Killing is fine, but Serena Feng isn’t foolish enough to try killing with mirrors. Sure, you could kill someone with them, but the risks are huge. Her commissioning Vincent Su to make the mirrors was no secret—anyone who cared could trace it back to her. She wanted to kill, yes, but she didn’t intend to bring disaster onto herself.
She would kill openly, but make sure her preparations were hidden in the shadows. Everything was ready—she just had to wait for the right moment.
That night, dressed all in black, Serena Feng left the Sun Estate and arrived at the spot she’d arranged to meet Noble Consort Helena Hsieh. After confirming identities with their secret passphrase, she boarded the carriage, preparing to sneak into the palace through a hidden passage.
Everything went smoothly—until she got in the carriage and found someone already inside. Serena froze for a moment, then sat down as if nothing was wrong.
She wasn’t some sheltered young lady who’d panic and scream at a moment like this. Besides, if the person inside wanted her dead, they’d have struck already.
She didn’t know what the intruder wanted, only that he sat motionless in the carriage’s corner. Serena carefully raised her head, and by moonlight, finally saw who it was.
"Ninth Royal Uncle?" Serena had imagined a hundred possibilities, but never expected the person in the carriage to be Nolan Dongling. She was genuinely shocked.
She and Noble Consort Hsieh had planned everything so secretly, yet Nolan Dongling had still found them. What did that mean? It meant Nolan had already planted people at Hsieh’s side—or hers. Every move they made was under his watchful eye.
Just thinking about it made Serena shudder.
She’d never underestimated the people of this world, never thought that as a mere transmigrator she could change its rules and thrive without outside help.
But Nolan Dongling was honestly terrifying.
"Shh!" Nolan Dongling reached out—not to put his finger to his own lips, but to lean forward and place it gently on Serena Feng’s lips.
"Don’t worry. No one else will ever know, except me." Everyone else who knew had already been quietly removed. Did Serena really think that just the Wang–Hsieh alliance could arrange all this without leaving a trace—could sneak into the palace without anyone noticing?
If breaking into the palace were that easy, the Emperor would’ve been dead ages ago.
Serena let out a breath of relief.
Warm lips, burning fingertips—she hadn’t thought much of it before, but now... Serena opened her mouth to speak, only for her tongue to brush against Nolan’s finger. It was like an electric shock; both of them froze.
A tingling rush ran up from her toes. Serena stared at his suddenly magnified, handsome face. Only then did she think: What are you doing here?
Nolan didn’t answer. His dark eyes shimmered with unreadable emotion. He was a man—a perfectly normal man. Though he had a cleanliness obsession and hated women’s touch, he didn’t mind Serena’s touch at all.
With Serena’s accidental teasing, Nolan only felt parched and restless, as if a fire was burning inside him. A wild thought flashed through his mind: to pin this woman beneath him.
Ahem... The night was the perfect cover. Nolan blinked, a little flustered, and forced that slightly indecent thought back down.
Actually, the moment Serena’s soft tongue brushed his finger, Nolan made up his mind—he was going to pull her into his arms and kiss those red lips.
If he couldn’t pin her down right now, he’d at least steal a little sweetness. That’s exactly what Nolan thought—and exactly what he did.
The carriage was cramped. With just a small motion, Nolan pulled Serena into his embrace. Serena didn’t know what he intended and instinctively fought back, but unfortunately, she was up against Nolan Dongling.
Her elbow jab landed squarely in Nolan’s hand; her kick was pinned by his legs. In an extremely suggestive posture, she ended up sprawled in his arms, looking up into his passionate eyes.
"Ninth Royal Uncle, let go! You’re taking liberties." Serena was both embarrassed and angry. What did this man mean by all this? She’d already decided not to reach for him, to let go of a romance that never even started—yet he kept coming to stir things up.
Most of all, she was still an unmarried woman. This wasn’t an era where men and women could fool around before marriage—in this time, they weren’t even supposed to meet before the wedding. Nolan was being seriously disrespectful.
Hadn’t he always treated her with cold indifference? Why, after that fire, did he seem like a different man—grabbing every chance to take advantage of her?
The more Serena thought about it, the angrier she got. She truly couldn’t understand what went on in Nolan’s head—this constant push and pull was genuinely hurtful.
Seeing Serena looking so bullied, Nolan realized even his cold, hard heart was softening. He gave up on stealing a kiss and just held her, choosing to be a gentleman—like Liu Xia Hui under the willow tree.
It wasn’t that Nolan didn’t want her—he just believed there’d be plenty of chances in the future. Sooner or later, he’d have her beneath him, not just kissing her but claiming her completely, tying her to his side forever.
"Don’t move. I won’t cross the line—I just want to hold you. My people are outside; you don’t have to worry." Only by holding you can I be sure you’re safe. You’ll never know how terrified I was when I left the palace and heard Feng Manor was burning, with you trapped inside.
I thought I had everything under control, but I forgot—people and their hearts can’t be controlled.
The fire at Feng Manor made me realize I couldn’t just stand by and watch you get hurt. When I heard you hadn’t escaped the flames, my heart stopped beating.
I didn’t care about anything else—I jumped on my horse and raced for Feng Manor, telling myself you were waiting for me, waiting for me to save you. But when I got there, what did I see?
Just thinking of Serena in William Wang Jinling’s arms made Nolan burn with jealousy—he wanted to kill that Wang brat.
Too bad this woman, smart as she was, could be unbelievably dense in some ways. She hadn’t noticed Nolan’s change at all. Instead, she answered coldly, "I’m not one of your concubines."
"I don’t have any concubines." Honestly, it wasn’t that Serena was clueless—Nolan’s emotions were just too tightly controlled. With others around, he couldn’t possibly reveal his true feelings.
He’d been taught since childhood never to show joy or anger. Over time, he’d forgotten how to let his feelings out.
Serena didn’t say anything, but the corners of her lips curved up. Her body gradually relaxed, and she even carefully shifted to a more comfortable position, using Nolan as a human pillow.
If struggling was useless, she might as well enjoy it. The man behind her looked cold, but his embrace was warm—so warm she didn’t want to leave. The only thing missing was that faint bamboo scent Nolan used to have.
Serena loved that subtle bamboo fragrance most. Every time she smelled it, she felt Nolan was right beside her—close enough to touch, not some unreachable royal prince.
Years later, when Nolan learned what Serena was thinking at this moment, he’d reply solemnly, "If you’d told me then, I’d have said: You couldn’t reach up, but I could come down. With a woman like you, always stirring up trouble, only I could handle you."