The Flourishing Era of Female Merchants

Anmi snapped out of her daze and met his smiling eyes. Was he gloating?

“A handsome man is a source of trouble. Young Master Qinglan is a shrewd man and should know who is behind this misery.” An Mi twitched the corner of her mouth, seemingly unconcerned about An Xinlian’s pointed threat just now.

Qinglan raised an eyebrow, unconcerned, and remained silent for a moment before saying, "It seems I should take on this responsibility."

Anmi smiled but remained silent. Take responsibility? How could he possibly take responsibility?

"If Young Master Qinglan feels guilty, could you do Anmi a favor?" Anmi thought of something and her eyes shifted slightly. She already had some plans, and she had originally intended to have Shuangyue secretly do it for her. But now that there was such a good person to use, why wouldn't she do it?

"Tell me about it," Qinglan said as she cleared the dishes.

An Mi took out some copper coins from under her pillow and spread them in her palm. "Young Master Qing Lan, when you come to see me next time, please bring me some silk fabric and various embroidery threads."

Qinglan paused, looking at Anmi with a questioning gaze, recalling the information she had just received from An Xinlian, "Is Miss also preparing for the embroidery appreciation event in a month?"

"Yes and no." An Mi did not hide it. It was for the Embroidery Appreciation Gathering, but it was not entirely for the Embroidery Appreciation Gathering. Thinking of the plan that had taken shape in her mind, the deeper meaning in An Mi's eyes became even stronger.

Seeing her tactful answer, Qinglan smiled and didn't press the matter further. She took the copper coins from her hand and readily said, "Alright, Qinglan will deliver what Miss wants as soon as possible."

Qinglan stayed in the room for a while longer before getting up and leaving. She lay peacefully on the couch, unable to move, but her mind was unusually active as she pondered her plans and the upcoming Embroidery Appreciation Gathering a month from now. She was really looking forward to seeing the Liu family again, but before that, she had some things she had to do.

The next day, when Qinglan came to the room again, Anmi was still surprised. She did not expect that he would buy the materials she needed so quickly. This time, he still brought a medicine box, food, and even a bowl of medicine, as if he had taken care of everything for her.

An Mi drank the medicine, ate the porridge, and thanked him. The two of them stayed quietly in the room. Even An Mi felt that the atmosphere was very strange. She knew that there were usually many people waiting for Doctor Qing Lan to see him. How come he was so free?

Qinglan sat in the room for about the time it takes for two incense sticks to burn before getting up and leaving. Anmi had always thought he had returned to the Holy Medicine Hall, but after Shuangyue entered her room under the cover of darkness, she realized that was not the case.

"How could Miss possibly care about us now? Today, Doctor Qinglan invited Miss on an outing, and even Fifth Miss was invited along. So, she doesn't have time to make things difficult for us anymore," Shuangyue said happily, secretly taking out the steamed buns she had hidden at dinner and handing them to Anmi. "Miss, please eat quickly, the steamed buns are still warm today."

An Mi looked at Shuang Yue's innocent smile and felt a warmth in her heart. Now, only this girl cared about her. No, or perhaps there was someone else. Thinking of what Qing Lan had said yesterday, "taking responsibility?" So this was his way of taking responsibility. He really was a kind-hearted person. He invited the two sisters on a trip, so they wouldn't have time to make things difficult for her, and she could focus on recovering. She should thank him properly.

"Oh, Miss, did you embroider this? The pattern and stitches are so unique!" Shuangyue saw the partially embroidered handkerchief next to Anmi, picked it up and examined it carefully. "Shuangyue has never seen such a well-embroidered handkerchief before, but... how did Miss's skills suddenly become so good?"

The An family is skilled in embroidery, and their businesses include an embroidery workshop. The maids and servants in the mansion are also quite adept at embroidery.

Anmi smiled, naturally unable to tell Shuangyue that the reason her skills were so good was because she had continuously improved them over the past eight years in her previous life. She had improved to the point that even when she was lying down and could only move her hands, it did not affect her skills at all.

"Miss, what are you embroidering this for?" Shuangyue liked it more and more as she looked at it. She thought that if she finished embroidering this handkerchief and sold it, someone would definitely offer a high price.

Shuangyue thought this to herself, unaware that she had already spoken her thoughts aloud. Anmi listened, her smile deepening. "Perhaps it will even attract a lot of people!"

"Really?" Frostmoon was even more excited.

"How about we give it a try? After I finish embroidering these, you can secretly take them out for me and send them to Liu's Embroidery Shop to sell on consignment, okay?" An Mi said softly, her eyes revealing an inscrutable expression.

"Liu's Embroidery Shop? Why not place it in our An family..." Shuangyue frowned and asked in confusion. The An family also has its own cloth shop, and embroidery products can be consigned in the cloth shop, right?

An Mi twitched the corner of her mouth. The An family? Placing her in the An family's embroidery shop wouldn't achieve her purpose!

"The An family doesn't belong to us," An Mi said quietly, her expression darkening further.

Seeing the sadness on An Mi's face, Shuang Yue realized she had said the wrong thing and held An Mi's hand with pity. "Yes, the An family can't accept you, Miss. Don't worry, Shuang Yue will always be with you. After you finish embroidering, I will send them to Liu's Embroidery Shop to sell on consignment."

Anmi felt a warmth in her heart. Thinking of Shuangyue's early death in her previous life, her brows furrowed slightly. She also hoped that they could be together forever, but... would fate take Shuangyue away early again, just like in her previous life?

Thinking of the clues surrounding Shuangyue's death in her past life, and with Shuangyue's innocent smile reflected in her eyes, Anmi grasped Shuangyue's hand in return, a firm resolve rising in her heart, "Don't worry, I will definitely make sure you stay with me forever."

If she wants to defy fate, why can't she change Shuangyue's fate?

In her past life, on her deathbed, she couldn't protect her newborn daughter, watching helplessly as her wicked mother-in-law threw her to her death. She also couldn't protect Liu'er, watching her being bullied by Yi Zhuxuan, powerless to do anything. The feeling of being unable to protect the people she cared about was truly unbearable. She didn't want to taste the pain of loss again, so she was determined to protect Shuangyue, even if it meant fighting against the heavens!

She wanted to be strong, desperately needed to be strong, and the first step was to send her embroidery to Liu's Embroidery Shop!

Rongjincheng, the eastern street of the city, was already close to dusk, but the most bustling street in the east of the city was still crowded with people. The shops were very lively, especially Liu's Embroidery Shop, which was packed with people.

The reason is not only because of the signboard of Liu's Embroidery Shop, but also because of the people in Liu's Embroidery Shop at this moment.

As soon as the man in the blue robe entered the shop, many people followed him in, mostly women. While the women appeared to be selecting items, anyone with a discerning eye could tell that what truly attracted them was not the goods in the shop, but the people choosing them.