The server kept his gaze straight ahead, leading Serena Feng and her party right up to the Windchaser Inn’s grand doors. He rattled off the house rules with practiced ease, then, with a flourish, whipped out the infamous entrance couplet for them to tackle—just as if he was laying down a gauntlet. Serena could already feel the tension crackling in the air.
"Miss Feng, here’s the Windchaser Inn’s entrance couplet: 'Four Directions Bridge, bridge of four directions, standing on the Four Directions Bridge to view the four directions, four directions, four directions, four four directions.' See if you can crack it!"
This was the exact couplet those two siblings beside her had just failed to answer. By laying it out now, the server was making it crystal clear: Windchaser Inn played fair and square—no sneaky tricks, no secret favoritism, even if you showed up scheming. Serena couldn’t help but appreciate that kind of open challenge.
The server’s move was a bold, almost cheeky challenge. Mira, the girl, looked like she might combust from embarrassment, cheeks flaming. Her brother, dressed in royal blue, kept his cool—standing there quietly, probably hoping Serena would solve the riddle and secretly wracking his brains for an answer himself. The air practically hummed with rivalry.
With such blatant, burning stares locked on her, Serena couldn’t play dumb even if she tried. She felt every ounce of their scrutiny—and the rising pressure to deliver.
Seriously? All she wanted was a good meal, and now she’d walked right into a headache. From a glance, Serena could tell: the guy was all muscle and quiet arrogance, the girl radiated haughty pride. Their fancy clothes and airs screamed noble birth—no need to ask, these two were definitely big shots from somewhere fancy.
If she couldn’t answer the couplet, no big deal—she’d just lose a little face. But if she did answer, these two would probably obsess over her, maybe even start plotting. Smacking someone in the face, right out in the open? That was asking for drama.
But hey, face-slapping was practically her signature move. Serena grinned to herself—she’d better think this couplet through before she went all-in.
Serena’s silence stretched on, and her two little maids started to fidget, their anxiety nearly palpable. If their mistress bombed this, it’d be a total loss of face. They wanted to help, but...
...they were just as stumped as she was. Serena almost wanted to laugh—her backup squad was helpless too.
One maid whispered urgently, "Miss, Windchaser only gives us one incense stick’s worth of time. We’re halfway through already—if you don’t answer soon, we’ll be stuck outside!"
"I know," Serena shot back, forcing herself to focus. She stared at the couplet, lips pressed tight, pacing in tiny circles—brain whirring, nerves jangling. She refused to let herself choke under pressure.
This couplet was seriously a brain-buster... Serena felt her head start to ache.
"See, brother? She’s stuck too! I told you Windchaser is just out to embarrass people. I thought only talented ladies came here, but looks like there are bumpkins too." The pink-clad girl, seeing Serena hesitate, went all-in with her taunts—no mercy, no filter.
Bumpkin? Serena almost snorted. If not solving the couplet made you a bumpkin, what about these two? She shook her head with a smirk—what kind of family churned out a kid this clueless?
"Mira, don’t be rude," her brother scolded, but his eyes were pure indulgence. Serena caught it instantly—classic doting sibling.
Serena stepped in for a closer look. Both siblings were tall and slim, with deep-set eyes and sharp noses—a hint of foreign flair. Definitely not locals. Serena filed that away; it always paid to know who you were dealing with.
The brother gave her an apologetic smile, while Mira turned away, all pride and attitude. Serena just smiled back, unfazed—making trouble or cozying up to strangers? Not her style. Survival first, drama last.
But her maid wasn’t about to let it slide—she stepped up, ready to fire back, only for Serena to cut her off: "I’ve got the answer." Calm, collected, and just a little smug.
"Miss, you’ve got it?" The two maids lit up, grinning from ear to ear and instantly tossing the siblings out of their mental spotlight. Serena couldn’t help but enjoy the sudden shift—social dynamics, one point to her.
Serena nodded, and the server immediately offered her paper and brush. "Please, miss!"
Uh... Serena stared at the paper and brush, frozen in place.
Her handwriting was still not fit for public eyes—even the invitation she sent William Wang had been ghostwritten. If she scribbled out a row of crooked dog-crawl characters now, it would be humiliating.
"Didn't you say you had the answer? Hurry up and write!" Mira snapped when Serena didn't move for a long time, her words sharp. Serena's two maids glared furiously at Mira.
The server said nothing; after all, the incense stick hadn't burned out yet.
Just as Serena hesitated, William Wang's voice came from behind: "Qingchen, just say your answer—I'll write it for you."
As he spoke, William Wang walked elegantly to Serena's side, dipped the brush in ink, and smiled.
"Grand Heir!" The server hurriedly bowed.
"The Grand Heir is here—the Grand Heir has come!"
"It's really the Grand Heir! The Grand Heir has come to Windchaser Inn! Quick, go out and look!" People inside the inn, hearing the server's voice, began to shout and rush out, quickly crowding the entrance and pushing Mira and her brother aside.
"Greetings, Grand Heir!"
"Peace to the Grand Heir!"
...
Greetings echoed one after another. William Wang responded with gentle courtesy, nodding to each person as he was surrounded by the crowd. Yet when his gaze swept over, everyone felt as if his eyes were on them alone—even without saying a word, no one felt neglected.
William Wang seemed born to stand at the center of any crowd. As long as he wished, from nobles to commoners, anyone could become his friend.
"Brother, is that William Wang Jinling—the Wang Clan's Grand Heir?" Mira squeezed forward, her eyes glued to William Wang.
