Proud and Jealous, Ninth Royal Uncle Draws Fire onto Himself

The study was a place for business, but once the serious talk was done, the couple naturally turned to more private matters.

Serena had always been steady and mature—a grown woman who insisted on independence, seeming not to need anyone’s concern and never showing off or competing like a little girl.

But that was only in front of outsiders. With Ninth Royal Uncle, under his indulgence, Serena was no different from any other girl. She was smart but not emotionally sophisticated; after finishing the serious talk, she picked out the most exciting stories from her day in court to share with Nolan.

Her main goal wasn’t to show off—she just wanted her man to know how excellent she was, so he’d keep a closer eye on her and love her a little more. That way, no other man could steal her away.

Of course, what made Serena most proud was sneaking Simon Sun out of the manor right under the Bloodcloak Guard’s nose, using a decoy to slap Bloodcloak in the face.

Serena was reserved, simply recounting how things unfolded without exaggeration or embellishment. When she finished, she calmly looked at Nolan, waiting for his praise.

Nolan was both amused and exasperated. He loved seeing Serena show different sides in front of him—scheming, ruthless, mature, clever, or quick-witted—it was all Serena, and he loved every bit.

But he had to admit, he liked Serena’s childlike, reward-seeking side even more—like right now. Seeing her like this, his heart couldn’t help but soften.

No matter how many storms she weathered, no matter how much hardship and injustice she faced, Serena was still Serena—never twisted by power, money, or hatred.

Wanting to make Serena happy, Nolan sincerely intended to praise her. But of all the things she could’ve chosen, she just had to focus on this one—leaving him at a loss for words.

Seeing Serena’s expectant face, Nolan could only sigh and admit, “Director Warren Wang from the Monitoring Division is my man.”

In other words, Serena only pulled off those two feats because the Bloodcloak Guard let things slide. Otherwise, there’s no way she could’ve gotten Simon Sun to Ninth Prince Manor so smoothly—not in the Eastlyn Capital, Bloodcloak’s main turf.

Uh...how could this be?

Serena’s smile froze. Her confidence vanished, and she wilted. “So Director Wang was yours all along. No wonder everything went so smoothly.”

So Nolan had been secretly helping her the whole time. No wonder things went so well. She’d even mocked the Bloodcloak Guard as a bunch of glory-grabbing pigs, but she was the real fool.

How humiliating—she’d been just as clueless as Dominic Zhai.

Nolan couldn’t stand seeing Serena so dejected. Watching her droop like a frostbitten eggplant, he patted her head and comforted, “You did excellently. In such a short time, even I couldn’t have done better. I heard about your performance in court—your case analysis was brilliant. Even the Minister of Criminal Affairs praised you.”

So, even a little case like this had the whole Capital watching. The Emperor and Nolan sat sipping tea and following every twist. If Nolan hadn’t smoothed things over for Serena in front of the Emperor, it never would’ve been so easy.

What Serena did wasn’t just a commoner suing an official—it was suing the government itself. Without the Emperor’s tacit approval, the High Court wouldn’t have touched such a case, let alone held a public hearing.

Of course, this was all part of the Emperor’s show for the world. Serena dared to sue the Bloodcloak Guard, and the High Court dared to accept it—proof enough that the Emperor was a wise ruler. Under his reign, anyone with a grievance had somewhere to appeal, even against officials, as long as there was evidence.

The Emperor’s reputation would rise another notch, becoming the celebrated wise ruler everyone praised. No matter what the histories wrote, at least in this moment, the people adored him—and this was all groundwork for future foreign campaigns.

Letting Serena go after the Bloodcloak Guard wasn’t about indulging her—it just happened that what she did matched the Emperor’s intentions and brought him benefits, so he watched coldly from the sidelines.

After all, nothing staged could compare to Serena stirring things up for real. No one in this world is a fool—fake can never truly pass for real.

Serena really was lucky. At any other time, if she’d done something to challenge the Emperor’s authority, she’d have lost her life—or at least half of it.

After Nolan explained all this, Serena instantly understood, grumbling, “So I was just the gun in your hands. And here I thought I won a glorious victory.”

Damn, it was so frustrating! She’d thought herself a hero for daring to challenge the authorities, but it turned out she’d been allowed to do it from above. Of course—without the Emperor’s indulgence, even if the High Court accepted her petition, they wouldn’t have heard the case.

“What’s there to be upset about? Everyone just took what they needed. If the Emperor hadn’t wanted to polish his image, your move wouldn’t have boosted his reputation—and you never could’ve sued Bloodcloak or rescued Simon Sun without punishment.” Nolan pointed out that no one got all the benefits; Serena had lucked out this time. If she hadn’t guessed the Emperor’s intentions, the Feng clan would’ve been wiped out last night.

