Internal Strife and the Need for a Scapegoat

The news of Master Wenyuan's death can be kept from ordinary people for now, but not from those who are watching closely. Every move Prince Nolan makes is under countless eyes, and anything that happens in broad daylight is impossible to hide from them.

Prince Damien of Southlyn received the news immediately. Lying in bed, his face dark and gloomy, he actually managed a rare smile—his narrow eyes glinting like a fox that’s spotted its prey, both cold and greedy.

“Hahaha... Prince Nolan, this is only the beginning. Don’t think that supporting that bastard Nathan will protect you. Just wait—soon everyone will spit on your name!”

That pale face flushed with a hint of color from his smile, a flash of cruelty passing through his eyes. Prince Damien turned to the person beside him and said, “Go, call Reid Yale here. Tell the witch doctor that if he can’t cure me soon, I’ll feed him to the snakes.”

"Yes." A beautiful woman, completely naked, crawled down from the foot of the bed. She dressed quickly and withdrew respectfully. On closer inspection, though she acted obedient, her eyes were empty—just like a walking corpse.

Aside from Prince Damien, there were plenty in Eastlyn and Westlyn keeping close watch on this incident. William Wang Jinling was Master Wenyuan’s disciple; the news of his teacher’s death could be hidden from everyone else, but not from him.

When William Wang Jinling learned of it, he ignored all opposition from the Wang clan and set out for the border overnight.

As a disciple, he had to see his teacher off one last time. As a disciple, he also had to seek justice for Master Wenyuan. If anyone tries to use his teacher’s death as a tool for schemes, they’ll have to answer to the teacher’s disciples.

Gentle as jade, the Wang clan’s Grand Heir showed no effort to hide his killing intent. Yet in front of outsiders, his face remained calm—no one could tell what he was thinking.

In Westlyn, the one watching Prince Nolan’s every move was the Princess Royal. Ever since Prince Nolan ruined her alliance with Prince Damien and crippled him, she’d begun to take him seriously.

Before this, the Princess Royal hadn’t taken Prince Nolan seriously at all. A man with no hope of rising—what did a flashy reputation matter? But now... she understood: anyone who could quietly cripple Prince Damien was far more dangerous than she’d imagined.

Before this, everyone thought Prince Nolan’s fame was just a trap set by the Eastlyn Emperor to destroy him, but now it’s clear—that was his camouflage.

The royals believe that barking dogs don’t bite—the ones who shout about seizing the throne all day aren’t worth worrying about. It’s those who work in silence, pulling allies into their camp, who are truly terrifying.

But Prince Nolan did the opposite—he put everything out in the open, so people wouldn’t pay him much attention. By the time they finally did, it was already too late.

The Princess Royal of Lyndaria had been waiting for a chance to strike back at Prince Nolan. Now, hearing that Master Wenyuan died under his protection, how could she not be pleased?

“Even the heavens are helping me. Go—spread this news to Jixia Academy and stir up the students there, send them to the Eastlyn border.” Only chaos would make this big enough. With all those scholars and celebrities joining in, she wouldn’t have to lift a finger—Prince Nolan’s reputation would be ruined. Then let’s see who’d still dare to follow him.

“At once, Your Highness.” The Princess Royal’s confidant took the order. As soon as he left, Master Ian Reed received the news.

Being married has its perks—if Master Ian Reed weren’t the royal consort, if he didn’t live with the Princess Royal, there’s no way he’d have gotten the news so fast.

Master Wenyuan was the spiritual leader of students everywhere, and Master Ian Reed respected him deeply. When he heard of Master Wenyuan’s death, Master Ian Reed went to the Flower Boat and drank all night, sending off the saint in his heart.

Whether for public or private reasons, Master Ian Reed couldn’t accept the Princess Royal using Master Wenyuan’s death to stir up trouble.

“Master is dead, and these people still disturb his peace. Unforgivable!” Without another word, Master Ian Reed wrote a letter to Prince Nolan, then picked up his brush again to draft a memorial requesting Titus be named Crown Prince.

In Lyndaria’s royal family, Prince Titus is the only direct heir. By raising this issue now, Master Ian Reed is clearly leading the charge for Titus.

With the chief civil official of Lyndaria taking the lead, the rest would naturally follow. No matter how much the Princess Royal tried to interfere, it would be useless.

Meanwhile, Southlyn and Northlyn also received the news. But the two kingdoms were already at war over the Northlyn Imperial Jade Seal. Even if they wanted to take advantage of the chaos, they were powerless to act.

Still, the waters were already turbulent—one more or one less player wouldn’t make much difference.

Prince Nolan knew the situation only seemed calm on the surface; beneath, currents were surging. Every faction wanted to use this to crush him. If he mishandled it, ten years of effort would be wasted, and he’d have to start over from scratch.

Right now, finding the killer was key. If the culprit could be found, it would at least calm the anger of House Zhan and Jixia Academy for a while. But Serena and Yana Zhan had compared every adult’s fingerprints in the city, and still hadn’t found a match.

“Could that person have vanished into thin air?” Serena couldn’t help but ask herself.

She knew the killer was here, but the culprit was so cunning that even with clues in hand, she was at a loss.

“If only my senior sister were here. With her professional skills, maybe she could sketch the killer’s portrait.” Serena was nearly tearing her hair out with worry.

Day after day passed. Serena didn’t know much about criminal investigation, but she did know that the first seventy-two hours were critical for catching the killer. After that, clues and evidence would only grow scarcer, and finding the culprit would be even harder.

“Don’t worry too much—it’s not as bad as you think.” Prince Nolan saw that Serena had lost so much weight in just three days, and his heart ached for her.

He was grateful that Serena stood by his side in this moment, facing it all together. He knew—even if he fell to the bottom, this woman would stay with him, waiting for a chance to rise again, or even share his despair.

“But three days have passed. If you don’t find the killer, what will you offer House Zhan?” Serena was truly exhausted, her eyes red from sleepless nights. Seeing Prince Nolan beside her, she reached out and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head against him without thinking.

This man might seem cold and unapproachable, but for some reason, Serena felt safest leaning on him. Even if the sky fell, he wouldn’t even frown—he’d hold it up for her.

Prince Nolan gently patted Serena’s back and lowered his voice: “The Zhan family is reasonable. Don’t worry.”

But the more reasonable people are, the harder they are to deal with—because they can’t be fooled. It’s not easy to push someone forward to take the blame with them around.

Even the most reasonable people can’t stay calm in a situation like this. House Zhan only held such a lofty position because of Master Wenyuan. Now that he’s gone, and with no one to take his place, their family has lost half its strength—they’ll never just let this go." For three days, Serena had stayed with Yana Zhan, using the chance to learn more about the family’s situation.

The Zhan family was not so easy to appease. As things stood, it was a bad situation for Prince Nolan—if the killer wasn’t found, House Zhan would surely hold him responsible.