Ninth Royal Uncle, Can You Be Any Worse

Leave?

Serena Feng actually thought about leaving the Imperial Capital. Nolan Dongling was instantly alarmed, his pupils narrowing as a dangerous aura radiated from him. "Do you want to be hunted by all four kingdoms?"

He had actually forgotten something so crucial. If Serena Feng just left like this, the world was vast—where would he ever find her again? To crush Serena's idea of leaving, Nolan spoke each word deliberately: "Serena Feng, if you walk away now, your guilt will be nailed down. Liam Li's death won't need evidence—everyone will suspect you. The weapon you used to kill Liam Li was so powerful; do you really think the emperors of the four kingdoms will let you go?"

Never mind the emperors—even he didn't want to let her go, though Nolan kept that part to himself. He continued, "Serena Feng, no matter how capable you are, you're still just one person. If the four kingdoms join forces to hunt you down, you could flee to the ends of the earth and still not escape. If you survive, you'll become some ruler's puppet—the next Liam Li."

And if you leave, things may be easy for you—but have you thought about the Sun clan? The Wang Clan? When an emperor is enraged, corpses litter the land for a thousand miles. The Emperor may not usually be able to touch giants like the Wang–Hsieh Alliance, but that doesn't mean the Wang and Hsieh clans can ignore imperial authority.

The Wang Clan may have its own private army, but their numbers are limited. If the four kingdoms join forces, the Wang Clan will suffer heavy losses. In the best case, they'll fall from a first-tier house to something worse than a third-rate family; in the worst case, they'll end up like the Lan clan or the Phoenixfield clan—completely wiped out! Tens of thousands of lives could be lost just because you chose to run. Serena Feng, could you really leave with a clear conscience?"

Serena Feng's greatest weakness was that she cared deeply for others.

Nolan was certain that after hearing all this, Serena Feng would give up the idea of leaving the capital.

In fact, Nolan's worries were unnecessary. Everything he'd thought of, Serena had already considered. Her talk of leaving was just to prod Nolan into taking her safely back into the city.

She was no longer the rootless orphan she once was. Now, in the Eastlyn Imperial Capital, there were people who would risk everything for her—and people she herself couldn't bear to abandon, people she wanted to protect...

Returning to the city was a must. Serena Feng simply didn't want to have to ask Nolan for help with it. Now, it looked like she wouldn't need to ask—Nolan would arrange her return himself.

The real question now was: how to get back?

In Serena Feng's original plan, Nolan wasn't even part of the picture, and she hadn't planned on leaving the city at all. Going out was a spur-of-the-moment decision after meeting him—just an indulgence, just to give herself one beautiful memory.

Going along with Nolan's argument, Serena Feng nodded 'with great difficulty,' closed her eyes, and said, "Royal Uncle, let's go back to the city."

She didn't see the look of relief on Nolan's face, or the fleeting smile in his eyes.

Not giving Serena Feng any time to reconsider, Nolan hurried her down the mountain.

He muttered to himself: This woman is getting more and more troublesome! Women really are nothing but trouble.

Last night, Nolan had snuck her out of the city. Serena Feng assumed he'd use the same method to bring her back, quietly and without alerting anyone. But...

She had underestimated just how black-hearted Nolan could be!

"Royal Uncle, isn't this a bit much? We never registered our exit yesterday, and now we're swaggering back in—won't that make the Emperor suspicious?" Serena Feng sat on horseback, watching the city gates draw closer, her anxiety mounting.

Wasn't this just setting her up? Nolan was actually bringing her openly back into the city. Wouldn't that basically confirm the rumors that she had something going on with him? She'd been working so hard to distance herself from Nolan.

Want to cut ties with me? Keep dreaming!

How could Nolan not know Serena Feng's little schemes? He'd originally planned a quiet return, but after hearing her talk about fleeing to the ends of the earth, he felt a surge of crisis. No matter what happened next, he was determined to brand her as his first.

"Relax. There will be records of our exit—I'll fabricate alibis for you. From yesterday through last night, you were with me the whole time, so you have a perfect absence-of-crime. Serena Feng, I'm sacrificing my own reputation and 'chastity' for you, so don't waste my kindness." Nolan shamelessly played the victim, loosened the reins, and slowed their approach to the city, savoring the feeling of holding a beauty in his arms.

"Thank you, Royal Uncle. It must be terribly aggrieving for you," Serena Feng said through gritted teeth.

Nolan ignored the fire in Serena's eyes and looked perfectly content. "Good, you know how much trouble you're causing me. Sit still and don't make trouble. Once we're back in the city, just go home and sleep. No matter how big the mess is, I'll handle it."

"Yes, thank you for your kindness, Royal Uncle." Sit still? Like she had a choice!

Serena Feng shot a fierce glare at the iron grip around her waist. If Nolan weren't holding her so tightly, she would've long since gone her own way instead of letting him 'frame' her reputation.

Fine, it wasn't exactly framing. She really had spent last night with Nolan. But... if this got out, she'd never be able to marry anyone but him.

"Stop thinking about all that nonsense. What you should be worrying about is how to get through this mess. There are plenty of smart people in this world—do you think you're the only clever one? With things blown up this big, instead of figuring out how to clean up and handle the aftermath, you're actually worrying about who to marry? Can't you think about something useful for once?"

Nolan gave Serena Feng a sharp rap on the head. This woman was sitting in his arms, yet still thinking about marrying someone else—was there anyone more infuriating than her in the whole world?

Turns out Serena had accidentally blurted out everything she was thinking, and Nolan, with his sharp ears, caught every word.

Ouch... Her head throbbed from the blow, but Serena Feng didn't dare rub it—Nolan looked ready to kill.

Serena was furious. This man obviously couldn't marry her, so why shouldn't she think about marrying someone else? Of course, she only dared to think it, not say it. Instead, she grumbled, "Royal Uncle, you can relax—I didn't leave any traces. Even if the Emperor suspects something, he can't pin it on me. If you hadn't been involved last night, you wouldn't know it was me either."

The palace explosion and the auspicious clouds over Feng Manor—none of that was ordinary, so no one would think in ordinary terms. No one would suspect a supposedly weak woman of pulling off something so grand.

Lyndaria, Northlyn, Southern Lyn, and all the power-holders from the Nine Cities were in the Eastlyn Imperial Capital for the Emperor's birthday. Liam Li was everyone's public enemy. If the Emperor suspects anyone, he'll suspect them first—they wanted Liam dead even more than she did.

Nolan nodded. He'd forgotten that Serena's greatest fear was death. When it came to her own safety, she would always erase every trace. But Serena Feng had one fatal weakness: she was too soft-hearted.

Serena Feng was ruthless to those who hurt her, but when it came to innocents, she couldn't bring herself to be cruel.

"Last night, Noble Consort Helena Hsieh arranged for you to enter the palace. How many people know about that? And how many know about the auspicious clouds over Feng Manor?" Every person in that chain was a hidden danger that had to be eliminated. Since Serena wouldn't bloody her own hands, Nolan would do it himself...

Serena Feng's secret of making thunder-blast grenades must never be exposed!