Consultation Fees and Knowing When to Stop

Serena Feng was never one to show mercy just because someone was a woman. When Su Wan lunged at her, was she supposed to just stand there and take it? She wasn't some saint. Serena shoved Su Wan away roughly and called to the guards, "Hold her back."

Su Wan's eyes were unfocused, her mental state a complete wreck—she was spiraling into madness. If this kept up, she really might lose her mind. But Serena didn't feel a shred of pity for her.

Su Wan and Reid Yale had brought this on themselves. If they hadn’t set out to harm others, they wouldn’t have ended up like this.

"How dare you—how dare you stop me! I’m the daughter of the Su Clan of Lyndaria, and my cousin is the Young City Lord of Night City! Listen up, if anything happens to my cousin, I’ll have you all buried with him!"

Su Wan screamed and ranted like a madwoman. The guards didn’t dare use force, and she broke free with just a few twists, lunging at Serena again—looking like she wanted to tear her apart.

Smack—Serena wasn’t one to play nice. She raised her hand and slapped Su Wan hard, knocking her to the ground.

"Why are you all standing around? Didn’t you see Miss Su Wan fall? Hurry up and help her up!" Serena shook out her hand—the slap had landed so hard her own palm stung.

"You—you dare hit me? Serena Feng, you’ve got some nerve!" Su Wan finally snapped out of it, clutching her swollen left cheek, her face full of outrage.

"So what if I hit you? Look at yourself—where’s the dignity of a Su Clan daughter? Right now, you’re nothing but a lunatic. And lunatics, let me warn you, if you keep causing trouble, I’ll toss you into the pile of snake corpses and let you spend your next life with snakes." Serena pointed at the bloody snake head and threatened her.

Usually, anyone who nearly gets eaten by a snake ends up traumatized—terrified of snakes or anything that even looks like one. Sure enough, Su Wan turned pale at Serena’s words, her knees buckled, and she fainted on the spot.

"Pathetic," Serena sneered.

With the chaos gone, she could finally get to work.

Serena pulled out an embroidered pouch from her robe, poured out a small pill, and tossed the rest to the guards. "These are antidote pills developed by the Master of Mystic Healer Valley. Supposedly, they cure any poison. Feed them to the brothers bitten by the snake."

These were rare treasures Serena had managed to trick out of the Valley Master—rumor had it each pill was worth a fortune and impossible to buy.

The guards froze, their hands heavy with the pouch. "Miss Serena, this is too valuable. People like us aren’t worthy of the Valley Master’s antidote pills."

They were grateful for Serena’s generosity, but the antidote pills from the Master of Mystic Healer Valley—there were only three in the Eastlyn Imperial Palace, reserved for the Emperor. For people like them, their lives were worthless to those in power; how could they deserve such medicine…

The guards’ reaction was just what Serena expected. No matter the era, good things were always reserved for those at the top. In this world, that mindset was carved into their bones.

Serena didn’t bother preaching about equality or how every life mattered to a doctor. She wasn’t some philosopher who could talk people to death and then bring them back with words alone. Besides, she didn’t have time for that.

"If you won’t use them, just give them back." Without a second thought, the guards handed the pouch back to Serena, as if it were burning hot. They didn’t think Serena was cold-blooded.

Medicine this precious was never meant for people like them.

Serena didn’t hesitate. She counted the men lying on the ground, poured out seven antidote pills, and started feeding them to the guards—beginning with the one furthest from Reid Yale.

"Miss Serena, these pills are too precious, you can’t just—" The guards, now more alert, suddenly felt a warmth in their hearts and tried to protest.

Serena was the first to actually think of saving them first, and she handed out medicine that was worth a fortune without hesitation.

"They're my pills, I’ll give them to whoever I want. It’s my choice to offer them, yours to take them." Serena fed the medicine with rough efficiency—prying open jaws, stuffing in the pills, and pressing down until they swallowed.

They were unconscious—could they even refuse? Seriously...

The guards all watched Serena. When she finished, a young leader stepped out, cupped his fists, and said, "Miss Serena, on behalf of my brothers, thank you."

Seven lives—if Serena hadn’t given them the antidote, by the time the imperial doctors arrived, those men would have been dead.

"No need for thanks. Doctors charge consultation fees—remember to send me the medicine cost later, ten taels per person." Serena had no intention of accepting their gratitude. Getting close to the Imperial Guards was risky; one wrong move and the Emperor could have her killed.

"Ten taels? Silver?" The guard leader was stunned, clearly not expecting Serena to ask for payment.

Didn’t Serena save them out of compassion and skill? Why charge a fee? Besides, the medicine was worth far more than ten taels—thousands, even tens of thousands, if the buyer was powerful enough. The more power, the greater the fear of death.

After giving the antidote pill to Reid Yale, Serena finally looked up. "Silver," she said.

Could ordinary guards even come up with ten taels of gold? If they could, she wouldn’t mind taking it—no one ever complained about having too much money.

"Yes, Miss Serena. We’ll bring you the consultation fee tomorrow." The guard leader understood at once—Serena wasn’t after the money. She was just being aboveboard, not holding favors over their heads.

Serena nodded to show she was listening, while checking the bite on Reid Yale’s arm, preparing to treat the poison.

It wasn’t about favoritism—everything had its limits. If she ignored Reid and saved the guards first, not only would the Crown Prince react badly, even the guards themselves would object.

"Give me a small knife." Serena had a scalpel strapped to her leg, but she didn’t dare use it here. This was the Imperial Palace—if anyone saw her with a forbidden blade, she’d be finished.

Thanks to the antidote pills from the Valley Master, the guards had a good impression of Serena. Without hesitation, they handed her a dagger, and she asked for a canteen as well.

Serena rinsed the dagger with water and told the guard leader to keep a close eye.

Reid Yale had been bitten on the arm. The guards had already done some first aid, protecting his vital points, so the poison hadn’t spread.

Serena cut a cross over the bite, squeezed out the poisoned blood, and thought to herself that she’d have to find a chance to inject him with antivenom later—otherwise, the arm was as good as lost.

"Did you get all that? If you did, go treat the other bitten men—if it’s just me, even with the antidote pills, some of them might not survive." The pills from the Valley Master could cure almost any poison, but at best, they’d still be crippled. Serena was just scaring them a little.

"Got it." The guard leader nodded repeatedly and started treating the others. Just then, the Crown Prince’s group finally arrived.