Reply Letter, Serious Enough for the Valley Master to Come in Person
Although the Eighth Prince’s condition wasn’t serious, it was still a huge hassle. Serena Feng worked through the night until dawn, finally re-bandaging his wound. Before Imperial Noble Consort Helena could say a word, Serena stepped forward and admitted her fault.
"Your Highness, I failed to care for him properly. Please punish me," Serena said directly, not bothering with any excuses. Helena was upset with her, but Serena’s candid confession helped calm her down.
"Serena, don’t say that. No one can guard against trouble all day long. You can’t watch Little Eight every single hour—if those two maids wanted to cause trouble, it’s not something you could stop. It was my mistake for trusting the wrong people." Even though Helena was more composed, she was still angry her son had suffered; otherwise, she wouldn’t have spoken so harshly.
Serena didn’t explain further. She simply said that from today, she and Simon Sun would take turns checking on the young prince every hour.
Helena nodded coolly, neither happy nor angry. Serena couldn’t read her thoughts, but she understood Helena’s mood.
Her son had endured so much—how could any mother not be angry? Serena touched her nose, resigned to her unlucky fate.
After a brief handover with the imperial physicians, Serena picked up her med-kit and left. Once she was gone, one of Helena’s maids whispered, "Your Highness, why not have Doctor Feng watch over the young prince all day?"
The palace maids resented Serena for spending all her time caring for those commoner children. To them, even all those children combined weren’t worth a single finger of the Eighth Prince.
Serena must be out of her mind, leaving the Eighth Prince unattended and devoting most of her time to those other children.
"From now on, don’t ever say such things again," Helena said coldly, giving the maid a frosty glare.
You think she doesn’t want to, but Serena Feng isn’t someone you can order around. Besides, the Eighth Prince isn’t in any real danger—asking Serena to watch him around the clock is just too much.
Even if it were the Crown Prince who fell ill, no imperial physician would be expected to provide constant, twenty-four-hour care.
The palace maid quickly bowed her head to admit her fault, but Helena waved her off impatiently. "Go, move my things here. I’ll sleep in the outer room tonight."
After what happened, Helena trusted no one. She decided to personally care for the Eighth Prince herself.
"Your Highness, that’s against protocol," the maid protested, fear in her voice. But Helena had made up her mind. "We’re outside the palace now—there’s no need for so many formalities. Just do as I say."
She had endured enough in the palace, but now that she was outside, she wouldn’t tolerate anything. Her son was all that mattered.
Leaving the Eighth Prince’s courtyard, Serena rolled her aching shoulders, gave a bitter laugh, and headed for the distant ward. After making her rounds, she finally returned to her own quarters.
After such an ordeal, Serena couldn’t feel any joy. She knew some nurses in hospitals could be prone to abusing patients, but she hadn’t expected those two palace maids to use the Eighth Prince to frame her.
Luckily, she discovered it in time. If the prince’s incision had split and the healing gone wrong, both she and Simon would have been ruined.
Dragging her tired body, Serena took a quick shower and was about to sleep, but when she returned, she found a letter lying on her dressing table. Judging by the envelope...
Serena’s lips curved into a faint smile, sweeping away her earlier gloom. She happily opened the envelope.
Even if it was another letter scolding her, Serena wouldn’t mind—just seeing his familiar handwriting made her happy.
She unfolded the letter and eagerly began to read. The more she read, the brighter her smile became.
It wasn’t criticism—it was praise. Ninth Royal Uncle was praising her!
When Serena reached the final paragraph, she froze, her smile stiffening. She rubbed her eyes, almost unable to believe what she was seeing.
Such direct words—could Nolan have really written this?
"Twelve hours of longing in a single day." That really didn’t sound like something Nolan would say, and yet...
Serena checked again and again—this was definitely Nolan’s handwriting. Those lines were truly written for her.
Ahhh… she was so happy!
Serena was so overjoyed she didn’t know what to do. Pressing the letter to her chest, she realized her heart was racing, her blood rushing backward, unstoppable joy flooding out from her heart—she felt as if she might drown in happiness.
Serena wished she could fly straight to Nolan’s side and tell him she missed him just as much. Whenever she closed her eyes, all she saw was him.
This letter—especially those last few lines—swept away all of Serena’s earlier gloom. She felt as if she’d been injected with pure energy, her exhaustion vanishing without a trace.
Sitting at her dressing table, Serena reread the letter carefully. The more she read, the happier she felt.
Knowing how reserved Nolan usually was, Serena realized how difficult it must have been for him to write such a letter. She had to keep it safe—so she could tease him about it when he returned...
Lost in her happy thoughts, Serena decided to protect the letter. She activated her Smart Med-Pack and stored the letter inside.
That way, it wouldn’t get lost—and she could take it out to read any time she wanted.
Serena was in such a good mood that she couldn’t sleep at all. She threw on an outer robe and headed for the study, her joy so obvious that even the shadow guards could sense it.
“Spring has come,” one shadow guard said, trying to sound profound. The moment he finished, another guard knocked him on the head. “What spring? It’s nearly autumn. She’s just happy because she got a letter from the master.”
The ‘profound’ shadow guard didn’t get angry after being hit. He just shot his companion a disdainful look, as if to say: ‘Ignorance is truly frightening.’
Serena went to the study to write her reply to Nolan. Unlike his orderly letters, she wrote whatever came to mind—line after line of daily details, each word overflowing with longing for him.
The more Serena wrote, the happier she became. Without realizing it, she filled five whole pages. When her ink was almost gone, she finally forced herself to stop writing.
After finishing her last line, Serena thought for a moment, then used the final drops of ink to add:
My heart is steadfast, your heart is steadfast; two hearts so firm could bore through stone. Yet meeting is hard for us both.
Before the little window, the moon is bright; jade pillow and soft flowers share our dreams. Tonight, people and moon are whole.
No matter how long it takes, I’ll wait for you to come home!
When the ink dried, Serena sealed the envelope. Seeing how thick it was, she felt a little embarrassed—her ears even turned red.
She wondered if the shadow guard delivering the letter would laugh at her, but she couldn’t bear to cut anything out, and she didn’t want to rewrite it either.
Gritting her teeth, Serena decided not to care what the guard thought. She left the letter on the table, waiting for the messenger to come. Whatever he thought, she’d never see his face anyway.
Not long after Serena left, the shadow guard arrived to collect the letter. Seeing the thick envelope, he was speechless: Did she really have that much to say? Wasn’t Miss Feng worried about tiring them out?
After finishing the letter, Serena’s excitement gradually faded. Once the high wore off, she felt even more exhausted. Though it was broad daylight, she decided to snatch some sleep. But...
"Miss, the Master of Mystic Healer Valley is here." Jada Tang stood at Serena’s door and hurried forward as soon as she saw her.
Serena’s drowsiness vanished again. She perked up and asked, "The Valley Master—did he say why he’s come?"
A bad feeling crept over Serena. The Valley Master was almost certainly here for Dominic Zhai’s condition, but... was Dominic’s illness really so serious that it brought the Valley Master himself?