The shadow guards always keep their word...
Honestly, with something this major, they wouldn’t dare hide it. If the Emperor and Empress found out later, they’d be doomed!
Sigh, being a princess’s shadow guard is no easy job. One slip and you’re hated by everyone.
“Going to the Imperial Mausoleum? Sweet Dumpling’s getting bolder.” Serena’s face darkened instantly, her fingers tapping lightly on the table.
The Imperial Mausoleum isn’t just tombs—it has guardians too.
It’s been ten years. She never took Lady Min’s life, but that doesn’t mean she wasn’t watching closely.
“Ezra Phoenixfield asked the Valley Master’s disciple to go treat Clara Phoenixfield. Clara’s condition is very bad.” Prince Nolan explained the real reason the Valley Master’s disciple went to the mausoleum.
Back then, he only secretly ordered them to keep Jason Lan’s son alive. As for those three women, Prince Nolan didn’t care at all—even knowing Lady Min was unwell, he never asked.
Lady Min should have been sent to the mausoleum long ago. His father waited long enough.
“Forget it. Children are debts you never finish paying.” Serena lowered her eyes, hiding her dissatisfaction.
"Don't be angry. If you're unhappy, just teach him a lesson." Prince Nolan stood behind Serena, his hands resting on her shoulders.
After so many years, Serena's aura had grown gentler, but that didn't mean she was soft-hearted.
The Medical Academy, the charity hall, and the soon-to-be-established asylum for destitute elders were all built by Serena, piece by piece, without a single coin from the national treasury.
Every project involved vast sums of silver. Even a minor leak could let an ordinary family live in comfort for generations. Plenty of people tried to get their hands on that money, but anyone who did always regretted it...
Serena punished these people ruthlessly. The worst lost their lives; the luckier ones lost everything they owned.
After such harsh discipline, now almost no one dares to touch those funds—just the thought of being caught means losing everything, maybe even your life.
"Sigh..." Serena let out a quiet breath, leaning into Prince Nolan's arms, her eyes half-closed...
"I'll write to Victor Phoenixfield and have him knock some sense into them." After a long silence, Serena finally spoke.
Prince Nolan said nothing, just held Serena and quietly watched the view outside the window...
In recent years, Serena had fiercely curbed Phoenixfield power at court. Though the clan still commanded the troops, they no longer had the prestige they enjoyed in the Former Dynasty.
Prince Nolan knew that some of the younger Phoenixfield clan members were dissatisfied with Serena. These youths sought out Ezra Phoenixfield, hoping he would step forward to find the secret method for the Phoenixfield Heiress Brand, so they could prepare a next-generation heiress for the clan...
The Phoenixfield royal house had no direct female heir. Little Dumpling may hold the Phoenixfield throne, but his daughters would not bear the Phoenixfield surname. Any future Phoenixfield Heiress would have to come from a collateral branch...
The only person left from the branch that once held the blood-mark secret is Simon Sun, and he knows nothing about it. Even if they wanted to act, they wouldn't know where to start.
As for Ezra Phoenixfield? He no longer cared about these power games. Adrian Phoenixfield had married and settled in Northlyn; Ezra's only remaining concern was Clara Phoenixfield, imprisoned in the Imperial Mausoleum. Hearing that Clara's condition was failing, he couldn't bear to let her die unseen, so he begged an old acquaintance—the Valley Master's disciple—to secretly enter the mausoleum and care for Clara long-term...
Whatever happened, Clara was his daughter. Even if she lived without freedom or dignity, he couldn't bear to watch her die.
Everything was proceeding quietly until Sweet Dumpling barged in and exposed the situation to Serena and Prince Nolan...
"Tell the lady I have no other ambitions, and I never thought of supporting a new Phoenixfield Heiress. I just want Clara to live." Ezra Phoenixfield defended his actions.
Victor Phoenixfield shook his head. "If you had asked Serena directly, would she really have refused you?"
Victor Phoenixfield knew about the clan's resentment, but he also understood Serena's worries. The next emperor would carry half Phoenixfield blood; there was no need for the clan to rush for more power, especially since the entire Phoenixfield clan numbered only a few people.
A single tree does not make a forest.
"It's just a small matter, I didn't want to trouble Serena." Over the years, the clan had caused the empress more than enough trouble.
No matter how glorious they were in the Former Dynasty, the Phoenixfield clan had been away from the center of power for years. Returning meant seizing authority from others, which inevitably led to counterattacks.
Without the empress shielding them, the Phoenixfield clan's resurgence would never have gone so smoothly.
"Forget it... I'll go explain to Serena myself. In the meantime, you should travel to Northlyn—Adrian Phoenixfield is there." Victor Phoenixfield had vaguely sensed that Simon Sun might have discovered something, and some clan members were targeting him.
Phoenixfield Heiress Brand?
A Phoenixfield Heiress isn't just a brand; true succession requires bloodline heritage. Those kids are too naive if they think any Phoenixfield girl can become the heiress just by ritual alone.
Ezra Phoenixfield had no complaints; that afternoon, he bid farewell to the clan elders and set out for Northlyn...
"It's good for you to keep an eye on them. They're young and arrogant, thinking too highly of themselves." Victor Phoenixfield sighed. "It's partly our fault. If we hadn't spent years telling those kids stories of Phoenixfield glory in the Former Dynasty, they wouldn't have grown up so conceited."
Originally, those stories were meant to inspire the clan's children to work hard, but some of them twisted the lesson, blaming Serena for blocking the clan's path to its former glory and dreaming of finding a new Phoenixfield Heiress to replace her.
These foolish kids never consider that the original Phoenixfield Heiress was backed by the Phoenixfield King and the clan, enjoying endless respect. Even after marrying, she kept her status. But now?
Now, it's only because of Serena that the Phoenixfield clan has risen again. Her place in the clan can't be replaced so easily...
The clan elders knew what those kids were thinking, but they had no intention of interfering. Young people need to stumble and suffer losses to learn. Let them go out and see the world—there are plenty of people far more capable than they are.
If they hadn't been lucky enough to be born into the Phoenixfield clan and received hands-on guidance from the elders, they wouldn't have gotten this far.
If not for the clan's recovery from hardship, even the most talented among them would have lived and died in obscurity.
There are more than a few uncles in the clan ten times more capable than these youths, but because they were born at the wrong time, their talent was wasted...
Victor Phoenixfield's reply reached Serena quickly. Seeing the elders' attitude, Serena finally felt a bit relieved.
She wasn't suppressing the Phoenixfield clan out of malice, nor was she blocking its rise. The whole clan numbered only about a thousand people now—compared to tens of thousands in the Former Dynasty, and hundreds of thousands of followers. Like a firefly beside the sun. Even if the clan now holds half the empire's military power, its foundation is still fragile...
To destroy a clan, a few years—or even a few days—are enough; to build one, it takes a century.