Serena Feng practically floated out of Prince Samuel Manor; she hadn’t expected things to go so smoothly.
She knew that William Wang Jinling had done the most behind the scenes. Without his help, even if she had stopped Prince Samuel Zhai’s pain, it wouldn’t have been enough to make the prince step forward.
So Serena thanked William with utmost sincerity: “Jinling, for what happened today, I thank you on behalf of Ninth Royal Uncle.”
“You’re thanking me on Ninth Royal Uncle’s behalf? Serena, I didn’t do today’s things for anyone else.” William stood half in shadow. Serena couldn’t see his face, but she could hear something off in his voice.
Serena stiffened, a flash of guilt and reluctance passing through her eyes.
“Jinling...” Serena called out, but didn’t know what else to say.
If her relationship with William couldn’t return to its innocent beginnings, she’d rather cut it off cleanly.
Hesitate when you should cut ties, and chaos follows. Serena had never meant to hurt William, and she was never the type to use feelings as a weapon.
“Serena, you are you. Ninth Royal Uncle is Ninth Royal Uncle. I don’t like you taking everything onto yourself. Besides, this wasn’t about helping Ninth Royal Uncle. Prince Samuel’s status is unique—befriending him benefits the Wang clan too.”
William was no fool; he understood exactly what Serena was thinking. Since she didn’t want them to grow too close, he would step back again—he just hoped she wouldn’t get too close to Ninth Royal Uncle either.
“No matter what, I still have to thank you. Without you, Prince Samuel would never have given me this chance.” Serena didn’t mention Ninth Royal Uncle again.
“A pearl shouldn’t be left to gather dust. You have this ability yourself—if you didn’t, even if I lifted you up, it’d be useless.” William naturally stepped forward, took Serena’s hand, and helped her into the carriage.
“Let’s go. Someone’s probably getting anxious waiting.”
He was perfectly open, without a hint of anything else. Seeing this, Serena quietly breathed a sigh of relief and lifted her skirt to get into the carriage.
As luck would have it, Dominic Zhai happened to pass by again. Seeing Serena and William’s behavior, he silently judged, 'This woman is so fake—one way in public, another in private. Next time I’ll make sure to warn Jinling not to be fooled by her.'
The carriage rolled out of Prince Samuel Manor, while Dominic Zhai kept running laps outside...
William escorted Serena into Feng Manor. Seeing General Warren Yu already inside, he knew the two had business to discuss. He didn’t linger—before Warren could say much, William excused himself and left.
“I was wondering where you’d gone—half the night and still not back. Turns out you were with William Wang Jinling.” General Warren Yu grumbled.
There was no helping it—the disaster that befell Ninth Royal Uncle was the handiwork of the great clans. Without their joint petition, the Emperor couldn’t have sent Ninth Royal Uncle to prison so easily.
So, whenever General Warren Yu saw people from the great clans, his mood soured.
“This has nothing to do with him. The Wang clan doesn’t control all the great houses yet—don’t take it out on William.” Serena naturally defended William, not realizing it would annoy General Warren Yu.
“Who exactly are you helping?”
“I’m just telling the truth.” Serena understood Warren’s urgency but refused to smear William.
“What kind of woman are you? Ninth Royal Uncle treats you so well, and you’re siding with outsiders.” Warren huffed and sat down hard.
“Serena, get it straight. If it weren’t for William and his crowd, the Emperor wouldn’t have had the means to pin anything on Ninth Royal Uncle and throw him in the Sky Prison.”
“I said, this has nothing to do with William. As for Ninth Royal Uncle, don’t worry—Prince Samuel promised to speak for him. Once Ninth Royal Uncle is out of Sky Prison, everything will be easier. With his cunning and skill, the Emperor won’t have the upper hand.” Serena was confident about this.
“What did you say? Prince Samuel will speak up for Ninth Royal Uncle? Impossible!” Warren was incredulous—Prince Samuel hadn’t meddled in court matters for ages, only drilling his three thousand personal guards.
“Why not? Where do you think William and I went so late at night?” Serena retorted, not in the mood for patience.
Warren shot up in shock. “You went to see Prince Samuel? You actually convinced him? Amazing! If I’d known you could persuade Prince Samuel, I wouldn’t have bothered sending you to the palace for Ninth Royal Uncle—what a waste of time.”
Warren slapped the table in delight, making the teacups and teapot rattle, water splashing everywhere. Serena rolled her eyes, but Warren didn’t care—he was all excitement: “William’s not bad at all.”
“You really do change moods fast.” Getting angry at Warren was pointless—it’d only kill her with frustration.
When she didn’t know him well, he seemed mysterious and stern, barely spoke. But once you got familiar, you realized he was just blunt—said whatever was on his mind.
Though his thinking was careful enough, around people he trusted, he dropped his guard completely.
Warren just chuckled and didn’t argue with Serena. All he cared about was who mattered more to her—Ninth Royal Uncle or William. Knowing Serena would never joke about Ninth Royal Uncle’s affairs, Warren wouldn’t pry into her business with William.
With things heading in a good direction, Warren relaxed. He yawned, "Alright, since it’s settled, I’ll just crash at your place tonight—I have to attend early court tomorrow."
He’d run all over the city today—his day hadn’t been any easier than Serena’s.
“Wait, Ninth Royal Uncle asked me to give this to you.” Serena pulled the item from her robe and handed it to Warren.
“For me?” Warren froze, instantly awake. He took it seriously, muttering, “You actually managed to bring something out of Sky Prison? How did you do it?”
Serena was about to dodge the question when Warren’s expression suddenly changed, rage surging—his finger joints crackled.
“Serena, did you look inside?” Warren’s whole demeanor changed, his eyes sharp and full of killing intent.
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Serena jumped in fright. “No, I didn’t look. Ninth Royal Uncle told me not to, and when I handed it to you, the wax seal was still intact. Besides, as soon as I left the palace, I ran into William—there was no chance to look.”
Seeing Warren’s reaction, Serena realized whatever was inside must be extraordinary, so she added a few more words.
“Good. Don’t look.” Warren nodded, stuffing the item into his robe. “Serena, for the next few days, don’t go out unless you have to. As far as you’re concerned, you’ve never seen this thing. Don’t mention it to anyone.”
With that, Warren rushed out of Feng Manor like a whirlwind.
Serena felt uneasy, but seeing Warren’s attitude, she knew she wouldn’t get any answers.
The next morning, Serena woke to a gloomy sky, her mood restless. She was worried for Ninth Royal Uncle, and for William’s safety too.
The Emperor’s move against Ninth Royal Uncle couldn’t be just about the wolf attack. Though many young nobles died, it was impossible for Ninth Royal Uncle to pay with his life—royal blood was never judged by the same standard as commoners.
Serena thought several times about going out for news, but remembered Warren’s warning. Plus, Sun Sihang was supposed to come by this morning and hadn’t shown up, so she realized it must be dangerous outside.
Not wanting to cause Warren more trouble, Serena forced herself to stay in. All day, she was restless and couldn’t concentrate on anything.
A few patients came seeking treatment, but Serena saw it was just ordinary colds, so she had Zhou Xing send them away to see other doctors—she wasn’t in any shape to treat anyone.
It wasn’t until afternoon, when Caleb Wang arrived at Feng Manor looking exhausted, that Serena realized—something major had really happened...
To the readers: Author Acai isn’t a doctor—please leave lots of comments!