Victor Yun’s Favor and the Troublesome Patient

Serena Feng had thought Victor Yun, after pulling her away from Master Marcus Wynn's dinner, must have some ulterior motive. But to her surprise, Victor didn't say a word about it on the way. After a brief self-introduction, he simply escorted her back to her residence, and only as she was stepping down from the carriage did he press a jade pendant into her hand.

"Miss Feng, with this jade pendant, you can claim priority when purchasing any medicinal herbs you need from any Young Family Pharmacy across the Nine Provinces Realm."

Perhaps guessing that Serena might refuse, Victor added, "Just take it, Miss Feng. The pendant isn't valuable—having it only gives you priority, but you'll still pay market price for any herbs you buy."

Good medicinal herbs are hard to come by, so this was, in effect, Victor Yun doing Serena a favor.

"Thank you, Young Master Yun." Serena started to withdraw her hand, but this sort of gift—neither heavy nor light—was difficult to refuse.

Victor Yun was far more diplomatic than William Wang Jinling; it was likely the result of growing up in a merchant family, accustomed to dealing with all kinds of people.

Snap—Victor Yun flicked open his folding fan and, regardless of the season, began waving it lightly. "No need to be so polite, Miss Feng. It's getting late, so I won't disturb your rest any further."

Victor Yun turned to board the carriage, but just as he was about to step inside, he seemed to remember something and turned back to Serena. "By the way, Miss Feng, the patient you treated today is on good terms with Master Marcus Wynn."

With that, Victor Yun got into the carriage, not caring whether Serena understood his meaning or not.

Serena stood at the gate for a while, only turning back toward her residence once Victor Yun's carriage had disappeared from sight. As soon as she entered, she headed straight for her study.

Though called a study, for Serena it was really a small medical room; aside from the books on the shelves for appearances, every corner was packed with medicines and instruments.

The Smart Med-Pack was excellent, but there were times when it wasn't convenient to use, so Serena kept some small, unobtrusive items at hand.

As soon as she entered her study, Serena ordered that no one disturb her. She needed to test the drop of blood from Holden, suspecting his illness was anything but simple.

Before starting, Serena checked the Smart Med-Pack's diagnostic results. As expected, the device indicated Holden had a blood disorder, but the specific disease required further analysis.

Serena activated the Smart Med-Pack, brought out its testing modules, and began analyzing Holden's blood. She felt fortunate that she'd rotated through every hospital department; blood testing was easy for her, and she didn't need help from the lab staff.

After repeated tests and comparisons, Serena had to face the facts.

Leukemia. It was actually leukemia. Damien of Southlyn must think highly of her, giving her such a difficult case. Even three rounds of fifteen days wouldn't guarantee a cure.

Annoyed, Serena shut down the Smart Med-Pack and rubbed her sore neck. Realizing it was already dark outside, she massaged her brow and forced herself to stay alert as she stepped out.

She decided to eat and sleep. Winning or losing the medical contest didn't matter to her; as for Holden's illness, as always, she'd do everything she could and leave the rest to fate. If Holden was willing, she'd try her best to treat him.

After dinner, Serena bathed and rested. Perhaps she was too tired, or maybe she had no mental burden, but she slept soundly through the night. The next morning, she followed the contest schedule and went to the Imperial Medical Directorate to treat Holden.

Holden was clever and considerate; Serena didn't need to say much and he didn't ask, since imperial physicians and Prince Rowan were both supervising. Serena couldn't do much, so she left some medicine and told Holden, "I'm a doctor. If you trust me, I'll do everything I can to treat you—but only if you don't give up on yourself."

"Don't give up on myself?" Holden was stunned. His family had already given up on him, and so had he. Now someone was telling him not to give up—was it too late?

Holden was left bewildered.

"That's right. As long as you don't give up, I won't give up on you." Serena packed up her things and nodded to Prince Rowan and the imperial physicians, signaling she'd finished for the day.

The three left together. Prince Rowan insisted on staying by Serena's side, walking silently half a step ahead, as if clearing the way for her.

Serena ignored Prince Rowan and strode toward the palace gates. Just as she was about to board her carriage, he suddenly spoke: "Serena, can we be friends?"

"Friends? I'm afraid not." Serena refused without hesitation.

"Why not?"

"There's no reason. Your Highness's status is far too high for me to reach. If there's nothing else, I'll be going." Serena cut him off coldly and climbed into her carriage.

Prince Rowan grew anxious and grabbed her hand. "Serena, you can be friends with Ninth Royal Uncle and William Wang Jinling, so why not me?"

Serena tried to wrench her hand free from Prince Rowan, but failed. "Please behave yourself, Your Highness. If you're seeking news about Ninth Royal Uncle, I'm sorry—I don't know, even if a friend asked I wouldn't know."

Serena deliberately emphasized the word "friend," a cold irony flashing in her eyes.

"Serena, it's not what you think." Prince Rowan hurried to explain—he hadn't tried to get close to her just for information about Ninth Royal Uncle.

"I hope so. Please let go, Your Highness—I'm a doctor, and I need these hands to work." If they weren't in the palace, Serena would have brandished a scalpel to make her point.

Prince Rowan frowned and released her hand, saying coldly, "I never meant to hurt you. I just want a fresh start."

He sounded sincere, but Serena didn't believe a word. "That's not right, Your Highness. There's no such thing as starting over between us. If you have nothing else, spend more time with Princess Serenity—she'll be married off to Northlyn in three months."

Serena reminded Prince Rowan that all they had was enmity, and anyone with a brain knew she was involved in Princess Serenity's upcoming marriage alliance.

Sure enough, Prince Rowan's expression changed and he dropped the matter.

Serena boarded her carriage and signaled the driver to go. After leaving the north gate, she didn't return home but headed for the Sun Estate.

She wanted to know if traditional medicine had any remedies for leukemia, and she hadn't seen Sun Zhengdao or Simon Sun in a long time. The contest wasn't over yet, so she had time to reconnect with old friends—relationships needed tending.

To Serena's surprise, when she arrived at the Sun Estate, she found only the listless butler and a desolate, run-down house.

"What happened?" Serena lifted her skirts and rushed inside, anxiety gnawing at her as terrible possibilities flashed through her mind and her hands and feet went cold.

She understood life and death, but feared seeing loved ones die before her eyes. She could never forget the sight of her foster mother dying on the operating table, with herself as the lead surgeon.