"Serena Feng, you shameless woman, how dare you scheme against me! I'll make you wish you were dead!"
The fury in Adrian Dongling's eyes could kill, but when he lowered his gaze, he suddenly realized...
What was going on?
His clothes were intact, but he was covered in blood.
Serena Feng was also fully dressed, but she looked like she'd just been dragged out of a pool of blood—her whole body stained red.
This didn't look like a 'cooked rice' scenario—it looked more like they'd survived an attack!
What was this situation?
Adrian Dongling's eyes froze, unmoving.
It was as if that one glance had overturned everything he thought he knew.
Adrian Dongling's gaze flickered as he surveyed the room, realizing it was the Changsi Hall—the place he'd lived before moving out to his own residence.
Adrian blinked, and suddenly everything came rushing back.
When he left the palace, he'd just seen Nolan Eastlyn heading out as well. Nolan had handed him all the witnesses and evidence to clear Serena's name, so Adrian had planned to thank him. But then...
Nolan was ambushed.
For some reason, at that moment, Nolan only had a single eunuch with him—no other attendants. Even the palace guards hadn't noticed the attack.
As a prince, Adrian was allowed by imperial decree to carry a sword even in the palace. He drew his blade to help. He remembered the assassins weren't especially skilled; he hadn't been hurt by them. But suddenly, his body faltered and he toppled to the right, and then...
His leg was struck by an arrow!
"My leg..."
Adrian tried to speak, but no words came out. He wanted to reach out and touch his leg, but found he couldn't move at all—it was as if he had no feeling there.
How could this be? Was his injury really that serious?
Uneasy, Adrian forced himself to stay calm. Unable to move, he could only look at Serena again—and saw the tube connecting them, carrying blood from her to him.
Serena knows medicine.
Adrian suddenly understood: this was the imperial palace. With Serena's status, she couldn't possibly enter on her own. If she was here now, it could only mean one thing...
Serena saved him!
Ha... ha.
Adrian couldn't accept it, his eyes blinking again and again.
Serena saved him—the woman he most scorned was his savior.
Did all the imperial doctors fail?
No... where was everyone else? Why were only he and Serena in this room?
Adrian had just woken up, but his mind raced through every possibility.
Serena, resting with her eyes closed, hadn't noticed Adrian was awake.
After all, Serena knew just how weak Adrian's body was.
Adrian waking up now had everything to do with his own willpower.
Serena mentally calculated the time, feeling how quickly the blood had drained from her. Her whole body was freezing, and waves of dizziness were starting to hit.
She quickly opened her eyes, decisively pulled the needle from her left hand, pressed the spot with tape—never mind if it still bled—and then pulled out Adrian's needle, pressing hard to stop any more blood from escaping.
She had no more blood left to give Adrian.
Adrian reacted instantly; the moment Serena moved, he shut his eyes tight.
His breathing was so weak that even the slightest change was impossible to detect.
Serena climbed over Adrian, got off the bed, but the moment her feet touched the ground, everything went black—she nearly collapsed forward.
Anemia!
This bad?
Serena grabbed the bedpost and steadied herself. It took a long moment before she recovered—she didn't collapse, but she was dangerously weak.
"I totally overestimated myself. This broken body—400cc would've nearly killed me, and I gave 600cc. What a loss! I shouldn't have been so self-sacrificing. For Prince Rowan, I've basically given up half my life."
Serena regretted it bitterly, turning to glare at Adrian.
Not that Adrian could see her anyway, so she wasn't afraid.
Of course, Serena only dared glare at him to vent—she wouldn't actually lay a finger on him.
After all, this was the imperial palace, and Adrian was a prince.
Fighting off wave after wave of dizziness, Serena quickly gathered every suspicious item in the room—including her gun.
For some reason, even though Adrian was awake, he didn't want Serena to know. He kept his eyes shut, listening as she quietly packed everything away.
He couldn't help it—Adrian still hadn't processed the fact that Serena had saved him.
He couldn't understand it at all. Why would Serena save him? He knew exactly how much she hated him.
Everything Serena suffered today was his doing—even if he hadn't done it himself, it was caused by people around him.
Given all that, Serena still saved him?
Was it just imperial orders?
But from what Serena said, and from what he'd seen, she must have used her own blood to save him.
That couldn't be just imperial orders!
Adrian remembered how Serena used to hide in the corners, watching him with those deep, devoted eyes.
Until the pre-marital scandal broke, and Serena's entire personality changed—her eyes now full of disgust whenever she looked at him.
Could it be that Serena still liked him?
It had to be. If she didn't like him, why would her personality change so much, or why would she make such a huge sacrifice for him?
Serena, daughter of General Feng, and her mysterious mother—Adrian guessed Serena's blood must have some special effect, maybe tied to her mother's secrets.
Adrian knew Serena was skilled in medicine, but if even the imperial doctors couldn't heal him, how could a 'weak girl' like her manage it?
It must be the blood—just like he saw at first, Serena saved him with her own blood.
A warmth and tenderness welled up in Adrian's heart.
To save him, she nearly gave up half her life. This deep feeling and devotion—he, Adrian, would remember it. Serena, you risked exposing your secret to save me. Don't worry, I'm not an ungrateful man.
I'll keep your secret. I'll protect you!
Even if I can't marry you as my wife, I can make you my side consort.
Adrian silently made up his mind...
After Serena finished packing everything, she checked Adrian's wound again—no bleeding, good.
She touched his forehead.
No fever. Good.
She'd already given him anti-inflammatory medicine.
Blood transfusion—done.
Antibiotics—administered.
Thanks to the imperial doctors' earlier care, his lower leg hadn't been ruined.
The immediate danger had passed. The rest could be left to the imperial doctors—when it came to aftercare and recovery, they’d do better than she could right now.
Serena picked up her medical kit and headed for the door, her steps unsteady, head spinning. She paused, patting her forehead to steady herself.
"Serena, you can't collapse yet. You still need to tell the imperial doctors what to watch out for."
Adrian heard her words, and his heart filled with a new wave of tenderness.
Serena—even now, you still care about me?
That's just how people are. Once you decide someone is good, everything they do seems good; once you decide someone is bad, everything they do seems bad.