Passionate Love and the West District Courtyard Surrounded

Crazy. Absolutely crazy. Every single one of them has lost their minds.

The shadow guards were stunned. It was just a few scraps of paper—was it really worth treasuring so much? According to Prince Nolan's usual style, no matter how precious the letter, he'd read it and burn it, never leaving evidence. So why was he carefully saving it this time?

But a master is a master. Whatever the master thinks, servants have no way of knowing, let alone offering opinions. Even if the shadow guards don't understand, they wouldn't dare speak up.

After Prince Nolan put away the letter, he spread out a fresh sheet of paper, personally ground the ink, and picked up his brush to write:

Holding your jade hand, I take all you have to give; giving all I have, I promise you happiness for the rest of your life.

Binding your blue-black hair, I bind my lifelong feelings; holding your hand, I vow to walk a lifetime of love beside you.

Two simple lines, yet they were a promise. Of course, Prince Nolan knew that if he kept writing love letters like this, he’d have no trouble, but Serena Feng certainly couldn’t keep up—her reputation as a literary talent was way too overrated.

Prince Nolan thought for a moment, then picked up his brush and added after those lines of affection...

Ever since that day, Serena Feng received a letter from Prince Nolan every single day. Sometimes it was hidden in her medicine chest, sometimes by her bedside—like a treasure hunt, every day was full of delight.

The very first thing Serena Feng did each morning was search for Prince Nolan’s letter. If she didn’t find one, her mood would slump for the whole day, worrying whether the letter had fallen into someone else’s hands—or if something had happened to Prince Nolan.

One day, she searched her whole room and still couldn’t find a letter. Just as she was leaving, a gust of wind blew by—she thought it was a leaf, reached out, and to her surprise, caught a letter instead…

She froze right there, heart pounding, and shot a guilty look at Mira Tang and Winter beside her. Only after confirming neither of them had noticed did she relax, carefully hiding the letter and walking out with a calm face.

Inside, she secretly blamed Prince Nolan for getting more and more unpredictable. Was he really so sure the letter would end up in her hands? If someone else picked it up, it would cause a whole new round of trouble.

Luckily, ever since she started corresponding with Prince Nolan—and even later on—no one ever discovered their secret letters.

Of course, they only wrote so often in the beginning. Later, they didn’t exchange letters every day, but a tacit rhythm formed between them: every few days, a letter would arrive, even if it was just a single line to say he was safe.

Sometimes, when she didn’t get a letter from Prince Nolan, Serena Feng didn’t worry—she knew he was busy. Only if half a month went by without a letter or any word from him would she suspect something had happened, and he couldn’t send anyone with a message.

Prince Nolan’s letters always started with a few lines of longing, then moved on to everyday matters—what he’d done that day, or reminders to Serena Feng: add a layer when it’s cold, don’t kick off your quilt at night, don’t work too late. Little things, all showing he cared.

Ordinary words, but to Serena Feng, they were more touching than any love poem. They warmed her heart—being cared for and remembered felt wonderful.

Because of these letters, Serena Feng and Prince Nolan’s feelings for each other deepened rapidly. When they met in public, even without speaking, a glance or a gesture could convey everything.

As the saying goes, beauty can ruin kingdoms. In the first few days of exchanging love letters, Serena Feng was completely caught in the web of emotion Prince Nolan had woven.

All day long, if she wasn’t reading Prince Nolan’s letters, she was thinking about how to reply. Otherwise, she’d be curled up alone in her room, spacing out, drifting through the halls like a ghost—so distracted that everyone in the courtyard could hardly pretend not to notice.

Their young lady was acting like she was lovesick!

Spring and the other three maids watched with secret delight, but Mira Tang and Jada Tang were worried. The Grand Heir wasn’t in the capital, so clearly their young mistress wasn’t pining for him.

For three whole days, Serena Feng was like a lovestruck girl lured away by an older man—completely lost in the web of sweet words he spun, and didn’t get a single thing done. Simon Sun finally couldn’t stand it and spoke up: “Master, have you thought about how to treat Young Master Holden’s illness these past three days?”

"Huh... three days?" Serena Feng jolted awake, as if from a dream, her beautiful eyes wide with shock.

Three days had passed already? How had she not noticed at all? It seemed all she’d done these last three days was read and write letters.

Aaaah... Love really is trouble. She hadn’t felt like working at all these few days—not only had she put Young Master Holden’s case aside, she’d even forgotten about Reid Yale. That was a mistake she’d never made before.

Blushing, Serena Feng met Simon Sun’s clear gaze—like a child caught misbehaving, she lowered her head. "Simon, Master’s been distracted these past few days. I promise it won’t happen again. Come on, let’s go find Young Master Holden. I need to discuss his treatment plan with him."

"Master, are you sure you’re in any shape to work right now? If not, you could rest a couple more days—it’s fine. I doubt Young Master Holden would mind a day or two’s delay." Simon Sun looked doubtful.

He had no idea what Serena Feng was going through, but one thing was clear—he didn’t like seeing her like this. The Serena Feng he admired was always cool-headed, rational, and put her patients first.

For those three days, Serena Feng was like a different person—she wore a dreamy, silly smile and never mentioned Young Master Holden, as if she was living in her own world.

Serena Feng took a breath and gave Simon Sun a faint smile. "Simon, trust your master—I’m not the type to get carried away by emotion. I promise these last three days were just an accident. I won’t let it happen again."

In the end, her self-control was still a bit lacking—or maybe she was just too young. She couldn’t resist Prince Nolan’s barrage of love letters. From now on, she’d do her best not to get lost in romance all day long.

"Master, you don’t need to be so serious—it’s not a bad thing, and you’re still young." Simon Sun was startled by how earnest she looked, and scratched his head, a little embarrassed.

He forgot—Serena Feng was just a sixteen-year-old girl. It was normal for a girl her age to have these feelings. Who hadn’t admired someone, or daydreamed about romance? Serena’s behavior was exactly right for her age.

Serena Feng felt a little exposed, laughed awkwardly, and stiffly changed the subject: "Alright, let’s drop it. Let’s go find Young Master Holden—I’ve already figured out the treatment plan, and I need to discuss it with him. I have to get his consent, since his illness is risky."

In modern times, even bone marrow transplants aren’t guaranteed to succeed, much less here. But she was confident the surgery itself would go smoothly—as long as the stem cells weren’t rejected, the success rate would be over ninety percent.

Simon Sun saw the clear, focused look in Serena Feng’s eyes and knew she was back to her old self. He admired her—despite her youth, her self-control was far stronger than most. Even his father couldn’t match it.

Thinking of his father, Simon Sun’s eyes filled with worry. More than three months had passed, and there was still no word from him—the longer it went, the harder it would be to find him.

Serena Feng didn’t notice Simon Sun’s worry—she was busy thinking about how to convince Young Master Holden to accept her treatment plan. She used the time to mentally review the details one more time…