Admitting Fault Closing His Eyes in Despair

Serena Feng was angry!

Watching Serena Feng turn and walk away, Ninth Royal Uncle finally realized that things weren’t as he’d imagined. While he was frustrated by the scent clinging to him, Serena seemed even more upset.

His body moved faster than his mind; before Ninth Royal Uncle could figure out why Serena was angry, he stood up and grabbed her.

No matter what, he couldn’t let Serena leave at this moment—otherwise, he’d definitely regret it.

Serena hadn’t expected Ninth Royal Uncle to suddenly pull her back. Spinning on her toes, she crashed straight into him—their height difference sent her slamming right into his chest.

"Ow, that hurts." Serena’s nose stung, her lashes trembled, and her eyes filled with tears.

It was like crashing into a wall of iron drums—so hard it nearly killed her.

Serena couldn’t bother with her little heartbreak; clutching her nose, she looked at Ninth Royal Uncle with a pitiful expression.

It really hurt.

This...

Ninth Royal Uncle stood there awkwardly, reaching out to touch Serena’s bright red nose—only for her to dodge him. “It hurts,” she said.

“It was an accident.” Ninth Royal Uncle hadn’t expected things to end up like this and felt genuinely annoyed, mentally blaming Storm Cloud Bu for everything.

"If you say it was an accident, then it was an accident." Serena’s nose hurt so much her voice caught, sounding almost like she was whining.

Ninth Royal Uncle had no idea how to comfort anyone, so he could only watch Serena in silence. Once she’d recovered a bit, he finally asked, “Does it still hurt?”

"Why don’t you try crashing into something and see for yourself?" Serena’s eyes and nose were both red, making her look as if she’d just suffered a huge grievance—or had been crying.

“I wouldn’t mind trying, but…” Ninth Royal Uncle gestured at their height difference, then pointed at Serena’s soft chest, implying there were some technical difficulties if he wanted to injure his own nose the same way.

Whoosh—Serena’s face flushed, not from embarrassment but from anger.

"Nolan Dongling, could you be any more shameless?" She was clearly in the wrong, but instead of admitting it, he was teasing her.

"Want to give it a try?" Ninth Royal Uncle’s lips curled in a half-smile, his eyes glinting with a seductive charm. Serena stared, momentarily dazed, and only snapped out of it when she realized she’d fallen for his looks again.

"You’re using the beauty trap again." So shameless.

Ninth Royal Uncle spread his hands innocently. "I didn’t do anything." (Of course, he wouldn’t dare say: It’s your own lack of self-control.)

"Hmph… I’m leaving." She couldn’t out-tsundere him, couldn’t out-flirt him either; Serena decisively turned and walked away.

"Wait a moment." Ninth Royal Uncle grabbed Serena again. "Tell me—why are you upset?"

"Am I upset?" So she’d been mad all this time, and Ninth Royal Uncle still didn’t know why.

Serena felt a deep sense of helplessness—she could practically cough up blood.

"You are. You’re upset." Ninth Royal Uncle insisted.

"No, I’m very happy." Serena forced a smile, her tone stiff. "I’m so happy you went out in the middle of the night and came back reeking of another woman’s scent."

She’d have to be a ghost to actually be happy about this.

"You’re jealous?" Ninth Royal Uncle finally caught on, a hint of joy in his voice.

"I’m jealous, and that makes you happy?" Did this man really enjoy building his happiness on her misery?

Ninth Royal Uncle really wanted to nod in agreement, but when he met Serena Feng’s cold gaze, he decisively shook his head. “Of course not. I feel very guilty for making you overthink.”

"Are you sure I'm the one overthinking?" Serena leaned in, finally realizing the scent seemed oddly familiar, though she couldn't recall where she'd smelled it before.

Ninth Royal Uncle nodded emphatically. "It was brought by Storm Cloud Bu." He was clearly skimming over the details, but it was at least some kind of explanation.

"Storm Cloud Bu? Is he tired of living?"

"I'll make sure to teach him a lesson for you." Ninth Royal Uncle had no qualms about shifting the blame to Storm Cloud Bu. After all, it really was his fault—and if putting him through the wringer made Serena happy, so be it.

With things explained, the immediate crisis was defused—for now. But Serena Feng still didn't give Ninth Royal Uncle any good face; she shoved him aside and kept walking.

Ninth Royal Uncle tried to chase after her, but was stopped by his butler. “Your Highness, you need to change and attend morning court.”

"I'm sick," Ninth Royal Uncle replied without thinking.

He’d used this trick plenty of times before—when the Taishang Emperor was in charge, no one cared if he skipped court, and the officials never questioned it. But now things were different: without Ninth Royal Uncle, morning court couldn’t even function.

"Your Highness, today’s court session is about the campaign against Night City," the butler dutifully reminded him.

Your Highness, the path of a king who neglects morning court really isn't for you. You mustn't let romance distract you from state affairs.

Ninth Royal Uncle forced himself to stop, turned around, and headed back inside.

Serena Feng wasn’t disappointed at all that Ninth Royal Uncle didn’t chase after her. If he had, she’d probably have started to wonder if he really had done something to betray her.

By the time Serena returned to Feng Manor, it was already late. Ling Mo had long since woken up, and Dorian Owen had strictly followed Serena’s instructions—not letting Ling Mo move at all. Only when Serena came back did Ling Mo finally relax.

"Your mouth and esophagus are badly injured. You can’t eat normally for now—you’ll have to be fed by tube and rely on nutrient solution to survive." Serena explained as soon as she entered, hanging up the saline bottle.

Earlier, because she had to rush to Ninth Prince Manor, Serena hadn’t even given Ling Mo his anti-inflammatory medication.

Ling Mo couldn’t speak, so he gestured with his hands to show he was fine and that Serena didn’t need to go to such trouble.

"I’m the doctor; I know your condition better than you do. I already told Ninth Royal Uncle everything yesterday. Just the intel you gave is enough for us to act. For now, you don’t need to worry about anything—just focus on recovering. Once you’re better, we’ll move on Skyvault Fortress together." Serena knew exactly what Ling Mo was concerned about, so she explained first.

After hanging the medicine bottle, Serena prepared to inject Ling Mo—but found his whole body had gone rigid again, his hands clenched like stone, veins bulging. There was no way to give the injection like this.

"Relax." Serena patted Ling Mo’s hand, signaling him not to tense up so much. Ling Mo tried his best to cooperate, but the more he wanted to relax, the more nervous he became.

It wasn’t that Ling Mo didn’t want to cooperate—it was that his body just wouldn’t obey. Serena was genuinely troubled; she’d rarely met anyone who resisted treatment this much.

Serena kept talking softly at Ling Mo’s ear, comforting him. Ling Mo struggled to steady his breathing, trying to do as Serena asked—to fight for a shot at living.

Before Serena arrived, Zuo An had already told Ling Mo about her medical skill—and that this was his last chance.

Zuo An said, if anyone in the world could—and would—heal him, it had to be Serena Feng. If Ling Mo wanted to live like a human being, he had to cooperate with her treatment. But...

His body just wouldn’t cooperate. He couldn’t control his rigid limbs or relax enough to let Serena treat him. Like this, there was no way he could ever live a normal life.

Ling Mo closed his eyes in near despair.