Glass Rooftop Room, So Close Like This

The dark-guard didn’t dare show any trace of his inner anxiety. Trying to make up for his earlier misstep, he forced himself to clamp down on all emotion, standing expressionless before Serena Feng.

Serena Feng couldn’t sense the dark-guard’s tangled feelings. She looked him up and down, saw nothing strange, and simply tugged her collar tighter. “Let’s go.”

“Yes.” The dark-guard was riddled with unease, but he still had to hide his true thoughts—a torment in itself. Not daring to delay and wanting to erase any suspicion from Serena, he gritted his teeth, scooped her up, and raced toward Feng Manor.

Not long after Serena and the dark-guard left, the spies watching from afar also vanished. By the time Serena and the dark-guard arrived at Feng Manor, Terrence Valen was just a step behind, slipping into the manor as well.

At this hour, Feng Manor was still uninhabited—unlike the fortress-like West District courtyard, it was wide open. Terrence Valen moved as if no one was there, heading straight for the back garden.

He wanted to see exactly what Serena had asked Dominic Zhai to prepare. All the supplies looked ordinary, nothing special at all. He couldn’t figure out why Serena was being so careful, or what she really intended to do with them.

Dominic Zhai was meticulous—he’d piled everything into the back garden’s storage room, each sack neatly stacked and covered with oilcloth. Besides the items on Serena’s list, he’d added all sorts of extras—even several bags of yellow clay. Serena silently praised Dominic’s attention to detail.

There’s no wall in the world that keeps out the wind. Even if you mean no harm, you still have to guard against others. Serena checked every item, mentally calculating what else she’d need.

She had no intention of making thunder-blast grenades—they were too much trouble. Instead, she’d process the gunpowder into explosive packs. They didn’t keep as well as grenades, but were much easier to make, and even deadlier. These were meant to blow up Skyvault Palace, not to be tossed on a battlefield.

After checking everything, Serena called the dark-guard over and whispered detailed instructions into his ear.

The dark-guard went rigid, every muscle tense—he didn’t dare move a hair except to nod.

He prayed silently: Heaven, please don’t let my master find out about tonight, or I’m doomed.

Honestly, the dark-guard was worrying for nothing. His master was far too busy to care about any of this.

The dark-guard was suffering, but Terrence Valen had it even worse. In the dead of winter, he’d skipped sleep to crawl across rooftops at midnight, only to find absolutely nothing. If he’d known, he never would’ve come himself. Cursing his own bad luck, he left as soon as Serena was gone.

He’d better focus on preparing for the attack on Skyvault Palace—that was what really mattered.

Terrence had no idea that after Serena and the dark-guard left, another group of black-clad men snuck into Feng Manor that same night. They swapped out all the sacks Serena had ordered, replacing them with identical-looking ones and layering the same items on top. Unless you dumped everything out, you’d never notice the switch.

For days afterward, Serena spent her mornings in the West District courtyard study, making explosive packs, and her nights at Feng Manor. Terrence’s men shadowed her for several nights but found nothing and finally gave up out of boredom.

That night, when Serena returned to the West District courtyard, she was so exhausted she collapsed into bed. At dawn she woke looking energetic, but her sunken eyes betrayed the truth.

After a quick breakfast, Serena set out for the House of Duke Ning. She’d promised the Heir’s Consort a prescription, but her stint in prison had delayed everything. Now that she was free, she had to make good on her word. She also handed over a special medicine to promote ovulation, carefully explaining how to use it and stressing that she didn’t have much left. It was only because of their friendship that she’d brought it at all, and she made the Heir’s Consort promise not to tell anyone—Serena had no desire for extra trouble.

The Heir’s Consort agreed immediately. But as soon as Serena left, she gave the medicine to the ducal matriarch, who picked a maid to test it. Just as Serena had said, the maid was pregnant within a month and suffered no ill effects.

Seeing this, the House of Duke Ning didn’t hesitate—they wanted a dragon heir as soon as possible, so they sent a trusted servant to smuggle the medicine into the palace for their young noblewoman.

The very next day, the ducal matriarch entered the palace, met with her own relative, and carefully explained everything—including the test results. She reassured the consort that the medicine would guarantee a dragon child.

As always, there’s no wall in the world that lets no wind through. News that the House of Duke Ning had obtained the medicine spread quickly, and Serena Feng became the hottest name in the Capital. Around the same time, Ninth Royal Uncle was released from the Imperial Clan Prison, his reputation even fiercer than before.

Later, when Serena heard about all this, she could only sigh at the coincidence.

Medically, the ovulation-boosting drug shouldn’t work in just one cycle—the maid was just a blind cat bumping into a dead mouse. But that was the House of Duke Ning’s business; Serena had given the medicine, and it was up to them how to use it.

After running all over the Capital all morning, Serena finally delivered every prescription. Now it was nearly time for her meeting with William Wang Jinling, so she hurried to One Room Inn.

Yes, the inn was called One Room Inn, and the reason for meeting there was simple—it belonged to Serena Feng.

Don’t underestimate Serena—she now owned property, a carriage, and businesses. In less than a year, she’d traded her old musket for artillery and built up a tidy fortune.

One Room Inn had four floors, but the fourth was really a glass rooftop room.

Serena had designed the inn as a sturdy, low building. The third floor was topped by a flat wooden roof, and at its center she’d built a glass rooftop room of about ten square meters. Aside from a table by the street-facing wall, the room was filled with flowers and plants. The air was fragrant, and the best part was, from up here, you could see everything below…

The rooftop room was made of transparent glass. Sitting inside, you could see everything outside with perfect clarity. Once it opened, it drew a crowd of nobles and officials—partly for the novelty, but mostly for convenience. Ironically, Ninth Royal Uncle himself had never visited.

Glass walls inside and out made it look exposed, but once you sat inside, you realized its brilliance—the room was built at the roof’s center, so no one below could see who was inside.

The view was excellent, and anyone approaching was easy to spot. The soundproofing was superb—stand outside and you’d hear nothing of the conversation within.

You could dine openly in the rooftop room and discuss business at the same time—so convenient.

Unfortunately, there was only one rooftop room, and you had to book in advance. Other inns in Eastlyn had tried to copy it, but for some reason, none matched Serena’s.

Right now, Serena was dining in the rooftop room with William Wang Jinling. They had the entire place to themselves…