The Flourishing Era of Female Merchants

"Th...thank you." Yi Zhuxuan tried her best to maintain a smile. She knew that she had found a backer, and perhaps things would really be better in the future, just as he said. But...she also knew clearly what price she would have to pay.

Sure enough, the jailer gave her a deep look and said, "I'll come back to see you tomorrow night."

After saying that, she turned and left, leaving Yi Zhuxuan behind. The smile on her face vanished instantly, and a hint of sarcasm flickered in her eyes. She would come to find her again tomorrow night. This was the price she had to pay. But so what? Even if she knew that there were mountains of knives and seas of fire ahead, she had to go and face it. She had to gamble, and that was all she could do!

The night remained eerily quiet. Yi Zhuxuan seemed to have made up her mind about something, and slowly closed her eyes. She, Yi Zhuxuan, would not give up to fate!

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, a few people were already walking on the streets of Rongjin City. Inside the dilapidated temple outside the city, many beggars were sleeping. A carriage stopped outside the temple, and a woman slowly got off. She was wearing a pink cloak and her face was slightly covered by her hat.

The woman, after getting off the carriage, glanced at the dilapidated temple before her, a flash of disgust crossing her eyes. But remembering the purpose of her visit, she managed to suppress her feelings of rejection and entered the ruined temple.

Seeing the beggars sleeping all over the ground, the woman deliberately ignored the strange smell permeating the dilapidated temple. She gave a wink to the servant beside her, who nodded, clapped his hands, and shouted, "Get up, get up! Everyone has work to do!"

The shout woke the sleeping beggars, who were initially annoyed at being disturbed. However, upon seeing the figure standing at the door, who appeared to be a wealthy person, the entire dilapidated temple suddenly became lively. "What kind of work do you need? Do you have any money?"

The woman, An Xinlian, frowned, took out a bag of silver from her bosom, weighed it in her hand, and saw that the beggars' eyes were shining, as if they wanted to snatch the silver from her hand. A hint of disdain flashed in her eyes, and she lowered her voice and said, "As long as you do things for me, this silver is yours."

Upon hearing this, the beggars were overjoyed and quickly asked, "What is it? Just tell us, and we won't have any trouble."

“This is no problem for you, it’s quite simple. I just need to use your words.” A cold glint appeared in An Xinlian’s eyes, and a hint of malice gradually emerged at the corner of her mouth. She paused and continued, “As long as you spread a word for me in the city, this silver will be yours. This silver will be enough for you to not have to beg on the streets for quite some time.”

“That’s easy. Spreading rumors is one of our strengths. We guarantee we’ll make sure the whole city of Rongjin knows about it,” someone said. “But what exactly is the rumor…?”

An Xinlian smiled with satisfaction. Did they want the whole of Rongjin City to know? This was exactly what they wanted. The bigger this matter became, the greater the chance of suppressing Xinhe's affair. Thinking of An Mi, the malice in An Xinlian's eyes intensified. Now, the only option was to use her as a shield for Xinhe.

After a moment of silence, An Xinlian said loudly, "An Mi, the second young lady of the An family, is shameless, lewd and filthy. She has no marriage and has been having an affair with someone, committing lewd acts. She was caught in the act. In order to uphold the family's moral standards, the An family is going to have that woman drowned in the river. This afternoon, at noon, it will happen on the upper reaches of the Jin River."

Upon hearing this, the beggars were stunned for a moment. "Is this true?"

“Of course it’s true.” An Xinlian snorted coldly. She and her mother had discussed it and decided that if they wanted to make this matter big enough to divert the people’s attention, they had to do this. So the matter of drowning in the river was absolutely true. Only in this way could they make everyone pay attention to this matter. An Mi, An Mi, it’s just that you’re unlucky. You have to be the one to take the fall.

As for Anmi's life... Hmph, if she accidentally dies in the river, then she can only blame her short life.

"The An family is really something... I heard yesterday that the fifth young lady of the An family was divorced after marrying the richest young master. How come the second young lady is also..." someone muttered.

"Shut up!" An Xinlian shouted sharply, her eyes full of displeasure. She glanced at the beggars, took out a silver ingot from her money bag, threw it on the ground as if it were charity, and said coldly, "You all do as I ask and spread the word about this matter. After it's done, the rest of this silver is all yours."

Having said that, he didn't bother to stay any longer, turned around and walked out of the dilapidated temple. The beggars left behind were stunned. Looking at the silver on the ground, they all gathered together. The most prestigious beggar picked up the silver ingot, glared at the others, and said, "What are you looking at? Hurry up and get out to work. That woman said she's going to drown the second young lady of the An family in the river at noon today. We have to make sure everyone in Rongjin City knows about this before then, so that the woman who spends the silver will be satisfied. I'll keep this silver with me for now. Once we get it all, we'll divide it up together. Everyone will get a share."

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately became excited and, without daring to delay, hurriedly left the dilapidated temple.

As dawn broke, the streets of Rongjin City became more crowded, with beggars appearing among them. Wherever a beggar went, the people around would whisper and talk amongst themselves.

Just last night, the talk in the restaurants and teahouses was about An Xinhe, the fifth young lady of the An family, being divorced on her wedding day. Now, the topic of conversation has shifted to the second young lady of the An family being tossed into the river.

Inside the Holy Healer's Hall, several people waiting in line for their consultations couldn't help but chat during their downtime.

"This is truly a troubled time for the An family. Yesterday, their fifth young lady, An Xinhe, was just divorced, and today, this kind of thing has come out... Sigh..."

"That's right. I heard that the second young lady was born to a concubine, and that concubine died young. The second young lady lost her mother at a young age and had no one to discipline her. No wonder she did such a despicable thing."

"Ha! I really don't know who that adulterer is..."

"If he were to be thrown into the river, he would probably lose his life."

As they were talking, the refined-looking doctor who was examining someone suddenly stood up, strode forward, and stared at them with eyes that sent chills down their spines. "What are you talking about?"

Those people had never seen Doctor Qinglan like this before, and they were all stunned for a moment. "Doctor Qinglan, it's just a rumor..."

"Speak quickly!" Qinglan lost his composure. He had vaguely heard the words "Second Miss of the An Family" just now. An Mi? Could something have happened? This guess made him extremely uneasy.

"It's...it's what people outside are saying: that the second young lady of the An family is shameless and has been having an affair. She's supposed to be drowned in the river at noon today..."

Upon hearing this, Qinglan's head spun. A sinking river? Shameless, engaging in illicit relations? No, how could this be peace? There must be something going on here!