"Miss Feng, you flatter me. It's my fault for never visiting Feng Manor all these years. It's no wonder you don't recognize me. The reason I've come today is..." At this point, General Wei looked a bit embarrassed.
Serena Feng was a lone orphan, and he knew how hard it had been for her in the Eastlyn Imperial Capital. Yet he had never even considered helping her. Now, coming to her for a favor and trying to invoke old ties felt undeniably shameless.
Awkward...
She really had been overthinking it. Evan Zhou, you’re in charge of the household. Get started on the reconstruction...
Lately, too many people had been mentioning her deceased parents, making her overly sensitive.
"General Wei, just spit it out. No need to beat around the bush."
From the look of this General Wei, his own life hadn't been easy. It was only natural that he couldn't help her.
Even if things were going well for him, so what? No one was obligated to help her.
Helping is a kindness; not helping is perfectly reasonable.
After all, he was a military man—not one for elaborate schemes. He got straight to the point with his request.
Madam Wei suffers from an eye disease and wishes to ask Serena Feng for help.
For the poor, money didn’t matter at all. It’s not like she was running a hospital with a staff of doctors to support, and her medicines all came from her Smart Med‑Pack, so her costs were negligible.
Serena Feng asked about a few symptoms and could roughly guess it was cataracts, but she would need to see the patient herself to be sure.
"General Wei, I've got a general idea of your wife's condition. Whenever you have time, bring Madam Wei to Feng Manor so I can examine her. Only after I see her can I make a proper decision."
General Wei, you can rest assured—even if you had no old friendship with my father, since you were brought here by General Warren Yu, I will do my best."
She happened to use this opportunity to set a new rule: unless the patient is so ill that they can't get out of bed, Serena Feng will not make house calls.
Making house calls was too much trouble. It wasted time going back and forth, and she wasn't an imperial physician dedicated to serving just a handful of people.
"Thank you, Miss Feng. I'll bring my wife over as soon as I can. But about the consultation fee..." General Wei was quite embarrassed, his dark face flushing red.
General Warren Yu looked quite frustrated. He hated people who couldn't be straightforward, so he cut in directly:
"Serena Feng, General Wei came to me for help—first to bring him here for treatment, and second because your consultation fee is sky-high. A thousand taels of gold? Who can afford that? What, you think everyone’s as loaded as Vincent Su or William Wang Jinling, just sitting on piles of cash? Seriously, can you cut the fee?"
General Warren Yu didn’t treat Serena Feng like an outsider, and she was fine with that. She grinned, "Sure! For General Yu’s sake, how about one hundred taels?"
Serena Feng didn’t actually care much about the fee—she’d only mentioned it offhand. Who would have thought Vincent Su would really send over a thousand taels of gold?
General Wei and his son still looked troubled, but they gritted their teeth and nodded. "Thank you, Miss Feng. This afternoon, I'll bring my wife and one hundred taels of gold."
"General Wei, you misunderstood. I didn’t mean one hundred taels of gold—I meant one hundred taels of silver. As for the fee, I’ll decide after I see if I can cure Madam Wei, and only if I actually succeed."
"One hundred taels of silver? Seriously? Serena Feng, you’re only charging that little?" The one who exclaimed wasn’t anyone else—it was Ethan Hsieh.
From a thousand taels of gold down to a hundred taels of silver—this woman was way too extravagant.
"Why not? I’m happy to do it. Anyway, how much I charge is my business. But if your Hsieh Clan ever needs me, it won’t be at this price." Serena Feng made sure to warn them in advance.
Different people, different lives.
In modern times, if there’s an accident, compensation for foreigners can reach tens of millions, while for locals it’s only a million or even just a few hundred thousand.
It’s the same with a living life—yet people set different prices. Of course she’d adjust her consultation fee depending on who she’s treating.
If someone is rich, she’d charge them dearly—after all, they think their lives are more precious.
