Verification and the Emperor’s Suspicion

Princess Vivian of Southlyn leaned weakly against her maid, the pain and struggle in her eyes evoking sympathy—but unfortunately, Serena was not a man.

"If you want to talk about being forced, go say it to Yana Zhan. What does any of this have to do with me? You didn’t kill my father." Serena stated bluntly, pointing directly to Master Wenyuan’s death. Princess Vivian’s face went pale, and she staggered back: "It wasn’t me, it wasn’t me, I had nothing to do with Master Wenyuan’s death, I didn’t..."

"You know the truth perfectly well. What’s the point of telling me all this? Without Master Wenyuan’s death, what would you have used to climb up to Prince Rowan?" Serena mocked, mercilessly tearing away Princess Vivian’s disguise.

"Princess, take care of yourself. The Wang Clan Patriarch will not spare the one responsible for Master Wenyuan’s death." With those words, Serena left, not caring in the slightest about what Princess Vivian wanted to say to her.

They would meet again soon enough. Now that Princess Vivian had openly sided with Prince Rowan, she had completely torn her face with Serena and Nolan’s camp...

Serena had expected Princess Vivian to leave quietly; after all, she’d made it clear that William Wang Jinling already knew what part Vivian played in Master Wenyuan’s death. But as it turned out, Princess Vivian still caused a scene on her way out—or rather, Prince Rowan’s personal guards did.

Prince Rowan’s guards refused to leave, claiming that Ninth Royal Uncle was throwing his weight around. They insisted the relay station was assigned by the Emperor for officials to stay in—not Nolan’s private property. If Nolan could live there, why couldn’t they?

Ninth Royal Uncle agreed they could pick up Princess Vivian that day, but refused to let them dictate when to leave; they demanded to rest at the relay station for a while.

Prince Rowan’s guards were clever; only after picking up Princess Vivian did they start trouble, and they even called over the stationed officer. But only a vice-commander showed up—the chief commander had already slipped away as soon as he heard about the mess, leaving the headache for his subordinate to handle.

The vice-commander was unlucky, pushed out by his superior to take the blame, and then shoved by Prince Rowan’s men to confront Ninth Royal Uncle.

Prince Rowan’s guards made a simple request: they just wanted to stay at the relay station for two days, keeping to themselves and not crossing paths with Ninth Royal Uncle’s men.

The request wasn’t unreasonable—after all, there was no rule saying others couldn’t stay at the relay station while Ninth Royal Uncle was there. The vice-commander was caught in the middle, unable to offend either side. Pressured by Rowan’s men, he reluctantly steeled himself and went to find Ninth Royal Uncle.

Of course, he couldn’t see Ninth Royal Uncle directly; only his aide received him. When he relayed Rowan’s request, the aide smiled coldly and said, “Sir, His Highness has made himself clear: they have half an hour to leave the city. If they don’t, don’t blame His Highness for showing no mercy.”

It wasn’t the aide being arrogant—Rowan’s men had gone too far, insulting them first.

“Rowan’s guards only arrived at dawn and now you want them gone by evening? That’ll sound terrible.” The vice-commander wiped his sweat nervously.

Forcing them out right after arrival was as good as expelling Rowan’s men from the city—something he didn’t dare do.

“Soldiers are meant to fight, not worry about appearances. This has nothing to do with you, sir. Just pass on the message: they have half an hour to leave. If not, our ‘useless’ men will personally escort them out.” The aide was brimming with pent-up frustration. Seeing Ninth Royal Uncle toss Princess Vivian’s people out the door, he was itching to do the same—no way he’d let them back in to be an eyesore.

This wasn’t just about letting them stay—it was about face. Rowan’s men had slapped them in public; if they didn’t hit back, they’d be cowards.

“This… this…” The vice-commander looked troubled, but the aide ignored him, politely seeing him out. Then he went to report to Ninth Royal Uncle, who simply acknowledged with a nod.

The aide knew he’d done the right thing. As soon as he stepped outside, he rolled up his sleeves and called over the guard captain: “Brothers, get ready—we’re about to throw down!”

Rowan’s men would never slink away with their tails between their legs—that would be humiliating. A fight was inevitable, but even that had its rules.

They had to hit them where it hurt—but not cause real injury. Win the fight, but don’t flatten them. Just enough to make them lose face, but not so much that they’d have an excuse to stay and nurse their wounds.

After hashing out the plan, the guards bought up all the coarse cloth in the city, wrapping their blades layer after layer. They tested them on each other—making sure the padding was thick enough that even a hard swing wouldn’t kill.

Serena watched, thoroughly amused—these guys were a riot.

“Ninth Royal Uncle’s men are just as sneaky as he is,” William Wang Jinling remarked dryly, having seen the whole affair.

“Exactly. Like master, like soldier.” Serena thought of the Black Riders—just as arrogant and overbearing as their master.

“Looks like things in the capital are turning against Ninth Royal Uncle.” William’s views matched Nolan’s: Rowan’s men could only be this brazen if the Emperor had given his blessing, using the chance to suppress Nolan’s momentum.

If Nolan showed even the slightest retreat, the capital would only press harder.

Serena nodded, smiling. “The Emperor’s celebrating too soon if he thinks Master Wenyuan’s death will ruin Nolan’s name among the scholars. That’s impossible.”

Nolan isn’t stupid—he’d never just sit there and wait to be executed.

William, recalling his agreement with Nolan, sighed. “The Emperor really is celebrating too early.”

Anything the Emperor can imagine, Nolan’s already anticipated. Evidence is always produced by people—if Nolan can clear his name, he’ll win praise instead.

Rumor is a double-edged sword—it can destroy, but it can also make legends. The Emperor’s dream of crushing Nolan’s reputation with gossip? Not happening.

Half an hour flew by. Rowan’s guards and Princess Vivian’s escort still refused to budge from the relay station. No matter what, Rowan’s men wouldn’t back down—even when offered official residences, they insisted on staying at the relay station.

Princess Vivian played the delicate victim, saying she was used to living at the relay station and didn’t want to stay anywhere else.

The vice-commander fumed, cursing these people for begging to be beaten—and blaming Princess Vivian for not knowing her place. A Southlyn princess acting arrogant on Eastlyn soil? She was out of her depth.

As the deadline approached, the vice-commander wanted nothing to do with the mess. He found an excuse and slipped away—he served the Emperor, and had no reason to offend Ninth Royal Uncle for Rowan.

Maybe before, he’d have risked it. But now? With Rowan’s succession uncertain, he wasn’t about to become a pawn sacrificed in a power struggle.

Rowan’s men spat at the vice-commander, calling him spineless. He flushed red with anger but gritted his teeth and endured.

Better to be spineless than be used as someone else’s weapon.

When the half-hour was up, Nolan’s personal guards threw open the relay station gates and marched out in formation. With the Si Clan’s Eighteen Riders staying out of it, their numbers were even with Rowan’s men.

Nolan’s men looked on with icy indifference, while Rowan’s guards were itching for a fight. Their orders: provoke Nolan, crush his morale, and test how strong his personal guard really was.

Years ago, Colin Si led a border army to ambush Nolan and failed—a wound the Emperor never forgot. Now, after Colin’s victory over Westlyn, the Emperor found it even harder to believe Nolan had escaped the Si clan’s siege by luck alone.

How did Nolan survive, surrounded by the Si clan’s army?

The Emperor’s suspicion grew—he had to test it. Rowan’s guards’ ‘mission’ to receive Princess Vivian was the perfect chance. The Emperor could finally see how many elite fighters Nolan had, and why he always escaped disaster.

A clash between Rowan’s guards and Nolan’s men was inevitable!