Calling a place a 'prime burial ground' is high praise, but those words are usually reserved for where the dead are laid to rest. No matter how composed the Lord of Liancastle is, even he can't keep a straight face after hearing that.
"Miss Feng, you can eat recklessly, but you can't talk recklessly. I, the Lord of Liancastle, have no grudge against you, yet you spit such venom at me—what exactly are you after?" The Lord of Liancastle was dead set: not only would he deny Serena's accusations, he'd turn the tables and pin the blame squarely on her.
Serena genuinely admired the Lord of Liancastle's brazen nerve. She shot back, "Lord of Liancastle, what did I say that was wrong? The words 'treasure land' came out of your own mouth." Before he could respond, she added, "No grudge against me? You can say that with a straight face? Liancastle's lot really are shameless."
"Serena, stop slandering me!" The Lord of Liancastle could stay composed even with his aunt, but a few sharp words from Serena made him lose his cool.
It wasn’t that the Lord of Liancastle was being irrational; it was simply that Serena’s words hit too close to home for anyone to stay calm.
"Slander? Every word I've said is the truth—where's the slander? Liancastle's lot failed to kill me, so you plotted to kidnap my brother. When the plan blew up, you got caught red-handed by imperial soldiers, and now you still dare claim innocence. Innocent? Even streetwalkers are cleaner than you." Serena fired back without the slightest fear of offending the Lord of Liancastle.
As long as Jason Lan had ties to Liancastle, Serena would never reconcile with them.
"Miss Feng, if you're going to accuse Liancastle of sending people to ambush you, you'd better have proof. You can't just toss blame at us out of thin air and expect us to swallow it. You think Liancastle is so easy to push around?" After being compared to streetwalkers, the Lord of Liancastle's tone was just as sharp as Serena's.
"Proof?" Serena sneered. "If I had proof, would you still be sitting here talking to me? Your spies sneaking into Eastlyn and trying to assassinate a noblewoman of the empire—just for that, Eastlyn could have crushed Liancastle off the map."
Serena’s every word made it clear she didn’t take Liancastle seriously at all, which only made the Lord of Liancastle more determined—they absolutely had to stop Ninth Royal Uncle and Serena from staying together.
If Ninth Royal Uncle really managed to seize power, having Serena as the mistress of the house would be anything but good news for them.
The Lord of Liancastle was so furious he was practically gasping for breath, ready to retort—when suddenly, a flash of insight struck him. He fell silent, staring at Serena as if he couldn’t believe it.
He—he actually let Serena steer the conversation, completely derailing the main topic.
Damn it!
The Lord of Liancastle never expected to stumble because of this young woman. Now, when he looked at Serena, his gaze carried a new depth. He suppressed his anger and, with a half-smile, said, “Miss Feng, I underestimated you.”
The moment he said this, Serena knew he’d seen through her strategy. She wasn’t angry; she just played dumb, same as him: “Lord of Liancastle, I have no idea what you’re talking about. It’s getting late; I won’t keep you for lunch.”
With that, she picked up her teacup to see him out. But if the Lord of Liancastle were so easy to brush off, William Wang Jinling wouldn't have been driven half mad by him.
"I know your time is precious, Miss Feng, so I'll cut to the chase. Just give me a straight answer—when are you releasing him, and what are your terms?" He didn't give Serena any other option: release Jason Lan, period.
"That’s an official matter; how could a woman like me interfere?" Serena feigned ignorance. The Lord of Liancastle chuckled, "Miss Feng, you’re the victim here. If you drop the case, I’ll take care of the magistrates."
Serena lowered her eyes and said, “You yourself called me the victim—how could I possibly not pursue the case?”
"So, Miss Feng, you really plan to fight me to the bitter end?" By now, the Lord of Liancastle had dropped all pretense. Seeing Serena stay silent, he went straight to threats: "Miss Feng, you're clever—you should know that war is never decided by one factor. Ninth Royal Uncle alone can't turn the tide or save a crumbling empire."
Even if Ninth Royal Uncle personally leads the campaign against Night City, it doesn’t mean he’s guaranteed to win. If something goes wrong on the battlefield and he loses his very first war as regent, Ninth Royal Uncle’s authority in Eastlyn will take a serious hit."
"Isn’t Liancastle supposed to have a great relationship with Ninth Royal Uncle? I’m sure you’ll help him—he’s bound to win." That’s exactly why Wang Jinling has been urging Ninth Royal Uncle to return and personally oversee the Night City campaign.
Just as the Lord of Liancastle said, Eastlyn had to win the battle for Night City—no matter the cost, they had to prove their strength to the world.
"Kinship has its limits. Jason Lan is Liancastle’s young lord. For his safety, even irrational actions would be understandable." With that one line, the Lord of Liancastle made his position clear. If Ninth Royal Uncle heard this, he’d be even more disappointed in Liancastle.
No matter how much Ninth Royal Uncle sacrificed for the fallen dynasty, that single line—‘kinship has its limits’—erased all his achievements.
Too bad Ninth Royal Uncle wasn’t here, and Serena didn’t know either. She could only sigh inwardly: the Lord of Liancastle was flawless, mixing soft and hard tactics—he was impossible to pin down.
Fortunately, Serena had already made up her mind to let the Lord of Liancastle take Jason Lan away. After another round of veiled barbs, she wrung a pile of benefits out of him before finally agreeing to release Jason Lan—but with two extra conditions.
First, Liancastle had to withdraw all its spies from Eastlyn. Second, unless the imperial court granted permission, Jason Lan would never be allowed to set foot in Eastlyn again—if he did, Eastlyn would have the right to kill him on sight.
The first condition, the Lord of Liancastle agreed to without hesitation. Serena had no idea how many Liancastle bases existed in Eastlyn; they could just symbolically withdraw a couple. But the second condition was a real slap in the face.
"So our young lord isn't even allowed to set foot in Eastlyn?" The Lord of Liancastle wasn't exactly pressing, but his presence was far more imposing than before.
"Of course he’s qualified—I just worry your young lord will try to kill me again." Serena’s bluntness left the Lord of Liancastle speechless.
"Both conditions are non-negotiable. If you think I'm being too harsh, then let's settle it on the battlefield." Serena could threaten just as fiercely as he could.
Liancastle could indeed persuade a few other cities to send troops, but none of them would fight for free. Liancastle would have to pay a huge price to intervene in the Eastlyn–Night City war.
Unless absolutely necessary, Liancastle wouldn't risk it.
Sure enough, the Lord of Liancastle only hesitated for a moment before agreeing to Serena's terms. She was more than satisfied. As she escorted him out, she 'kindly' added, "Lord of Liancastle, if Mr. Jingyang sneaks into Eastlyn again and something happens to him, don't come knocking on my door—he brought it on himself."
"Don't worry, Miss Feng. Our young lord isn't so easy to take down." The Lord of Liancastle was furious. Even though Serena finally agreed to release Jason Lan, Liancastle had lost both face and leverage.
On top of ceding land and reparations, they also had to swallow Serena's two humiliating demands. But just as Liancastle had found Eastlyn's weak spot, Serena had grabbed theirs.
Liancastle couldn't afford to drag things out, nor could they risk starting a war lightly. Most importantly, they didn't dare to completely break with Ninth Royal Uncle...