Although Serena Feng was reluctant to take on the Crown Prince as a patient, she couldn't refuse now that Ninth Royal Uncle had spoken. Doctors aren’t as free as people imagine—at least, she didn’t have the right to choose her patients.
Heart surgery is even more difficult than neurosurgery. Serena hadn’t performed a single heart operation in the past year, so she was inevitably rusty. She requested that Ninth Royal Uncle prepare some test subjects for her to practice on.
"Do you need live humans? What age? Male or female? How many?" Ninth Royal Uncle asked calmly, but his words startled Serena. She stared at him, stunned, and only returned to her senses after a long pause: "No, animals—animals are fine. I’m just practicing, and most of the ones I practice on end up dead, so there’s no need to use living people."
Serena was a bit incoherent, genuinely shocked by Ninth Royal Uncle’s 'grand gesture.' If he really let her use live humans for practice, it would be even more cruel than live organ harvesting.
The feudal ruling class was truly terrifying. She was glad she had some status in this world—if she were a female prisoner or a poor child, she might have ended up as an experiment.
"If you need live humans, it’s not a problem. I can find a dozen or so." Ninth Royal Uncle saw Serena’s dazed look and thought she was hesitating.
After all, the Master of Mystic Healer Valley always used living people for experiments. Whenever it came to choosing between humans and animals, the Valley Master had the same expression.
Serena felt a chill run through her body and shivered unconsciously. She didn’t explain why she refused to use live humans—she just said sincerely, "Just prepare some small animals. I don’t experiment on living people."
Serena only wanted to hold onto her principles. She would never foolishly debate the equality of life with Ninth Royal Uncle.
Never mind that this was an era of absolute imperial power—even in a law-based society, plenty of places experimented on living humans; it was just more hidden.
When a new drug is launched, it must go through many experiments. To observe clinical reactions, it’ll inevitably be used on patients, and only then can its effects be monitored. Although these drugs are first tested on animals, animal reactions never fully match human ones—every year, plenty of people die from 'new drugs.'
"Oh right, besides test subjects, I’ll need an assistant. I can’t do this alone." Heart surgery is nothing like other procedures—once the chest is opened, it’s a race against death, and she couldn’t possibly do it solo.
"Don’t worry, the person you need is already prepared." Ninth Royal Uncle knew exactly who she wanted, even though Serena hadn’t said.
Hearing this, Serena instantly relaxed—Simon Sun could finally come back. At least there was one thing to be happy about.
Seeing Serena’s mood lighten, Ninth Royal Uncle’s expression softened as well. He didn’t want to pressure her, but if anyone could save the Crown Prince, it had to be Serena. He’d heard her say with his own ears that the heart could be repaired.
Ninth Royal Uncle was extremely efficient. Without consulting Serena, as soon as the boat docked, crates of rabbits were delivered. He’d seen her experiment on rabbits at Feng Manor before.
Serena saw the rabbits and burst into tears. "Ninth Royal Uncle, I forgot to tell you—I can’t operate on the boat." The boat rocked constantly on the water, making it impossible for her to make precise incisions.
Ninth Royal Uncle was speechless. He ordered the rabbits to be kept alive, and whenever he saw a sickly rabbit, he’d have it made into Kung Pao rabbit—waste not, want not.
Since Serena couldn’t practice in the cabin, they had to speed up their journey. They traveled day and night, and after five days, Ninth Royal Uncle and Serena arrived at the rendezvous point agreed upon with the Crown Prince. But neither the Crown Prince nor Simon Sun had arrived yet.
Once Ninth Royal Uncle had arranged everything for Serena, he stopped interfering. Even though Serena hadn’t brought anything with her, she turned around and produced a box of professional instruments. Ninth Royal Uncle didn’t ask any questions.
Serena understood—Ninth Royal Uncle must have learned something. The two of them tacitly kept to their own tasks: he sent people to track the Crown Prince’s movements, while Serena practiced in the operating room that Nolan had prepared in advance.
Seeing an operating room identical to the small cabin at Feng Manor, Serena could only admit that Ninth Royal Uncle was truly devious. He’d made all the arrangements early, leaving her no room to refuse.
The smaller the animal, the faster its heart beats. A rabbit’s heart rate can reach 120–160 beats per minute, far exceeding a human’s. The animal closest to a human heart rate is a pig, but Serena wasn’t about to start slaughtering pigs—and the operating table couldn’t hold one anyway—so she had to settle for rabbits.
Rabbits have a fast heart rate. If she could operate successfully on a rabbit, the Crown Prince’s odds would improve.
Of course, that was just the theory. Reality, though…
"Damn it, another one died!"
Serena picked up the bloody rabbit and tossed it into the corner, where several dead rabbits were already piled up.
To perform heart surgery, you have to cut off arterial blood supply so the heart stops beating temporarily. This period can’t be too long, or the body won’t get enough blood and the brain will die from lack of oxygen.
Speed—she had to get faster. She couldn’t let her patient’s body go without blood for too long.
Serena rubbed her aching wrists. She knew her hands were already at their limit from such intense work, but she just couldn’t bring herself to stop.
"One last try. If it doesn’t work, I’ll continue tomorrow."
Another rabbit, shaved clean and anesthetized, lay flat on the operating table. Serena’s face was icy; through her medical glasses perched on her nose, her bloodshot eyes looked less like a doctor’s and more like a killer’s. Luckily, no servant dared disturb her during surgery—otherwise, they’d have been scared stiff.
She adjusted her glasses and bent over the rabbit, fighting for its life. As expected, she failed again—when the surgery was done, the rabbit showed no signs of life; its heart couldn’t start beating again.
"Zero success rate." Serena spread her hands with a bitter smile.
Using rabbits for heart experiments, the odds of success were never high. Serena wasn’t disappointed about the outcome—she was just dissatisfied with her surgical performance.
Cardiac surgery has a low success rate to begin with. For both doctors and patients, it’s a brutal ordeal.
Serena tossed her bloody gloves onto the table, walked to the sink, and carefully scrubbed her hands clean. Only then did she remove her glasses and put them away.
Those glasses were a medical microscope—she’d exchanged for them not long ago. Without it, she couldn’t perform heart surgery.
"Miss." As soon as Serena stepped out, the servant waiting outside greeted her respectfully.
"Clean up inside. I don’t want to see a single drop of blood." Serena instructed, then walked away.
The servant’s face changed instantly. Everyone who’d helped tidy up Serena’s operating room these past days knew just how bloody it was inside—the rabbits were truly pitiful.
They could hardly believe that the one carving up those rabbits was a young woman.
Still, fear was fear. Cleaning up the operating room was their job, and being chosen to guard this place meant their master trusted them. They couldn’t let her down.