Vincent Su watched as Ninth Royal Uncle remained calm and composed, handling matters with his usual steadiness. Vincent finally breathed a sigh of relief—he had truly feared that Nolan might lose his head over the rumors and make some reckless, self-destructive move.
Seeing the grave look on Nolan's face, Vincent decided to speak up and try to reassure him: "Nolan, I know the recent rumors have been troubling you, but don't take them too much to heart. Serena isn't the petty type—she won't care about such things. Besides, none of this is your fault. The harsher people are on Serena now, the more, when your true identities are revealed, they'll turn to praise you both."
Vincent simply didn’t think the matter was all that serious. Rumors? Serena survived the pressure of a premarital scandal before—she can handle this too. Serena is far stronger than most women; she’ll never be easily defeated.
"Is that so?" Nolan glanced at Vincent, then turned his head away with a cool indifference.
People who’ve never been wounded by gossip will never understand its destructive power. Rumors hurt more than a knife—a knife only wounds the body, but gossip scars the heart.
Of course Serena would never lose hope or kill herself over gossip, but she would be hurt, she would hesitate—and that’s exactly what Nolan wants to avoid.
After finishing his conversation with Vincent, it was already midnight. Before heading back to Ninth Prince Manor, Nolan made a detour to Feng Manor, only to learn that Serena was still in the Imperial Palace. Nolan considered leaving her a note, but in the end, he gave up on the idea.
Some things are better explained face to face. But as it turned out, after that night, he never found another suitable opportunity…
The little prince’s condition kept relapsing; the next morning he started vomiting milk again, and red swollen patches appeared on his skin. Serena had no choice but to stay on in Radiant Hall.
Serena wasn’t skilled in treating infants and didn’t dare use strong medicine. All she could do was slowly nurse the little prince back to health. So, Serena stayed in Radiant Hall for three days before the child’s condition finally stabilized.
Before leaving, Serena left a supply of common infant medicines for Imperial Noble Consort Helena Hsieh. After all, Helena could no longer summon Serena to the palace at will—she was no longer the powerful consort who once ruled the harem. Now that she’s fallen out of favor, she doesn’t have the right to call Serena in whenever she pleases.
During those days in Radiant Hall, Serena saw it clearly: Helena Hsieh had truly lost imperial favor. The Emperor didn’t care about her, and the Hsieh family was ready to move on—they’d already sent a younger, prettier girl into the palace to take her place.
Looking at the medicine in her hand, Helena managed a faint smile. "At a time like this, only you, Serena, would still help me."
In the harem, imperial favor is everything. Unless you’re the Empress and rule the inner palace, you can’t afford to lose the Emperor’s affection—not even if you’re a Noble Consort.
"I'm a doctor, just doing what a doctor should." Serena let out a quiet sigh.
She and Helena Hsieh had only ever used each other—Helena needed a trustworthy doctor, and Serena needed someone to help restrain the Empress. So they cooperated. But now…
Helena Hsieh was no longer useful. By rights, Serena didn’t need to care about her anymore. But in the end, she was only human—spend enough time with someone and you’ll develop feelings. Besides, their partnership had always been pleasant; Serena simply couldn’t bring herself to discard someone like a tool once they were no longer useful.
"There are so many imperial physicians in the Imperial Medical Directorate, but none are as dedicated as you." Thinking back over everything Serena had done since they met, Helena was suddenly struck by the thought, then smiled. "Now that I think about it, you really have kept your word. You promised you’d help me protect my child, and for a whole year you’ve done everything you could. Serena, you’re a good doctor."
"You flatter me, Your Ladyship. Everything I’ve done was simply following my conscience." As long as she could answer to her own heart, Serena could sleep at night without nightmares or guilt.
"Simply following your conscience, is it? Serena, you know I’ve always hoped you could make peace with the Hsieh family. Let me ask you again—are you willing? If you’d just nod and take a step back, I swear I could persuade the Hsiehs to accept your terms."
Even though the Hsieh family had given up on her, Helena Hsieh still wanted to do something for her clan. After all, she’d only reached her current position thanks to their support. If she could pull this off, it would be her way of repaying the Hsiehs for raising and nurturing her.
Helena had brought this up before, but Serena’s conditions were too harsh—she wanted the Hsieh clan head to come in person, kneel, and beg forgiveness. The Hsiehs would never agree to that, and Serena wouldn’t back down either.
"Your Ladyship, I appreciate your kindness. I don’t seek a life-or-death feud with the Hsiehs, but I’ll never forget the humiliation I suffered that day. Still, don’t worry—I’m not one for pointless grudges. I made mistakes too. As long as the Hsiehs don’t come after me, I won’t go after them. But if they do, I’ll pay them back double. And one thing is absolute: for the rest of my life, I will never cross the Hsieh family’s threshold." Serena was never one to repay evil with good; she couldn’t forget how the Hsiehs kicked her when she was down.
Besides, the Hsiehs were too closely tied to the Emperor—they were destined to be her enemies. She had no reason to pretend at reconciliation with her real rivals.
Helena sighed, disappointed. "If you’re unwilling, let’s just forget I ever brought it up. But Serena… you must have heard the rumors in the Capital lately. At times like this, you need the support of the great clans."
Helena’s advice wasn’t just for the Hsieh family’s sake—she genuinely wanted to help Serena.
If the Hsiehs were willing to join forces with the other noble clans and speak up for Serena, the rumors in the Capital would be crushed instantly.
Most aristocrats depended on the Emperor for survival—they wouldn’t dare defy him. The rising lower clans were still too weak. At this moment, the only power Serena could try to win over was the noble houses.
"Thank you for your concern, Your Ladyship. As for the rumors, I have my own way of dealing with them." Serena smiled politely, then added, "Your Ladyship, as I’ve said before, my friendship with you has nothing to do with the Hsieh family."
In other words, no matter what happened between Serena and the Hsiehs, she would never hold it against Helena Hsieh. Their relationship was personal, not political.
"I understand." Even though she already knew, Helena was still pleased to hear Serena say it so plainly.
Serena really did have a way to handle the rumors—she’d dealt with this sort of thing before.
After leaving the palace, Serena didn’t return home. Instead, she rode out of the city to find Simon Sun—she wanted to know how Simon felt about Charlotte Chu.
From Charlotte’s tone, Serena could tell she cared about Simon—maybe Charlotte herself hadn’t realized it yet, but Serena could see it clearly.
Serena didn’t care about Charlotte’s attitude—what mattered to her was Simon. He’d never had much experience dealing with women, and Serena worried he might really fall for Charlotte Chu.
Charlotte Chu was trouble Serena would rather avoid. But if Simon truly liked her, Serena would respect his wishes.
Serena had never wanted to court trouble—but she wasn’t afraid of it, either!