Collision with a Rich and Arrogant Young Master

Serena's caution was not misplaced. Not long after she left the palace, six men emerged from behind the wall—three of them the Three Excellencies, and the other three military generals.

The six approached. Seeing that the Taishang Emperor's mood had stabilized, a white-haired elder stepped forward on behalf of the group and said, "Taishang Emperor, this matter has passed. Please focus on your health. We take our leave."

"Ah, ah, ah..." The Taishang Emperor opened his mouth desperately, his gaze no longer sharp as before—now he was just a fading old man, frantically trying to prove himself.

It was Eastlyn that ruined him.

"Ah..." The more anxious the Taishang Emperor became, the less he could articulate, waving his hand helplessly in the air.

Sigh... The white-haired elder let out a breath, stepped forward to hold the Taishang Emperor's hand, and said earnestly, "Taishang Emperor, you need to rest now. As long as you regain your health, everything will be fine."

He knew it was impossible, but the elder still tried to comfort the Taishang Emperor this way.

During the young Emperor's enthronement, they sided with Ninth Royal Uncle, but that didn't mean they disregarded the Taishang Emperor.

For the stability of Eastlyn, of course they hoped the Taishang Emperor would continue to rule. After all, a child ascending the throne is bad for the nation. But...

The Taishang Emperor's health truly couldn't bear the burden of ruling a nation. If not for this, they wouldn't have silently agreed to Ninth Royal Uncle's actions, or even secretly supported him.

The Three Excellencies were loyal to the late Emperor's chosen heir, but even more so to Eastlyn itself. They would never do anything to harm Eastlyn.

"Ah..." The Taishang Emperor's eyes reddened. He gripped the elder's hand tightly, his eyes full of unspeakable regret and unwillingness.

Why? Why was this the truth? Why didn't Serena drag Ninth Royal Uncle into this—why?

Before Serena even returned to Feng Manor, Ninth Royal Uncle already knew what had happened in the palace.

"Empress Dowager Xie?" Ninth Royal Uncle spat out the words coldly. "I've been too lenient with her—she dares to scheme right under my nose."

The man in black, kneeling below, pressed his head even lower and silently prayed that Ninth Royal Uncle would hurry up and send him away. Kneeling here was a true test of mental endurance.

Clearly it was Empress Dowager Xie and the Taishang Emperor who angered Ninth Royal Uncle, so why was he the one suffering under Ninth Royal Uncle's icy presence?

Unfortunately, Ninth Royal Uncle didn't hear his silent plea. He let the man kneel, tapping his fingers lightly on the table. Half a stick of incense later, he finally spoke: "Replace all of Empress Dowager Xie's attendants with new people. Move the Emperor to the Hall of Virtuous Enlightenment."

Empress Dowager Xie wanted to scheme for herself and her son, so Ninth Royal Uncle would simply separate them. He'd already warned her: only those who keep their heads down survive in the palace. Since she wouldn't listen, he wouldn't be polite.

The man in black nodded quickly in agreement. Just as he thought he could finally leave, Ninth Royal Uncle added, "With Empress Dowager Xie's current status, it's not appropriate for her to stay in Radiant Hall. Have her accompany the Taishang Emperor instead."

It was perfectly reasonable for the Empress Dowager to attend to the Taishang Emperor, especially given his current state—he needed her care.

But for Empress Dowager Xie, this was nothing short of torment.

Ninth Royal Uncle's move was truly ruthless.

The man in black sucked in a breath, not daring to say a word—he could only nod.

Empress Dowager Xie was out of luck this time. Who would've thought that cooperating with the Taishang Emperor would land her in such trouble? Who knows if she'll regret it to death.

The man in black shook his head, but he didn't pity Empress Dowager Xie. He knew full well that if Miss Feng had gotten cocky and fallen for the Taishang Emperor's trap—if she had said the Taishang Emperor's illness was related to Ninth Royal Uncle, or failed to explain it clearly—then all the trouble would have landed on Ninth Royal Uncle.

