Visiting the Sick at Ninth Prince Manor

Serena Feng walked out of the Cold Palace without hesitation. As for whether Prince Rowan would lose his temper when he returned and found her gone, she wasn't worried in the slightest.

Since Rowan had already covered for her earlier, he wouldn’t use the incident to threaten her later. As always, royal pride meant he couldn’t afford to lose face over something like this.

Serena tipped a gold ingot to a young palace maid for directions. After winding through countless turns, she finally found a safe way out of the palace. Just as she reached the palace gates, a guard stepped forward and said stiffly, "Miss Feng, His Highness is waiting for you."

Following the guard’s gesture, Serena saw the royal carriage reserved for the imperial family.

"Which prince?" Serena’s heart skipped a beat, and suddenly her head started throbbing again.

Could it be Rowan? Was he really that fast? She couldn’t be that unlucky, could she? Serena’s face fell, and her forced smile slipped away.

The guard had no idea what was wrong with Serena, and replied in his usual stiff manner, "The Crown Prince."

"The Crown Prince?" Serena’s eyes lit up, her spirits instantly rising, and her smile grew even brighter than before. "Since the Crown Prince wishes to see me, let’s hurry. We shouldn’t keep His Highness waiting."

Serena lifted her skirt and strode confidently toward the carriage.

With the Crown Prince present, even Rowan had to show some restraint. Serena finally had someone powerful backing her.

Uh... The guard was left speechless, trailing after her silently while muttering to himself that women really were scary—their mood could flip faster than turning a page.

The Crown Prince treated Serena with genuine courtesy—not the superficial politeness of Imperial Noble Consort Helena. As soon as Serena opened her mouth to speak, the Crown Prince stopped her, refusing to let her kneel in greeting.

"Thank you, Your Highness." After kneeling for so long in front of Rowan, Serena’s knees were aching. She didn’t stand on ceremony with the Crown Prince and boarded the carriage without hesitation.

"Serena, what happened to you?" Although she’d tidied herself up, the Crown Prince noticed her pale complexion and the fact that she’d been in the palace for quite some time, so he asked with concern.

Serena gave a bitter smile. "Imperial Noble Consort Helena summoned me, and on my way out I ran into Princess Serenity and Prince Rowan."

The Crown Prince’s brows knit together, a cold light flashing in his eyes. "They didn’t give you any trouble, did they?" In the palace, the Crown Prince had little real power, and unlike Rowan, he couldn’t openly enter the inner harem.

Rowan could go to the inner palace to see the Empress and Princess Serenity, but unless the Empress summoned him, the Crown Prince had no reason to enter.

"Don’t worry, Your Highness. I’m fine." Well, except for her aching knees and throbbing head—everything else was fine.

Of course, Rowan’s strange attitude had also unsettled her. Maybe it was because Princess Yara was about to marry in and Rowan was in a foul mood. Either way, his unpredictable temper made him feel dangerous, and Serena instinctively wanted to keep her distance.

"As long as you’re alright. Ninth Royal Uncle entrusted you to me—if anything happened, I wouldn’t know how to explain it to him." The Crown Prince smiled warmly. Since Serena didn’t press the issue, he wasn’t about to make trouble.

Some things are best left for the main players to handle.

...Serena lowered her head and said nothing.

The Crown Prince never missed a chance to mention Ninth Royal Uncle. Serena couldn’t help but wonder just how many favors Nolan had given him to make the Crown Prince speak up for him so earnestly.

Seeing that Serena didn’t want to discuss it, the Crown Prince dropped the subject and changed the topic to his real reason for waiting: "Serena, I’m planning to visit Ninth Prince Manor to see Royal Uncle. Would you accompany me?"

"Your Highness, it’s really not appropriate for me to go to Ninth Prince Manor like this." Serena was genuinely frustrated. Did all these imperial princes have nothing better to do than make her life difficult?

She’d thought the Crown Prince only meant to send her home, but it turned out he was dragging her off to Ninth Prince Manor.