For the poor, money didn’t matter at all. It’s not like she was running a hospital with a staff of doctors to support, and her medicines all came from her Smart Med‑Pack, so her costs were negligible.
Ethan Hsieh looked frustrated, but didn’t say anything more.
Serena Feng didn’t mention it, but even agreeing to treat the Hsieh Clan was already a big favor.
"One hundred taels of silver? Miss Feng, you’re not tricking us, are you?" General Wei was calm, but his son couldn’t hide his anxiety and asked again.
The difference was just too huge.
"Would I make money by tricking you? General Warren Yu and I go way back. If I weren’t worried you’d be offended if I didn’t charge a fee, I’d just do it for free."
Serena Feng gave General Warren Yu a flattering compliment, which made him laugh out loud. In public, what mattered most was reputation, and Serena was giving him plenty of face.
"General Wei, I told you there’s no need to worry. Serena Feng will definitely cure your wife’s eye disease."
"Warren Yu, don’t talk nonsense. I can’t guarantee anything until I see Madam Wei’s condition. I’m a doctor, not a miracle worker." Serena Feng quickly interrupted.
In her heart, Serena Feng silently admitted that William Wang Jinling’s concerns were justified.
People outside could easily use her medical skills to destroy her by praising her as omnipotent, then sending her a dying patient she couldn’t possibly save...
But General Wei and his son just thought Serena Feng was being modest, and quickly assured her, "We absolutely trust Miss Feng’s skills. As long as you’re willing to treat my wife, that’s enough."
Serena Feng frowned.
What she feared most was people putting their entire trust in her, handing over their lives—and then being disappointed by the outcome.
She was about to explain when another commotion came from the entrance. Serena Feng stepped over to look and saw a man who looked like a steward, accompanied by eight guards, heading toward Feng Manor.
"Serena Feng, have you gotten yourself into trouble again?" General Warren Yu pointed outside.
"No," Serena Feng shook her head confidently.
Yesterday at the palace, hadn’t they all agreed to pretend nothing happened? These people’s attire didn’t look like officials.
"No? Then what’s with this group of fierce-looking men?" General Warren Yu’s eyes narrowed, recalling Serena Feng’s trip to the palace yesterday.
Does this have something to do with your trip to the palace?
General Warren Yu didn’t know what had happened yesterday, only that she’d gone to the palace.
Serena Feng quickly shook her head.
"They’re here now—we can just ask. Judging by their appearance, they don’t seem to be palace people."
Just as Serena Feng stepped forward, the steward hurriedly said, "Miss Feng, sorry to disturb you. I’m the steward of Rowan Manor, sent by Prince Rowan to invite you to visit Rowan Manor."
He sounded polite, but in truth, he left Serena Feng no room to refuse.
"Prince Rowan? He wants to see me?" Serena Feng was puzzled.
Adrian Dongling was so badly injured, and now he’s awake and out of the palace?
The steward nodded, and to reassure Serena Feng, he produced the Rowan Manor token. "If you don’t believe me, you can ask General Warren Yu."
"That’s right, it’s the Rowan Manor token." General Warren Yu nodded.
"Since that’s the case, let’s go." There was no way to refuse, so why struggle? Adrian Dongling couldn’t do anything to her anyway.
"General Wei, let’s reschedule for tomorrow. I’ll wait for you at Feng Manor in the morning."
"Alright. Sorry for troubling you, Miss Feng." General Wei secretly breathed a sigh of relief, worried Serena Feng might not return, but her words put him at ease.
"I’m a doctor—it’s my duty to help. Evan Zhou, you’re in charge of the household. Get started on the reconstruction, and if you’re short-handed, ask General Warren Yu. He seems pretty free these days."
Serena Feng had no idea how to be polite...
She wasn’t a merchant obsessed with profit, but only a fool would pass up a favor from Warren Yu. Since he didn’t treat her as an outsider, there was no need to keep strict accounts with him either...