The Flourishing Era of Female Merchants

Her eyes darted around in a panic. Suddenly, as if she had thought of something, she turned to Qinglan and forced a smile. "Husband, please, I beg you, please... please."

The last two words were almost forced out from between her teeth, and the bitterness in her heart continued to spread, because even though she pleaded like this, she could feel the coldness and determination in Qinglan's eyes, which seemed to have given her the answer.

He won't help her, even if she's his concubine, even if she's from the Crown Prince's household!

Sima Yan felt a sharp pain in her heart and bit her lip. She knew that Qing Lan's ruthlessness and indifference towards her were entirely because of An Mi. It was because she had offended An Mi that he blamed her in this way!

Ha! Anmi, where did she get such good methods to make Qinglan like this, and make Sima Yan lose so badly!

No, she wouldn't admit defeat! She, Sima Yan, would never admit defeat to An Mi!

Sima Yan gritted her teeth, feeling everyone's gaze focused on her—some sympathetic, some pitying, some watching with amusement… but one gaze in particular was especially piercing…

Sima Yan's eyes narrowed as she looked up to meet that gaze, meeting a pair of eyes that seemed to be smiling but not smiling. The calm smile in those eyes seemed to be mocking everything she had done before.

Where exactly did things go wrong? Sima Yan still couldn't figure it out at all.

This subtle doubt, however, caught An Mi's eye. A slight sneer curled at the corner of An Mi's mouth. At this point, she still didn't know where things had gone wrong?

Haha, Sima Yan is nothing special!

Just then, An Mi noticed that Sima Yan paused, and something seemed to be changing in her eyes. An Mi smiled and knew that Sima Yan had figured it out!

Have you figured it out yet? But by now, it's too late, isn't it?

"you……"

That's right, Sima Yan has figured it out. So that's when... So that's when... Their fight just now was An Mi's doing. She deliberately took the opportunity to stuff the jade Buddhist beads into her body!

But what could she do at that moment? Whatever she said, who would believe her?

Sima Yan clenched her fists, the pent-up frustration causing her heart to ache. She gritted her teeth, "Mi'er, please forgive me for what happened earlier, please put in a good word for me..."

Sima Yan understood that at this moment, only An Mi's words would be most effective. As long as she spoke, Qing Lan would not refuse so readily. As for the Emperor... Sima Yan could only do what she could.

Everyone was taken aback by Sima Yan's words. The Crown Princess was usually so arrogant, yet today she was pleading with An Mi like this. How novel! But would An Mi speak up for her?

For a moment, everyone's eyes were focused on An Mi, waiting for her response. Even Emperor Mingde's eyes narrowed, and he became more reserved.

After a long pause, An Mi smiled faintly, "What happened just now was just a misunderstanding. However, the Crown Princess is too kind to An Mi. An Mi is of low status and her voice carries little weight. I'm afraid she has the will but not the power to help."

In short, she spoke succinctly, making it clear that she didn't hold a grudge about what had just happened. Therefore, she wouldn't stop speaking up for Sima Yan because of what happened earlier. She simply didn't have a place to speak here!

Sima Yan's face darkened, and she bit her lip harder, until a faint trace of blood appeared between her lips.

Emperor Mingde, however, raised an eyebrow and a hint of a smile appeared in his eyes as he looked at An Mi. This woman was clever; she knew she had no right to speak here!

"Guards, escort the Crown Princess back to the Crown Prince's residence!" Emperor Mingde's deep and powerful voice rang out once again, striking Sima Yan's ears like a heavy hammer blow.

Sima Yan was startled, and then guards came in from outside the door and surrounded her.

"Father..." Sima Yan cried out, but Emperor Mingde gave a signal, and several guards, without hesitation, grabbed Sima Yan's arms and dragged her out of the hall...

"Father..." Sima Yan wanted to beg for mercy. She was unwilling, and seeing An Mi's calm and indifferent expression, she was even more unwilling. In her calculations, this should have been An Mi's fate, not hers, Sima Yan's!

She, Sima Yan, should be the victor!

But everything went wrong, everything changed!

Sima Yan gritted her teeth, An Mi's words kept replaying in her mind, and the hatred in her heart surged wildly!

Before long, Sima Yan was dragged out of the main hall. Immediately, the hall fell into an eerie silence. The concubines present all lowered their eyes, looking at the delicacies on the table in front of them, not daring to touch their chopsticks, for fear that they might accidentally cause some trouble and displease the emperor.

At this time, the emperor's mind was still uncertain, and no one knew what was going on!

The silence lasted for quite a while before Emperor Mingde suddenly spoke, asking Bai Yi, "How are the preparations for your wedding going?"

As he spoke, Emperor Mingde took a small sip of wine, his expression unreadable.

"Your Majesty, I am making preparations." Bai Yi cupped his hands in a respectful gesture, a simple reply that clearly caused Emperor Mingde to frown.

Anyone with a brain could tell that the King of Bohai didn't want to reveal too much.

Everyone was startled and tentatively looked at Emperor Mingde, only to see him raise an eyebrow, put down his wine cup, and slowly say, "In a few days, it will be your wedding day. Our royal family will have another joyous occasion. Congratulations!"

To everyone's surprise, Emperor Mingde chuckled. However, the next moment, he changed the subject, "However, there is something I must say."

For some reason, An Mi was startled, and had a strange premonition that what was about to happen was not a good thing.

Not only An Mi, but Bai Yi also felt the same way, but they were powerless to stop Emperor Mingde from continuing to speak.

"The Empress Dowager has not returned to the palace for a long time. This time, she told me that she misses her family very much. She did not return to the palace for Qinglan and the Fifth Prince's wedding, which is a regret for her. Now that you, Baiyi, are getting married, she has a request. The Empress Dowager hopes to spend more time with you. You have been busy with the wedding preparations, Baiyi. I think we should let Anmi come to the palace for a while to keep the Empress Dowager company. This can be considered as fulfilling your filial duty on behalf of you and me!" Emperor Mingde finished speaking calmly and unhurriedly. No one could refuse his words.

Anmi's gaze narrowed slightly. Just as she suspected!

Going to the palace to accompany the Empress Dowager? That's definitely not a good thing!

"Father, I believe this is inappropriate."

Before An Mi could speak, Bai Yi's voice rang out in the hall: "Should An Mi go to the palace to accompany the Empress Dowager?" In this harem, let alone now that the Empress Dowager has returned, even in the past, he would not have been at ease. Even if he had the ability to protect An Mi in the palace, he could not bear to see An Mi suffer even the slightest grievance.