It’s exactly because you look like this that you need to go see Royal Uncle—so he’ll know you were bullied by Rowan and Serenity.

The Crown Prince didn’t say this out loud, but instead smiled and reassured her, "Don’t worry, Serena. Once the maids help you freshen up, you’ll look fine. I’m sure Royal Uncle will be glad to see you."

Although the Crown Prince’s words were gentle, there was a firmness that left no room for refusal. Serena understood his intentions, and whatever little goodwill she’d felt toward him vanished completely.

If she could still feel happy about being used as a chess piece, she’d have to be crazy. The Crown Prince might not have meant it at first, but now he was truly planning to use her.

With his goal achieved, the Crown Prince saw that Serena didn’t want to talk further, so he didn’t press for more conversation.

Whether Serena was happy didn’t matter. What mattered was that Royal Uncle was pleased.

At that same moment, Rowan returned to the Cold Palace with medicine, only to find Serena gone. He felt a strange, hollow disappointment.

Serena didn’t trust him.

Smack—the things in his hand scattered all over the floor, and Rowan walked out without looking back.

If Serena didn’t trust him, so be it. He wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. Back at the palace, just as Rowan was about to leave, a eunuch reported that the Crown Prince and Serena had already left together for Ninth Prince Manor.

"Going to see Royal Uncle? Serena, are you going there to complain?" Rowan sneered, but a moment’s thought told him whose idea this was.

"Big brother’s getting more and more desperate, using even trivial things to win favor. Only when he sees Ninth Royal Uncle drifting farther from me does he feel secure, but what’s the point of fighting over all this?"

Thinking of the Crown Prince’s frail health, Rowan couldn’t decide if he felt pity or relief. If the Crown Prince were healthy, things wouldn’t be so chaotic; Rowan could have been a carefree prince, marrying Serena or Princess Yara as he wished.

But fate just wouldn’t cooperate...

The heavens never grant what people wish.

"Your Highness?" The eunuch called softly when Rowan didn’t respond for a long moment.

Rowan snapped out of it and stood up. "Get ready. I’m going to visit Ninth Prince Manor to see Royal Uncle."

"Yes, Your Highness." The eunuch’s eyes flashed with understanding. While he ordered the maids to help Rowan change, he also began preparing gifts.

Because of the Crown Prince’s health, his carriage always traveled slowly. Rowan, on the other hand, abandoned the carriage and rode over on horseback, so the two arrived at Ninth Prince Manor’s gate at almost the same time.

The Crown Prince’s face darkened and he stopped in his tracks. Serena’s expression hadn’t changed from start to finish. She was surprised but not shocked by Rowan’s appearance—if she could think of it, so could he.

Looks like the Crown Prince’s scheme is going to fall flat—of course, that depends on whether Serena cooperates. If she does, his plan might still succeed.

Too bad...

She obviously wasn’t going to cooperate with the Crown Prince. She wasn’t a child who’d run crying to an adult every time she lost—how humiliating would that be?

She’d settle her own grudges in her own time. She was still young; there was no rush.

"Big brother." Rowan looked dashing and full of spirit. He tossed his riding whip to a servant and strode forward to greet the Crown Prince with a formal bow.

"Seventh brother," the Crown Prince replied coolly, his tone indifferent.

After the Ice-String Zither incident, the Crown Prince and the Empress had completely torn off their masks. The Crown Prince no longer bothered to pretend to be a friendly, respectful brother.

"Is big brother here to visit Royal Uncle? As it happens, I’m here to see Royal Uncle too. Why don’t we go in together?" Rowan didn’t care about the Crown Prince’s coldness. He smiled, glanced at Serena, and saw she was calm, neat, and showed no sign of grievance. Instantly, he relaxed—Serena clearly had no intention of complaining to Royal Uncle.

In fact, Rowan had really been worried Serena would complain. If Ninth Royal Uncle took it seriously, Rowan would have a headache—after all, Nolan was famous for being fiercely protective...

Of course, the only one Nolan ever protected was Serena!