Serena Feng had thought that the Emperor’s late-night summons for the Ninth Royal Uncle was a sign of his dissatisfaction—a warning directed at Nolan. But once she returned to Feng Manor, Serena realized the summons was not only a warning for Nolan, but also for her.
During her absence from the Capital, someone had the audacity to target those closest to her. By summoning Nolan to the palace, the Emperor was ensuring that she would have nowhere to turn for help.
When Serena arrived at Feng Manor, she was not greeted by joy and laughter, but by faces clouded with worry and fear. The moment she stepped inside, Jada Tang and Mira Tang rushed forward like drowning people grabbing a lifeline, eyes red as they cried, "Miss, you’re finally back, you’re finally back!"
"Miss, if you hadn’t come back, we wouldn’t have known what to do."
The two senior maids were in tears, and Spring, Autumn, Summer, and Winter were also wiping their eyes nonstop. Not a single person in Feng Manor wore a smile.
At this moment, Serena had no mind to care about anything else. She quickly asked the two maids, "What happened? Why is no one asleep? Where’s Simon?"
She had returned home in the middle of the night without warning, yet everyone in the manor was awake. Serena didn’t need to ask to know something major had happened. Otherwise, Jada Tang and Mira Tang would not be so panicked and distressed.
But what worried Serena most was that everyone in the manor was present—except Simon Sun.
"Miss." Jada Tang choked out, wiping away tears. "Miss, Young Master Sun has had an accident. He was taken away by the Bloodcloak Guard and locked in their dungeon."
"Simon? You mean Simon was taken by the Bloodcloak Guard? What happened?" Serena’s hands and feet instantly went cold, all color draining from her face. After days of travel, she looked especially haggard.
Zuo An shrugged, a little curious who this 'Simon' was.
Although he’d investigated Serena Feng’s background, her taking on a disciple was never made public. Only a handful of people close to Serena knew about it.
Seeing Serena was like seeing the backbone of the household. Jada Tang and her group wiped away their tears and began to recount what happened: "Miss, while you were away from the manor, we were all extremely cautious, hardly dared to go out, just in case something happened. But no matter how careful we were, in the end, we still fell into their trap."
Three days ago, people from the Shunning Marquis Manor came to our door. Young Master Sun went to treat their marquis. He didn’t want to go at first, but the Shunning Marquis Manor people said their marquis was a friend of Imperial Physician Sun. Before Imperial Physician Sun left, he left something at Shunning Marquis Manor, saying that if they ever needed Young Master Sun, they should show him that item and he would understand why Imperial Physician Sun had to leave.
I thought something was off and tried to persuade Young Master Sun not to go, but he said Imperial Physician Sun really did have ties with Shunning Marquis Manor, and had always said their marquis was worth befriending. Only then did I relax and go with Young Master Sun.
Everything went smoothly at Shunning Marquis Manor. The old marquis really was ill, and Young Master Sun diagnosed him with asthma, prescribing medicine and rest.
After treating the old marquis, the manor’s people took Young Master Sun to see what Imperial Physician Sun had left behind, insisting that outsiders couldn’t be present and keeping me outside.
I waited outside for a long time, but Young Master Sun never came out. Worried something had happened, I tried to force my way in, but just then several martial experts from Shunning Marquis Manor appeared, knocked me out, and threw me outside. When I woke up, I heard them accusing Young Master Sun of raping the marquis’s young lady and vowing to hand him over to the authorities.
If the regular courts handled it, things wouldn’t have been so dire. With the Grand Heir supporting us, Young Master Sun wouldn’t have suffered much. But that marquis’s young lady suddenly rushed outside, killed herself at the gate, and with her dying breath screamed that Young Master Sun was a beast who ruined her and destroyed her life—she’d haunt him even as a ghost.
With that, Young Master Sun was terrified, and the Shunning Marquis Manor people grew bolder. At first they said they’d hand him to the authorities, but now with a death involved, they sent him straight to the Bloodcloak Guard. I would never believe Young Master Sun could do such a thing, but with the accuser dead and no proof, and Young Master Sun locked up by the Bloodcloak Guard, I have nowhere left to turn."
After Jada Tang finished speaking, she dropped to her knees with a thud. "Miss, it’s all my fault. I failed in my duty and let Young Master Sun fall into this disaster."
"It’s not your fault." Serena, hearing the whole story, knew immediately that this was a deliberate setup. No matter how capable Jada was, she was still a servant—how could she fight a marquis household?
"Miss..." Jada heard Serena say it wasn’t her fault and burst into tears. For days, she’d been suffocating under her own guilt, blaming herself for not protecting Simon Sun and letting him fall into that hellish place.
"Idiot." Zuo An said bluntly, showing no sympathy for Jada’s words.
It was obvious to him that the people from Shunning Marquis Manor had set up that Simon Sun. Such a simple trap, and Simon still fell for it—Zuo An genuinely thought Simon was just too stupid.
Serena actually had someone so foolish by her side—Zuo An was truly surprised.
"Simon isn’t an idiot. He’s just too pure. He believes in the goodness of people, never guards against anyone, and never imagined there could be such vile people in this world. Simon isn’t the fool—the real disgrace is Shunning Marquis Manor." Serena immediately shot back at Zuo An’s criticism of Simon.
She might think Simon was a bit naïve, but she would never let anyone call him an idiot. That child had a kind heart; the fault wasn’t his, but those who schemed against him with such despicable tricks.
"If he’s not an idiot, then what is he? If he were a little smarter, no matter how shameless the other side was, they couldn’t have trapped him. If you let yourself get played so easily and drag others down with you, isn’t that being foolish?" As a child who’d never been cared for, Zuo An admitted he was deeply jealous of how much Serena protected Simon.
Why? Why did a kid that dumb have so many people worrying about him, while Zuo An could live or die and not a single person would care?
"When innocence meets scheming, even the cleverest person can be caught off guard. You don’t know Simon, you don’t realize how smart he truly is—he’s just poured all his intelligence into saving lives, not hurting or suspecting others. He’s a pure child, and his world isn’t full of plots and schemes. His father disappeared suddenly, and the Shunning Marquis used that to lure him in—it’s understandable he’d fall for it. Simon would never want to drag others down. Even if I abandoned him, he wouldn’t blame me." Three days—just thinking of Simon Sun suffering in the Bloodcloak Guard dungeon for three days, and of their torture methods, made Serena’s heart ache.
Even she couldn’t bear those tortures. How could Simon, who’d never suffered, survive it? The powerful in the Capital loved to bully kids without parents, as if orphans had no one to care about them.
Shunning Marquis Manor, I don’t care who ordered you—if you made Simon fall into the Bloodcloak Guard’s hands, I, Serena Feng, will never forgive you. I’ve faced down the National Duke’s Manor before; why would I fear a mere marquis household now!