Silly Girl, Ninth Royal Uncle Got a Great Bargain

Pushing Charlotte Chu into the spotlight—neither Serena nor Ninth Royal Uncle saw anything wrong with it. The rumors slandering Serena weren’t all Charlotte’s doing, but they started because of her.

If Charlotte hadn’t come to the capital and exposed her plan to marry Ninth Royal Uncle, no one in the city would have paid attention to Serena living at Ninth Prince Manor. Even if someone did notice, they wouldn’t dare speak up—everyone values their own life.

But with Charlotte’s arrival, everything changed. The palace loudly hinted that she and Ninth Royal Uncle were a pair, and Charlotte’s refusal to explain—combined with Ninth Royal Uncle’s silence—made everyone believe it was true.

Because of this, the city’s nobles assumed that Serena had lost Ninth Royal Uncle’s favor. Even if he still cared for her, her position was no longer what it used to be. If he wanted to win over his new consort, he couldn’t openly support Serena as before, so...

After testing the waters a few times and seeing no reaction from Ninth Royal Uncle, the rumors targeting Serena grew worse and worse—until they were completely out of control, and William Wang Jinling had no choice but to warn Serena.

This time, Serena and Ninth Royal Uncle didn’t discuss it, but they instinctively used Charlotte Chu to quell the rumors. It wasn’t exactly hurting the innocent—Charlotte just had bad luck, running into two petty and vengeful people like Serena and Ninth Royal Uncle.

When he heard that several key figures had already arrived in the capital, Ninth Royal Uncle was very satisfied. He planned to finish his work and then go to Feng Manor to comfort Serena. After all, this was his fault—he hadn’t protected her, too busy to pay attention to her situation.

But before he finished his official business, Ninth Royal Uncle received a letter from his shadow guards. He was briefly surprised; after dismissing the guard, he leisurely opened the letter—and couldn’t help but smile as he read.

“What a silly girl.” Ninth Royal Uncle laughed and shook his head, but inside, he felt deeply comforted.

Should he be glad that Imperial Noble Consort Helena Hsieh summoned Serena to the palace? Otherwise, Serena wouldn’t have misunderstood and thought he was angry.

Just four short lines—Ninth Royal Uncle read them over and over before reluctantly putting the note away in a box on his bookshelf, together with all the letters Serena had written him before.

Someday, when he’s old, he’ll open that box and look back on everything that happened—it’ll be a fun memory.

Getting Serena’s letter and knowing she wasn’t angry, Ninth Royal Uncle didn’t rush to Feng Manor. It was time to let Serena cool off a bit—otherwise, every time something happened, she’d walk out on him.

Serena didn’t get a reply from Ninth Royal Uncle. She was a little disappointed, but it didn’t affect her life—she was busy. Besides, she trusted their relationship. If Ninth Royal Uncle didn’t care about her, he wouldn’t have indulged her this far.

Honestly, she’d always relied on Ninth Royal Uncle’s affection to act a little spoiled. She knew as long as she didn’t go too far, he’d always let her do what she wanted.

Serena set the matter aside and focused on dealing with Charlotte Chu. But just as she started, Ninth Royal Uncle made his move—three major figures suddenly arrived in the capital, all for Charlotte Chu.

These three men were no small fry: one was An City’s third young master, one was the son of the Chu City garrison commander, and the last was the Northlyn Imperial Uncle.

“I haven’t even started and things are already getting lively.” When Serena heard these three had gone to the palace to meet the Emperor, she immediately went to find Charlotte Chu, grinning all the way.

“Miss, should we add a little more fuel to the fire?” Jada Tang asked, her smile perfectly measured.

After the mass selling of Feng Manor’s staff, only Jada Tang and Mira Tang dared approach Serena. The rest kept their distance—even Zed seemed afraid of her now, sticking close to Simon Sun and not daring to challenge her.

Serena nodded with a smile. “Of course. Let me see how you two have managed things in the capital this past year.”

She couldn’t sway An City’s third young master or the Northlyn Imperial Uncle, but she could stir up trouble in the capital. To men, Charlotte Chu wasn’t just a beautiful woman—she was the ticket to instant power. The city was full of young nobles eager to win her over, but before, rumors about her and Ninth Royal Uncle kept them at bay.

The Emperor used Ninth Royal Uncle’s silence to make it look like she’d been cast aside. So Serena used that same silence to make it seem like Ninth Royal Uncle had no interest in Charlotte Chu at all. Now it was a waiting game—who would crack first?

Jada Tang and Mira Tang’s work in the capital over the past two years had been impressive. In less than three days, everyone was saying Charlotte Chu had come to Eastlyn to choose a husband—and her dowry was Chu City itself. Whoever married Charlotte would become the next City Lord of Chu City.

Don’t believe it?

Young master, don’t be so skeptical. Remember last year, how Charlotte Chu boldly confessed her feelings for Ninth Royal Uncle? She said she’d bring Chu City as her dowry, but Ninth Royal Uncle turned her down.

The City Lord of Chu City was in poor health, and Charlotte was his only daughter. Since a daughter couldn’t inherit, she’d come to the capital to choose a husband. Whoever married Charlotte would become the next City Lord—a position as powerful as ruling a small kingdom.

At first, nobody believed it. But as soon as An City’s third young master, the Northlyn Imperial Uncle, and the garrison commander’s son from Chu City started showing up in the capital, more and more people bought into the story.

Within two days, Serena—under the guise of concern—sent gifts to the palace ladies. Soon, Charlotte Chu’s residence was besieged by groups of young noble wastrels shouting declarations of love over the walls. Whenever Charlotte appeared, a crowd of young men would swarm her. Fed up, she begged the Emperor to intervene.

The Emperor punished a few of them, but the rest didn’t quit—they just switched tactics. Instead of crowding around Charlotte, they started sending her gifts and poems, each trying to win her heart.

Who could blame them? Charlotte Chu was too tempting—marrying her meant your descendants would never have to worry. In modern terms, winning Charlotte was like hitting a five-hundred-billion jackpot.

Charlotte could avoid the young men’s harassment, but she couldn’t dodge invitations from high-born ladies and noble families. Those hoping to latch onto her all scrambled to learn more about her, plotting how to win her over. Marrying Charlotte meant gaining both power and status...

Charlotte Chu became the hottest topic in the capital. No one knew exactly when it started, only that overnight, everyone was talking about her—her search for a husband, and which lucky man would win both Chu City and the beauty.

As for Serena and Ninth Royal Uncle, even if someone wanted to gossip, nobody cared anymore. Everyone in the capital already knew everything there was to know about them. Now, all that mattered was who Charlotte Chu would choose—which lucky guy would get to take this golden prize home...

Of course, everyone hoped that lucky winner would be themselves!