Quarreling, Punishment on Behalf of Your Mother

The Eighteen Riders and Ninth Royal Uncle stood locked in a standoff outside. Serena Feng watched quietly, waiting...

Fortunately, the Eighteen Riders did not disappoint Serena Feng again. Without her command, no matter how intimidating Ninth Royal Uncle's aura was or how much pressure they felt, not a single one retreated.

"Stand down." Everything in moderation—Serena Feng was satisfied and naturally wouldn't let the Eighteen Riders suffer here for nothing.

"Yes." At her order, the Eighteen Riders didn't hesitate for a moment—they vanished from Serena Feng's sight in a flash.

Now only Ninth Royal Uncle and Serena Feng remained inside and outside the courtyard. Only then did Ninth Royal Uncle step in, his face still cold as ever.

"Your subordinates are getting bolder—now they even dare to block me." Ninth Royal Uncle was truly furious, which was why he spoke so bluntly.

Serena Feng wasn't angry; she simply looked at Ninth Royal Uncle calmly and waited for him to finish before asking, "Is this what you came to talk about?"

Could he stop being so selfish? That day he dropped the news about personally sailing out to battle the Ghost King, then disappeared for days, not caring whether she'd worry.

After five or six days, he finally showed up—only to storm in and interrogate her as if she owed him something.

Ninth Royal Uncle was unhappy, and Serena Feng wasn't much happier either. Though her expression stayed calm, her eyes brimmed with a storm. Sitting in the shadows, her anger was hidden from him—he only saw her serene face, as if nothing had happened.

Turns out, he was the only one who cared.

For a moment, Ninth Royal Uncle felt an urge to kill.

Serena Feng! Ninth Royal Uncle pronounced each word with deliberate emphasis.

"I heard you." Serena Feng still didn't move, just placed her right hand on her belly, gently soothing the child within in silence.

"Why?" Ninth Royal Uncle's voice suddenly dropped low.

"Why what?" Serena looked genuinely puzzled; she had no idea why Ninth Royal Uncle had come.

Was it because she hadn't objected to his plan to attack Ghost Hall by sea?

But what objections could she have? If she stopped him, she'd have to marry him—and she truly didn't want to.

"Why did you let William Wang touch you?" All the way here, Ninth Royal Uncle kept thinking about William's silly smile—the more he thought about it, the angrier he became.

Serena was carrying his son, but he'd never felt the baby kick—so why did William Wang get there first?

No. Serena Feng shouldn't have let William Wang touch her.

Ninth Royal Uncle glared coldly at Serena Feng. She was stunned for a moment, then sneered, "Are you catching an adulterer?"

"I never doubted you." Ninth Royal Uncle was absolutely certain—he trusted Serena Feng, just as she had once trusted him.

"If that's not it, then what are you asking about?" Serena Feng retorted, her gaze growing even colder.

"Serena, this is my child. You are my wife. No one but me can touch you." Even just her belly—Ninth Royal Uncle couldn't accept it, especially since William Wang got there first.

"Your wife? Your child? Have you ever considered that one day, Bella Qin might stand before me, point at my nose, and say: 'Serena Feng, this is my fiancé, my husband—no one but me can touch him.' What am I supposed to do then?" Serena instantly saw William's intent and cleverly threw the question back.

Though she didn't want to bring it up, Serena didn't want William's efforts to be wasted. At this point, the only one who still remembered her suffering was William.

"I've said it before—Bella Qin isn't a problem. She'll never appear before you." Ninth Royal Uncle repeated, and Serena also insisted, "I've also said, William isn't a problem between us. I'll never marry him."

"Serena Feng, these are two different things." Ninth Royal Uncle frowned, sensing something wasn't right.

Serena nodded. "They really are two different things. William is my friend; Bella Qin is your fiancée."

"She isn't now." Reasoning with a woman was truly exhausting.

"If you say she's not, then she's not." Serena wanted to say more, but she was tired—emotionally tired.

The topic ended there, and most of Ninth Royal Uncle's anger faded. In fact, he understood that Bella Qin's position relative to Serena was the same as William's position relative to him.

Even if he didn't want to admit it, he couldn't deny that his relationship with Bella Qin was even closer. An engagement is only one step below marriage. He knew hiding Bella's existence was wrong, but if he hadn't, would Serena have ever been with him?

With Serena's pride, absolutely not.

And if he'd waited to resolve things with Bella Qin before pursuing Serena, would she still be his?

Definitely not—he would have lost his chance from the very beginning.

Thinking this through, the last bit of anger in Ninth Royal Uncle's heart vanished. He even found it hard to face Serena, but he couldn't bear to just leave.

"Serena..." Ninth Royal Uncle called out softly, sounding a little aggrieved.

Aggrieved? Serena snorted coldly.

If Ninth Royal Uncle could feel aggrieved over this, then what about her? She hadn't done anything, yet he made her responsible for the attack on Ghost Hall at sea.

If something happened to Ninth Royal Uncle at sea, she'd be the one blamed for his death.

How could this man be so ruthless? He never considered her, never thought about her feelings.

Serena Feng turned her face away, unwilling to respond.

Ninth Royal Uncle was used to Serena Feng's coldness. He silently walked over and placed both hands on her belly.

He knew Serena wouldn't refuse—anything good for the child, she would allow. Parents talking to their child through her belly counted as good for the child, so he could get close to Serena. But...

"Why isn't he moving?" Ninth Royal Uncle kept his hands on Serena's belly for a long time, but the baby inside just wouldn't move.

"He already moved at noon. The evening movement hasn't happened yet. Maybe he won't move at all—when William touched me earlier, the baby already kicked." Serena knew Ninth Royal Uncle was jealous. She didn't want to explain, but she didn't want William blamed either.

"I'm his father." The baby showing no respect for his dad was almost too much for Ninth Royal Uncle to bear.

"I know." Seeing Ninth Royal Uncle frustrated, Serena felt a bit better inside.

At crucial moments, their son was reliable.

So why won't he move? Nearly seven months along, and as the father, he still hadn't felt the baby kick. Was the child doing this on purpose?

"He doesn't know." With all that murderous energy rushing in, if she were the baby, she wouldn't move either.

"You haven't told him I'm his father?" Ninth Royal Uncle was clearly unhappy. Serena didn't care at all and replied lightly, "You can tell him now."

"Baby, I'm your dad. Be good... give me a kick."

"Baby, I'm your real dad. If you don't believe me, ask your mom."

...