Nolan couldn’t help laughing and crying. So it turned out the reason Serena Feng had been uneasy all night was this—he’d even thought something had happened between her and William Wang Jinling, and that was why she’d seemed so out of sorts the whole evening.
Seeing Serena Feng’s little face scrunched up in pain, Nolan reached out with concern and gently rubbed it for her. “You really are a fool, scaring yourself for no reason. You’d rather trust William Wang Jinling than trust me? Marry you? Without my approval, nobody in this world can even think of marrying you. As for the marriage alliance, don’t worry—I’ll handle it. Not only that, tomorrow I’ll let you watch a good show.”
A wicked smile curled at Nolan’s lips; in that moment, he looked like a messenger from hell, radiating an alluring, dark energy. He wasn’t bothering to hide his intentions at all.
He wasn’t kind—he had never been a gentle person. To reach his goals, he would use both hidden schemes and open plots.
Serena Feng shivered. By the time she reacted, all she could do was silently pray for whoever was about to be caught in Nolan’s schemes—and at the same time, she couldn’t help but wonder: who would be the unlucky one tomorrow?
Would it be Su Wan, or Princess Yara? Or maybe Serenity? No, Serenity was impossible—after all, she was Nolan’s niece. But then again… if Nolan really cared about his niece, he wouldn’t have pushed her toward Prince Quentin of Northlyn.
She’d always known Nolan’s banquets weren’t so easy to enjoy, and his wine wasn’t so simple to drink. Serena Feng couldn’t help but laugh along. If there were outsiders present, they’d surely notice that the curve of their smiles was exactly the same.
“Alright, stop worrying about all that. If anything happens, I’m here. Didn’t you say you owed me compensation? Come, now’s your chance to make it up to me.” Nolan took Serena Feng’s hand and led her forward, unconsciously slowing his steps.
Serena Feng was a little dazed—Nolan’s mood changed so fast, she couldn’t keep up.
Nolan didn’t give Serena Feng much time to adjust; he brought her straight to a secret underground chamber and opened crate after crate of thunder-blast grenades.
“Oh my god.” Staring at row after row of thunder-blast grenades, Serena Feng instantly lost any dreamy romantic thoughts and sobered up completely. She turned and demanded of Nolan, “How do you have so many thunder-blast grenades?”
These things were lethal—how could Nolan possibly have so many?
“That’s a question for you.” Nolan saw Serena’s misunderstanding but didn’t bother to explain, replying arrogantly.
“For me? What does this have to do with me?” No one in this world hated thunder-blast grenades more than she did—how could she possibly allow such things to cause trouble?
“These were stockpiled by Liam Li. He went to the Emperor and accused you of trying to kill him. Then Duke Zhen and Rosa Zhen approached him; he gave them the storage location for the grenades, but only on the condition that they’d use them to blow you up.” Nolan summed up the situation simply—and the Emperor agreed to the plan.
In other words, for the sake of the thunder-blast grenades, the Emperor didn’t hesitate at all to sacrifice Serena Feng.
“Kill me? Liam really does think highly of me—using so many grenades just to blow me up. If they threw all these at me, I wouldn’t even leave a scrap behind.” Serena Feng gave a self-deprecating laugh. She knew her own position; there was no way the Emperor cared about her life or death.
Thinking about how she’d misjudged Nolan, Serena Feng didn’t know how to apologize, so she changed the subject: “If I’d known this would happen, I should’ve just finished him off back then, or made him a real living dead man—would’ve saved a lot of trouble.”
Serena Feng didn’t ask how this batch of grenades ended up in Nolan’s hands, and Nolan didn’t bother to explain either.
“If you’d killed him, the Emperor would’ve buried you with him. In the Emperor’s eyes, a hundred of you aren’t worth one Liam Li.” Nolan snapped, raising his hand as if to knock Serena Feng on the head for saying such reckless things.
But Serena Feng dodged nimbly. “Not just anyone gets to knock me on the head.”
Serena Feng was always cool and rational—her martial skills weren’t as good as Nolan’s, but she was far quicker than most people. It was just that, in front of Nolan, she rarely managed to stay this calm. Today counted as progress.
Nolan didn’t mind, naturally withdrawing his hand. “Once I decide to do something, no one can stop me.”
Serena Feng snorted. Very few people in this world could say such a thing. Pointing at the grenades, she asked seriously, “Why did you bring me here to see all this?”
“Of course not. Liam Li told Duke Zhen about far more than just these few crates of grenades.” Nolan didn’t mind Serena Feng’s businesslike attitude at all.
Which was just as well—women who were too emotional could never accomplish great things.
“Oh? What else?” Anything belonging to Liam Li was never simple—was Nolan testing her?
Serena Feng’s heart was already in turmoil, but her face showed nothing. Some things couldn’t be said—not even to Nolan.
A secret is a secret; once a second person knows, it’s no longer a secret. No matter how outsiders guessed, she would never admit a thing.
Nolan didn’t say anything. Instead, he led Serena Feng into another stone chamber, opened a wooden crate, and a pungent sulfur smell hit them.
“Gunpowder? Liam Li actually managed to make so much gunpowder—what the hell was that bastard planning?” Serena Feng clenched her fists in fury.
Nolan didn’t say anything, just watched Serena Feng quietly. When she’d vented enough, he finally spoke, slow and unhurried: “Don’t worry about Liam Li—whatever he wants to do, he won’t get the chance. When the time is right, I’ll eliminate him.”
“Eliminate him? Can you really bear to?” Serena Feng didn’t know Nolan’s true intentions, but seeing him intercept the grenades, she could guess—Nolan was not a man who played by the rules. He had ambition and power.
“To be honest, I can’t bear to. But I trust you’ll give me a reason to do it. Serena Feng, I’m going to turn all this gunpowder into thunder-blast grenades.” He never revealed his ambitions to anyone before—Serena was the first, so she had no right to refuse.
“I don’t understand.” Serena Feng sighed, refusing—but not very firmly.
“It’s fine. I believe you’ll understand soon enough. I’m giving you one month—if you figure it out in that time, I’ll kill Liam Li; if not, and I have no other choice, I’ll have to keep him around.” Nolan’s tone was half negotiation, half threat.
“You…” Serena Feng gritted her teeth. “I could kill him without you.”
“Really? I’ll be watching.” Nolan smirked, almost as if he’d heard a joke. “Serena Feng, Liam Li is already a tool coveted by all four kingdoms. You think you still have a chance to get rid of him? You think you can keep the secret of crippling him forever?” If not for Sun Zhengdao, Serena wouldn’t have managed it at all.
Liam Li ended up like this—if not for the repeated assurances of the Imperial Medical Bureau, the Emperor would have suspected Serena Feng. She’d made it too obvious, shutting down her own future opportunities.
A threat—a naked threat. Serena Feng met Nolan’s gaze. “Are you threatening me?”
“No, I’m just telling you: you have one month left. Enough about this. I promised you a big gift, and now it’s almost time. Come on—I’ll show you a good show.” Nolan naturally took Serena Feng’s hand.
“What kind of show?” Nolan kept mentioning it—Serena Feng couldn’t help but be curious, though her mind was heavy with worry.
Making thunder-blast grenades for Nolan—this was no small matter. But could she refuse? How?
Refuse? She could forget about refusing for the rest of her life. Nolan tightened his grip on Serena Feng’s hand, reminding her to pay attention, while saying with a smile, “Tonight we’ll watch a drunken scandal unfold. Anyone who plots against me will pay the price.”