A married woman depends on her natal family; the Crown Princess is also a daughter of the Cui Clan, and it is House Cui that gives her a foundation in Lyndaria. Only with a strong family behind her can the Crown Princess be truly exalted, and therefore she takes Serena's words very seriously.
"Please rest assured, Miss Feng. House Cui will definitely give you a proper answer." With these words, the Crown Princess’s status within the Cui Clan is made perfectly clear.
It makes sense—her own brother is now the clan head, so naturally the Crown Princess has become much more confident.
Having gotten the answer she wanted, Serena didn’t linger long at the Crown Prince’s Manor. As she left, Crown Prince Titus personally escorted her out: “This time, you’ve really saddled my Crown Princess with a huge scandal.”
Serena countered with a half-smile, “Isn’t this exactly what you wanted?” If Titus hadn’t planned it, then why would his servants have acted so ambiguously, inviting all sorts of misunderstanding?
Titus gave a wry smile. “Nothing gets past you, does it?” He moved closer and lowered his voice: “I need something—a medicine that will keep a woman from conceiving for a while, won’t harm her body, and can’t be detected by imperial physicians. Of course, if I’m coming to you for medicine, it’s because I don’t want the court doctors to find out.”
All of Serena’s medicines are in granular form. In the past, she had given Titus some pills, and he secretly kept a few, later having them checked by imperial physicians—who couldn’t detect anything at all.
If you want nothing to be traced back, and no evidence left behind, you have to go to Serena.
“Isn’t the Crown Princess supposed to be in mourning?” Titus’s desire to prevent the Cui Clan’s daughter from having a child is perfectly understandable.
Once there’s a child, the ambitions of the Cui Clan will be very different. If Titus dies, House Cui could easily push a young heir onto the throne. At that point, the ministers would be strong and the ruler weak—no one knows whose hands Lyndaria would end up in.
“For a married granddaughter, three months of mourning is enough.” Titus didn’t hide his concerns from Serena, quietly voicing his worries.
Some things are best left unsaid—everyone here is sharp enough to understand.
“I’ll have Left Shore send it over later,” Serena replied, lowering her gaze to hide the glint in her eyes.
Titus is clever but lacks ambition. Someone like him really shouldn’t have been born into royalty—his talents are wasted there.
“In that case, I owe you my thanks, Dr. Feng.” Titus played his part to the hilt; when he escorted Serena to the door, he even clasped his hands in a formal salute, acting like he’d just received a great favor from her.
As expected, everyone here is an actor worthy of an award.
Although the Cui Clan has operated in Lyndaria for years, they are still outsiders. When they first arrived, to prevent the native noble houses from uniting against them, the Cui Clan kept a low profile and has never tried to seize anyone else’s interests.
This approach is meant to avoid provoking the local noble families to band together and suppress House Cui.
The death of the Cui Matriarch has bought House Cui even more time. Since arriving in Lyndaria, the main branches have kept to themselves, showing no sign of trying to expand their influence.
This conduct has earned House Cui widespread praise—even the Emperor has publicly commended them, saying they truly live up to their reputation as a noble scholar-clan, every word and deed reflecting the bearing of highborn gentry.
Whether House Cui’s humility is genuine or just for show, no one really cares. Either way, they heap praise on them, crown them with glory, and by doing so, put a tight leash on House Cui—making it harder for them to expand freely in Lyndaria later.
This strategy may block some of House Cui’s future moves, but it’s also allowed them to establish themselves smoothly in Lyndaria. So even if some members still resent Holden Cui becoming clan head, they keep it to themselves for now—since they’ve only just arrived in the capital, unity has to come first.
Holden Cui always believed that, as a son of the Cui Clan, family comes first. So when he learned from the Crown Princess that someone in House Cui had been in contact with Ghost Hall, he was utterly stunned.
After hearing this, Holden Cui remained deep in thought. He simply couldn’t fathom how the Cui Clan could have raised such foolish descendants. Others might not know what Ghost Hall is, but how could a Cui ever be ignorant of it?
To plot rebellion with a tiger means you’ll end up in its jaws. Even if they escape that fate, if word gets out that House Cui is colluding with Ghost Hall, how could the clan ever hold its place in the world?
Without House Cui, there would be no Cui sons and daughters, no inherited wealth, no birthright that sets them above others from the moment they’re born.
Just look at what happened to Jin Fan of Southlyn—does it really take a disaster like that for people to realize their mistakes?
"Sixteenth Brother, you called for me?" Third Young Master Cui pushed open the door and sat down across from Holden without waiting for an invitation. His powerful presence immediately overwhelmed Holden’s gentle, reserved demeanor—any outsider would have thought he was the real clan head.
Third Young Master Cui is proud—he would never bow his head before a former rival.
"Third Brother…" Holden Cui didn’t mind being overshadowed at all and greeted him good-naturedly. Third Young Master Cui, feeling as if he’d punched a pillow, found it all rather boring and reined in his aura a little.
"Did you need something from me?"
"Third Brother, I’ve heard you’ve been going out a lot lately." After checking through all the main family members, it was clear that Third Brother was the most suspicious.
"What, I have to report to the clan head every time I leave the house? Since when do I not even have the freedom to step outside?" Third Young Master Cui sneered, his words almost biting.
Holden Cui remained good-natured: "Third Brother, everyone in our family is observing mourning right now—you really should go out less, so you don’t end up associating with the wrong people."
"Is there a rule that we can’t go out during mourning?" Holden’s words were perfectly clear, but Third Young Master Cui kept playing dumb.
Holden Cui sighed softly and laid it out: "Third Brother, what you’re doing only harms others and doesn’t help yourself—why bother?"
"Because I feel like it." Third Young Master Cui once again challenged Holden’s authority as clan head.
Even a clay figurine has some spirit—Holden Cui is no pushover. He immediately hardened his tone: "You’re not a child, Third Brother. Some things aren’t just about what you want. We’re all sons of the Cui Clan; without the clan, we’re nothing. I hope you’ll remember that."
"Don’t worry, Sixteenth Brother. I was groomed as a future clan head from childhood—I understand that better than you." Third Young Master Cui admits he lost to Holden, but won’t concede he’s inferior.
"As long as you understand. In the future…" Holden Cui’s eyes grew deep as he fixed his gaze on Third Brother, a flash of murderous intent flickering in his eyes. His lips, tinged crimson, uttered a chilling warning: "I won’t show mercy."
Third Young Master Cui's throat constricted, his pupils shrank sharply, and he instinctively leaned back. It took him quite a while to suppress the fear in his heart before he forced a calm expression and said, "So this is your true face, Sixteenth Brother. I really couldn't see it before."
House Cui would never truly raise its sons to be sheep. Holden Cui's gentleness is just a wolf in sheep's clothing.
"As head of the Cui clan, it's only right I shoulder this responsibility." Holden Cui replied with calm indifference.
So what if he was groomed as the future clan head from childhood? Now, Holden is the one in the seat of power—he alone is the true master of House Cui.
Third Young Master Cui's expression shifted instantly. He stood up abruptly: "Rest assured, Clan Head. I never forget I'm a son of the Cui family. I won't do anything to harm the clan. My affairs are none of your concern."
With that, Third Young Master Cui swept his sleeves and left. Holden Cui showed no anger and did not try to stop him. He simply withdrew his gaze indifferently and spoke to the air: "Tell Serena, the Cui Clan has plenty of experience handling funerals."