If I Name an Outrageous Price, So What

Does Ninth Royal Uncle like Serena Feng?

Serena tilted her head, her eyes growing even more dazed and vacant, as if she didn’t know how to answer.

Su Rou pressed anxiously, coaxing again: "Serena, tell me, does Ninth Royal Uncle like you or not?"

This answer was crucial for them. Su Rou didn’t dare relax for a second—if they could confirm this, they’d find their breakthrough against Ninth Royal Uncle.

"I don't know. Sometimes he likes me, sometimes he doesn't." Serena replied woodenly.

"How could you not know? If he likes you, he likes you; if he doesn’t, he doesn’t!" Su Rou grew impatient, her voice rising sharply. Serena seemed startled, as if she was about to snap out of it.

Seeing this, Su Rou quickly shook the bead in her hand again. Her green eyes spun rapidly, and Serena's emotions gradually settled, turning back into a wooden doll.

Su Rou let out a sigh of relief.

This was her only chance; she wouldn’t get such a perfect opportunity again.

Serena had just come out of Sky Prison, exhausted in both body and spirit. Her guard was down, her mind far weaker than usual, and with the help of calming incense, hypnosis was easy. Normally, with her willpower, Serena would be hard to hypnotize.

Unwilling to give up, Su Rou asked again: "Does Ninth Royal Uncle like you?"

"Sometimes he likes me a lot, sometimes he doesn't." The answer was still the same. Su Rou grew discouraged; she realized that even Serena probably didn’t know if Ninth Royal Uncle truly liked her.

Someone like Ninth Royal Uncle hid his thoughts too deeply—he probably didn’t even know what he was thinking himself.

Su Rou stopped dwelling on this and moved to the next question: "Serena, how can we break the chessboard you set up?"

This concerned the Su Clan’s victory or defeat—she couldn’t afford to lose.

"No solution." Serena answered this question bluntly.

"How could the chessboard you laid out have no solution?" Su Rou didn’t believe it.

"It’s a dead game. There’s no way to break it."

What? A dead game?

Well played, Serena Feng.

If she weren’t in the middle of hypnosis, Su Rou would’ve slapped Serena right then. Serena was truly hateful—she’d set up an unsolvable trap just to embarrass the Su Clan.

Outrageous!

Just wait, Serena. We’ll settle this score soon enough.

Suppressing her anger, Su Rou pressed on: "Serena, where is your Phoenix Empress Hairpin?"

None of the important questions had been answered. If she couldn’t even locate the hairpin, how could she report back to the Third Prince?

"The hairpin’s on my head."

But there was no hairpin on Serena’s head—Su Rou had checked long ago. "Think carefully, where did you put your hairpin?"

"The hairpin was on my head, then in Sky Prison, then suddenly it was gone."

That answer nearly made Su Rou cough up blood. That damned Eastlyn Emperor—he’d gotten to it before she did. Too much!

"Serena, do you know about thunder-blast grenades?" Su Rou pressed on relentlessly.

"I know."

"Can you make them?" The Third Prince suspected Serena knew Liam Li, who could make thunder-blast grenades, so he wanted to test her.

Serena shook her head. "I don’t know how."

Aside from some useless information, Su Rou hadn’t gotten a single useful answer out of Serena. By now, Su Rou herself was struggling—her forehead was slick with sweat, but she forced a smile and prepared for the final question: "Serena, I know you have a big secret. Tell me that secret now."

But at that, Serena shook her head violently. Pain twisted her face; her eyes, though unfocused, were no longer empty. Serena began to shout uncontrollably.

"The secret can’t be told! Can’t be told! I’ll die—I’ll die…"

"Ah—" Su Rou felt a sharp pain between her brows, slammed into the carriage wall, and the green bead in her hand snapped off its string, dropping to the floor and rolling away.

Su Rou didn’t care about that; she stared at Serena, unblinking. Serena really did have a secret—what could it be, to make her break hypnosis so violently?

Clearly, this secret was no ordinary matter. Su Rou’s eyes gleamed with determination.

