calm and gentle demeanor. Thinking of Qinglan's silent help to her recently, Anmi was filled with gratitude and unconsciously blurted out, "Young Master Qinglan..."

Qinglan stopped and looked at her intently. "What do you want to say?"

An Mi hesitated for a moment before finally speaking, "When Young Master Qinglan leaves Rongjin City and we are unable to meet again, could you please remember one thing from An Mi?"

He left Rong Jincheng? How did she know he would leave? In fact, the thought of leaving made him feel a little reluctant, and as for what he was reluctant about, he seemed to understand, but dared not admit it.

Qinglan frowned slightly and asked, "What?"

"Please remember, Young Master Qinglan, if one day someone appears whom you can trust wholeheartedly, please do not expose your vitals to that person." An Mi thought about what happened in her past life and carefully considered how to say it so that Qinglan would not suspect her and would listen. This was also her way of expressing her gratitude to Qinglan for his help.

The power center of the royal family and the court has always been a place of complex and bloody intrigue. If one is cold-hearted by nature, one will not trust anyone wholeheartedly. However, Qinglan is a kind-hearted person. There are some things he must experience, but she does not want Qinglan to pay the price with blood.

Qinglan looked at Anmi thoughtfully, pondering her words and trying to decipher their deeper meaning. He had a premonition that Anmi knew far more than he had imagined, such as his identity...

She knew his identity? Qinglan's eyes narrowed, and she instinctively rejected the idea. How could that be? An Mi was born in Rongjin City and had an extremely innocent past. How could she have known his identity?

Qinglan's eyes were gentle as she stared intently at Anmi, as if she had made a decision, and she suddenly spoke, "Anmi, if one day I leave Rongjin City, will you be willing..."

"You, Feng Xianglan, what are you up to? Are you saying you're not convinced? Even the King of Bohai said I'm the true champion. Tell me, did you lose and are afraid I'll make things difficult for you because of the previous bet... so you're making sarcastic remarks here?"

Just as An Mi was listening intently to Qing Lan's next words, a cold rebuke came from inside the door, interrupting Qing Lan's words. Just from the voice, An Mi knew who the person who rebuked was. Who else but An Xinhe, with her domineering and brainless nature, would be so arrogant in public?

An Mi turned her head and saw An Xinhe's domineering appearance.

"Xinhe, don't be angry. Today is your special day." Feng Xianglan twitched the corner of her mouth, thinking to herself, "This An Xinhe really has a personality that explodes at the slightest provocation. Anyone who tries to fight against her is destined to suffer a terrible fate."

Frowning slightly, Feng Xianglan said softly, "What Xianglan means is that none of us have ever seen Xinhe's embroidery before, so naturally we want to see it. I'm afraid it's not just Xianglan who has this thought; everyone else here feels the same way and wants to see Xinhe's masterpiece!"

As soon as he finished speaking, someone chimed in, "Yes, the work of the top embroidery master is definitely worth seeing!"

An Xinhe's face darkened even more. How could she not know that this bitch Feng Xianglan was just looking for trouble, what did she mean by wanting to see her embroidery?

“But what Xinhe embroidered just now is in the hands of the King of Bohai…” someone said, somewhat regretfully. Would the King of Bohai show everyone what he had in his hands?

No! Absolutely not! Feng Xianglan knew this all too well. A smile appeared on her lips. She knew that even if the King of Bohai were here, he would not agree to take it out, especially if she wanted to see it. He would not let her have her way. Thinking of this, a little bitterness appeared in her smile. Even though they had paid the price for what happened back then, the King of Bohai's anger had probably not subsided.