The Flourishing Era of Female Merchants

The carriage arrived at an alley. In the darkness, a group of men in black suddenly jumped down, startling the horses and causing them to neigh. After a moment of chaos, the carriage came to a stop. Inside, An Mi and Sima Yan became alert. Outside, Liu Guang's gaze swept over the group of masked men in black surrounding the carriage, already on high alert.

"Who are you?" Liu Guang's voice was icy, completely unlike his usual harmless self.

This surprised the group of men in black, and it also made Sima Yan in the carriage realize something. It seems that this quiet maid is not simple!

"Hmph, little girl, be smart. We want the people in the carriage, so you'd better get out of our way!" The leader of the men in black sneered. This maid seemed to be a martial arts expert, but she was still just a woman. Besides, there were so many of them, they didn't need to take such a woman seriously.

Liu Guang narrowed his eyes, about to warn An Mi to be careful, when the carriage curtain was lifted. An Mi, who was originally inside the carriage, had half of her body exposed outside. She glanced at the men in black outside, her mind racing. Soon, a slight smile appeared on her lips. "Is the person you want me?"

The leader of the men in black frowned, his eyes already giving An Mi the answer. Before the man in black could react, An Mi spoke again, "If the Yu family wants to invite me to their residence for a chat, they can simply send someone to the Bohai Prince's residence to deliver a message, and I will go there myself. Such a big fuss is giving me far too much credit!"

The leader of the men in black froze. An Mi knew that her guess was correct; these people were sent by the Yu family.

That's right. In this capital, there are only two people who would take such action. One is Empress Feng, but she has just left the palace, and I was summoned to the palace by Empress Feng today. If something happens, the first person to be suspected will be Empress Feng. Empress Feng wouldn't be that stupid. Even if she wanted to deal with me, she would choose another opportunity.

If it wasn't Empress Feng, then it must have been someone else!

Master Yu! Heh, she hadn't forgotten that Yu Ling'er was currently at the Bohai Prince's residence! How could the Yu family remain inactive? And what was he planning? Kidnap her to make a deal with the Bohai Prince?

Ah, Master Yu really thinks too highly of An Mi!

"Hmph, enough with the nonsense. Are you coming down with us yourself, or are we taking you away?" the leader of the men in black said gruffly. "If it's the latter, then we won't show you any mercy!"

"Oh? Is that so? I'd like to see how you show no mercy to a lady!" An Mi raised an eyebrow. "There's more than just me, An Mi, in this carriage. The eldest daughter of the Yonghou family is also in this carriage. Shouldn't you go back and ask your master if Miss Sima was taken along as well?"

The man in black frowned, while Sima Yan's heart skipped a beat in the carriage. She never expected that this trip with An Mi would lead to such a thing.

The Yu family kidnapped Anmi; she was present during that incident, so she probably can't stay out of it!

As Sima Yan struggled in the carriage, the men in black outside noticed that besides An Mi, there were other people inside. The leader of the men in black frowned. He knew what the presence of the eldest daughter of the Sima family meant. While the Yonghou family's prestige in the court couldn't compare to the Yu family's, it was still considerable. But…

Remembering his master's instructions, the leader of the men in black immediately made up his mind, "Take them all away!"

Sima Yan's face paled, and panic clearly surfaced in her expression. Seeing the black-clad men make a move, Sima Yan instinctively grabbed a corner of An Mi's clothes, "Sister Mi'er, this...this is..."

An Mi glanced at Sima Yan, sighed with regret and helplessness, "Sister Yan'er, it seems I'm going to drag you down with me."

Sima Yan felt extremely uncomfortable. The sight of those men in black made her uneasy. She wanted to say something but couldn't bring herself to say it. She needed to get closer to An Mi right now, and if she abandoned An Mi now, any future interactions between them would inevitably create a rift. But…

Sima Yan bit her lip, realizing that she had no choice but to risk it all and follow An Mi. She firmly believed this, and her unease vanished. She took a deep breath and said, “Sister Mi’er, don’t be afraid. You are a distinguished guest of the Bohai Prince’s Mansion and have just come from the palace. If you don’t return to the Bohai Prince’s Mansion in time, the Bohai Prince will surely search for you. If anything happens to you then, let’s see who can bear the responsibility!”

Sima Yan spoke with an imposing manner, but her frailty posed no threat to these men in black. However, the leader of the men in black understood that the reason his master had instructed them to take An Mi away without harming a single hair on her head was probably because he feared the King of Bohai!

However, the leader of the men in black snorted coldly and gave a look to the men in black next to him. The men in black immediately rushed forward. Sima Yan in the carriage pretended to be calm and glanced at An Mi, but she still had a faint smile on her face, as if these fierce men in front of her were just a few clowns.

Seeing An Mi's state, Sima Yan felt a strange sensation. When she looked away, she tried to suppress the unease in her heart and calmly watched the men in black rush towards the carriage.

At this moment, Liu Guang was already fighting with the men in black. In the darkness, a sword appeared in Liu Guang's hand at some point. With a swift stroke, several men in black fell to the ground bleeding. The leader of the men in black was stunned. Although he already knew that the maid beside An Mi was no ordinary person, he did not expect that the maid would have such skills.

Seeing his men entangled and blocked by Liu Guang, the leader of the men in black glanced at Liu Guang. Without thinking, he leaped up and landed in front of the carriage, his sword already at An Mi's neck. The sharp blade gleamed coldly against An Mi's jade-like skin. Even Sima Yan, who was standing nearby, was startled. However, after calming down, she looked at the cold blade and a terrible thought popped into her mind: if this blade were to strike... she even imagined An Mi covered in blood.

Anmi... Anmi showed no fear despite the knife at her neck. Her expression was even calmer under the cold light of the blade. She could guess the purpose of Master Yu sending these people to kidnap her. Yu Ling'er was still in the Bohai Prince's Mansion. If they dared to harm her in the slightest and anger Bai Yi, it would not be good for the Yu family or Yu Ling'er.

"Stop!" the man in black shouted sharply. Liu Guang, who was fighting with the other men in black nearby, looked over, startled, and instinctively called out, "Miss..."