Serena Feng was never a self-righteous woman, nor was she foolish. Refusing Ninth Royal Uncle Nolan's help and insisting on avenging herself did not mean she would charge in alone—doing so would be reckless.
One person's strength is too small. Why not use the resources she had? Before, she had always claimed to be gravely ill and unconscious. But after the fire at Feng Manor, she escaped from the flames herself. If she couldn't come up with a perfect explanation, that would be a crime of deceiving the Emperor—and deceiving the Emperor meant death.
Once Sun Zhengdao gave his definite answer, Serena began to defuse the immediate crisis and set her plans in motion.
Having suffered deeply from rumors herself, Serena understood their power. She also knew that, if used well, rumors could benefit her. Without hesitation, she ground ink and wrote two letters—one to the Hsieh Clan, one to the Wang Clan.
At last, the Wang–Hsieh Alliance would join forces again!
After all this practice, Serena's small regular script had become quite refined. Sun Zhengdao stood to the side, and when he saw what Serena was pointing out in the letter, he couldn't help but admire her.
Serena first instructed the Wang–Hsieh Alliance to spread word about Princess Yao Hua and Prince Chunyu, then had them send people to circulate the story that Serena was protected by the True Dragon—that her recovery coincided with the dragon's appearance.
Not only that, she wanted a revered monk to come forward and declare that the heavenly fire had descended to burn Feng Manor and destroy the demon who sought to harm Serena. He would also predict that within ten days, the heavenly fire would descend again—this time in broad daylight—to burn the demon's true form to ashes.
"Aren't you afraid the Emperor will blame you? And what about this so-called prophecy—can it really come true?" Sun Zhengdao was impressed by Serena's quick thinking to explain her recovery, but this was risky. What if the 'heavenly fire' she spoke of didn't appear within ten days?
Serena set down her brush, blew the ink dry, and sealed the letters. "Don't worry. If anyone is embarrassed, it'll be the Westlyn royal family—the Emperor won't care, and anyway, he'll be too busy to bother. The whole Eastlyn court will be shaken, and the Emperor will have his hands full. As for burning the demon to death, that's even less of a concern. I'll make sure Liam dies openly and in broad daylight."
If Liam Li was to die, it couldn't implicate anyone else—which was no easy task. Liam was someone the Emperor valued, and his death could only be an accident; otherwise, the Emperor would never let it go.
"Are you really ready for this?" Sun Zhengdao still worried about Serena's risky move, but seeing her determination, he didn't try to persuade her further.
"I never fight unprepared. For these past twenty days, I've been thinking about how to strike back. This is my chance. If they really managed to burn me to death, then it would have been their lucky day. Too bad I survived—now their end is coming." Serena stared coldly out the window.
"Lord Sun, I don't like conflict, and I hate trouble. As long as no one crosses my bottom line, I can ignore them. But this time, they've pushed me past what I can tolerate.
I can't deal with all those princes and royal descendants right now, so I'll use Liam Li as my blade. I want those scheming against me from the shadows to understand—bullying Serena Feng is fine, but only if they can guarantee they'll never fall into my hands." Liam had no roots or backing; if he died, aside from the Emperor's outrage, no one would stand up for him. So Serena wasn't worried at all.
Killing someone without leaving any trace wasn't a problem for her—she had a thousand ways to make a living person die 'by accident.'
"I'll have Simon Sun deliver these two letters himself," Sun Zhengdao said solemnly as he took the letters.
He knew that not a single step could go wrong. If the other side seized the initiative and accused Serena of deceiving the Emperor, that would mean her death.
Whoever strikes first wins. There was no room for softness now.
"Wait a moment." Serena picked up her brush again and wrote a short note, sealing it inside the letter to the Wang Clan. "This one must be delivered directly to the Grand Heir of the Wang family."
"Alright." Sun Zhengdao didn't know what Serena had written, but Storm Cloud Bu and Lance Quinn on the rooftop saw everything clearly.
Serena was truly formidable—she even managed to use Noble Consort Helena Hsieh's unborn child as leverage. That child was destined for greatness; so many people had their eyes on it before it was even born.
"I want to see Vincent Su. Send a servant to fetch him. And find me a house outside the city—the more remote, the better." She was ready to start making her killing tools.
"Alright, I'll have everything ready before noon." Sun Zhengdao agreed to each request, his attitude as loyal as a subordinate. He didn't find it strange, and neither did Serena—but the two men on the rooftop were left thoroughly frustrated.
"What is Sun Zhengdao's deal? I just can't figure him out." As soon as Sun left, Lance Quinn and Storm Cloud Bu also departed. Serena sat alone in her chair, lost in thought—there was nothing left for them to watch.
"He's probably a die-hard loyalist of the Phoenixfield royal line." Lance Quinn slipped into a corner, hiding himself from view—he was used to staying out of sight.
"How come there are so many fish slipping through the net? I swear, you royals really aren't that effective." Storm Cloud Bu seized the chance to tease.
Lance Quinn shot Storm Cloud Bu a glare. Neither the Lan nor the Phoenixfield clans had been wiped out, so how could their followers be gone? Lance couldn't be bothered to respond and slipped away in the opposite direction.
"Quinn, where are you going? Aren't we heading back?" Storm Cloud Bu was puzzled and hurried after him.
"This is the way out of the city. Quinn, what are you going outside for?"
"Imperial Enlightenment Temple." The noise behind him was too much, so Lance Quinn simply replied with three words.
"Imperial Enlightenment Temple? What are you going there for? Hey, wait up..." Storm Cloud Bu didn't dare raise his voice, rushing to catch up with Lance Quinn. Watching Quinn's perfect profile outside his mask, he suddenly thought, "Quinn, are you heading there to see that old bald monk?"
"So what if I am?" Lance Quinn stopped and glanced at Storm Cloud Bu, as if to say, is that so strange?
"I knew it! You're going to ask that old monk to help Serena Feng, aren't you?" Storm Cloud Bu looked smug. Lance ignored him and kept running toward the city outskirts, leaving Storm Cloud Bu thoroughly frustrated.
"Quinn, she's made it clear she doesn't care about you. Why bother? No matter what you do for her, she'll never know, and it's all for nothing. If you'd put this effort into Bao'er instead, she wouldn't be angry at you anymore."
"Bao'er is a hothouse flower—she can't stay by my side." Lance Quinn wouldn't have bothered to explain to anyone but Storm Cloud Bu.
For some reason, Storm Cloud Bu felt a vague sense of relief at those words. But then, remembering their identities, he worried aloud, "Quinn, Bao'er can't, but neither can Serena Feng. No woman of the Phoenixfield clan has ever stood beside a Lan emperor. When we restore our kingdom, if Serena is still alive, she'll be the revered Phoenixfield Queen. She won't be your woman, Quinn..."
Lance Quinn paused for a moment, saying nothing...
Restoring the kingdom is still a long way off!
He'd been working toward it all along!
No Phoenixfield woman has ever stood beside a Lan emperor—but the Phoenixfield Queen could!