Entering the City, the Most Unfathomable Is the Human Heart

If it were up to Serena, she absolutely wouldn’t let Ninth Royal Uncle ride double with her and parade through the city. Public displays of affection and sweetness have their time and place.

This isn’t the liberal Tang Dynasty—riding together with a man in broad daylight, even as husband and wife, will earn you criticism.

But Ninth Royal Uncle was insistent, and since they entered the city after dark, with no one around to see, Serena finally agreed.

She hadn’t expected to run into Charlotte Chu at the city gate.

No matter what Charlotte Chu was thinking, she never let it show. As soon as she saw Ninth Royal Uncle preparing to enter the city, she ordered her guards and driver to pull aside and let him go first.

Before, she represented Chu City and resented Ninth Royal Uncle for entering first. But now, as Prince Jason’s fiancée, there’s no way she could go ahead of him.

Ninth Royal Uncle accepted it calmly, not even sparing Charlotte Chu a glance as he walked past her entourage. In his eyes, her yielding was only natural, and she wasn’t even worthy of his thanks.

Serena, on the other hand, felt genuinely awkward. When it came to Charlotte Chu, she couldn’t quite put her feelings into words—at first, she’d just thought Charlotte was trouble.

Because of Charlotte’s arrival, Serena got dragged into all kinds of messes—blame, scolding, ridicule. Sure, some of it was her own fault, but Charlotte was definitely the trigger.

Later, when Charlotte tried to push Simon Sun forward, Serena started out resentful and dissatisfied. If Charlotte had really spent time with Simon, she should’ve known his temperament—he’s just not cut out for power struggles.

But now that Charlotte Chu is about to marry Prince Jason, and she still hasn’t exposed what happened with Simon Sun, Serena feels like she owes Charlotte something.

If Charlotte Chu, now a royal bride, were to reveal what happened between her and Simon Sun on the road—even if Prince Jason could forgive Simon, the Emperor never would.

A royal bride can’t be defiled by outsiders, not even a little. Simon Sun sharing a carriage with Charlotte Chu was a breach of etiquette—the royals wouldn’t punish Charlotte, but they’d never let Simon live.

Sigh... she really does owe Charlotte Chu a favor.

Seeing Serena sigh, Ninth Royal Uncle lowered his head and asked, "What's wrong?"

Serena shook her head. "I was just thinking about Charlotte Chu. She’s actually a really good person, but she’s stuck in this mess."

Setting aside their conflicts, Charlotte Chu is one of the few noblewomen who isn’t spoiled or vicious. Serena genuinely likes her.

"She was born into this mess. If you want to blame someone, blame her bad luck. She’s got a good family, but no brothers, no way to inherit as a man would and take on the City Lord’s role." Ninth Royal Uncle hugged Serena tighter, annoyed she was thinking about someone else while in his arms.

Compared to Serena, Charlotte Chu is a lot luckier—at least she has a father who looks out for her. If Serena hadn’t stepped up for her own family, she’d have been crushed into the mud ages ago.

This world is always unfair to women. Serena didn’t dwell on it, just asked, "What about her and Prince Jason...?"

"She and Prince Jason are doing fine. Stop worrying about her—you don’t owe her anything. She and Simon Sun were never possible, it was just her own wishful thinking.

Marriage is all about matching families. Charlotte Chu and Simon Sun are worlds apart. Even if both Charlotte and Lord Harold Chu liked Simon, he could never marry her.

Charlotte Chu’s marriage isn’t personal—it’s politics. It affects Chu City’s position. Now that they’re in Eastlyn, the Emperor would never let her choose Simon Sun as a husband."

Simon Sun could never take on the role of City Lord, never give Charlotte Chu the protection she needs. And Charlotte doesn’t have the power to shield Simon, either.

Ninth Royal Uncle didn’t say it, but Serena understood.

For a mismatched marriage to work, at least one side has to be strong enough to block all the storms—just like her and Ninth Royal Uncle.

"No matter what, I’m grateful Charlotte Chu kept quiet about Simon Sun. In the future, as long as it doesn’t hurt the bigger picture, please... help her once." It’s how Serena plans to repay the favor.

"Alright." Ninth Royal Uncle wouldn’t let such a small thing bother Serena, as long as it didn’t affect his plans.

After passing inspection at the city gate, Ninth Royal Uncle sped up again, heading straight for Feng Manor.

Charlotte Chu sat in her carriage, lifting the curtain to catch a glimpse of Serena’s fading figure in the weak firelight. Her face was full of longing as she murmured, "Serena, I really envy you."

"Miss?" The driver hadn’t heard what Charlotte said and quickly asked.

By now, Charlotte Chu had composed herself. "Head into the city," she said.

Her carriage entered the city, and at a crossroads, she passed Ninth Royal Uncle’s group heading the opposite way...

As soon as Serena returned, the butler told her about Dorian Owen. Serena didn’t blame him, just said, "I’ll check on him later—let’s hope nothing goes wrong."

You can’t spend your whole life guarding against thieves. No matter how scared she was, Serena couldn’t let the Assassin Alliance ruin her normal life.

The Assassin Alliance has been hunting her for ages—if it takes ten years or more to end this, she’d never get to practice medicine or let patients into Feng Manor.

She tidied herself up, grabbed a quick bite, then took Spring, Autumn, and two others to Dorian Owen’s courtyard.

They were almost there, but Simon Sun was nowhere to be seen. Serena had someone urge, "Go check—why isn’t Young Master Simon here yet?"

"Yes, Miss." Winter hurried off, while Serena entered with Spring and two others. Four guards stood at the door, with Zuo An and hidden sentries inside—Serena wasn’t worried about her own safety.

She pushed open the door and saw a young man curled up in the corner of the bed, looking deeply uneasy.

Serena slowed her steps, walked in, and picked up Simon Sun’s diagnosis from the bedside.

"Such serious injuries—knife wounds, scratches... Does the patient have a tendency toward self-harm?" Seeing this note, Serena immediately frowned.

Lately, she kept running into strange patients—Zed had abusive tendencies, and now here was another with signs of self-harm.

Serena set the diagnosis aside, circled the bed, and saw Dorian Owen’s exposed skin was alarmingly red. His breathing was rapid—he must have a fever.

With injuries and curled up like that, it was easy to reopen the wounds. Serena was about to help Dorian Owen lie down properly when, just as she reached out, a shrill scream came from outside.

"It’s bad, it’s bad—Hengwu Courtyard is on fire! Young Master Simon has been overcome by the smoke!"

"Miss, hurry—please, save Young Master Simon!"

The servant was nearly out of breath, and Winter, who’d turned back halfway, was gasping too: "Quick, Miss—Young Master Simon is unconscious, please save him!"

Outside, the maids and servants were shouting louder and louder. Zuo An, hidden in the shadows, gave a signal to the sentries and raced toward Hengwu Courtyard.

People are selfish. Even with her principles as a doctor, Serena didn’t hesitate to choose Simon Sun over a stranger.

This patient just had a fever—a little longer wouldn’t kill him.

Serena withdrew her hand and spun around to run out, but just then...