Serena herself knew nothing of this. Right now, she was busy thinking about Liancastle. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't figure out what grudge she had with Liancastle that made them spend so much just to kill her.

"To Ninth Prince Manor." Unable to figure it out, Serena told the coachman to head for Ninth Royal Uncle's residence.

The coachman paused for a moment, then immediately turned the horse around. But Serena's luck was off today—just as the carriage was turning, it collided head-on with another carriage at the corner...

With a loud bang, everyone was startled. Though the carriage didn't overturn, the sudden stop nearly threw Serena out.

"What happened?" Serena tumbled forward, but her quick reflexes let her grab the handrail and avoid being thrown from the carriage.

"Miss, the carriages crashed." The coachman had been thrown from the carriage, his head bleeding, but he ignored his own injuries and rushed to explain to Serena.

Serena lifted the curtain and jumped out. "No one was hurt, right?" she asked.

"No, just the other carriage was damaged." The coachman answered quickly, standing off to the side with his head lowered, afraid Serena would blame him.

Serena glanced at the damaged carriage, then at her bloodied coachman. She swallowed her rebuke and asked, "Where are you hurt? Lift your head, let me take a look."

"Miss, I'm fine." The coachman's eyes grew hot—he nearly burst into tears. He hadn't expected Serena to show concern for his injuries instead of blaming him.

"Lift your head." With all that blood, there was no way he was fine. Serena thought about the medicine chest in the carriage and turned to fetch it, but just then a deep male voice came from the other carriage: "Miss, shouldn't you be more concerned about the person you hit?"

Judging by the voice, it was a young man. Serena surveyed the scene and saw her side was at fault, so she told the coachman to go to the medical hall and get his wounds bandaged, then stepped forward to apologize: "Young Master, I'm truly sorry for crashing into your carriage. I'll pay for all the damages. It looks like your carriage can't move—if you're not in a hurry, please wait a moment and I'll have another carriage sent for you."

The young man didn't respond. Instead, a woman snapped, "Pay? How arrogant! Do you even have enough money to cover this carriage?"

"No matter how much silver it takes, I'll pay." Even if the other party was rude, Serena refused to be rude in return.

The other carriage was indeed quite luxurious—clearly expensive. But the compartment wasn't damaged, only the wheel; a replacement would fix it.

By comparison, Serena's carriage was far more battered, showing just how much sturdier the other carriage was than hers.

"Red Sleeve, don't be rude." The young man chided her softly, though there wasn't much reproach in his tone. The woman called Red Sleeve muttered in protest, "Young Master, I wasn't wrong—she really can't afford it."

"Enough, Red Sleeve, let Young Master handle it." A gentle woman spoke up, trying to comfort her. Her voice was soft—Serena only heard it because she was close by.

From their conversation, it was clear the two women were servants, and the young man was their master. Serena had no intention of arguing with servants and continued, "Young Master, I know crashing into your carriage can't be resolved with money alone. The fault is mine—if you have any requests, let me know. I'll do my best to make it right."

"Hmph, such arrogance! Can you really fulfill any request?" Red Sleeve couldn't stay quiet, her spoiled voice ringing out again. Serena frowned slightly, displeasure flickering in her eyes.

Judging by how Red Sleeve addressed the young man, she was likely a maid—and to spoil a maid so much, that young man clearly wasn't one for strict rules.

"Red Sleeve, enough." The young man scolded her again, a little more sternly, though still without real displeasure. Then he asked, "Miss, are you saying you'll agree to any request I make?"

Serena suppressed her annoyance and replied patiently, "Crashing into your carriage was our fault. If your request is reasonable, I'll do my best to fulfill it."

Serena put special emphasis on the word 'reasonable,' but the young man acted as if he hadn't heard, and softly made a request that left Serena very unhappy...