Relief, Yet Always Parted From Her Fragrant Lips

The Emperor still hasn’t found proof of deeper cooperation between Ninth Royal Uncle and the Wang Clan, but his temperament is to ‘rather kill by mistake than let an enemy slip away.’ Whether it’s Ninth Royal Uncle or the Wang Clan, if they dare challenge his authority, he will never let them off.

This time, between Ninth Royal Uncle and the Wang Clan, the Emperor unhesitatingly chose to target Ninth Royal Uncle, who is not in the capital. As for the Wang Clan? The Emperor, remembering that Imperial Noble Consort Helena Hsieh is about to give birth, smiled...

The Wang Clan’s young men are outstanding, and their recent success in the Imperial Examinations means the Emperor won’t vent his anger on them for now, nor does he plan to confront the Wang Clan head-on himself.

For a great house like the Wang Clan, the Emperor intends to leave them to be dealt with by other aristocratic families like the Hsieh and Cui clans. He’s confident that both the Cui and Hsieh clans will be eager to carve up the Wang Clan’s current influence.

The Wang Clan’s matter isn’t urgent; what’s pressing is Ninth Royal Uncle. Isn’t he supposed to be sick? The Emperor plans to make his ‘illness’ even worse—but he didn’t expect that Ninth Royal Uncle isn’t truly sick, but has staged a disappearance. Not only has he vanished, but his two sons, who were supposed to go to Jiangnan, have disappeared as well.

This has truly infuriated the Emperor. For all three to vanish at once—no one would believe there’s nothing suspicious, not even a pig. Daring to play tricks right under his nose, the Emperor immediately sent people to investigate the whereabouts of Ninth Royal Uncle and the Crown Prince.

Once Ninth Royal Uncle’s location was discovered, the Emperor mobilized twenty thousand troops, ordering them to bring along the newly crafted thunder-blast grenades from the Ministry of Works to capture Ninth Royal Uncle, and secretly issued a death order to have him executed.

Only Ninth Royal Uncle’s life was demanded; as for the Crown Prince and Prince Colin, the Emperor didn’t insist they must die—he simply ordered that if they resist, they should be killed as well.

At dawn, Ninth Royal Uncle finally finished all his tasks, rubbed his aching brow, and prepared to rest for a bit in his chair. At daybreak, he still had to check on the Crown Prince and take care of other matters.

Miss Serena.

Ninth Royal Uncle smiled faintly and opened his eyes...

"I’d like to go in and see Ninth Royal Uncle. Could you please announce me?" Serena Feng’s voice was a little hoarse, but she sounded in good spirits.

Miss Serena, His Highness has instructed that when you come, there’s no need to announce—just go right in.

"Thank you."

Tap, tap... A gentle knock sounded at the door. Ninth Royal Uncle quickly hid the smile at his lips, sat up straight, and spread out the paper and brush he had just put away, pretending to be unconcerned as he said, "Come in."

As soon as he finished speaking, Ninth Royal Uncle picked up his brush and began writing something on the snow-white paper, looking very busy and not even lifting his head.

Serena, noticing nothing amiss, carried a small tray to the desk and said softly, "It’s late. You should get some rest."

"Mm." Ninth Royal Uncle responded but didn’t stop, continuing to write furiously, looking serious and focused.

Knowing Ninth Royal Uncle was busy, Serena didn’t say anything more. She just sat quietly opposite him, admiring how diligently he worked.

People always say a serious woman is the most beautiful, but in truth, a serious man is even more handsome and pleasing to the eye. Without realizing it, Serena found herself staring in a daze. When she came back to herself, she discovered Ninth Royal Uncle had already stopped and was looking at her...

"Ahem, ahem..." Serena blushed instantly. Ninth Royal Uncle’s eyes sparkled with laughter, but he kindly refrained from teasing her and instead asked, "Why did you come over, Serena? How is the Crown Prince?"

