Flustered, Envoys from the Imperial Palace

After Ninth Royal Uncle visited Feng Manor, he exposed a minister harboring treacherous intentions for the Emperor. Naturally, the Emperor would no longer hold Ninth Royal Uncle's jailbreak against him.

After all, Ninth Royal Uncle broke out of prison to serve him—uncovering a hidden threat. To punish him now would be heartless.

When Ninth Royal Uncle brought this up, it was to give the Emperor a proper explanation. He was certain the Emperor had gained from this exchange.

The Emperor never mentioned the jailbreak, only regarded Ninth Royal Uncle with a meaningful gaze—this man, as old as his own son, yet so unfathomably composed.

"Ninth Brother, why did you warn me?" By rights, Ninth Royal Uncle should have contacted the Lu Clan, worked with them, and brought him down instead.

That would fit the logic of political struggle, and match their respective positions.

Ninth Royal Uncle’s actions left the Emperor puzzled. Was it for Serena Feng?

Impossible. Men of the Dongling imperial family would never jeopardize their own interests for a woman.

Ninth Royal Uncle raised his eyes, meeting the Emperor’s gaze: “Royal Brother, I have always called you ‘brother,’ and you have always been mine. How the Dongling royal house fights among itself is family business, a matter between brothers. The Lu Clan is an outsider—daring to scheme against our imperial kin is a crime worthy of death!”

The intent to protect was so obvious in Ninth Royal Uncle’s words that the Emperor couldn’t possibly miss it. Even someone with a heart as cold as blood would be moved.

Exactly. How the Dongling family fights is their own affair; outsiders have no right to meddle. Anyone who dares target the Son of Heaven—the Emperor himself—the Lu Clan deserves annihilation.

He couldn’t uproot the entrenched Wang Clan, but surely he could destroy one powerful Shandong Lu branch!

The Emperor had already formed the intent to wipe out nine generations of the Lu Clan. Ninth Royal Uncle glanced at him coolly and finished his cold tea.

One Lu Clan was enough to vent Serena Feng’s fury. As for the rest, they could be dealt with in time.

Because of the Lu Clan affair, the two most exalted Dongling brothers finally found rare harmony. The Emperor stopped pressing, and Ninth Royal Uncle ceased his sharp retorts. But such a scene was fleeting—when dawn broke, each would return to his own path.

The Emperor left the Imperial Clan Prison and hurried back to the palace for morning court; Ninth Royal Uncle remained in the prison, his freedom still denied. It was as if nothing had happened the day before.

Winter is the best time for sleep. After a long, exhausting day, Serena Feng collapsed into bed and slept soundly. Even when the sun was high, she still hadn’t stirred. Her maids knew her habits and dared not disturb her—but Master Marcus Wynn was different.

Yesterday’s surgery had left Master Marcus on edge. When he woke and found himself back in his own room, he immediately leapt from bed, asked the servants where Holden Cui was, and rushed over.

With his hair wild and disheveled, there was nothing left of the famed guqin master’s usual poise. Of course, few people witnessed this scene—the Feng Manor servants kept their mouths shut, so there was no risk of his reputation leaking out and embarrassing the master.

As soon as Master Marcus burst into the sickroom, he began frantically checking Holden Cui. Only after confirming Holden’s breathing and complexion were normal did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"Alive, that's enough. As long as he's alive." The usually carefree Master Marcus Wynn had red eyes, overcome with emotion.

Simon Sun was startled by Master Marcus’s behavior. Seeing him poking and prodding Holden Cui, Simon hurried over to intervene and explained why Holden still hadn’t woken up.

Master Marcus nodded repeatedly, cooperating fully. Seeing this, Simon Sun gently reminded him to tidy up his appearance—he looked a mess.

It took some effort to send Master Marcus away, and Simon Sun finally breathed a sigh of relief. But—just a quarter of an hour later, Master Marcus was back. This time, he was properly groomed, so Simon had no excuse to chase him off. Knowing Holden couldn’t be disturbed, Marcus simply paced back and forth in the sickroom, asking nonstop: “Why isn’t he awake yet?”

"When will he wake up?"

"Holden isn’t in danger anymore, right?"

...

Master Marcus’s anxious, restless state was nothing like the poised young master of the Cui clan, or the world-renowned guqin virtuoso. Right now, he was just an ordinary man—a worried relative. Compared to his composure yesterday, it was night and day.

Simon Sun had always respected Master Marcus, but after hearing him ask "When will he wake up?" and "Why isn’t he awake yet?" over and over, Simon finally lost his patience.

He was trying to monitor Holden Cui’s recovery, recording his heart rate and temperature, but with Marcus Wynn pestering him, he couldn’t get anything done. At last, Simon lost his temper and, for once, kicked Master Marcus out: “Go ask my master.”

If you have a problem, ask the master—just as Serena Feng always said, and Simon Sun enforced it to the letter.

Kicked out by Simon Sun’s rudeness, Master Marcus wasn’t offended at all. Instead, he slapped his forehead: “How stupid of me! Of course I should ask Serena Feng. What’s the point of asking Simon Sun, that silly apprentice? I wasted my whole morning for nothing.”

As Holden’s family, Master Marcus marched straight into Serena Feng’s courtyard. The maids hurried to block him, but who was Master Marcus?

He was the precious lord of the Cui clan, a world-famous guqin master. With just a look, he made the maids retreat. When another tried to protest about propriety, Marcus grew impatient and shut her down: “What’s improper about it? If I ruin Serena Feng’s reputation, I’ll just marry her. What, am I not good enough for your lady?”

Uh... the maids were speechless. A lord of the Cui clan could marry a princess—how could he not be good enough for their lady? Besides, did Serena Feng even have a reputation left to protect?

Bang—Master Marcus showed his bold side and kicked open Serena Feng’s door.

In that moment, Master Marcus still had the wild, rebellious style of a scholar from the Former Dynasty—reckless and unrestrained.

Awooo... The hidden guards quickly covered their eyes, silently chanting: "I didn’t see anything, I didn’t see anything, I saw nothing at all."

In this situation, whether they intervened or not, it was a dilemma. If they did, Serena Feng wasn’t in any danger, and their action would only expose themselves; if they didn’t, and their master found out later, she’d probably skin them alive.