Stifled Humiliation, Ruining Lady Min’s Plan

Lady Min hadn’t openly done anything in Eastlyn—at least, nothing that put the realm or Prince Nolan in a difficult position. Yet both Prince Nolan and William Wang Jinling were deeply wary of her, especially after Wendy Summers’s escape. William became even more cautious, afraid Lady Min would stir up trouble while Prince Nolan was away, causing a disaster he couldn’t contain.

After Lady Min moved into her solitary cabin, William Wang Jinling doubled the number of attendants—officially to 'protect' her, but in reality to monitor her. All the shadow guards were brought out into the open, watching Lady Min around the clock.

Lady Min was well aware of the situation outside. Though anxious inside, she showed nothing on her face, devoting all her scripture-copying time to chanting instead—just as she claimed, seeking a quiet place to pray for the late Emperor.

Knock, knock, knock... Day or night, the sound of Lady Min beating the wooden fish echoed from her cabin. At first, the guards monitoring her didn’t think much of it, but as time passed, they started finding it odd.

"Sir, lately the Grand Empress Dowager has been chanting scriptures later and later into the night." The guard, remembering the fate of the last rotation, dared not overlook any detail and reported Lady Min’s unusual behavior directly to William Wang Jinling.

"Lady Min’s wooden fish knocking isn’t just lasting longer—it’s getting louder too." It was as if she was trying to cover up some other noise, but when they investigated, nothing seemed out of place nearby.

William Wang Jinling nodded lightly, instructing the guards to keep a close eye on Lady Min; as for other matters, he would handle them himself.

Lady Min was a particular headache for William Wang Jinling. She wasn’t just anyone—she was Eastlyn’s Grand Empress Dowager, Prince Nolan’s mother. Even though she was a Former Dynasty princess who might threaten Prince Nolan, without hard evidence, William had to treat her with proper respect.

After much deliberation, William finally thought of a legitimate, forward-looking solution. The next morning, after court was dismissed, he stayed behind and requested an audience with the Emperor, claiming urgent business.

Empress Dowager Xie was no fool; she immediately understood William wanted to see her. She personally brought the young Emperor to wait in the imperial study.

"Grand Heir Wang..." Empress Dowager Xie greeted him with unusual warmth, hinting at a desire for closeness.

Her feelings toward William Wang Jinling were very complicated. She needed his support and wanted to maintain a good relationship, but she couldn’t forget the rivalry between the Wang and Xie clans.

The Xie family’s downfall was partly due to their own ambition, but the Wang family’s suppression was just as important. Still, that’s the nature of power struggles—winner takes all, loser faces ruin. If the Xies had won, it would have been the Wang family destroyed instead.

"Your Majesty, I’ve heard the Grand Empress Dowager has been chanting and copying scriptures day and night. I worry her health might suffer. May I suggest you assign a female medical attendant to care for her, as a gesture of filial piety?" William Wang Jinling bowed respectfully as he spoke, unconcerned with how Empress Dowager Xie might feel about it.

No matter how deep the hatred between the Wang and Xie families, as long as William and the Wang clan remained, Empress Dowager Xie had no choice but to treat him with courtesy and keep her resentment hidden.

"The Grand Empress Dowager?" Empress Dowager Xie instantly understood William’s intent.

Filial piety? What could be more filial than personally serving the Grand Empress Dowager and chanting scriptures with her? But she was planning to leave the palace—what would happen to the Emperor if she went?

Empress Dowager Xie’s brows furrowed slightly. She glanced at William Wang Jinling, realizing his mind was made up. Though displeased, she could only comply: "Grand Heir Wang, since the Grand Empress Dowager is chanting for the late Emperor, as her daughter-in-law, I should serve her personally. Tomorrow, I’ll lead the palace dowager consorts to the monastery to attend her."

If she had to go, then everyone would go together. With more people present, if something did happen, at least the blame would be shared.

"Your Majesty is wise." William Wang Jinling smiled gently, then suggested, "It’s time for the Emperor to choose a reading companion. I’ve noticed the young heir of Phoenixfield Manor is clever and well-mannered, and about the same age as His Majesty. Why not summon him to the palace for a while to accompany the Emperor?"

This suggestion hit right at the heart of Empress Dowager Xie's concerns. With Feng Jin present, she no longer had to worry about the young Emperor's safety. As the Emperor's reading companion, if anything happened to His Majesty, Feng Jin would be the first to be held responsible.

Even if it was just for Feng Jin’s sake, William Wang Jinling would make sure the young Emperor was well protected.

Empress Dowager Xie smiled and nodded gently. "We’ll do as Grand Heir Wang suggests."

William Wang Jinling didn’t know what Lady Min was planning, nor did he have the time or energy to watch her every move. So he simply sent a crowd of women to the monastery, instructing them to stay with Lady Min until Ninth Royal Uncle arrived.

William’s requirements were simple. He didn’t expect Empress Dowager Xie to uncover anything useful; as long as she kept Lady Min company and Lady Min remained at the monastery, he wasn’t worried about her causing trouble.

Lady Min never imagined her seemingly flawless, watertight plan would be foiled at the critical moment by William Wang Jinling.

Faced with a group of young palace dowager consorts—dressed plainly, faces respectful but secretly impatient—Lady Min felt a pounding headache and her temples throbbed. Yet...

She couldn’t be angry, couldn’t lash out, couldn’t refuse. She had to smile and accept them.

It had been years since Lady Min felt so stifled, but William Wang Jinling and Serena Feng were totally unaware. William only had Empress Dowager Xie bring the consorts to keep Lady Min company as a precaution—he had no idea what Lady Min was plotting, nor that he’d ruined her plans.

As for Serena Feng?

Her group had just left the Ghost Forest when they were suddenly surrounded by living corpses—no time to worry about the capital. Even if they wanted to, they were too far away at the imperial tombs to help.

Unlike the living corpses made of poisonous insects they’d encountered before, this batch were genuine living dead. In the faint firelight, their faces appeared pale but smooth, deathly still—yet there wasn’t a single insect on them.

Though these living corpses also moved stiffly and slowly, their combat ability was clearly much greater than the ones Serena’s group had faced before. Each one carried a weapon, and there were far more of them.

Most importantly, by the time they left the Ghost Forest, night had fallen. The darkness gave the living corpses perfect cover, so Serena’s group didn’t dare fight head-on. Instead, they tried using thunder grenades to blast them away, but...

Whenever a thunder grenade exploded, the living corpses vanished—only to reappear as the group moved forward. The grenades couldn’t leave a single mark on them.

"Are these truly the living dead, or just our hallucinations?" Sean Xuan stared at the corpses in the distance, tempted to reach out and touch one just to be sure they were real...

"Definitely not hallucinations. Look..." Serena Feng shone her lantern at the living corpses, pointing at the blades held by the Eighteen Riders. Reflected on the metal were rows of undead shadows...