"From the way everyone greets him, it must be. No one else in the world could match the Grand Heir's grace." Her brother in the royal blue robe was full of admiration.
The Wang family's elegant young master—raising his cup, gazing at the sky, as graceful as a jade tree before the wind. That phrase, 'jade tree before the wind,' seemed made just for him.
Mira's brother sighed inwardly. William Wang had traveled and studied widely, but never visited their homeland. If only he had, befriending him would have been much easier.
"Brother, I bet Mr. Simon Shu isn't nearly as talented as the Grand Heir. If only we could invite the Grand Heir instead." Mira's eyes nearly sparkled with infatuation, her cheeks still flushed—not with anger, but with longing.
"Silly sister, as if I wouldn't want that! But he's the Wang Clan's Grand Heir—how could he ever come to our homeland?" Her brother tapped Mira's head affectionately.
Nearly everyone inside the Windchaser Inn had come out, crowding the entrance so tightly that even the manager rushed out, trying to disperse people.
But those able to enter Windchaser Inn were hardly ordinary folk—they ignored the manager's pleas. Only when William Wang spoke did the crowd quiet down, some drifting away, while a few lingered to watch Serena and William answer the couplet. Mira and her brother were among them.
[Non-novel content omitted.]
Once the crowd had mostly dispersed, Serena finally dared to speak: "I only realized today that inviting the Grand Heir out for a meal was a mistake—I should've invited you to my house instead."
But her home was far too chaotic for serious conversation; the elegant Windchaser Inn was much safer. Besides, things weren’t as they used to be—a young woman inviting William Wang Jinling to her house would spark gossip.
"Next time, we’ll choose somewhere else." William Wang Jinling didn’t mind, his smile now more sincere than before. "Serena, give your answer—the incense is already out."
"Ah… but I can’t be the one." Serena eyed the extinguished incense and asked the server, "Isn’t this a special case? Shouldn’t there be special treatment?"
If William Wang Jinling were turned away from Windchaser Inn because of her, it would be a huge embarrassment.
The server smiled and stepped forward: "Young Master, Miss Serena, Mr. Simon Shu said the situation is understandable, but you’ll need to answer one extra couplet. Please, Miss Serena, give your answer now, and Mr. Shu will pose another challenge."
Mr. Simon Shu never misses a chance to make things difficult for people." William Wang Jinling smiled wryly; clearly, he’d been challenged by Mr. Shu many times before.
Serena just wanted to get this couplet over with—William Wang Jinling could handle the next one. “The first line is: Four Directions Bridge, bridge of four directions, standing atop Four Directions Bridge looking in four directions, four directions, four directions, four and four directions. My answer: Long live the Emperor, Emperor long live, kneeling before the Emperor and shouting long live, long live, long live, long, long live!”
"Excellent, excellent answer," the crowd exclaimed in admiration.
"The lines match perfectly—truly a fine answer." Mira’s brother, the man in blue, now looked at Serena with new respect. He quietly asked someone nearby, "Who is that young lady? She seems very familiar with the Grand Heir."
Mira perked up her ears at this, her hostility toward Serena growing. Serena, for her part, had no idea the girl already saw her as a rival in love.
"You don’t know Serena Feng, Miss Serena?" scoffed someone nearby, clearly looking down on Mira’s brother.
Is there really anyone in the capital who doesn’t know Serena Feng?
"Is she really that famous?" Mira’s brother was baffled.
"Famous is an understatement—Miss Serena is renowned across three kingdoms." boasted a talkative man.
"I’m new to the capital, so I really didn’t know. Please enlighten me." Mira’s brother was earnest, and the talkative man’s eyes gleamed as he recounted Serena Feng’s rescue of William Wang Jinling at the city gate, her care for the wounded, and her exploits in the Imperial Menagerie against Princess Yara and Miss Su Wan.
"Miss Serena is not only beautiful and kind, but also skilled in both letters and arms. What of Southlyn’s Cangshan Moyun or Westlyn’s blood-sweating horses? When Miss Serena acts, even they must obey."
"Miss Serena is truly an extraordinary woman." Mira’s brother gazed at Serena with admiration—the same look Mira gave William Wang Jinling.
"Of course—how could the daughter of General Feng be anything less?" The gossiping man was proud, though he silently apologized for not mentioning Serena’s premarital scandal and broken engagement.
That… is better left unsaid.
Mira’s brother nodded repeatedly, gazing at William Wang Jinling in white and Serena in red. “The Grand Heir and Miss Serena are a perfect match. In this world, only a woman like her is worthy of the Grand Heir.”
Many agreed. Setting aside Serena’s past, the two standing together truly made a fine pair.
Of course, some were bitter—like Mira.
"A perfect match?" Nolan Dongling sat in his carriage, taking in everything outside the Windchaser Inn. His already dark face turned even blacker at these words.
Outside the carriage, not only the eunuch and driver, but even the horses were nervously pawing the ground.
For July, the weather was awfully cold!
"Master?" the eunuch asked, voice trembling.
He was puzzled—why had Nolan Dongling ordered a detour? Now he realized Miss Serena was here. He’d thought seeing her would cheer the Ninth Royal Uncle up, but…
Woe to them—would Nolan Dongling have the kitchen prepare piles of pickled vegetables again? Just thinking of that mouth-puckering sourness brought tears to the eunuch’s eyes.
"Go." Nolan Dongling shut the carriage window, as if nothing had happened.
The eunuch’s face grew even more miserable. He almost wished the Ninth Royal Uncle would get out—then the servants wouldn’t have to suffer…