Serena Feng thought for a long time, but still couldn’t figure out how to prove her own innocence.
Even though their methods were crude and the evidence flimsy, she still couldn’t talk her way out of it—because one of the parties involved was a royal princess.
In royal matters, nothing is small. When the safety of a princess is at stake, they’d rather wrongfully execute a thousand than let one guilty person go.
After thinking it over, Serena could only state things plainly: "Ninth Royal Uncle, sir. The princess and I—she’s the sky, I’m the earth. How could I be so delusional as to challenge the heavens and try to assassinate the princess? There’s no grudge or feud between us. I have no motive to kill her."
Besides, everyone knows how poor Feng Manor is. How could I possibly come up with a thousand taels of gold to hire a killer?
And if I really orchestrated this assassination, why was I the one targeted by that arrow in the end? Everyone saw it—Miss Sun is still fighting for her life after saving me.
And lastly, that was the Royal Country Villa—not the front gate of Feng Manor. If I had the power to sneak people into the royal compound, I wouldn’t be in this situation now."
Her gaze burned into Princess Serenity, as if she could see right through her.
No matter why Ninth Royal Uncle had stepped in to help her, now that he was here, Serena didn’t want to waste the chance—he was the only one who could get her out of this place.
If she succeeded, she could finally leave the Bloodcloak Guard’s dungeon.
If she lost, she’d be trapped here forever—becoming the next Xavier, unable to live, unable to die.
Hearing Serena Feng’s defense, Commander Lucan Lu nodded. "Miss Feng makes sense."
As Lucan spoke, he snuck a glance at Ninth Royal Uncle Nolan, but saw that Nolan remained as aloof as ever, his face unreadable. Lucan couldn’t figure out what Nolan meant by this; sweating nervously, he barked at Qian Jin: "Qian Jin, how dare you slander Miss Feng! Speak up—who put you up to this?"
"Sir, I really was ordered by Miss Feng. I have proof—she gave me a very strange little knife at the time. That knife can prove her identity." Qian Jin kowtowed repeatedly and bit out another accusation.
A little knife?
Damn—it must be the surgical scalpel she lost last time.
No wonder they said there was both witness and physical evidence. It’s all here, perfectly arranged.
Serena’s face drained of color, her eyes flashing with helpless sorrow.
But Princess Serenity’s eyes lit up with delight.
It looked like the knife really was Serena Feng’s. When that person handed it to her, she’d even doubted it—turns out...
An officer quickly brought out the little knife Qian Jin had mentioned.
"Miss Feng, take a good look. Is this yours?" Commander Lucan Lu asked, strictly by the book.
But in his tone, Serena Feng could hear that he wanted her to deny it.
Deny it? How could she? That surgical scalpel—there wasn’t another like it in all of Jiuzhou. If she denied it now and they traced it back, she’d look even more guilty.
Serena was about to admit it when Nolan Dongling spoke coolly: "If it’s yours, say so. If it’s not, say so. Lying to me will never end well."
Not that Serena intended to deny it, but even if she had, she couldn’t now.
Serena nodded. "To answer Ninth Royal Uncle and Commander Lucan Lu: the knife is mine, but I absolutely did not give it to Qian Jin. Why would I hand such a thing to anyone? It couldn’t even be used to kill someone. And if I really wanted to hire a killer, why would I use my real name and leave such crucial evidence behind? I’d basically be begging to get caught."
"Or maybe you’re just trying to confuse everyone, Serena Feng. You’ve always been clever." Princess Serenity piped up, seeing Nolan Dongling wasn’t defending Serena, and tried to test his reaction.
After speaking, Princess Serenity didn’t look forward, but nervously bowed to Nolan Dongling. "Royal Uncle, I overstepped."
"Mm," Nolan replied, but didn’t scold her.
Princess Serenity’s face lit up with joy. She bowed and stepped back.
Commander Lucan Lu was practically groaning—Princess Serenity had just thrown down the gauntlet.
He was truly stuck between a rock and a hard place, but couldn’t just walk away.
Lucan Lu could only grit his teeth and ask Qian Jin again: when and where did you meet Serena Feng, what exactly did you talk about, how did you sneak into the Royal Country Villa, and so on.
Qian Jin answered everything, not missing a detail. Serena knew he was framing her, but his story was so convincing that all she could do was argue back—she had no evidence to clear herself.
After all the questioning, every word was damning for Serena Feng. Qian Jin stuck to his story, no matter how they pressed him, and Nolan Dongling never said a word, as if Lucan Lu’s investigation didn’t concern him at all.
Half an hour later, Lucan Lu presented both sides’ statements to Nolan Dongling.
"Please review, Ninth Royal Uncle."
Qian Jin insisted that Serena Feng ordered him to assassinate Princess Serenity, offering the scalpel and a thousand taels of gold as proof.
Serena refused to admit it, but couldn’t find any evidence or witnesses to prove her innocence.
This case wasn’t even worth reviewing.
Nolan Dongling didn’t even glance at the statements. He lifted his eyes and asked, "Commander Lucan Lu, is this how the Bloodcloak Guard handles cases?"
There was clear dissatisfaction in his tone.
"Y-yes."
Of course not. If the Bloodcloak Guard handled cases this gently, they wouldn’t be called the Bloodcloak Guard. But Lucan Lu couldn’t read Nolan Dongling’s intentions and didn’t dare say anything reckless.
"I had no idea the Bloodcloak Guard was so gentle in its investigations. If this is how you usually handle cases, are all these torture devices just for show?" Nolan Dongling gestured at the bloodstained instruments on the table, his eyes icy cold.
Thud—Lucan Lu gasped and his legs buckled, dropping to his knees. "Please forgive me, Ninth Royal Uncle. I understand my mistake."
"Commander Lucan Lu, handle the case as you normally would. Don’t change the rules just because I’m here. If the Emperor finds out, he’ll blame me." Nolan Dongling said calmly.
It sounded casual, but Lucan Lu was drenched in sweat.
Nolan Dongling was warning him—the Bloodcloak Guard serves the Emperor, not the Empress.
Sigh... Lucan Lu understood the truth, but the accused was his master’s lawful wife—the Empress herself. And with all the evidence against Serena Feng, how could he overturn the case?
Lucan Lu truly regretted asking Ninth Royal Uncle to intervene. Grimacing, he said, "Understood. I’ll re-investigate the case. But... Bloodcloak Guard trials are always bloody. I fear it might frighten Ninth Royal Uncle and Princess Serenity."
He was trying to warn them off, but really, Lucan Lu just wanted them to leave so he could work more freely.
"No matter. I’d like to see the Bloodcloak Guard’s methods for myself. Don’t disappoint me." Nolan Dongling replied.
Princess Serenity thought for a moment, then smiled. "With Royal Uncle here, I’m not afraid."
She stepped forward, closing the distance to Nolan Dongling, making it clear to Lucan Lu that she was his true niece—and if anyone was to be helped, it should be her.
"As you command." Lucan Lu stammered, forcing himself to his feet, feeling nearly as miserable as when he was truly powerless.
Looking at Serena Feng and Qian Jin kneeling before Nolan Dongling, Lucan Lu’s face twisted even further. Who was he supposed to torture?