Stripped of Title, Private Soldiers as Personal Property

When Victor Yun arrived, the Valley Master and his two companions were happily chatting with William Wang Jinling, bombarding him with questions and completely ignoring Victor.

Victor didn’t mind; he was used to it—wherever William was, he was always sidelined. After greeting Serena Feng, he found a seat and obediently listened to the four talk.

The Valley Master and Dr. Redwater were both unreliable, and while Dr. Marcus Guile was a bit more normal, he was just as unreliable when around kindred spirits. They didn’t care about the hour and kept William talking all night. Serena, Victor, and Caleb Wang could only sit with them until dawn.

Serena still had to do her rounds, so she left first, taking Spring, Summer, and Autumn with her so they could rest.

After giving the young patients their injections and checking on them, Serena saw that the Valley Master and William were still talking. Noticing William’s obvious exhaustion, she had to interrupt: “Valley Master, there’s always another day. You’ve talked all night—time to rest.”

Serena’s concern was met only with the Valley Master’s cold glare: “You’re always meddling. We didn’t ask you to join the conversation—go do your own thing.”

William would never let Serena lose face, so he smiled and said, “I’ve enjoyed talking with the three of you so much that I lost track of time. Now that it’s morning, I should take my leave.”

“Leave? We haven’t finished talking. Never mind… Forget it. Just come with us to Jiangnan, and we’ll do things your way,” Dr. Redwater said, raising his brows and acting as if he had the final say.

Serena couldn’t help but laugh: “William is the head of the Wang Clan. No matter how great Jiangnan is, it’s still a bit small. Why would William give up his role as clan leader to go to Jiangnan?”

“Why do you care?” Dr. Redwater glared fiercely at Serena, then turned to William and said kindly, “Just quit being clan leader. It’s a thankless job. Come to Jiangnan with us—I guarantee you’ll be able to call the wind and summon the rain.”

Jiangnan is now the former Crown Prince’s territory, but Dr. Redwater doesn’t care about him at all. Once he’s in Jiangnan, no one can control him.

“William can already call the wind and summon the rain—why bother going to Jiangnan?” Serena deliberately shot down Dr. Redwater’s offer, making him fume with frustration.

William just smiled at the two of them. Only when Dr. Redwater was left speechless by Serena did he finally say, “Thank you for your kindness, seniors. I’m tangled up in worldly affairs for now, but once I’m free, I’ll definitely visit Jiangnan and trouble you all.”

William left himself an escape route, keeping things polite and saving face for the three elders. They nodded with satisfaction and personally escorted him out.

After William left, Victor Yun and Caleb Wang—the two who were actually headed to Jiangnan—finally got a chance to talk to the Valley Master and his companions.

The Valley Master and his two colleagues had a great impression of Victor and Caleb; William had been speaking up for them all night, sharing their ideas as well.

Both sides made a good first impression, and Serena knew the Medical Academy plans in Jiangnan would go smoothly.

After staying up the whole night, even Victor and Caleb were exhausted. With the three masters present, they didn’t stand on ceremony—after breakfast, they simply rested in Feng Manor’s guest rooms.

Serena wanted to rest too, but Prince Samuel Zhai—who’d rushed into the palace overnight—suddenly showed up again. Seeing his grim face, Serena guessed he’d had an unpleasant clash with the Emperor.

Serena didn’t pry, just arranged for Prince Samuel to rest. He stayed silent the whole way, only speaking up as Serena turned to leave: “Serena, I know Ninth Royal Uncle and the Valley Master are close, and you have a good relationship with Dr. Redwater and Dr. Marcus Guile. I’m begging you all to help me.”

Prince Samuel Zhai hesitated for a long time before finally working up the nerve to ask for help, speaking as if he were a junior.

Serena was startled and quickly waved her hands. “Your Highness, there’s no need for such formality. Dominic and I are friends—he’s helped me so much, it’s only right I help him in return. Don’t worry, I’ll do my best to persuade the Valley Master and the others to treat him.”

Serena was genuinely grateful to Prince Samuel. Without his help, things wouldn’t have gone so smoothly before. And when it came to Dominic, even if Prince Samuel hadn’t asked, she wouldn’t have stood by and done nothing.

“Friendship is one thing, favors another. I know you and Dominic are close, and you’ve helped him plenty. But those three aren’t easy to convince—you’ll have to pay a price to get their help.” Prince Samuel sighed, thinking of yesterday’s conversation.

“The Zhai family isn’t selfish. Since you’re willing to speak up for Dominic, I won’t say any more. My house secretly keeps twelve thousand private soldiers—even the Emperor doesn’t know about them. They’re useless in my hands now, so I’ll transfer them all to you as thanks for what you’ve done for Dominic.” Prince Samuel had been hesitant, but seeing Serena agree without hesitation, his last doubts vanished.

Serena valued loyalty and friendship. With those private troops in her hands, Dominic would never suffer in the future. With his temperament, he’d never get anywhere with the Emperor anyway.

Being a different-surname prince was never easy.

A hereditary different-surname prince had it even harder.

“Private? Private soldiers?” Serena’s eyes widened in shock as she stared at Prince Samuel, unable to believe what she’d just heard.

Private soldiers!

Private soldiers—something she’d dreamed of but could never get. And Prince Samuel was handing over twelve thousand just like that. This, this, this…

“Your Highness, I can’t accept them.” Serena wanted them desperately, but she still said it out loud—she couldn’t tell if Prince Samuel was testing her or truly sincere.

“You have to take them, whether you want to or not. I can’t afford to keep twelve thousand men anymore. And from today, don’t call me ‘Your Highness’—I’m just a commoner now.” With that, Prince Samuel walked into the house, and his bodyguard blocked Serena at the door, refusing to let her in.

What? In just one day, Prince Samuel had gone from a different-surname prince to a commoner. How could things change so fast?

Staring at the tightly closed door, Serena was speechless. But thinking of the private soldiers, she grew excited again. Unsure if she could accept them, she decided to play it safe and return to her room to write to Ninth Royal Uncle.

In just two days, she wrote three letters to Ninth Royal Uncle, each sent off at a different time. The shadow guards carrying Serena’s letters were about to cry.

They wanted to tell Serena that the first two letters had already been delivered—this third one meant sending out another courier.

The shadow guards couldn’t imagine what it was like for Ninth Royal Uncle to receive a letter from Serena every half-day, but they didn’t dare hold them back and send them together.

If a couple more letters came, the shadow guard camp would turn into nothing but a courier service, doing nothing but delivering letters between Serena and their master every day…