Facing Accusation, Serena Feng Has Returned

Lance Quinn was no weakling, but against overwhelming numbers, even his martial skill couldn’t save him. The Third Prince had spent decades building his power around this nunnery—within a hundred li, every inch was under his control, every face loyal to him. For Lance, slipping away unnoticed was simply impossible...

He’d barely made it a kilometer before the Third Prince’s men spotted him. Lance fought his way out with skill, but took an arrow to the back—not a fatal spot, thankfully. Ignoring the pain, he pressed on, riding hard for the road ahead...

He still had to reach the Capital today!

"Your Highness, you’re finally back! Miss Feng has asked for you three times already." As soon as Ninth Royal Uncle entered the inn, his guards greeted him eagerly.

If Ninth Royal Uncle hadn’t come back soon, these men would have been in tears.

"Mm." Ninth Royal Uncle nodded slightly and strode into the room.

"Your Highness." The Eight Commanders bowed in unison. Hearing the commotion, Serena hurried out, and when she saw Ninth Royal Uncle unharmed, she finally let out a sigh of relief.

"Let’s talk inside." Ninth Royal Uncle pulled Serena into the room. As soon as they entered, he collapsed into a chair, his face completely drained of color.

"What happened? Are you hurt?" Serena was startled and immediately began undressing Ninth Royal Uncle.

Normally, Ninth Royal Uncle might tease Serena, saying things like, "You’re awfully eager, my lady," or "If you’re so impatient, I’ll have to..."—but today, there was no time for jokes. He let Serena strip off his outer robe, exposing the wound on his back.

Seeing the blood-soaked mess on Ninth Royal Uncle’s back, Serena’s expression turned grim. She quickly opened her medical kit, cut away the fabric, wiped off the blood, and revealed a wound like a bloody crater.

"An arrow wound?"

"Mm. Third Royal Brother is missing." He answered cleverly—explaining the injury and hinting at last night’s events all at once.

Hearing this, Serena’s first thought was that someone had abducted the Third Prince. Ninth Royal Uncle had rushed over, failed to bring him back, and ended up wounded instead.

The Third Prince was already half-dead anyway; Serena didn’t care if he lasted a moment longer. But still...

"So what now? How are you going to explain this to the Emperor?"

"We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. The Third Prince’s disappearance hasn’t been made public, so it won’t be easy for the Emperor to pin blame on me." He was just trying to reassure her. If things got ugly and the Emperor exposed his secret reports, even Ninth Royal Uncle couldn’t escape the charge of deceiving the sovereign.

"The Emperor won’t let you off that easily. Right now, our priority is to find the Third Prince. We’re in the Capital—he can’t have gone far." Serena spoke as she treated Ninth Royal Uncle’s wound.

"Let’s see the Emperor first. In the Capital, I can’t mobilize troops without his permission." Ninth Royal Uncle wasn’t worried about the Third Prince’s whereabouts; once he reported the nunnery, even if the prince wasn’t found, it would still count as a major achievement. Besides, he didn’t believe the Third Prince would actually leave that nunnery.

Serena paused, let out a bitter laugh, and said, "I didn’t think things through. We’re back in the Capital now—it’s not as free as outside."

Ninth Royal Uncle just smiled and shook his head. Serena was only worried about him. If he didn’t know where the Third Prince was, he’d be sending men to search, too—because if the prince really escaped, he’d be in trouble.

Serena fell silent, focusing on cleaning Ninth Royal Uncle’s wound. Her own shoulder injury had mostly healed and was no longer a concern.

As she prepared to suture the wound, Serena warned, "This will hurt a bit. Bear with it."

"It’s fine." Ninth Royal Uncle replied without the slightest change in expression.

Stitch by stitch, the needle pierced flesh, thread pulled through muscle—over forty stitches before Serena finally finished closing the wound.

After wiping away the sweat around the wound with a clean cloth, Serena applied the special salve made by the Master of Mystic Healer Valley.

The Master’s salve worked better than Western medicine—cool, soothing, with no medicinal odor. The swelling would go down in no time.

"Let me get you a clean set of clothes." The ones Ninth Royal Uncle wore were so wrinkled and bloodstained, they were beyond saving.

"Mm." Ninth Royal Uncle stood, and aside from his pale lips, there was no sign on his face that he’d been hurt at all.

This man’s pain tolerance was truly something else.

Serena stripped off Ninth Royal Uncle’s clothes in a few swift motions, revealing his lean, flawless upper body.

Though Ninth Royal Uncle was constantly wounded, his body bore no scars—unlike Serena, whose old injury still hadn’t faded from her back.

But Serena had no time to admire his physique. She shook out the new robe and dressed him, then re-tied his hair. With everything in place, Ninth Royal Uncle looked every bit the unmatched, moon-bright Eastlyn prince—no trace of weakness at all.

"Let’s go."

With Ninth Royal Uncle here, the group could finally enter the city. Inside the Imperial Capital, a crowd was anxiously awaiting his arrival—none more so than the Emperor himself.

None of the men sent out on last night’s mission had returned. The Emperor realized Ninth Royal Uncle had outmaneuvered him, but when he heard what happened at the villa, he knew Ninth Royal Uncle had suffered a setback, letting someone else profit instead.

With the Third Prince missing, the Emperor was curious to see whom Ninth Royal Uncle would present to him.

"Have they arrived yet?" For the tenth time since sunrise, the Emperor asked.

"Your Majesty, they still—"

Before the head eunuch could finish, a shrill voice cut in: "Your Majesty! They’re here, they’re here—Ninth Royal Uncle is at the city gates!"

"Is that so? Deliver my decree—Ninth Royal Uncle is to proceed to the palace immediately."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Ninth Royal Uncle hadn’t even entered the city before the eunuch with the imperial order arrived from the palace. Just as he finished greeting the officials and was about to send Serena back to Feng Manor, he heard the eunuch’s shrill voice: "By imperial command, Ninth Royal Uncle is summoned to the palace immediately."

The Emperor really couldn’t wait… to see him dead.

A playful smile tugged at Ninth Royal Uncle’s lips. After sending Serena off in the carriage, he ordered the Eight Commanders to ensure her safe arrival at Feng Manor. Then, with his own ceremonial escort, he led his entourage toward the palace—utterly unhurried.

The officials watching quietly lowered their heads, pretending not to notice.

In Eastlyn, only Ninth Royal Uncle could remain so calm when summoned by the Emperor—only he dared ignore an ‘immediate’ imperial order.

No one knew what changes Ninth Royal Uncle’s return would bring to Eastlyn’s court. Just days ago, Minister Cao of the Ministry of Revenue had been driven by the Emperor to kill himself in the great hall. With Ninth Royal Uncle’s fiercely protective nature, it was certain he’d settle that score with the Emperor.

The political sky… was about to change!

The officials adjusted their robes and quietly left, ignoring the other group of welcoming officials and the luxurious carriages at the city gate.