For Serena, the first thing she did upon waking wasn’t to see him, but to rush to the Crown Prince. Ninth Royal Uncle couldn’t help but feel a bit frustrated—in Serena’s heart, patients always come first, family second, and he’s not even sure if he ranks third.

"The Crown Prince is much better now. Simon and Elder Chi are watching over him, and as long as he gets through the danger period, he’ll be fine." Honestly, the Crown Prince is incredibly lucky—just when Serena thought he couldn’t be saved, Chi Lianshui appeared and, with three golden needles, pulled him back from the brink.

Once again, Serena was awed by the depth of traditional internal medicine, but unfortunately, they still refused to teach her.

"As long as he’s fine, that’s what matters. What happened at the villa was so unexpected." Ninth Royal Uncle finally felt a weight off his mind—after all, the Crown Prince’s repeated crises were inevitably tied to him.

"No one could have predicted what happened at the villa, but since we stayed there so long, it’s only natural the Emperor found out." Serena didn’t blame Ninth Royal Uncle for this.

In fact, if the Crown Prince hadn’t arrived late, the surgery would have been finished long ago and they wouldn’t have faced an imperial assault right in the middle of the operation.

Seeing that Ninth Royal Uncle was still tense, Serena reassured him again: "Although today’s events affected the Crown Prince’s condition, he’s stable now, so you don’t have to worry anymore. I heard you’ve been busy all night without eating, and the kitchen just finished stewing bird’s-nest tonic. You should have some."

Serena took out the bird’s-nest tonic she’d just brought in. Good, it was still a bit warm. She knew that with a workaholic like Ninth Royal Uncle, he wouldn’t stop until he finished everything, so she’d deliberately brought it in piping hot.

Of course, if Serena knew what Ninth Royal Uncle had actually been working on, she’d probably regret coming here at all.

A beauty bringing a midnight snack!

This was the first time Serena had ever brought him a late-night snack to his study. Ninth Royal Uncle was secretly delighted, but kept a straight face so Serena wouldn’t get too smug.

Ninth Royal Uncle leaned back in a relaxed posture. "I'm tired. Serena, would you take over for me?"

He didn’t mean for her to eat it for him, but to use her own hands to feed him.

Serena was no naive Simon Sun—she understood exactly what Ninth Royal Uncle meant. Normally, she’d never indulge him.

A man can be pampered, but not spoiled too much. But tonight...

Seeing the puffiness under Ninth Royal Uncle’s eyes and the bloodshot corners, Serena’s heart softened. Of everyone, he had worked the hardest and suffered the most today.

Serena nodded and brought the bird’s-nest tonic over to Ninth Royal Uncle’s side.

Ninth Royal Uncle looked at her with eager anticipation, smiling like a fox. His deep eyes sparkled with charm, making hearts flutter. Serena cursed him inwardly for being too seductive, quickly turned her head away, and didn’t dare look at him again for fear of losing her composure.

With Ninth Royal Uncle on her left and the desk on her right, Serena instinctively glanced at the writing table. The papers Ninth Royal Uncle had just been working on were still spread out.

Serena hadn’t meant to look closely—she only glanced at the papers by accident. But that single glance made it impossible to look away; her face went crimson, her hand shook, and the bowl of bird’s-nest tonic slipped, nearly spilling all over Ninth Royal Uncle...

"Careful." Ninth Royal Uncle swiftly reached out, steadied the bowl, and at the same time grasped Serena's hand. Taking advantage of her distraction, he gently pulled her into his arms and teased, "I want to eat the bird’s-nest tonic, not have my clothes eat it. Don’t feed the wrong ‘person,’ Serena."

Feed you, my foot!

Serena shoved the bowl into Ninth Royal Uncle’s hands, pointed at the papers on the desk, and demanded, "Don’t tell me you spent all this time busy writing that stuff, so busy you couldn’t even eat?"

"Yes, I did. So what?" Ninth Royal Uncle replied with perfect innocence, his eyes brimming with laughter.

Teasing Serena during a busy night really does lighten his mood and make life sweeter...