The Flourishing Era of Female Merchants

An Mi's words were already so blunt. If Sima Yan still couldn't understand, then she wouldn't be Sima Yan. Sima Yan's face flushed red instantly. Wasn't An Mi clarifying her relationship with Qing Lan just like slapping Sima Yan in the face?

At this moment, isn't her petty calculations and unfounded speculations just judging others by her own low standards?

But how should a well-bred young lady react to An Mi's direct words?

Sima Yan wasn't stupid either. When it was time to play dumb, she naturally knew how. She shook off her embarrassment and flashed a bright smile. "Sister Mi'er, you are His Highness the First Prince's friend, so naturally you are also my friend, Sima Yan's friend. I believe what you say."

Anmi raised an eyebrow in satisfaction. Sima Yan's implication was that she would no longer test and guard against her as before.

An Mi smiled gently and didn't say much. However, Sima Yan didn't stop either. From then on until they arrived at the palace, she talked to An Mi warmly. However, it was no longer a test of An Mi, but a normal conversation about topics related to embroidery.

In the palace, Empress Feng hosted a banquet and invited many daughters of officials. Naturally, these young ladies dared not be negligent in receiving Empress Feng's invitation. Each of them dressed up carefully and arrived at the palace early. In the imperial garden, beauties of all kinds competed for attention.

In the Empress's palace, Empress Feng took a sip of tea, lazily put down the teacup, and Han Yu, who was serving her at her side, gently and respectfully reminded her, "Your Majesty, the time is almost up. Just now, a palace maid came to report that the young ladies from all the invited families have arrived."

Empress Feng frowned slightly. "Where is An Mi? Has she arrived?"

Han Yu was slightly taken aback, realizing the Empress's intention in inviting An Mi today. She secretly regretted her carelessness earlier, not even asking the maid who came to report. But now, facing Empress Feng's question, she had no choice but to answer, "An Mi is a person who knows when to advance and retreat. Since Your Majesty sent someone to invite her, she will definitely come. She may have already arrived by now!"

Empress Feng glanced at Han Yu. What Han Yu said made sense. An Mi was bold, but also clever. She was not stupid to openly provoke her like that. She hoped that An Mi would disobey her orders, so that she would have a legitimate reason to teach An Mi a lesson.

Empress Feng reached out her hand, and Han Yu quickly stepped forward to help her to her elegant rise. After a long silence, Empress Feng spoke calmly, "Where is General Feng?"

"Your Majesty, General Feng has already entered the palace, but we don't know where he went," Han Yu replied, thinking to herself that An Mi was indeed useful. If Her Majesty hadn't used An Mi as bait, General Feng probably wouldn't have come. Han Yu's mind floated with An Mi's quiet and elegant figure, and she couldn't help but admire this embroiderer from Rongjin City. In the capital city, where beauties abound, An Mi originally had no advantage, but these noble ladies all took notice of her.

"You're here, that's good!" Empress Feng smiled with satisfaction, but hidden in that smile was a chilling eeriness. Han Yu raised her eyes slightly and noticed Empress Feng's expression. Her heart tightened involuntarily. Her intuition told her that the palace banquet was probably not going to be peaceful. She just didn't know who would suffer.

In the Imperial Garden, An Mi and Sima Yan had already arrived. Among the crowd, Sima Yan and An Mi stood together, which surprised the young ladies present. They knew Sima Yan's personality. No matter the occasion, she was always distant from everyone, as if she were a separate entity. An Mi, who had recently made a lot of noise in the capital, was someone everyone was curious about simply because she lived in the Bohai Prince's Mansion and was treated so lavishly by the Bohai Prince.

Today, Sima Yan and An Mi have actually gotten together, how could this not attract the attention of others?

Before long, some young ladies came up and chatted with the two of them. Gradually, these young ladies surrounded them. An Mi did not refuse the greetings from these noble ladies, and the atmosphere became lively.

When Empress Feng arrived at the Imperial Garden, surrounded by palace maids and exuding an air of elegance, this was the scene she witnessed.

"What's going on here?" Empress Feng frowned and asked Han Yu in a low voice, glancing at the crowd as if she wanted to know who was surrounded inside. These young ladies usually had their own demeanor and kept many things to themselves. Even when they talked, there was a certain distance between them. But the warmth in front of her... Empress Feng's doubts deepened. Without waiting for anyone to answer, she quickened her pace and walked towards the crowd.

Empress Feng deliberately didn't have anyone announce her arrival. As she drew closer, she could vaguely make out the lively conversation...

"Great! I can finally get the embroidered handkerchief of the Flourishing Era. I've been waiting for this for so long."

"No wonder Miss Anmi is so highly regarded by the King of Bohai. For a woman to manage the Prosperous Flame so well, if I were a man, I would be fascinated by you too."

"Yes, yes, the King of Bohai is now the backbone of our Great Jin Dynasty's economy. Everyone says that the King of Bohai's treasury is filled with countless riches. If he had a virtuous wife like Miss Anmi, wouldn't that be like adding wings to a tiger?"

Flattery and praise were everywhere, but someone in the crowd let out a cold snort, "She's just a vulgar woman. Business is a man's job, and it's really improper for a woman to walk among a group of men!"

These sudden words silenced everyone present. The young ladies who had been so enthusiastic towards An Mi frowned and looked at the woman who had spoken. An Mi also looked in the direction of the voice, and what she saw first caught her eye was Sima Yan's slightly upturned lips. Although it was only for a moment, An Mi still caught the schadenfreude in those lips.

A hint of irony rose in An Mi's heart. She ignored Sima Yan and instead looked at the young lady who was pointing at her. The young lady was dressed in a lake-green gauze dress, with eyebrows as dark as ink and skin as smooth as cream. Although her appearance was not as good as Sima Yan's, she was still outstanding among the young ladies.

From the disdain in her eyes, An Mi saw the woman's attitude towards her. Thinking of her accusations just now, An Mi didn't take it to heart. From the moment she was reborn, An Mi had no intention of caring about other people's opinions. What did it matter to her what the world said?

However, this woman's hostility towards me is quite considerable!

Compared to the previous liveliness, the Imperial Garden was now eerily quiet. Everyone looked at each other, each with their own thoughts. Some were even looking forward to a good show. This tranquil woman, who had managed the Flourishing Flames so successfully, was probably not an easy person to deal with and was good at enduring hardship. And this woman—Yang Jingyu—was also an arrogant and domineering person. The confrontation between the two was truly something to look forward to.