Sweet Dumpling has gone to Mystic Healer Valley, Little Dumpling and William Wang Jinling are off traveling, and with no one left to keep them company, Prince Nolan and Serena Feng have no choice but to throw themselves into state affairs...
Prince Nolan has already finalized the battle plan against Northlyn, while Serena is working with Victor Yun and Caleb Wang on opening new clinics and founding a medical academy, all while keeping up with the latest prosthetics research.
Having accepted favors from Master Marcus Wynn and Eugene Yun, Serena naturally has to do her best; now that she’s received their help, she can’t just leave them hanging.
Without the Smart Med‑Pack, Serena can no longer summon many medicines or tools; aside from minor surgeries, there’s little she can do. For a while, Serena was quite discouraged. Fortunately, she soon adjusted her mindset and began working energetically to push medical research forward.
Everything in this world starts from nothing. Even Western medicine in foreign countries was built up bit by bit—if Westerners can do it, there’s no reason we in the East can’t. Besides, traditional Chinese medicine is vast and profound; if we can truly establish a complete system and teaching structure, maybe in the future Western medicine won’t even be needed.
Serena never admits defeat easily, nor does she give up lightly. Over the years, she’s written down everything she knows, guiding her colleagues with research directions.
The Valley Master has always been a madman for medicine—he managed to pioneer limb-replacement research all on his own before. Now, with Serena’s ideas as guidance, he can avoid many detours.
Over the past few years, Dr. Marcus Guile and Dr. Redwater have leaned more toward teaching; they’ve been planning to compile a medical textbook, and Serena’s proposed research fits perfectly with their ambitions.
So, aside from Simon Sun and Ling Mo traveling everywhere, everyone else has relocated to Mystic Healer Valley. With a whole group working together and pooling their wisdom, progress is much faster than when the Valley Master was struggling alone.
Mystic Healer Valley is full of old men—like Elder Zhai and Marshal Steele. The younger crowd includes people like Dongling Ziluo and the Lizardman Smith, but there isn’t a single soft, adorable girl like Sweet Dumpling around.
Princess Serenity has long since married; she’s far removed from the world of cute little girls.
The moment Sweet Dumpling arrived at Mystic Healer Valley, everyone there—from the Valley Master down to the sweeper boys—adored her. Princess Serenity especially couldn’t get enough of this soft, cuddly child and wished she could take Sweet Dumpling home as her own daughter.
"If I could have a child, I’d gladly trade ten years of my life." Sweet Dumpling’s arrival stirred Serenity’s longing for children. When her husband heard this, he hugged Serenity tightly and said, "If you want, we can adopt one. Master says the State Orphanage has many infants who’ve just been born."
He understood what Serenity truly meant—she wanted him to take a concubine and have a child. But he simply couldn’t bring himself to do it.
"Adoption still wouldn’t make them our own child." Serenity shook her head. She was willing to help care for children at the State Orphanage, but she didn’t want to adopt.
Forgive her narrowness, but in her eyes, the bond of blood is irreplaceable.
"Why don’t you have a child yourself?" Serenity forced herself to say what she’d never wanted to.
Even as a princess, if she couldn’t bear children, she couldn’t stop her husband from taking a concubine. Let alone now, when she’d lost her title long ago.
In the eyes of the world, she and her royal brother were already considered dead.
"That still wouldn’t make them our child." Serenity’s husband refused firmly.
"But that would be your child, and I’d treat them well." Tears glistened in Serenity’s eyes. She didn’t want this, but she had no other choice.
"Having you is enough for me." Serenity’s husband took her hand. "If you like Lily so much, let’s invite her to stay at our home for a couple of days. I’m sure the Valley Master will agree."
Serenity’s husband dragged her into the crowd vying for Sweet Dumpling. Before he could even speak, the Valley Master pulled him aside: "Tell me, am I not the master of Mystic Healer Valley? Doesn’t that mean I decide where Sweet Dumpling stays?"
Uh... well, about that.
Serenity’s husband looked up at the sky, thinking that maybe trying again for a child would be easier than trying to steal Sweet Dumpling away to their home...
Sweet Dumpling was adored by every grandpa and uncle in Mystic Healer Valley, and she herself loved it there. She wrote to Serena and Prince Nolan, telling them not to worry—she’d study hard in the Valley and become just as impressive as her brother Little Dumpling.
Of course, at the end of her letter, Sweet Dumpling never forgot to say how much she missed her parents...
"Why do I feel like our daughter’s grown up and is about to leave us to get married?" Serena stared at the letter—anyone would be lying if they said they weren’t a little sad.
Here they were, worrying about Sweet Dumpling every day, while she was having so much fun at Mystic Healer Valley that she didn’t even want to come home.
"Who says she’s leaving? No matter how old she gets, Sweet Dumpling will always be our daughter." Just thinking about her growing up and marrying into another family made Prince Nolan deeply unhappy.
He’d like to see which reckless young man dared to set his sights on his daughter.
"What do you think if I go keep Sweet Dumpling company? I’ve hit a snag with something I was writing, and I’d like to discuss it with the Valley Master and the others." Serena, unlike Prince Nolan, hoped her daughter would one day find someone who truly understood and cherished her. But until Lily got married, Serena wanted to spend as much time with her as possible—after that, Lily would belong to another family.
"Absolutely not!" Prince Nolan refused without hesitation, tightening his grip around Serena’s waist. "If you miss Sweet Dumpling, just write and ask her to come home."
With both son and daughter gone, and now Serena wanting to leave too, Prince Nolan had no desire to be left all alone.
"I can’t bear to have Lily traveling back and forth so much." The journey from the capital to Mystic Healer Valley was no short trip.
"Wait two years. When Little Dumpling takes the throne, I’ll go with you." Prince Nolan wished he could bring Little Dumpling back right now to govern, so he could take Serena to Mystic Healer Valley to be with Lily.
But it wasn’t possible yet—he hadn’t cleared away all the obstacles.
Serena nodded emphatically. Two years wasn’t long; she could wait. Besides, she still had plenty of work to do and couldn’t get away anytime soon.
"Two years it is. I’ll finish up the Northlyn situation by year’s end and call Sihang back." Incorporating Northlyn into the empire was only a matter of time—it was important to prepare ahead.
"Mm." Only then was Prince Nolan satisfied, loosening his grip on Serena. He was already scheming to keep Little Dumpling confined to the palace in two years’ time.
With a godfather who looked the part of a gentleman but was sly as a fox, Prince Nolan never believed Little Dumpling would obediently let himself be manipulated, even if he were to ascend the throne at ten years old...
No one knows a son like his father. Prince Nolan understood Little Dumpling all too well. But as for who would come out on top in their contest of wits, only time would tell...