She was determined to dig out Serena’s secret.

A secret that could kill—now that was worth digging for.

Thud—The carriage hit something, jolting violently. Serena lost her balance and toppled forward, landing right on Su Rou. Su Rou’s head slammed into the carriage wall again, pain draining all color from her face.

Once the carriage steadied, Serena regained her senses, got up off Su Rou, and tapped her own head. "What happened to me?"

"The carriage bumped, Miss Feng—you fell." Su Rou, though resentful inside, could only keep up her gentle act.

"Really? Why do I feel so tired, like I’ve slept for ages?" Serena looked utterly lost, tapping her head repeatedly, left hand still clenched in a fist.

"You must’ve been knocked out, Miss Feng. It’s nothing—just rest awhile and you’ll be fine." Su Rou soothed her. Serena thought it over, couldn’t recall anything, and accepted the explanation. "So that’s it."

Seeing Serena wasn’t suspicious, Su Rou breathed a sigh of relief. They sat properly, and despite her discomfort, Su Rou poured tea and offered snacks, fully playing the role of Serena’s devoted admirer. Only when they reached the Westside Courtyard did Su Rou reluctantly send Serena off—and as soon as she got back in the carriage, she fainted.

Serena stood in place, watching the carriage roll away with a cold smile. Slowly, she opened her tightly clenched left hand—her palm was a bloody mess.

"Try to hypnotize me and dig out my secrets? I’ll play you to death. Want to know what I’m hiding? If you’re not afraid to die, come at me."

Serena flicked her left hand and strode toward Westside Courtyard, blood spattering onto the ground like blooming red plum blossoms…

Back at Westside Courtyard, Simon Sun, Jada Tang, and the others greeted her with laughter and cheers. Serena hid her injured left hand, smiling as she reassured everyone: "I told you I’d be fine. You worried for nothing."

Serena instructed Jada not to spread word of her release for now. After bathing and changing, she bandaged her left hand and was about to call Jada over to report on the last ten days when the door sounded: "Miss Feng, it’s me—Holden Cui. Is this a convenient time?"

This chapter isn’t finished yet~.~ Please click next page to keep reading!

No wonder Holden Cui was so anxious—his health was dire. While Serena was in prison, he’d suffered two more attacks. Simon Sun said if it happened again, there’d be no hope left.

He’d been sick for years but had always survived. Hearing there was no hope left, Holden’s last bit of hesitation vanished.

Victor Yun was right—if he gambled now, he still had a seventy-percent chance. If not, he didn’t even have half.

"Young Master Holden, shall we go to the study?" Serena rose and opened the door, gesturing for him to enter.

A girl’s bedchamber couldn’t admit an unrelated man—even if she didn’t mind, Ninth Royal Uncle certainly would. He was old-fashioned and jealous to the bone…

Once inside the study, Holden Cui got straight to the point: he agreed to Serena’s treatment plan and asked her to schedule surgery as soon as possible. He promised that even if the operation failed, the Cui Clan wouldn’t blame her.

"Young Master Holden, the operation can proceed, but the consultation fee has changed." Serena wasn’t surprised—he’d come so urgently, it could only be for this.

Besides, if Holden Cui hadn’t agreed to treatment, he wouldn’t still be at Westside Courtyard.

"Consultation fee? How much silver do you want?" Holden was surprised Serena would even bring up payment.

If she cured him, the Cui Clan would surely pay her handsomely.

Serena smiled mysteriously. "Young Master Holden, I’m not asking for silver."

"Then what do you want?"

Serena didn’t beat around the bush. Looking Holden straight in the eye, she said, "I want you to work with the Wang Clan—and help me save Ninth Royal Uncle!"

"What? Work with the Wang Clan to save Ninth Royal Uncle?" Holden’s face didn’t change, but his eyes grew colder.

"Serena, you’re asking for the moon."

"That’s right, I am asking for the moon. So what?" Serena refused to back down, answering with arrogant defiance.

Serena had every right to ask for the moon!