Someone from the palace has arrived?
What are palace people doing here in this heavy snow?
"Go take a look." Serena nodded apologetically to Master Marcus Wynn and strode toward the front courtyard, leaving Master Marcus fuming alone.
"Serena, you... cold-blooded woman."
But scolding was useless—Serena couldn't hear him at all. Master Marcus had no choice but to wait; after all, he couldn't fight the Emperor for her.
At a time like this, the palace sending people was either to comfort Serena or to warn her. The Emperor surely knew about the recovery of Serena's parents' remains. Three days had passed, and the imperial decree was due—after all, both General Feng and Madame Feng died for the country.
Just as Master Marcus expected, the Emperor did issue an edict about General Feng and Madame Feng—half comfort, half warning.
The Emperor praised General Feng's bravery and sacrifice for the nation, and praised Madame Feng's righteousness, thus setting the official tone about their deaths. He warned Serena not to cause trouble, then sent some gifts to comfort her.
Considering Serena is just a weak woman with no experience in funerals, the Emperor specially ordered the Ministry of Rites to assist her in handling General Feng and Madame Feng's affairs. Finally, he added that, since Reid Yale found their remains, and at his request to attend the funeral, Serena must cooperate.
"Your daughter obeys the decree!" Serena lowered her head, gritting her teeth as she spoke.
She accepted all the earlier comfort; that's just how emperors are. Their subjects die for them, and that's only natural—they feel no guilt. Serena kept silent about these things; she couldn't change the Emperor's mind anyway. But...
That last sentence was enough to make Serena grind her teeth to dust.
Letting Reid Yale attend her parents' funeral—how could the Emperor even suggest it? Does he think that will erase the hatred between her and Reid?
Dream on!
She seriously doubted that Reid Yale would willingly attend her parents' funeral, kneeling and bowing before their remains.
Ahem, Serena guessed right—this last clause wasn't Reid's request at all, but the City Lord of Night City's.
The City Lord saw things more clearly than Reid. Reid's desecration of Serena's parents' remains put Night City at a moral disadvantage and offended House Warren, House Cui, Ninth Royal Uncle, and the Crown Prince.
Now was absolutely not the time for Night City to be stubborn—they had to bow their heads and show goodwill to Serena. They couldn't give Eastlyn any excuse to send troops against Night City, so the City Lord begged the Emperor to let Reid attend the funeral, hoping to calm Serena's anger and negative public opinion, and remove Eastlyn's pretext for military action.
Unfortunately, the City Lord's plan was wishful thinking; reality was cruel. Neither of the main parties was cooperating. Never mind whether Serena agreed—Reid flatly refused. He said even if you beat him to death, he'd never bow his head to Serena; he'd never live down the humiliation.
Beat him to death!
The City Lord of Night City was furious that day and started whipping him.
If you won't bow your head now, just wait for Night City to be destroyed—by then, even if you want to surrender, there won't be a way. The City Lord hated his son's stubbornness; he'd been clever his whole life, so how did he end up with such a clueless son?
It's all because of Su Wan—that woman from the Su clan. His son was fine before, but ever since meeting Su Wan, it's like he's lost his soul. He acts completely irrational, gets used by others, and still thinks he's made some great profit.
The more the City Lord thought about it, the angrier he got—the harder he beat...
How badly Reid Yale was beaten had nothing to do with Serena. After accepting the decree, she stood up with no trace of anger on her face, looking grateful. She even tipped the decree eunuch more than usual: "Thank you for braving the snow, sir. Please have a cup of hot tea."
"Miss Feng, you're too kind." The eunuch accepted the pouch without hesitation, weighing it in his hand as his smile grew brighter—Miss Feng was certainly generous, worth his snowy trip.
After the formalities, the eunuch didn't forget another important matter. Smiling, he said, "Miss Feng, His Majesty heard your manor's wine is uniquely fragrant. He wants me to take two jars back to the palace."
"Wine from my manor?" Serena's eyes flashed with surprise; she looked completely puzzled.
What's the Emperor playing at—would the palace really lack two jars of wine, coming all the way here to ask for hers?
"That's right, it's your wine, Miss Feng. Hurry and pick the best to send up—if His Majesty likes it, good things will come your way." The eunuch, pleased with his silver, gave her a friendly hint.
Normally, when the Emperor asks for something, the reward is generous—it was a hint for Serena to seize the opportunity.
"Thank you for the advice, sir. I'll go to the cellar and fetch the best wine right away." Serena's eyes flickered; she vaguely sensed something was off.
Her wine might be a bit purer than most, but how could word of it reach the Emperor? Still... if the Emperor asked, how could she refuse?
Serena signaled to Tong Jue and Tong Yao to fish for information, while she headed to the wine cellar herself.
She'd barely taken a few steps when she bumped into a guard. Somehow he'd slipped into the inner courtyard and knocked Serena a few steps back, but didn't even look back as he strode off.
Startled, Serena realized, once she'd recovered, that a wad of paper had appeared in her hand. She steadied herself, checked that no outsiders were around, and opened it. The note read: "The Crown Prince praised Feng Manor's wine in front of His Majesty."
So that's it...
Serena crumpled the note, kept walking to the wine cellar as if nothing had happened.
She counted the wine in the cellar, made sure nothing was missing, and finally relaxed. She took out two unopened jars, plus a small one, and headed back.
Serena returned to the main hall and solemnly handed the wine to the eunuch. The small jar was a 'gift' for him, so he'd put in a good word for her with the Emperor.
The eunuch left beaming, praising Serena as truly blessed.
Once the eunuch was gone, Serena's smile vanished. Tong Jue and Tong Yao, not knowing what had happened, stepped up and asked softly, "Miss?"
"Ah..." Serena answered absentmindedly. When she came to, she saw the worry in her maids' eyes and smiled: "I'm fine. By the way, where's Master Marcus Wynn?"
She was just tired!
Now she truly understood what it meant to walk on thin ice—even a jar of wine could be coveted. How was she supposed to survive like this?
Ninth Royal Uncle's warning was right—she had to be cautious, couldn't afford to be reckless as before. One wrong move, and she'd be doomed forever.
"Master Marcus Wynn is waiting for you in the back." Seeing Serena didn't want to talk, Tong Jue and Tong Yao didn't press further. She'd been like this for days, always looking troubled.
Serena nodded and went straight to find Master Marcus Wynn. As soon as he saw her, he asked, "The palace people are gone?"
"Gone. They took two jars of wine. By the way, Master Marcus, do you want wine? I'll give you everything in my cellar—send someone to pick it up tonight." Keeping the wine would only bring trouble. She couldn't protect it, so rather than let the Emperor have it, she'd rather give it to Master Marcus.
Heh... pretty sad, isn't it? But in this world, that's just normal. She had fine wine, but no way to protect it.
Serena smiled brightly, but Master Marcus could see the bitterness behind it...