Tears Fall, A Subordinate’s Life Is Hard

Those women who dreamed of entering the palace and winning the Emperor’s favor didn’t even get a chance to compete. Instead, they became a strange catalyst that made the imperial couple even more affectionate…

Thanks to all this, Prince Nolan and Serena Feng’s relationship grew even stronger. They weren’t glued together every minute, but the sweetness between them was so obvious that it was impossible to ignore…

Prince Nolan and Serena were always low-key people. They never showed off their love in public, but their bond was so strong that even the shadow guards couldn’t help feeling jealous.

Master, is it really fair to flaunt your relationship in front of all us single people?

The shadow guard almost wanted to cry. Watching Prince Nolan and Serena together, he suddenly realized he wanted someone like that too—a woman who could laugh and cry with him, and share a lifetime of mutual support.

"I suddenly want to get married," said Shadow Guard A to Shadow Guard B.

Shadow Guard B paused, then said quietly, "I’ve wanted a wife for a long time." With their master so loving, how could they not be moved? Only…

"The woman I want won’t marry me, and the ones willing to marry me aren’t the ones I want." Shadow Guard B was truly feeling down now.

The other shadow guards, seeing Prince Nolan about to hand Serena his fishing rod and confirming there was no danger nearby, relaxed a little and all crowded around Shadow Guard B, wanting to know who he wanted to marry.

"Who do you have your eye on? We could ask the Emperor for a favor, let him issue a marriage decree—he definitely wouldn’t refuse." They’d all served the Emperor for years, and while training was tough in the early days, Nolan had always treated them kindly since. They were sure he’d grant them this much face.

Shadow Guard B’s face fell even more. "Even if the Emperor grants a marriage, it won’t help. Besides, if she’s forced to marry, would she really be happy?"

"That’s true. But… with our duties, even if you wanted to pursue her, you wouldn’t have any time." The group of shadow guards looked at B with sympathy.

Shadow Guard A, the small squad leader, hesitated and said, "How about I sound out the Emperor for you? Maybe after we return to the Capital, he’ll let you take a bit of leave so you have time to court her?"

"That could work, but men and women are different—how is Little B supposed to go after her?" All bachelors, the group got busy brainstorming for their lovelorn brother.

"What’s the big deal? With our skills, sneaking out for a private meeting takes no time at all." Their master did the same back in the day—private meetings can really spark a romance.

"Exactly! Back when our master was chasing the Empress, he’d secretly meet her all the time—sometimes he’d spend the whole night outside her room, just to catch another glimpse of her."

"You could also create some trouble. The Empress ran into so many problems back then, and in the end it was always our master who stepped in to fix things. ‘Hero saves beauty’ may be an old trick, but it still works."

...

The group grew more and more animated as they talked, voices rising unconsciously. Prince Nolan glanced over, but said nothing.

He knew his men had self-control. They were human, not emotionless machines—how could they not have feelings? As long as they didn’t neglect their duties, Prince Nolan usually turned a blind eye to their little distractions.

Besides, he and Serena didn’t like being watched by a bunch of people anyway, so the shadow guards’ behavior suited him perfectly.

Serena hadn’t noticed at first, but after seeing Prince Nolan glance toward a certain corner several times, she finally caught on. She nudged him and asked, "What are they talking about?"

Well, she had to admit—she’d gotten more and more gossipy as she got older.

"No idea," Prince Nolan shook his head, then shot Serena a look: Do you want me to call them over and ask?

Serena quickly shook her head. "It’s their private business."

"But aren’t you curious?" As long as Serena wanted to know, what did it matter if it was private?

"I’m just a little curious, that’s all. Don’t ask. Focus on your fishing." Serena nudged him, because…

Prince Nolan had been sitting there all afternoon and hadn’t caught a single fish. About that…

Ahem, you really couldn’t blame Prince Nolan’s fishing skills—it was just that he was sitting too close to Serena.

All these years, Serena had spent most of her time writing medical books and rarely performed surgery, but…

Small animals were still afraid to get close to Serena—and fish were no exception.

If Prince Nolan wanted to catch a fish, he’d have to sit farther away from Serena. But if he moved, he’d be unhappy—who would feed him snacks then?

Food from anyone else? He wouldn’t touch it.

So they ended up in a vicious cycle, sitting there half the day without even glimpsing a single fish…

It was a good thing they weren’t relying on fish for their meal, or they really would have gone hungry. Basically, so long as Serena was around and Prince Nolan didn’t act alone, there was no hope of catching anything.

Honestly, she had to admit—whenever she saw cats or dogs, her first thought was that they were dirty and likely to have fleas. Best not to pick them up…

Her mind would automatically conjure up a full-body anatomical diagram.

She was never the type to keep pets anyway, so she totally understood why small animals didn’t like her!

Serena and Prince Nolan kept sitting there, waiting for a clueless fish to bite. Meanwhile, the shadow guards’ conversation was finally getting somewhere, but…

"We’ve spent half the day coming up with ideas, and we still don’t know who your crush is!" Shadow Guard A suddenly realized they’d missed the most important question.

You have to remember—different people require different approaches to courtship.

"Uh, well…" Shadow Guard B blushed, unable to get a word out for ages.

These guys were just too much.

Shadow Guard B didn’t want to say, but his brothers wouldn’t let him off easy. They were all bachelors—now that one finally had a crush, there was no way they’d let it go. They had to get an answer.

A whole crowd of shadow guards surrounded B, their voices getting louder. Shadow Guard A thought about reminding them to quiet down, but seeing Prince Nolan ignore them, he realized their master didn’t mind a bit of noise. So the group pressed B even harder.

Forced into a corner, Shadow Guard B knew there was no escape unless he gave a real answer. After a long struggle, he stammered out a name: "Jada Tang."

"What? Someone from the Empress’s side?" The shadow guards were all stunned.

This guy was seriously gutsy—he actually dared to go after someone so close to the Empress! Respect!

"Brother, just forget everything I said earlier." The shadow guards who’d offered advice all jumped in to retract their suggestions.

"Someone from the Empress’s side isn’t easy to win over. You’d better be prepared."

Not just Jada Tang and Mira Tang, who could handle things on their own—even the Four Seasons Maids were famous. Plenty of sons from great families, and even high-ranking officials, had tried to marry them as principal wives, only to be flatly rejected…

Winning Jada Tang’s heart really wouldn’t be easy…

Brother, we’re with you in spirit—may you win your beauty soon!