Raising Funds, Even the Landlord Has No Spare Silver

When Serena Feng heard Vincent Su mention that Lance Quinn had joined the betting pool, she wasn’t surprised at all. Lance Quinn always had his own agenda—how could he pass up a chance to scoop up some silver? Prince Damien of Southlyn was clearly scheming to manipulate the outcome and cash in, but he just bet on the wrong horse, that’s all.

Now it all made sense to Serena Feng—why Lance Quinn was so focused on the contest. He was worried about the money! With such a golden opportunity, it’d be a waste not to take advantage. If her own identity weren’t so sensitive and she could place a bet, she’d have wagered on herself too. She could’ve cleaned up, big time.

Two million taels of silver was no small sum for Serena Feng. She didn’t even have twenty thousand taels on hand, let alone two hundred thousand. She still owed Vincent Su a fortune. As for the profits from selling Prenatal Formula, the Young family hadn’t settled accounts with her yet—and even if they did, it wouldn’t be nearly enough.

Serena sent someone to ask Victor Yun, and the news she got back was that her share would be around six hundred thousand taels. If she needed it urgently, Victor Yun could front her a hundred thousand taels right away.

"So that covers everything except the last hundred thousand taels," Serena said. Solving the bulk of the shortfall was a relief, but scraping up that final hundred thousand would be the hardest part.

"Right, still a hundred thousand taels short. Let me think of something," Vincent Su replied. After all, it was his own problem—he couldn’t keep bothering Serena Feng. Besides, none of the people Serena knew could just conjure up a hundred thousand taels at a moment’s notice.

The Wang clan had money, sure, but that silver belonged to the clan, not William Wang personally. Even if William wanted to use it, he’d have to make it official, and getting that kind of cash together wasn’t easy.

"Don’t worry, it’s not over yet—we still have time," Serena Feng said, seeing Vincent Su’s anxious, pale face. She tried to reassure him.

Vincent Su managed a bitter smile and nodded. "Honestly, I should thank the Menagerie fire. If it weren’t for that mess, the betting pool would’ve closed ages ago."

"Uh... I wouldn’t put it that way," Serena Feng said, a headache coming on. "The Chess Match still isn’t settled. The Su clan could keep dragging things out. Who knows, maybe they’ll manage to turn the tables after all."

Of course, at worst it’d just end in a draw.

Vincent Su panicked when he heard that, grabbing Serena Feng’s hand. "Serena, please—I’m begging you, don’t let the Su clan get a chance to flip the game. If they do, I’m finished. Serena, I can’t afford to lose!"

"That’s not up to me," Serena Feng said, pulling her hand back with some effort.

Honestly, aside from the Ninth Royal Uncle, Serena wasn’t used to people grabbing her hand—especially not with Vincent Su’s iron grip. Her hand was starting to ache.

"Oh no, what am I supposed to do? Don’t tell me I have to scrape up another two hundred thousand taels just in case?" Vincent Su was nearly in tears—he couldn’t even manage the first hundred thousand.

"No need. You could try asking Lance Quinn—I bet he has a way to keep the Su clan from making a comeback," Serena Feng suggested, half-joking.

She really wasn’t trying to be petty.

Sigh... She’d spent so much effort and medical skill, only to earn a little bit of silver, while Lance Quinn could casually place a bet and rake in two or three hundred thousand taels. She couldn’t help but envy him.

"Right, right, right—go ask Lance. Let him handle it." Vincent Su was quick to agree with Serena Feng’s idea. He couldn’t sit still anymore, joked with Serena about sending her silver bills over soon, and rushed off to keep raising money.

Serena Feng promised repeatedly. As soon as Vincent Su left, she sent someone to notify Victor Yun that she needed a hundred thousand taels.

Vincent Su looked both grateful and relieved. Seeing Serena Feng bored out of her mind in her sickroom, he immediately pawned off his little brother: "Serena, since you’re so bored, I’ll have Wenhang come keep you company. That kid’s been whining about missing you every day."

"Please don’t..."

Serena Feng had just started to refuse when Vincent Su slipped away, leaving her feeling both helpless and annoyed. Sure, she was bored, but not so bored she wanted to play mother to the Su family’s little brother.

Too bad Vincent Su didn’t understand Serena’s feelings at all. That very afternoon, he sent Ethan Su Wenhang over. Ethan was thoughtful and clearly adored Serena, but at the end of the day, he was still just a kid.

Serena Feng didn’t dislike Ethan Su Wenhang and was happy to play with him now and then, but only occasionally—not as a permanent babysitter.

Taking care of kids was the worst. In her previous life at the orphanage, Serena Feng had looked after so many children she was sick of it.

Vincent Su dropped Ethan Su Wenhang off at Feng Manor, freeing himself from any further worries and throwing himself into raising more silver outside. But scraping together that last hundred thousand taels was turning out to be nearly impossible.

He couldn’t sell off shops or houses, couldn’t borrow from fellow merchants, and absolutely couldn’t let the news get out. If even a whisper leaked, the Su clan’s reputation and credit would be destroyed.

Merchants care about profit, but reputation is just as important. Without credit, what would the Su clan have left?

With so many worries and restrictions, Vincent Su ran around for days and still only managed to scrape together a tiny bit. Out of options, he finally had to turn to Lance Quinn for help.