The Flourishing Era of Female Merchants

"What should we do? Think of something quickly!" Old Master Yu looked noticeably older overnight. The imposing presence of the former head of a large family had vanished in his panic and helplessness. He glanced at his sons, who were hanging their heads helplessly, and couldn't help but sigh, "That unfilial daughter Ling'er has truly caused a great mess for our Yu family. If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have spoiled her so much. Now... now... alas!"

Master Yu was overwhelmed with a mix of emotions, and his breath came out in a rapid, choked manner, followed by a fit of violent coughing. The young masters of the Yu family around him panicked even more, while only Prince Donglin stood there with a slight frown between his brows, his thoughts unreadable.

Amidst the ongoing chaos in the room, the deep, icy voice of the Eastern King suddenly rang out, "There's nothing we can do about it!"

Upon hearing this, everyone turned their attention to the Prince of Donglin. After a moment of stunned silence, Master Yu asked impatiently, "Your Highness, do you have any ideas?"

When Master Yu asked this question, the King of Donglin remained silent, his lips slightly upturned, as calm as if he had not seen the anxiety overflowing on Master Yu's face.

Master Yu frowned, his experience immediately revealing the meaning of the Prince of Donglin. He hurriedly said, "Your Highness, Sister Ling'er has been gone for many years. Back when we arranged this marriage, we had already reached a consensus that whatever Your Highness desired, the Yu family would do everything in its power to support you. Now, we can only rely on Ling'er to make you believe that our Yu family has no ulterior motives towards you. If anything were to happen to Ling'er, even if the Yu family were to support Your Highness with all its might, Your Highness would still harbor resentment towards the Yu family and inevitably doubt our loyalty. Over the years, the Yu family has allowed Ling'er to stay with you, hoping that she could take over the position her sister held back then. Heaven knows, the Yu family is doing all this for Your Highness's sake!"

The King of Donglin listened and smiled faintly, "I am well aware of the Yu family's loyalty, but with Madam Yu dead, nothing can be fulfilled. What should we do?"

Master Yu surely understands the Prince of Donglin's meaning. Currently, the Yu family can no longer use Yu Ling'er to appease the Prince of Donglin, but Yu Ling'er's usefulness hasn't diminished. Once three years have passed… But now…

Master Yu sighed inwardly, thinking that the Yu family had no choice but to go all out this time. When he looked up again, there was a hint of determination in his eyes in addition to his coldness. He said to his sons in a deep voice, "You may all leave now. Just leave the Prince here."

The Yu brothers knew that their father had something to say to the Prince of Donglin in private. They exchanged glances and silently withdrew. Only the Prince of Donglin and Master Yu remained in the room. After a moment of silence, Master Yu finally spoke, "Please trouble Your Highness to take down that painting."

Following the direction he pointed, the Prince of Donglin saw a famous landscape painting. Knowing that there must be a deeper meaning behind asking him to retrieve the painting, the Prince of Donglin went over and took it down. Behind the painting, there was a hidden compartment. The Prince of Donglin frowned, and then came the voice of Master Yu behind him, "Your Highness, please keep the contents of that hidden compartment safe. They will surely be of great use to Your Highness in the future."

King Donglin frowned, wondering what was inside that could make Master Yu say such a thing. With curiosity, King Donglin opened the hidden compartment and saw a brocade box inside. Without hesitation, King Donglin took the box in his hand, opened it, and when he saw what was inside, his originally cold expression clearly froze.

"This..." King Donglin could not hide his surprise as he looked at Master Yu on the bed. How could something that had been missing for so many years be in the Yu family? Moreover, this thing...

As Donglin Wang thought of something, the surprise on his face turned into a fierce look. If his father knew that the Yu family was hiding this thing, it would probably be a crime that would lead to the extermination of the entire family!

Master Yu understood what the Prince of Donglin was thinking and sighed, “That’s right, this is the jade seal that went missing back then. After the jade seal went missing, the late emperor searched for it extensively but to no avail, so he made a new jade seal. Later, by a twist of fate, my late father found it. At that time, my late father originally intended to hand it over, but in the end, he left it with the Yu family. Only my late father and I knew about this matter. Now, my late father has long since passed away, and now, only you and I know about it.”

After hearing the whole story, the King of Donglin's eyes deepened. He understood what the jade seal meant to him. As Master Yu had just said, this item would greatly benefit his struggle for the throne.

The King of Donglin was immediately excited, but his face remained calm as he spoke indifferently, "Father-in-law, do you know what the consequences will be once the matter of the Imperial Seal becomes known?"

Master Yu was taken aback, then understood what the Prince of Donglin meant. “Your Highness, I know what’s important. This concerns the Yu family and Your Highness. The Yu family and Your Highness are still tied together. So, even without the marriage alliance, the Yu family would not dare to betray you and would only support His Highness the Prince of Donglin.”

He also understood that before the King of Donglin seized the throne, the jade seal would be the link between the Yu family and the King of Donglin, but after the King of Donglin seized the throne, the jade seal would lose its function, and at that time, he would still have to rely on Ling'er!

So… Master Yu paused, then continued, “I beg Your Highness, for the sake of this imperial seal, you must save Ling’er and ensure her safety.”

Donglin Wang frowned. It was within his expectations that Master Yu would take out the jade seal in exchange for his help. If it weren't for the jade seal, he wouldn't have let anything happen to Yu Ling'er. He knew that as long as the Yu family believed that Yu Ling'er would be his future wife, then the Yu family would be loyal to him. If he lost Yu Ling'er, that situation... was not what he wanted to see!

Ah, weighing the jade seal in his hand, the King of Donglin's lips curled up slightly into a small smile. This was quite an unexpected gain!

“Father-in-law, we are family. Ling’er is a member of the Yu family, so I will naturally not stand idly by,” King Donglin said loudly.

Master Yu was overjoyed, and his eyes lit up with hope. "What exactly is the method that Your Highness mentioned earlier?"

Master Yu believed in the Prince of Donglin. In his view, the Prince of Donglin was patient, brave and resourceful, which was why he placed his bet on him. As long as he said he had a way, then Ling'er would really have hope.

Under the expectant gaze of Master Yu, the King of Donglin remained silent for a moment before speaking, "Who is the person the King of Bohai cares about most?"

Master Yu was slightly taken aback. The image of the Prince of Bohai standing in front of An Mi flashed through his mind, and he blurted out, "An Mi, yes, that An Mi! The Prince means to..."

Before Lord Yu could finish speaking, the King of Donglin said, "If Anmi were to exchange Anmi for Ling'er, my third brother would probably not refuse the deal."