It took a year of coordinated campaigns by all three armies to finally conquer Northlyn. Prince Nolan and Serena Feng then spent nearly another year handling the aftermath, slowly nursing the realm back from the wounds of war...
Of course, a single year was nowhere near enough—but Prince Nolan had no patience for delay. After brutally suppressing the postwar riots, he forced through new reforms, and as soon as the new order was barely on track, he announced his abdication, passing the throne to the Crown Prince Rory Dongling.
Naturally, the ministers refused, weeping and pleading that the young master was far too young, and that His Majesty was still in his prime—there was no need to abdicate.
To make the emperor take back his decree, civil and military officials knelt outside Martial Gate for three days and nights, but Prince Nolan’s mind was made up. He ordered the Ministry of Rites to prepare the accession ceremony.
The officials had long witnessed the emperor’s iron will, so they could only prepare for the ceremony with tears in their eyes...
Little Dumpling was now ten years old, no longer the chubby toddler of before, and gradually showing the poise of a young noble.
After repeatedly resigning in front of the ministers, Little Dumpling also resisted countless times in private—every attempt was violently suppressed by Prince Nolan. Helpless, he could only let the maids fit him for new dragon robes, tears in his eyes.
"Your Highness, ascending the throne is a joyous occasion—why aren’t you happy?" Winter Qing entered, seeing Little Dumpling dispirited and listless, and couldn’t help teasing him.
Spring Hui lightly tapped Winter Qing on the head. "Mind your manners—go apologize to His Highness at once."
Winter Qing instantly wilted and obediently stepped forward to apologize, but Little Dumpling interrupted: "Don’t blame Sister Winter Qing, Sister Spring Hui—it’s true, I’m just not happy."
"Your Highness, you really shouldn’t say things like that. If the censors hear it, they’ll impeach you again." Spring Hui tried to counsel him with a smile, but Little Dumpling only grew more annoyed, gritting his teeth: "Those useless censors—when I don’t need them, they’re always buzzing in my ear. Now, when I want them to persuade Father, not a single one speaks up."
"Once the emperor decides something, no one can change it." Autumn Hua half-kneeled at Little Dumpling’s feet, helping him straighten his dragon robe.
"Who says so? If Mother wants Father to change his mind, he always does." Don’t think he doesn’t know who really runs things at home.
"That’s just for small matters. Big decisions still belong to the emperor." Autumn Hua lowered her head, stifling a laugh, trying her best to uphold her young master’s authority.
But Little Dumpling refused to give his father face, grumbling, "Big matters? For Father and Mother, even the fate of the realm is a small matter. What big things are left at home for Father to decide?"
"Well..." Autumn Hua was left speechless. Summer Wan, busy tidying up, couldn’t help interjecting: "Your Highness, making you ascend the throne at ten is a big deal." In other words, this is the emperor’s decision, not the empress’s.
"I know..." Little Dumpling answered weakly, "Mother isn’t helping me either. It’s so unfair."
"Her Majesty wants to go to Mystic Healer Valley, but the emperor won’t let her." Autumn Hua, closest to Little Dumpling, lowered her voice so only he could hear.
At that, Little Dumpling completely lost the desire to speak...
Autumn Hua and Spring Hui didn’t dare bring it up again. Autumn Hua carefully checked if the dragon robe fit, noting what needed tailoring so the seamstresses could fix it quickly and not delay the ceremony...
Prince Nolan personally oversaw every detail of Little Dumpling’s accession ceremony. Everything was organized flawlessly, with airtight security—if Little Dumpling wanted to escape at the last minute, he couldn’t do it alone; he’d need help.
To be safe, Prince Nolan had already sent William Wang Jinling off to Jiangnan, and used the accession ceremony as a pretext to summon Prince Colin and the Prince of Jiangnan back to the Capital, both to tighten control and to remind them to properly support Little Dumpling.
Everything was ready; all that remained was to wait for the auspicious day, so Prince Nolan could retire in triumph. But would things really go as smoothly as he hoped?
