Life and Death, Trust Only in Yourself

Mira Tang and Jada Tang recounted their conversation with Commander Leon Li and his men, including every subtle reaction they had upon hearing that Serena Feng was critically ill—down to the smallest detail, not daring to leave anything out.

Serena Feng lay back on her bed, eyes closed, looking for all the world as if she were asleep. Seeing this, Mira and Jada spoke more and more softly, until at last their voices faded to silence.

The two exchanged a silent smile, wordlessly saying, "Miss has fallen asleep."

But just as they stepped forward, ready to help Serena lie down, she suddenly opened her eyes—cold, piercing light flashing in her dark gaze, as if it shot straight into their hearts...

The two maids were startled, frozen in place. When they finally recovered, they saw Serena’s eyes gleaming with a mysterious, commanding light—there was nothing sleepy about her at all.

"Keep going," Serena said softly, closing her eyes again to hide the chill in her gaze.

"Yes, Miss," Mira and Jada stammered, still shaken. Even if Serena really had been asleep, neither of them dared stop talking.

Inwardly, the two maids compared Serena to the Grand Heir, William Wang Jinling. They realized both shared a born-to-rule aura: seeming not to listen, yet catching every hint of trouble; appearing harmless, yet able to decide life and death with a casual word or smile.

That the Grand Heir had such presence didn’t surprise them—the Wang Clan’s centuries of heritage naturally produced heirs like him. But what about the Feng clan?

Not to mention Serena’s parents died young—even if they’d lived, with their rank and background, how could they possibly have raised a daughter with such a commanding aura?

Though the two maids were utterly confused, they didn’t dare show it on their faces. Their Miss might be easy to talk to, but she was far from soft-hearted or easily manipulated.

Mira and Jada didn’t dare play tricks; their retelling became more focused, every sentence hitting the main point. Only when everything was clear did they finally stop.

"So, Commander Leon Li is basically neutral. Why would the Emperor send someone like that?" Serena truly couldn’t figure out what the Emperor was trying to do.

If he really wanted her dead, he wouldn’t have sent someone like Leon Li. But if he didn’t want her dead, why leave her in Feng Manor to live or die on her own?

Serena refused to believe—even if the Emperor hadn’t personally ordered the poisoning, he must have known about it.

"This maid doesn’t know either. Commander Li didn’t make things difficult for us—he actually looked out for us," Mira said. Both she and Jada knew Serena was decisive; they wouldn’t dare offer advice in front of her.

Serena was just voicing her thoughts—she never intended to ask Mira and Jada for advice. Truthfully, she still didn’t trust these two maids.

During her coma, the two had looked after her diligently, but that was just their duty as maids. Serena didn’t believe that doing their job earned them her trust.

After all, if anything happened to her, the two maids would be buried with her. They cared for her mainly to protect their own lives. If they truly wanted the best for her, there were ways to get word out.

Ultimately, in the hearts of these two maids, William Wang Jinling was more important. What they really feared was that if he learned of Serena’s condition, he might do something that would harm the Wang Clan.

Maids like these could be used, but never treated as true confidantes. No matter what she did, their loyalty would never put her interests first.

"Keep an eye on those three soldiers. See who they’re in contact with, but don’t tip anyone off. Aside from you two, I don’t want anyone knowing I’m awake—not even the Grand Heir." Serena’s tone was gentle, but left no room for doubt or refusal.

Mira and Jada knew this was their last chance. If they let the news slip out...

Just thinking about the consequences made both maids shiver. With a thud, they dropped to their knees: "We swear we won’t let you down, Miss."

"Good. Also, find out Commander Li’s background." There was still hope for them—if they couldn’t even do this, Serena would never use them again.

"Yes, Miss." The two maids bowed their heads in shame. They’d been so worried about Serena’s life and death, they’d forgotten something so important. It was their duty to ease their mistress’s worries, but aside from caring for her, they’d done nothing to help her.

Though these two maids had their flaws, they’d still cared for her all day. Serena didn’t want to make things difficult for them: "Go on, you’re tired."

"But Miss, what about your health?" The two maids hesitated.

"It’s fine. I just want to be alone for a while. You’ve been up for a day and a night—go rest." Serena wasn’t a harsh mistress, and besides, there were things she needed to do that she couldn’t with them around. Better to send them away.

"Yes, Miss. We’ll keep watch in the side room—just call if you need anything."

Once the two maids had left, Serena undressed again to check her body for any marks.

The Smart Med-Pack’s results showed that toxins remained in her body, meaning she’d been poisoned—and someone had detoxified her.

She was sure her body had no self-detox function, and the Med-Pack couldn’t do it either. Which meant...

Someone had saved her—and it definitely wasn’t the maids.

When she’d woken to the maids’ screams, she’d found herself drenched in blood, but her face and hands were clean. Clearly, someone had used a special bloodletting technique to purge the poison.

Normally, such a method would leave marks on her body. She couldn’t search in front of the maids, so she’d sent them away—but after a thorough check, she found nothing unusual.

"Who could possibly slip past the Imperial Guard and sneak into Feng Manor to save me?" Serena hugged her knees, chin resting on them.

In truth, she already had someone in mind.

Someone with such skills and a reason to save her—who else but Lance Quinn? Still, Serena couldn’t figure out how he’d known about her poisoning. Aside from a handful of top-ranking power holders, no one should have known.

"Lance Quinn, who are you really? Was it truly you who saved me—and if so, why this time?" Serena let out a long sigh. Being in someone’s debt was a terrible feeling.

Even without seeing it herself, Serena knew that for Lance Quinn to sneak into Feng Manor at a time like this meant risking his life.

"I owe you more and more. When the time comes, I won’t even know how to repay you." Serena sighed, setting the matter aside for now and activating the Smart Med-Pack to take out some detoxifying medicine.

The Smart Med-Pack was a military-grade product, but the researchers who made it knew nothing of ancient poisons—and those toxins weren’t common in the modern world, either. So the Med-Pack could only detect things like snake venom.

To pinpoint the toxin in her body, she’d need a blood test to identify its makeup. But her blood was already clean, so Serena had no way to prescribe a targeted antidote—she could only use mild detox drugs.

That meant her recovery would be slow. But Serena wasn’t in a hurry—she was locked in Feng Manor, unable to leave anyway. She might as well use the time to assess her situation; even if she couldn’t strike back, she could at least protect her own life.

This time, she understood with painful clarity: when death comes, the only person you can truly rely on is yourself!