The Flourishing Era of Female Merchants

Uncle Ji thought of something, and dared not continue thinking. Back in the palace, to outsiders, the Empress Dowager seemed to dote on the Prince's mother, but in reality, that wasn't the case at all. Even... even the death of the Prince's mother...

“Uncle Ji should know that I don’t joke around.” An Mi said calmly, already quite confident that Uncle Ji had realized the seriousness of the matter.

Uncle Ji suddenly closed his eyes, as if suppressing something, or perhaps running away from something. After a moment, when he opened his eyes again, his eyes were filled with determination. He got up and sat down again, pondered for a while, as if lost in memories. "Miss, the Empress Dowager has never been fond of the Prince. When Princess Yun and the Prince were in trouble, the Empress Dowager saw the Prince being beaten by several princes. Princess Yun stood up to protect him and was beaten black and blue in the end. But the Empress Dowager showed no pity at all."

An Mi looked at Uncle Ji, and upon hearing this, her brows furrowed involuntarily. The scene seemed to appear before her eyes: the boy and girl protecting each other amidst the blows, hoping someone would lend a helping hand, but even their grandmother just watched indifferently, without a trace of emotion.

An Mi sighed unconsciously. In Bai Yi's heart, he must also harbor resentment towards this Empress Dowager.

A bad feeling suddenly arose in her heart. If Bai Yi knew that the Empress Dowager was going to officiate their wedding, how would he feel?

Thinking of this, An Mi's brows furrowed even more. Just as she was about to hear Uncle Ji continue, she heard familiar footsteps coming from outside the pavilion, followed by a gentle and melodious voice, "So you're here. Why are you in such high spirits today? Are you talking about me to Uncle Ji?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the tall figure in the night had already arrived at the pavilion. An Mi was slightly taken aback, then stood up to greet him. Bai Yi opened his arms and, without even caring that there were other people present, pulled An Mi into his embrace. Although he had already received his father's bestowal of marriage and permission, and would marry An Mi after the fifth prince's wedding, it was only in this moment of holding An Mi in his arms that he felt the warmest feeling in his heart.

The familiar scent, the familiar temperature, a sense of tranquility washed over me. I realized that I was already so familiar with everything about him, so well-versed in him.

"You still haven't told me whether you were talking badly about me to Uncle Ji?" Bai Yi spoke again, his tone carrying a hint of coquettish gentleness. Even Uncle Ji, standing to the side, subconsciously lowered his brows and buried his head even lower, afraid that his presence would disturb his two masters.

"Where am I talking about your faults? Ask Uncle Ji if we're discussing our marriage." An Mi glared at Bai Yi, then looked at Uncle Ji. It sounded like an ordinary question, but only Uncle Ji could tell that An Mi was hinting at something to him!

Uncle Ji realized that Bai Yi was looking at him with a radiant expression because of An Mi's words, so Uncle Ji said, "Yes, Your Highness, Miss was just discussing marriage with this old servant."

Isn't it about getting married? What they said wasn't false, but they were just hiding the fact that the Empress Dowager was returning to the capital.

However, they all knew that if the Empress Dowager's return to the capital was a foregone conclusion, then it was only a matter of time before the Prince found out.

Bai Yi was overjoyed and could hardly contain his excitement. "Hehe, is that so? But you're not allowed to think about the wedding. Leave all the preparations to me. You just need to be a bride-to-be and wait for that day. I will definitely... give you a grand wedding."

Bai Yi's eyes were filled with determination. An Mi was actually thinking about getting married, which was a huge surprise to him. He knew that An Mi had this intention, and how could he bear to see An Mi worry about these things?

An Mi met Bai Yi's eyes, and a warmth seemed to spread from Bai Yi's eyes into her heart. She silently recited Bai Yi's words in her heart: a grand wedding. At the same time, Sima Yan's words about the Empress Dowager returning to the capital subconsciously surfaced in her mind, and the color in her eyes darkened.

Bai Yi was incredibly perceptive; he noticed this and frowned slightly. "What's wrong?"

Realizing something, Anmi quickly cleared her mind, her eyes regaining their gentle and clear light. "I'm looking forward to our wedding!"

These words seemed to add fuel to Bai Yi's already high spirits, making his excitement even more intense. He pulled An Mi into his arms, pressing her tightly against his chest, as if he wanted to meld her into his very bones. He was even more determined to give An Mi a wedding she would never forget.

Bai Yi's sudden arrival interrupted An Mi and Uncle Ji's conversation. Both of them knew that even if Uncle Ji wanted to tell An Mi about some things from the past tonight, they would not have the chance. However, Uncle Ji learned about the Empress Dowager's return to the capital and was weighing some things in his mind.

The next morning, the entire capital was bustling with excitement because of the Prince of Qin's wedding. So much had happened in the capital in the meantime: the eldest prince was getting married, General Feng Yu was getting married, and General Feng Yu committed suicide in the imperial prison. These events, good and bad, had been forgotten by people to some extent. But today, this freshly made excitement allowed the people, who were far removed from the various power struggles, to once again experience the joy of the royal wedding.

An Mi got up early in the morning, and Liu'er was already waiting in the hall of the courtyard. When she saw An Mi come out of the room, the little girl, dressed up in a delicate way, happily rushed into An Mi's arms, as if she wanted to stick to her and not let go, and acted coquettishly in An Mi's arms.

"What's wrong? Liu'er seems a little different today!" An Mi squatted down and looked Liu'er up and down. Her pouting lips seemed to be expressing her inner protest.

"Mother, would you like to take Liu'er with you to Uncle Wu's wedding banquet?" Liu'er looked into An Mi's eyes, her desire seemingly very urgent.

An Mi was taken aback. Liu'er had never liked those kinds of occasions. Even when Qing Lan got married, it wasn't Liu'er's own idea to go. What was going on today? And why had she come to her?

"Where is Uncle?" As intelligent as Anmi was, she naturally guessed something.

Sure enough, Liu'er's lips pouted even more when Bai Yi was mentioned, which further confirmed An Mi's guess. "Uncle, will you go instead?"

"I hate Uncle! Uncle doesn't like Liu'er anymore!" The more Liu'er spoke, the more aggrieved the little girl felt. She couldn't understand why her uncle wouldn't let her go, so she could only simply believe that her uncle didn't like her anymore, which was why he refused her request.

Anmi couldn't help but smile. After all, he was still just a child!

Once upon a time, Liu'er... Thinking of something, An Mi's smile suddenly froze. Some things that seemed to have happened in her past life became clear and vivid again at this moment. The little girl's every frown and smile, every move, seemed like a lifetime ago, yet it was as if it were right in front of her. Even the laughter and joy echoed in her ears. In the end, it was Liu'er's miserable cry when she was dying.