With Nolan’s explanation, Serena understood: this wasn’t the modern world with media, the internet, and democracy. This was a monarchy—the Emperor was the law. Suing the government was, in essence, an act of disrespect toward the throne.

She’d really lucked out. Serena nodded hard. “I was overthinking it. Since the Emperor wants to purge Bloodcloak, Simon can’t show up in the Capital for a while. Can he stay at Ninth Prince Manor for now?”

“You don’t need to worry about Simon Sun. I’ve already made arrangements. After dark, I’ll send him to Mystic Healer Valley overnight. His injuries are severe—only the Valley Master can fully heal him.” Nolan had learned from the doctor that Serena only treated Simon’s cranial bleeding and external wounds; she hadn’t touched his internal injuries. Apparently, internal medicine wasn’t her specialty.

For some reason, hearing this news put Nolan in a great mood. At last, there was something Serena couldn’t do. He felt relieved—otherwise, he’d really start thinking his woman was a fox spirit.

“Is sending Simon to Mystic Healer Valley really a good idea? The Valley Master isn’t easy to deal with—what if he turns Simon into a human experiment?” Serena truly didn’t trust the Valley Master; that old man was too twisted, caring more about medical research than human life.

To him, sacrificing a few irrelevant people for medical progress was a fair trade. Serena worried that seeing Simon’s head injury would tempt him to cut Simon’s skull open.

Serena doted on Simon Sun more than anyone else—she fussed over even the smallest things, caring for him in every possible way. Nolan wasn’t pleased.

But no matter how annoyed he was, Nolan couldn’t show it right now. Generously, he suggested, “Prepare a lavish gift that the Valley Master will find interesting—he won’t focus too much on Simon. You can also write him a warning letter, telling him to leave Simon alone.”

“That could work—otherwise, I’d really worry Simon would come out a changed person.” Serena had experienced that old man’s ruthlessness firsthand.

Nolan was truly unhappy that Serena doted on Simon Sun like a mother hen, treating him as precious as her own child. He sincerely advised again, “Simon is too naive—he doesn’t understand how dangerous the world is. You can protect him for a while, but not forever. Let the Valley Master toughen him up; it’ll do him good.”

Nolan was openly trying to send away the boy who occupied so much of Serena’s attention. Serena treasured Simon like a younger brother, but Nolan had no interest in raising a little brother.

“Are you sure this is wise? The Valley Master…” Serena knew Nolan’s logic was sound, but she couldn’t bear to let go. Even if Simon needed toughening up, she didn’t want it to be by the Valley Master. If her Little Divine Doctor turned into a mad scientist, that would be a disaster.

"Of course it's good for him. You're his master, but you can't protect him all the time. There will always be moments you can't shield him—like this time. If he'd been a bit more alert, how could he have fallen for such a low-level trap set by Shunning Marquis Manor?"

Simon Sun isn't a bad kid, but he's far too naïve. That makes him unsafe—especially for someone staying by your side, Serena. You already face enough danger on your own; adding Simon to the mix just makes trouble for you.

Nolan’s words reminded Serena of something she’d nearly forgotten. Her expression darkened as she fixed Nolan with a serious look and asked, "Did you know all along that Simon Sun was framed by Shunning Marquis Manor and thrown into Bloodcloak’s hands?"

She hadn’t thought much about it before, but now, hearing Nolan’s firm declaration that Simon fell into Shunning’s trap, Serena realized that with Nolan’s intelligence network, he should have known about it early on—especially since it concerned the Feng estate, which he always kept an eye on.

Uh...

Nolan paused, but quickly recovered, meeting Serena’s gaze calmly and letting her scrutinize him. After a long moment, he spoke, a hint of displeasure in his voice: "Why would you think that?"

It's a reasonable suspicion: "Your intelligence network is flawless, and you have people inside Bloodcloak. Something this big happening in the Capital—there’s no reason you wouldn’t know."

Serena voiced the doubt in her heart, waiting for Nolan’s answer.

"So, just based on this, you think I would have known about Simon Sun’s imprisonment ahead of time? Serena, since we returned from Lyndaria, I’ve been with you day and night. I’ve handled everything openly, never hiding anything from you. Do you really think I’d know about this before you did?" Nolan’s laugh was cold; he didn’t move, but an invisible distance opened up between them.

Serena knew her suspicion was hurtful, but if she didn’t ask, it would eat her alive. Once she got the answer she needed, she apologized simply and sincerely: "Sorry, I was overthinking. I just wanted to clear things up so it wouldn’t become a knot in my heart."

Nolan closed his eyes for a moment and replied coolly, "It’s a trivial matter. I won’t take it to heart."

Yeah right... Who would believe that when he’s grinding his teeth like that? Serena grumbled inwardly...