General Warren Yu had originally planned to put on airs, to make Serena Feng anxious. But seeing Serena's half-smiling expression, and remembering how she had just 'given him face' by lowering General Wei's consultation fee from one thousand taels of gold to one hundred taels of silver, he changed his tune: "No problem. If there's anything I can help with, just let me know."
"Evan Zhou, did you hear that? Don't be polite with General Yu." Serena Feng winked at Evan Zhou.
Building an operating room would require many workers, and Serena didn't want word to spread. Having General Warren Yu send soldiers was best; it would also make it easier to impose a gag order later.
Clearly, Evan Zhou understood her meaning and nodded.
"Don't worry, Sister. I'll handle everything. Go and come back early—we'll be waiting for you." They were uneasy about her going to Rowan Manor, afraid Serena would be humiliated again.
"Relax, I'll be back soon." Rowan Manor wasn't the Bloodcloak Guard; she wouldn't come back missing limbs.
General Warren Yu was annoyed by Serena's confidence and said bluntly, "So you're that sure Prince Rowan will let you leave so easily?"
Ahem, ahem...
Rowan Manor's steward interrupted, clearly displeased, and shot an accusatory look at General Warren Yu.
General, you're ruining Prince Rowan's reputation. He won't let you off so easily.
"Hahaha, I was just joking. Serena, go and come back soon." Not wanting to get burned himself, General Warren Yu shamelessly threw Serena into the fire pit.
"Bad luck making friends—I can't believe I know someone like you."
Serena Feng shook her head, looking defeated, but her eyes glinted slyly—a clear sign she'd settle the score later.
General Warren Yu remembered Serena's bloody methods and shivered, quickly stepping forward to apologize...
Rowan Manor's steward and eight guards struggled to keep straight faces, desperately trying not to laugh.
"Stop pretending. If you want to laugh, just laugh." General Warren Yu scowled, sweeping his gaze over everyone to maintain his dignity as a top general.
Too late...
Everyone bowed their heads, avoiding Warren's eyes, and continued snickering quietly.
General Warren Yu!
The undefeated, unstoppable military idol of Eastlyn—admired and revered by countless men. In their eyes, General Warren Yu was the ultimate role model.
But today, seeing him up close, this so-called idol was really no different from any ordinary man.
General Warren Yu gritted his teeth, ready to hit someone, but Serena Feng had already left with the people from Rowan Manor.
...
Being the Emperor's son had its perks. Normally, riding horses in the inner city was forbidden, but thanks to Adrian Dongling's order, their group could gallop through the main streets without restraint.
It was Serena Feng's first time at Rowan Manor, just two streets away from Black-Robe Lane, where the Wang, Hsieh, and other old aristocratic families lived.
Black-Robe Lane housed the Wangs, Hsiehs, Cuis, Wens, and other great clans. But this district was filled with princely, ducal, and royal manors—even the Four Great Dukedoms had mansions here. The most eye-catching was Ninth Royal Uncle's residence.
Unfortunately, not just anyone could enter Ninth Royal Uncle's manor. Serena Feng could only steal a glance from afar.
Arriving at Rowan Manor, Serena didn't even have time to admire the scenery before she was hurriedly ushered to the main courtyard.
A crowd of imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Directorate clustered around Adrian Dongling's room, visibly anxious. When they saw Serena Feng arrive, they snorted coldly, stepped aside, and glared at her with disdain and hostility.
Serena Feng knew well that colleagues often resent each other. She'd once considered befriending some imperial physicians to study traditional medicine, but now she realized she'd offended the entire Imperial Medical Directorate.
"Serena pays her respects to His Highness Prince Rowan; may Your Highness live for thousands of years." Serena didn't look at Adrian Dongling, instead kneeling and formally greeting him.
"Rise." Adrian Dongling's voice was weak, but much improved.
The imperial physicians were not to be underestimated—just not skilled in treating external injuries.
Serena Feng quietly stood up, head lowered.
It wasn't out of respect—she just couldn't be bothered to look at Adrian Dongling.
When she saved him, she hadn't thought about anything—he was just a patient. Now that he wasn't dying, seeing him only made Serena angry.
Rotten man!
"Serena Feng, was it you who treated my wound?" For some reason, Adrian Dongling disliked seeing Serena so subdued.
Rather than seeing Serena with her head bowed, he'd rather see her confront him head-on. At least that was the real Serena Feng.
"Yes."
"How did you treat my wound? In just one day, it's all split open."
"Impossible." Serena Feng refused to believe it.
"Let me see."
Serena Feng strode forward, reaching to lift Adrian Dongling's quilt.
"How dare you!" A maid stepped up to stop her, but Adrian Dongling waved her away, signaling everyone to leave.
Serena was focused entirely on Adrian's wound and didn't care; she lifted the quilt and saw the injury—her face instantly darkened.
The bandages and medicine were gone, her stitches had been cut, and there were new threads and holes—clearly the imperial physicians had used her special needles and thread from the palace to re-sew the wound, only to make things worse.
The wound edges were turned out, broken stitches remained inside, and the skin she'd pulled tight had shrunk back. The new needle holes kept bleeding, and the lines left by the bandages pressed into the wound, making it look even worse than before.
Serena Feng ground her teeth in rage and cursed at the imperial physicians: "Which idiot did this? Want Prince Rowan dead early, is that it? Who gave you permission to touch my sutures?"
She hated patients who didn't value their own lives, hated doctors who didn't care about their patients' lives even more, and despised those who pretended to trust her while secretly guarding against her.
Adrian Dongling had managed to do all three.
"Serena Feng, you treated this wound." Adrian Dongling leaned against the headboard, eyes half-closed.
"I did treat it, yes. But this mess isn't my doing. Your Highness, whoever did this to you, go find them to fix it. I, Serena Feng, don't clean up other people's disasters."
Serena was furious. If this weren't Rowan Manor, and Adrian Dongling weren't the Emperor's son, she'd have walked out already.
Adrian Dongling clearly didn't trust her.
If he did, why would he have let them cut open her carefully stitched wound?
If he didn't trust her, why call her back now? Why only remember her when things went wrong?
What did these people take Serena Feng for?
"Prince Rowan, go find someone else." Serena turned to leave, but Adrian Dongling snapped, "Serena Feng!"
Serena froze, saw the armed guards outside the door, gritted her teeth, and turned back. "Serena is here."
She was furious, but couldn't afford to fall out with Adrian Dongling. All she could do was breathe deeply, forcing herself to calm down.
"Go prepare and dress my wound." Adrian Dongling ignored Serena's ugly expression and ordered directly.
The wound hadn't hurt before, but after being cut open and re-stitched, it burned painfully. Adrian Dongling was in a foul mood—if not for sheer willpower, he'd be groaning aloud right now.
Serena Feng stood motionless, head bowed, refusing to answer...