What do you do when Vincent Su falls ill?
Of course, you find a doctor.
Who’s the most reliable and skilled doctor in the imperial capital?
Naturally, it’s Serena Feng.
Traveling from Sutton Manor to the West District courtyard wastes too much time, so Lance Quinn chooses Feng Manor in between. Lance has his dark-guard notify Serena, telling her to hurry to Feng Manor, while he carries Vincent Su himself through the secret passage to the newly built operating room.
When Feng Manor was rebuilt, Lance Quinn had Vincent Su dig a secret tunnel between Feng Manor and Sutton Manor—one even Serena doesn’t know about.
Lance originally intended it for himself and Storm Cloud Bu to get patched up by Serena. Ever since Serena first pulled out his sword, she’s been their personal doctor. He never thought the first one to use the secret tunnel would be Vincent Su.
After the dark-guard got the message, he silently looked up at the sky, then showed himself at Serena’s door. He hesitated for ages before finally knocking.
He was genuinely afraid that if his master found out he’d barged into Miss Serena’s bedroom at night, he’d have his eyes gouged out.
"Miss Serena."
"Who’s there?" Serena snapped awake, her first reflex reaching for the gun by her pillow.
"I’m your assigned dark-guard, here to protect you, Miss Serena. My master sent word—he’s waiting for you in the small cabin at Feng Manor. Please hurry, someone’s been hurt." In other words, it wasn’t Lance Quinn who got injured.
Serena let out a breath, set the gun down, rubbed her aching forehead, and called out, "Wait a moment." Then she got up and lit a candle.
Getting up in the dead of winter, in the middle of the night—no one enjoys that, and Serena was no exception. Scowling, she dressed, activated her Smart Med-Pack, grabbed some basic medicines, and filled her surgery kit.
She checked the Smart Med-Pack’s display: only ten Medical Ethics Points left. Serena silently hoped Lance Quinn would give her a chance to earn a few more tonight—she’d been dreaming of that AK-47 assault rifle, but lately she hadn’t had time to go out and save anyone.
Carrying her kit, Serena didn’t just follow the guard out. She paused at the door and sized him up.
She’d crossed paths with these dark-guards once before, but only in passing—she couldn’t remember any faces. The guard was careful, too: he took out a wooden token engraved with the Sutton Manor insignia and handed it to Serena. She double-checked it, then nodded, "Have someone stay inside and pretend to be me. Don’t let anyone notice I’ve left."
"Understood." The guard made a gesture toward the shadows, got a response, then said to Serena, "Forgive me." He scooped her up around the waist, tapped his toes, and vaulted over the West District courtyard wall.
Serena was startled, but quickly clapped a hand over her mouth to keep from crying out. She cursed Lance Quinn’s men for being so reckless, not knowing the guard was just as nervous—he dreaded getting punished if Lance ever found out about this.
Both sides rushed to meet—Lance Quinn emerged from the secret passage, and Serena arrived soon after. She took a breath at the sight of the row of cabins, headed for the one with the light on, and signaled the guard to light up the others as well.
Just one cabin lit up? That’s way too obvious.
Inside, Serena saw Lance Quinn leaning against the wall, arms crossed, striking a pose that would look roguish on anyone else—but on Lance, it had a special edge that was oddly pleasing.
If you looked closer, you’d notice a natural air of freedom and loneliness about Lance Quinn, as if the whole world had abandoned him.
Serena’s heart twinged, but she pretended not to notice. She nodded lightly to Lance in greeting, then headed for Vincent Su lying on the operating table.
It had only been a few days, but Vincent Su looked like a different person—worse than when Serena first saw him in the morgue. Now he was just a skeletal shadow, nothing left of the aura of Eastlyn’s number one merchant.
He must’ve been worrying himself sick over Prince Nolan. Serena knew Vincent Su was a master of connections—not only was he close with Lance Quinn and the jianghu crowd, he was also tight with Eastlyn’s top officials.
Of course, those officials only cared because of Prince Nolan. He was Vincent Su’s biggest support in Eastlyn. If Nolan fell, Vincent would be left as a rich merchant with no protection—sooner or later, someone would devour him down to the bone.
Merchant, farmer, scholar, official—so what if a merchant is rich? Those in power can pin a crime on you anytime and wipe out your whole clan.
Serena was reflecting on Vincent Su’s fate, not realizing she herself was being framed. At the House of Duke Zhen, a servant went to serve Duke Zhen tea late at night, only to find he wasn’t breathing. The whole estate erupted in chaos—crying, shouting, old and young. Someone suddenly said, "Duke Zhen was perfectly healthy, there’s no way he’d die for no reason. It must’ve been Serena Feng—she crashed into him earlier today and injured his heart and lungs."
"That’s right, it was Serena Feng! It must’ve been her! Old Madam, you have to stand up for Duke Zhen!" The whole household cried to Old Madam Zhen, begging her to go to the palace and petition the Empress.
The estate physician at Duke Zhen’s house diagnosed it as lung injury and internal bleeding, supposedly caused by the collision. Old Madam Zhen, barely holding back her grief, shouted, "Bring me my Imperial Life Robe—I’m going to the palace!"
No matter how chaotic things got at Duke Zhen’s estate, Serena knew nothing of it. She told Lance Quinn to wait outside and not make her job harder. Lance, knowing Serena’s secrets, wouldn’t trouble her—but still…
He wanted to look at Serena a little longer, maybe say a few more words, but couldn’t find the right moment. Vincent Su’s life came first.
Serena didn’t even need the Smart Med-Pack to diagnose Vincent Su: excessive liver fire, malnutrition, and overwork. If it hadn’t hit him all at once, he might’ve just dropped dead from exhaustion—happens all the time in the modern world.
Serena gave Vincent Su a nutrient IV and glucose drip. After sitting stiffly for so long, his limbs were poorly circulated. Lance Quinn said Vincent had just lost a lot of blood, so Serena didn’t dare give him blood-activating medicine—she just massaged his limbs to help him move.
Dawn was breaking. Serena had to go back. She urged Lance Quinn to take good care of Vincent Su and make sure he rested, prescribed some immune-boosting meds, then hurriedly packed up her things.
She picked up her kit and headed out, only to find Lance Quinn blocking the door. Serena looked up, puzzled: "What’s wrong?"
Lance Quinn had a thousand things to say, but when he met Serena’s tired eyes, he swallowed his words and only said, "Don’t worry. Everything will be fine. He… won’t be in any danger."
They both knew exactly who he meant.
So he was really comforting himself. Serena rubbed her brow, smiled softly, "I know. I trust him. He’ll be fine."
Serena’s voice was firm—whether she was convincing herself or Lance Quinn, even she couldn’t tell.
Lance’s eyes turned cold, full of bitterness only he understood. "Go back early. Get some rest. Don’t worry about anything else."
He wanted so badly to keep this woman by his side, but seeing how exhausted she looked, he couldn’t bear it—afraid she’d collapse in front of him like Vincent Su.
Serena just smiled, said nothing, and hurried back to the West District courtyard with the dark-guard. She hadn’t even changed her clothes when suddenly the Imperial Guards, wielding a gold token, crashed through the gate and surrounded her…
What the hell was going on?