Tears, Still Unrepentant on the Brink of Death

She must be out of her mind, chasing a sense of accomplishment. Just thinking about the terrifying future sales volume made Serena want to die—she didn’t even want to earn that much silver, because she never wanted to release so much medicine in the first place.

The prenatal medicine didn’t cost silver, but it did cost Medical Ethics Points. In Serena’s eyes, Medical Ethics mattered far more than money—no amount of silver could buy her Medical Ethics.

Fortunately, the prenatal medicine wasn’t something the masses needed. If she ever made a product for the general public, she’d spend her whole life scrambling to earn Medical Ethics Points just to redeem medicine, saving people nonstop—and what would be the point of living then?

Medical Ethics...

Serena’s heart bled. Damn it, she’d finally racked up over a thousand Medical Ethics Points, inching closer and closer to that AK-47—only to ruin it all because she got greedy, wanting to earn money to feed herself and support Zuo An.

Wuwuwu... My Medical Ethics Points, my AK-47! Serena really wanted to march over and tell Victor Yun to cancel their contract and stop selling the prenatal medicine.

But she didn’t dare. If she even said such a thing, forget the Young Clan—even the capital’s powerhouses wouldn’t let her off.

Fine. She’d talk to Victor Yun later about controlling the sales—don’t spread the net too wide, and absolutely don’t export to Westlyn, Southern Lyn, or Northlyn. She couldn’t afford it.

She had to consider whether to publish the production method for the prenatal medicine—otherwise, she’d be dragged down by it forever, and might never save up enough Medical Ethics Points for what she wanted.

Awooo... Staring at her Medical Ethics Points, now instantly back in the three-digit range, Serena just wanted someone to comfort her. How could she be so stupid, smashing her own foot with a stone?

Still, seeing three operating rooms stacked full of prenatal medicine made Serena feel a bit better. Those boxes were pure silver—enough silver to keep Zuo An on her payroll, and with Zuo An around, her life wasn’t at risk. The whole point of redeeming an AK-47 was survival, wasn’t it? Zuo An was way more practical than any gun.

"Screw it. After New Year, I’ll take Zuo An and leave the capital—go on a charitable medical tour to Shandong. I refuse to believe I can’t grind my Medical Ethics Points back up." Serena gritted her teeth and spent another ten points to redeem kidney-nourishing medicine for Vincent Su.

Even though it hurt to spend those Medical Ethics Points, she couldn’t let Vincent Su stay chronically weak just to save a handful of points...

Serena was generous to a fault—she gave Vincent Su a hundred boxes each of both packaging editions of her prenatal medicine. On the open market, that was worth over ten thousand taels of silver. In an era where a single tael could feed a family for a year, this was an extravagant gift.

More importantly, the prenatal medicine wasn’t even on sale yet—no amount of money could buy it.

Serena’s big gesture made Vincent Su feel embarrassed. Worried she might think he resented her for not choosing to partner with him, Vincent Su awkwardly explained, "Serena, don’t take what I said today to heart. I was just venting. If I really cared, I wouldn’t have come to you, or asked you for medicine."

He just felt annoyed that Serena knew his clan lacked silver and grain, yet didn’t think of them first when a lucrative deal came up. Still, he understood that, all things considered, the Young Clan was the best choice.

"Alright, I get it." Businessmen—faced with such a profitable opportunity, who wouldn’t be tempted? If Vincent Su really didn’t care, she’d find that odd.

Vincent Su chuckled. The reason he’d complained as soon as he arrived was to make Serena feel a little guilty—so it’d be easier to ask for medicine next. He just hadn’t expected her to be so generous.

He wanted to offer her silver, but Serena had already given the sales rights to the Young Clan—she couldn’t sell it herself anymore. Besides, she was sitting on a mountain of gold; what did she care about a little extra silver?

Well, since Serena had given the gift so sincerely, Vincent Su couldn’t refuse. He left with a full load, directing his servants as they hauled crate after crate to the carriage. Judging by the carriages he’d prepared, it was clear he’d come ready for this.

"Young master, what are you moving here?" An elderly madam, just about to enter and deliver gifts to Serena, spotted the commotion and hurried over to ask.

People outside Feng Manor noticed the stir and quietly gathered around. Each craned their necks, trying to see what was inside those enormous crates.

It wasn’t that they were inexperienced—everyone gets curious. The point was, anything being hauled out of Feng Manor at a time like this was almost certainly that thing they all wanted.

Vincent Su didn’t disappoint them. He straightened his clothes, stood with hands behind his back, and declared with smug pride, "What do you think I’d be hauling out of Feng Manor at a time like this? Isn’t it that hot-ticket item everyone’s been talking about lately?"

No matter how you listened, Vincent Su sounded like he was showing off. That grin on his face just begged for a smack. The madams forced down their jealousy, craning their necks to stare at the twenty massive crates, eyes practically turning red.

Those crates were huge—just how much could they hold?

