The Flourishing Era of Female Merchants

As he fell to the ground, there were some crisp sounds, like something breaking on the ground, followed by a series of gasps.

Sima Yan's body hit the ground, and the pain was considerable. However, she didn't have time to pay attention to the pain. She felt that the people around her seemed to be pointing and whispering about her, and she couldn't help but frown.

What's going on? Why are they looking at her like that?

And the Empress Dowager... Why is there a hint of anger on the Empress Dowager's face?

And An Mi, why is her smile becoming more and more eerie?

Sima Yan was increasingly confused, but soon she noticed the Buddhist prayer beads scattered on the ground. She was startled, then overjoyed, and quickly rose to her feet, kneeling in the hall. Pointing at An Mi, she said, "Your Majesty, look, these prayer beads have finally been found! They belong to An Mi..."

"You insolent fool!" The Empress Dowager seemed to have finally lost her temper and shouted angrily, interrupting Sima Yan.

Sima Yan was puzzled. What was going on? Was the Empress Dowager's anger directed at her? But why?

"Your Majesty, please punish her. An Mi stole the Buddhist beads bestowed upon her by Your Majesty, a crime that is truly unforgivable." Sima Yan persisted, her only thought being how to convict An Mi.

But An Mi just smiled and said, "Princess Consort, were you confused from the fall? How can you prove that An Mi stole the prayer beads?"

"These prayer beads... Hmph, not only did you steal them, you also damaged them..." Sima Yan's eyes narrowed, and she said fiercely.

"Your Highness, we all saw it. These prayer beads clearly fell from your body and landed on the ground, scattering and breaking everywhere. Do you really think everyone else here is blind?" Yan Bing sneered, feeling a sense of satisfaction at the moment she saw the prayer beads fall from Sima Yan's body.

This vicious woman, who usually schemes against An Mi, must have dug a trap for her today, waiting for Mi to fall into it. But how did things turn out this way? She was a little confused. However, she was extremely happy with the result. She wanted to see how Sima Yan would end up today.

Sima Yan was stunned, Yan Bing's words echoing in her mind: the Buddhist beads fell from her body?

How could this be? How could it have fallen off her? She clearly... she clearly placed these prayer beads on An Mi!

Sima Yan was somewhat skeptical and quickly glanced around, but everyone's expression seemed to tell her that what Yan Bing said was absolutely true.

"Your Highness, I don't know why you think the prayer beads are on me, but after all this commotion, I really don't know what your intentions are." Anmi's voice rang out slowly and calmly. She glanced at the jade prayer beads scattered on the ground, her brows furrowing slightly. "I just heard that these prayer beads were a gift from the Empress Dowager. Now... alas, what a pity!"

What a pity, what a waste of the Empress Dowager's good intentions!

Anmi smiled faintly, her expression conveying regret, but a wise person would understand that this was Anmi adding fuel to the fire!

Those present had various expressions. Sima Yan had wronged An Mi, not only deceiving everyone but also damaging the gift bestowed by the Empress Dowager. Wasn't this adding insult to injury?

These words stirred up a storm in Sima Yan's ears. Sima Yan glared fiercely at An Mi, trying to figure out where things had gone wrong.

How could this be? Things shouldn't be like this, should they? Why is it like this?

Did she destroy the jade Buddhist prayer beads that the Empress Dowager had given her?

No, not her!

Sima Yan subconsciously rejected this result. It must be An Mi; something must have gone wrong somewhere. An Mi must have tampered with it.

This thought kept swirling in Sima Yan's mind, and she finally couldn't hold back any longer, shouting sharply, "An Mi, you've ruined me?"

This shout startled everyone, and An Mi asked in confusion, "What do you mean by that, Crown Princess? How did An Mi harm you?"

"These prayer beads... these prayer beads..." Sima Yan murmured repeatedly, but she couldn't come up with a coherent explanation. At this moment, she regained a little bit of her rationality. How should she answer?

It was clearly her own scheme against Anmi that led to this, and in the end, she didn't even know how Anmi had done it. Anmi's intentions were truly bizarre.

"Enough!" the Empress Dowager said abruptly, glancing indifferently at Sima Yan. "I am tired today. You may all eat this welcome-home banquet yourselves."

Before she could even stop the Empress Dowager from leaving, she had already stood up. Even Emperor Mingde didn't have time to stop her. The Empress Dowager had already left with a few of her personal maids, leaving the room full of people with solemn expressions, none of whom dared to say a word.

The welcome banquet that the Emperor had prepared especially for the Empress Dowager was cut short, which is no small matter!

And the person who ruined the welcoming banquet... Everyone looked at the people in the hall, and then glanced at Emperor Mingde without leaving a trace. The anger that was faintly emerging on his face made people feel a chill in their hearts. It seemed that the emperor's anger would be hard to quell!

A heavy silence fell. Even Sima Yan realized that things were much more serious than she had thought. Now that she had calmed down a little, she panicked even more. She knelt silently on the ground, looking at the scattered jade prayer beads, which she found particularly glaring.

"This is truly outrageous!" After a long silence, Emperor Mingde finally roared angrily. His anger, which seemed to have been building up earlier, was particularly terrifying. As soon as he finished speaking, Sima Yan trembled all over, and a sense of powerlessness instantly spread throughout her body.

"Father...Father Emperor..." Sima Yan's voice trembled slightly. Emperor Mingde's expression at this moment did not allow her to avoid it even for a moment. She was afraid that she had really caused a great disaster just now.

"From this day forward, I do not wish to see you appear in any setting again. As the Crown Prince's consort, you should stay in the Crown Prince's residence and manage household affairs," Emperor Mingde said, enunciating each word clearly.

Even a fool would understand what Emperor Mingde was saying: he was telling everyone that the Crown Prince's wife was to be confined to her quarters!

A house arrest? That's no small punishment!

As expected, Emperor Mingde was furious this time!

"Father..." Sima Yan swayed as if struck by lightning. Today, she had planned to make An Mi suffer punishment, but she never expected it to turn out like this.

Are we under house arrest?

No, this was a slap in the face for Sima Yan. If she were really confined to her quarters, how would she maintain her dignity in the capital?

"Father, please calm your anger! Your son knows his mistake and begs you to rescind your decree!" Sima Yan came to her senses, knelt on the ground, and kept begging for forgiveness, "Father..."

Seeing Emperor Mingde's gloomy face, which showed no sign of softening, Sima Yan panicked even more. What should she do?