Serena Feng felt so stifled she could die.
Ending up in this hellhole, offending anyone means offending someone powerful. If they want to humiliate her, they humiliate her; if they want to kill her, they kill her—no need to worry about breaking the law at all.
Adrian Dongling, the Empress, Vincent Su, and now this Capital Prefect—all the same.
How unlucky did she have to be to offend so many people with power and influence?
Ah...
Serena Feng was so angry she could kill someone.
Serena's fury went completely unnoticed by Evan Zhou. Right now, his face was flushed, his eyes darting everywhere, and he couldn't bring himself to look at Serena. He just instinctively shook his head: "N-no, I don't know."
Only now did Evan remember the scandal about Serena Feng at the city gate a few days ago.
It wasn't that Evan was forgetful, but Serena's calm and collected demeanor made it impossible to connect her with the infamous 'Miss Feng' from the rumors.
No woman could still smile and bounce around after going through something like that. Serena Feng really was an oddity.
Evan Zhou nodded vigorously, certain of his own judgment. Only years later, when he looked back from the peak of his life, did he realize how clueless he’d been—Serena Feng wasn’t just an oddity, she was a total monster.
Even for someone as bold as Serena Feng, facing something like this early in the morning made her cautious. Still, seeing how worried Evan looked, she kindly reassured him:
"Don’t worry, it’ll be fine. Tell them to wait for me—I’ll change and come out in a moment."
She could lose face in front of her own family, but never in front of outsiders.
She already considered Evan family.
"Okay, I’ll go right now." Evan glanced anxiously at Serena Feng, then dashed out like his life depended on it.
At the same time, he secretly resolved to buy a maidservant—otherwise, he’d never dare set foot in the inner quarters again.
Serena Feng changed clothes and went to the main hall, where she immediately spotted two familiar faces: "Hey, it’s you guys again?"
"Heh heh!" The two officers grinned sheepishly and stood up at once.
These were the same two officers who came to Feng Manor that day to have Serena Feng claim a corpse.
"What do you want with me?" Serena Feng asked calmly.
Judging by how polite these two officers were, Serena figured she must have guessed wrong—if Gareth Yan’s father were really behind this, there’s no way they’d be this courteous.
Adrian Dongling, sorry about that—I just blamed you for nothing.
Serena Feng silently muttered to herself.
Achoo, achoo.
Outside the imperial city, Adrian Dongling stood at the front of the crowd, rubbing his nose nonstop.
"Your Highness?" The guard behind him quickly stepped aside to shield Adrian Dongling, looking alarmed.
General Warren Yu had just routed the Nanling Dynasty and was returning in triumph. Today, as his army entered the capital, the Ninth Royal Uncle led all the officials to the city gate to welcome him.
If anything went wrong at a time like this, it would be seen as disrespect to a war hero. If the civil officials reported it, even the Emperor’s favorite prince wouldn’t get off lightly.
"I’m fine." Adrian Dongling waved his hand, but secretly wondered—he wasn’t sick, so was someone talking bad about him somewhere?
Then, unfortunately, Serena Feng’s image popped into Adrian Dongling’s mind.
Just as Adrian Dongling was considering the possibility, the messenger arrived to report: General Warren Yu’s army was still twenty li from the city gate.
Adrian Dongling quickly straightened up and refocused.
......
Serena Feng sat confidently in the main seat, picked up a cup from the table, and drank, not the least bit concerned about officers showing up at her door.
Evan Zhou nodded secretly—this woman had nerves of steel. Even though she was worried the Capital Prefect might come after her, she still acted totally unfazed.
If only he could be as calm as Serena Feng, maybe he wouldn’t have ended up like this.
Sigh... timing, fate.
Evan Zhou shook his head and quietly stepped back. As a branded outcast, he still felt nervous facing officials.
"Didn’t you say it was urgent? What do you need me for? Just say it." Seeing the officers hesitate, Serena Feng took the initiative.
The two officers glanced at each other. After a moment’s hesitation, the older one stood up. "Miss Feng, we’re here to ask for your help."
"Help? What could I possibly help you with?" Serena Feng looked up, puzzled.
Still, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Looks like Gareth Yan’s father didn’t have the guts to go after her. Maybe Adrian Dongling wasn’t so unreliable after all.
Achoo...
Poor Adrian Dongling sneezed again.
A look of embarrassment flashed across the officer’s face as he stumbled over his words.
It turned out that early this morning, the Capital Prefect received a murder case—the two-month-old eldest son of the Hsieh family’s second branch was dead, and the prime suspect was the second branch’s legal wife.
The so-called 'eldest son of a concubine' refers to the first-born boy from a concubine or secondary wife, not the main wife.
A classic case of the main wife unable to tolerate the concubine’s son—a tragic drama among the elite.