Vincent Su knew exactly what they were thinking, and he also knew better than to make enemies for Serena. He quickly explained, "Don’t overthink it, ladies. I have ties with the mistress of Feng Manor and the Young Clan’s eldest son, so I got in early. In a few days, you’ll all be able to buy some too."

If people found out Serena had gifted him all this, the capital’s marquises, counts, and high officials would be furious—and accuse Serena of being ungrateful.

After Vincent Su’s explanation, the madams watching finally felt a little better. If the mistress of Feng Manor was so generous with her return gifts, surely theirs wouldn’t be any less. Now that they heard it was a purchase, they had nothing more to say—the man had connections and money, after all.

Once Vincent Su finished loading the medicine and left, the madams sprang into action too—those who hadn’t delivered gifts rushed to do so, and those who had hurried home. This was prime gossip, after all.

The Young Clan’s prenatal medicine was about to hit the market!

Because of Vincent Su’s little spectacle outside Feng Manor, Victor Yun came to find Serena earlier than planned. He’d thought Serena didn’t have that much stock, and figured sales wouldn’t start until after the New Year. But...

Damn it, he’d only gotten a three-month supply, and some people had even snatched a few boxes from him. Vincent Su, meanwhile, had hauled off a whole cartload. He wanted to flip a table.

Victor Yun immediately hopped into a carriage, bringing several carts for hauling goods. No matter what, he was determined to take a few loads back today—to appease all those officials and royals who’d been pressuring him.

Vincent Su left, Victor Yun arrived—just as Serena had predicted. Before Victor Yun could complain that she hadn’t notified him about the medicine, Serena copied Vincent Su’s tactic and put him on the spot, accusing him of being irresponsible. If he’d waited any longer, she’d have sent someone to fetch him.

Victor Yun was left speechless, mouth open but no words coming out. He clenched his teeth and muttered that he wouldn’t argue with a little lady—business came first.

Seeing Victor Yun wasn’t upset that she’d given the medicine to Vincent Su first, Serena quietly breathed a sigh of relief. She didn’t make things difficult for Victor Yun—after setting aside what she needed for gifts, she let him take all the medicine from the three operating rooms.

"Sell it sparingly. The next batch probably won’t be ready until next year." It was hard enough grinding out Medical Ethics Points—those who couldn’t earn them were out of luck.

Uh... In times like these, what kind of merchant tells you to sell goods sparingly?

But Victor Yun knew herbs weren’t like other goods—you had to wait for new crops to grow before you could make more medicine, and a year was already lightning fast.

"Yeah, I get it. Don’t sweat it." Victor Yun did the math in his head, trying to figure out how to divvy up the medicine between all the cities and countries. No matter how he sliced it, the batch was way too small—he could clear it out in a month, easy.

Victor Yun figured: Serena’s one-tael prenatal tonic should go for more. With such a tiny supply, only the rich would ever get their hands on it.

"Serena, this stuff’s scarce. Only the rich and powerful will get it. You should jack up the price for the pouch edition too. Even if you keep it cheap, regular folks will never score any." Victor Yun was being straight—higher prices meant more profit for Serena.

Serena paused, jaw set. "No. One tael’s enough. If it’s cheap, those big shots won’t even look at it. I’m not chasing perfect fairness—just doing what I can."

A little kindness never hurt anybody. Seeing Serena dig in her heels, Victor Yun let it go and started barking orders for the crew to load up and keep track of every box.

This was silver—cold, hard silver.

Wagon after wagon of prenatal tonic rolled out. The Young Clan’s servants strutted like peacocks, faces glowing despite the freezing air. People on the street gawked—if this wasn’t the imperial capital, somebody would’ve tried to snatch a box.

Reid Yale and Su Wan, usually locked up indoors, saw it all. Jealousy ate at them, but in public they didn’t dare say a word.

With Prince Terrence Valen and Prince Damien out of the picture, and the City Lord of Night City threatening to kill Su Wan if Reid made trouble, they were stuck—no way out.

To be fair, Reid Yale really did care about Su Wan. Even with half her face ruined, he stuck by her and still hadn’t given up on fixing it.

Reid and Su Wan, faces twisted with resentment, only dared to spit venom about Serena once they were alone: "So what if she’s got medical tricks? If she didn’t have Ninth Royal Uncle backing her, she’d be nothing. If she was all that, the Seventh Prince wouldn’t have dumped her."

"Damn right! Serena Feng’s got no shame. Sooner or later, Ninth Royal Uncle’ll toss her out—and I’ll be front row for her crash and burn." Su Wan clutched her veil, hating Serena even more for her own ruined face.

Hmph, staring down disaster and still clueless. The City Lord of Night City is a joke—raising a fool like that? Night City’s days are numbered.

From the shadows, Lance Quinn—masked and dressed in black—stepped out after Reid and Su Wan left. Watching them go, a flash of killing intent flickered in his eyes, but he held back.

Reid can’t die yet—not until the City Lord’s gone. Better a dumb heir than no heir at all.

Lance Quinn unclenched his fist, spun around, and shot off toward the Walker family’s ancestral estate...

[Translator’s note: Author’s end-of-chapter message omitted per guidelines.]