The Flourishing Era of Female Merchants

"Father, save me!" Yu Ling'er saw Master Yu as if she had grasped a lifeline. She didn't want to stay in the Bohai Prince's Mansion anymore; that woodshed was simply not a place for a human to live.

When Master Yu saw Yu Ling'er in this state, his heart tightened. Wasn't he trying to save her? But the final result was beyond his expectations.

Master Yu did not respond to Yu Ling'er's plea for help. He was pondering what purpose the King of Bohai had in bringing Ling'er here at this time.

Sima Yan, who was watching all this from the side, frowned imperceptibly, as if she was trying to figure out where this whole thing was coming from.

"Master Yu, let me guess your purpose?" Bai Yi raised an eyebrow, his gaze fixed on Master Yu. He paused, then continued, "Master Yu, do you intend to kidnap Mi'er, then use her to threaten me, and exchange Miss Yu for Mi'er?"

Master Yu had put some thought into this scheme, but... Bai Yi looked at Master Yu's increasingly pale face, clearly embarrassed and uneasy at having his thoughts exposed, and chuckled disdainfully, "Heh, what a pity. You should have sent more experts. That way, you could have gotten what you wanted. The people your Yu family has raised are really not up to par!"

"Your Highness..." Master Yu tried to argue, but Bai Yi didn't give him the slightest chance.

"Master Yu, your daughter attempted to assassinate me first, and now you're trying to hold my people hostage. Tell me, what should I do?" Bai Yi said with a sigh.

Master Yu was even more terrified, but when An Mi heard the words "my man," she was instantly stunned, an unusual blush rose to her face, and heat rushed to her head.

An Mi glanced at Bai Yi, a feeling she couldn't quite describe welling up inside her. The four words kept echoing in her mind, eventually turning into a warm current in her heart.

An Mi's heart was warm, but the atmosphere in the room was terrifyingly cold to some. Master Yu felt that Bai Yi's smile was more frightening than the King of Hell. Even Sima Yan understood that Master Yu was likely to incur the wrath of the King of Bohai today.

Sima Yan understood that Bai Yi's anger stemmed entirely from An Mi. Sima Yan couldn't help but glance at An Mi a few more times, as if scrutinizing the woman.

She was just an ordinary woman, but she was capable enough to not only make the eldest prince treat her differently, but also to make the King of Bohai protect her in the same way.

Oh, Anmi, is your existence a blessing or a curse for me?

"Father, save me, you must save me!" It wasn't just Master Yu who was terrified. Yu Ling'er rushed towards Master Yu as if seeking protection, but before she could make a move, Yi Fei grabbed her wrist.

"You better behave yourself!" Yifei gritted her teeth. She wished she could teach Yuling'er a lesson herself. Yuling'er had tried to kill her mistress before, and now, she and her father were also trying to harm her. Like father, like daughter.

Yu Ling'er had suffered a lot of grievances these days, but deep down she was still arrogant and haughty. "You lowly servant, let me go."

Yi Fei's lips curled into a wicked smile. Let go? Ha, Yi Fei scoffed inwardly. Not only did she not let go, but she tightened her grip even more. Yi Fei was a trained fighter, and Yu Ling'er, a delicate young lady, could not withstand it. She immediately grimaced in pain, cursing incessantly, acting no differently from a shrew. Even Sima Yan frowned as she watched, a faint look of disdain appearing in her eyes.

“Miss Yu, don’t worry, your father will save you.” Amid Yu Ling’er’s cursing, An Mi suddenly spoke up.

Yu Ling'er was stunned for a moment. When she met An Mi's eyes, she always felt that those eyes, which seemed very calm, could reveal a sharp and ruthless edge like a knife in an unexpected moment.

While Yu Ling'er was still in a daze, An Mi's voice continued softly, "However, he may have planned to use me to exchange for you. It's a pity that I didn't end up in his hands as he wished. He has no bargaining chips and doesn't know how to negotiate this settlement or how to save you."

Yu Ling'er sensed the sarcasm in An Mi's tone, gritted her teeth, and a fierce glint flashed in her eyes, "Why didn't that stab kill you that day!"

An Mi raised an eyebrow, chuckled, and said meaningfully, "That day you were clearly trying to assassinate the King of Bohai, weren't you?"

Yu Ling'er was stunned. She looked at An Mi, but could only grit her teeth in hatred.

An Mi disdained to pay any more attention to Yu Ling'er. For her, how Bai Yi would handle this matter was what she was looking forward to. An Mi looked at Bai Yi and met his gaze. Their eyes met, and for a moment, An Mi clearly felt that Bai Yi's originally sharp gaze softened a bit. But only for a moment, Bai Yi's eyes became as cold and hard as his tone.

"Master Yu, what do you want to offer me in exchange for Yu Ling'er?" Bai Yi spoke loudly, addressing Master Yu, but his gaze was fixed on Yu Ling'er. "The other day, I reported Yu Ling'er's assassination attempt on me to my father. My father said that I should decide this matter myself. These past few days, I have been thinking about how to deal with a woman who wanted to kill me. Fortunately, my thinking has not been in vain, and I have come up with some ideas. Master Yu and Miss Yu, would you be willing to listen to my methods?"

Yu Ling'er trembled, and Master Yu's heart also skipped a beat. Their intuition told them that the method the King of Bohai had proposed was not something they wanted to hear.

Master Yu's face was as ugly as could be. Bai Yi ignored the two men's wishes, paused, and continued, "Logically speaking, assassinating a member of the royal family should be punished by death. Master Yu saved me with his life that day, which can be considered meritorious. However, after what happened today, even if I wanted to protect the Yu family, even if I had the magnanimity, I'm afraid a righteous person like Master Yu wouldn't have the audacity to ask me for mercy with his merits."

Master Yu was slightly taken aback. He was indeed thinking about whether he could use his merits to beg for mercy, but Bai Yi had undoubtedly blocked his path. If he were to speak again, he would truly be shameless. Master Yu's face turned pale and then red, his mind racing with conflicting thoughts. Everything he did now was in vain, like a fish on the chopping block. Master Yu sighed inwardly. If the Prince of Donglin were here at this moment, he might be able to come up with a plan for him on how to deal with the Prince of Bohai.

“I think being pierced by a thousand arrows or torn apart by five horses wouldn’t be bad either,” An Mi suddenly said, with a half-smile.

As soon as she finished speaking, it was clear that Yu Ling'er's fear deepened.

Bai Yi became even more interested, "Haha, this is much more interesting than ending a life with a single slash."

"An Mi, you heartless woman!" Yu Ling'er said fiercely. In this life, being defeated by An Mi was undoubtedly the greatest humiliation for her.

An Mi shrugged, completely unfazed by Yu Ling'er's accusations. A heart of stone? She was just trying to scare Yu Ling'er; was she really that frightened by mere words? Yu Ling'er dared to try and kill her; her courage was nothing more than that!