Definitely not!
If Little Dumpling gave in so easily, he wouldn’t be the son of Prince Nolan and Serena Feng—much less the adopted son personally taught by William Wang Jinling.
On the day of the accession ceremony, Prince Nolan even watched Little Dumpling change into the dragon robe himself. But when the ceremony began, they discovered...
Everything was prepared—except for the new emperor!
"Send someone to check." Prince Nolan waited and waited for Little Dumpling to appear, growing uneasy and immediately ordering an investigation. Soon, a eunuch returned to report: "Your Majesty, His Highness is missing!"
"Ah..." The entire court gasped—surprised, yet as if half-expecting it. But there was no denying it: learning the new emperor had run away, they were secretly delighted...
Prince Nolan’s expression remained calm; at the eunuch’s words, not a trace of anger appeared, as if this was just how things were meant to be.
It was true—Little Dumpling had been behaving far too well lately. He hadn’t given up on escaping, but every attempt had just the right flaw; he’d never quite succeeded.
Serena Feng had warned that Little Dumpling wouldn’t give up easily. What no one expected was that he’d run away at the very last moment before the ceremony, leaving the entire court behind—such behavior...
...was utterly irresponsible.
"The ceremony is canceled." Prince Nolan tossed out the order and rushed straight to Little Dumpling’s palace.
The ministers exchanged bitter smiles—no matter how they looked at it, this was all a farce. But a farce was better than making Little Dumpling ascend right now. The realm may be unified, but the Nine Provinces are not something a child ruler can handle; another two years with the emperor on the throne would be best for both country and people.
"Let’s all disperse." Felix Fuller resignedly took charge of the cleanup. Once the court officials had all left, he quietly walked over to Holden Cui.
"Did you help?" William Wang Jinling might be absent, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t left a backup plan. Felix suspected Holden Cui was the contingency.
After all, William’s legitimate younger sister had married Holden Cui.
"If my lord commands me to die, I must die." Holden Cui didn’t give a direct answer, but those words were enough.
The future honor of the Cui Clan now depended on the new emperor; naturally, Holden would follow his orders...
Felix Fuller smiled and walked out of the hall together with Holden Cui.
When Prince Nolan returned to the palace, Serena Feng had already arrived and was treating the guards, maids, and shadow guards knocked out by Little Dumpling.
"Sweet Dumpling did it?" Prince Nolan took one look and instantly guessed who had helped Little Dumpling.
Serena Feng gave a wry smile. "Yes, she’s learned well." Even she had to admit Sweet Dumpling had surpassed her—especially in poisons; even Dr. Marcus Guile said Sweet Dumpling had real talent.
"Unorthodox arts," Prince Nolan said critically, but his face showed a hint of pride.
His own daughter, after all, was exceptional.
Prince Nolan glanced around the hall—not only were Little Dumpling and Sweet Dumpling missing, but even Spring Hui and Autumn Hua were gone. He frowned. "All gone?"
To think his son could even spirit away all four of Serena’s maids—he really was growing more impressive.
"Yes, all gone." Serena Feng administered medicine to the last shadow guard and ordered them to be carried away.
Sweet Dumpling had kept things under control, but she’d been a bit heavy-handed; the shadow guards wouldn’t recover for at least two days.
"Did they ditch all the shadow guards?" The shadow guards assigned to Little Dumpling and Sweet Dumpling were handpicked by Prince Nolan—one glance, and he knew exactly who each was supposed to protect.
"Mm." Serena Feng lowered her head, not daring to meet Prince Nolan’s eyes. Her guilty look made Prince Nolan grit his teeth. "You too? Are you all turning against me now?"
"I... I just felt sorry for Little Dumpling." Serena shuffled closer, trying to appease him: "You’re still young—there’s no need to abdicate so soon."
"Hmph..."
Prince Nolan would never admit that Serena’s compliment about his youth actually pleased him...