Thanks to the Wang Clan’s efforts, news of Serena Feng curing William Wang Jinling’s eye disease spread through the capital in no time.
Whether Serena Feng’s own reputation has truly risen is unclear, but both she and the Wang Clan have shed the label of ‘fraud.’
Upon hearing the result, the Empress shut herself in her palace and claimed illness, refusing to appear for half a month.
Princess Serenity was both furious and secretly delighted, prickly as a hedgehog—anyone who got close was bound to get stabbed by a few sharp words.
Ninth Royal Uncle Nolan, upon hearing the news, merely nodded and said, “She’s improved.” He said nothing more, instructed General Warren Yu to keep all the arrested agitators, and sent word to Serena Feng that, in his view, the matter should end here.
Normally, Serena Feng would never let things go so easily—after all, Sun Yijin’s death was closely tied to this whole affair.
But since Ninth Royal Uncle had spoken, Serena didn’t utter a word in protest and simply nodded to show she would comply.
Ninth Royal Uncle truly is different.
......
In stark contrast to the Wang Clan’s jubilant celebration, Serena Feng—center of all the attention—wore a face of sorrow and plain mourning white; even Feng Manor was suffused with a sense of grief.
After quietly giving Evan Zhou a few instructions, Serena Feng set off for the Sun estate.
Three days—it was finally time for her to pay her respects to Sun Yijin.
Serena Feng had no idea what the Sun family thought about Sun Yijin’s death, but she knew that even if they called her a murderer, she had no way to argue back.
When Caleb Wang and General Warren Yu heard she was going to the Sun family, they immediately insisted on accompanying her.
They were there to back Serena up, making sure she wouldn’t be bullied at the Sun estate.
Serena understood their intentions and nodded without objection.
She owed a debt to Sun Yijin, but not to the Sun family.
Though the Sun family didn’t have the deep roots of the Wang or Hsieh clans, they were still a prestigious household. Seven courtyards in a row made for an impressive sight, but now the place felt bleak. The servants and maids looked pale and rushed, hurrying about with anxious faces.
Serena didn’t know what was going on, but she understood some things were better left unasked. She glanced at General Warren Yu and Caleb Wang in confusion; both shook their heads as well.
They’d all been shut inside Feng Manor for the past three days—none of them had a clue what had happened outside.
Led by a servant, the three of them waited in a side hall for a quarter of an hour, but not a single member of the Sun family appeared.
“What’s going on with the Sun family?” Caleb Wang couldn’t hold back anymore.
If Serena Feng had come alone, he could understand being made to wait. But with both him and General Warren Yu present, the Sun family daring to keep them waiting was downright strange.
“Let’s just wait. Maybe something’s happened.”
No sooner had Serena spoken than the sound of crashing and shouting erupted from the outer courtyard.
Serena’s expression darkened, a flash of anger crossing her face.
Who would dare make such a racket during Sun Yijin’s mourning? Wasn’t the Sun family supposed to be a noble house? Where was their sense of propriety?
It didn’t take long for Serena to realize that the troublemakers were members of the Zhao family—Sun Yijin’s former fiancé’s clan.
The Zhao family had come to break off the engagement and demand the return of their betrothal gifts.
“The Zhao family is way out of line!” Caleb Wang slammed the table in anger.
At this point, he couldn’t care less about being kept waiting by the Sun family.
“It’s absolutely outrageous. The Zhao family is bullying them far too much. Sun Yijin’s body is barely cold—the first seven days haven’t even passed—and here they are causing trouble. They clearly don’t care about anyone’s feelings. I’m going out to take a look.” Serena nodded to General Warren Yu and hurried outside.
She felt a deep, indescribable guilt toward both Sun Yijin and herself. She knew that no matter what she did, she couldn’t bring Sun Yijin back, but she still wanted to do her best to make amends.
“Stop!”
Serena rushed outside and saw Zhao family thugs swinging clubs at Sun family servants—several had already been beaten to the ground.
“Stop? Who do you think you are, meddling in Zhao family business?”
Instead of stopping, the Zhao thugs got even bolder and swung a club straight at Serena’s head.
Serena was ready—she ducked low, dodged the blow, stepped forward, and drove her surgical scalpel into the attacker’s chest without blinking. Blood sprayed, and she seized his club.
“Ah… Murder! Murder! The Sun family has killed someone!”
“Murder? Fine, I’ll gladly own up to it today.” Serena hefted the club and swung it at the Zhao toughs.
Some of the Zhao thugs looked ready to fight back, but their leader suddenly dropped his club and put on a shameless rogue act. The others copied him, clearly hoping to extort compensation from the Sun family by faking injuries.
There was no way Serena Feng would fall for such a cheap trick.
Trying to pull a scam, huh?
Fine—I’ll make sure you lose everything.
Since they wanted her to hit them, she wasn’t about to hold back.
She might not be a professional fighter, but as a doctor she knew the human body inside and out. Even using just a third of her strength, she could inflict seven times the effect.
Serena targeted the most painful spots—hidden injury points that even traditional doctors couldn’t detect, not even with equipment.
At first the Zhao thugs only pretended to scream, but after Serena finished with them, their cries were the real thing.
“Ow—my mother! It hurts so bad!”
“Who is this crazy woman? Brothers, get up—grab your weapons and beat her to death!”
More than ten Zhao thugs were left sprawled on the ground, howling in pain. Except for the one stabbed with the scalpel, none of them showed any visible injuries.
“Get up? Sure, I’ll help you with that.” Serena walked over to the leader and kicked him hard in the chest.
There was a loud crack—the sternum broke.
“Ugh…” The leader let out a strangled cry, his face turning paper-white as sweat poured down. Clutching his chest, he rolled on the ground, unable to speak.
With so much commotion, even pigs would have woken up, let alone people.
Caleb Wang and General Warren Yu had followed her out, worried Serena might suffer a loss, but seeing this scene, it was clear her opponents were the ones in trouble.
“I heard she punched a servant and kicked a magistrate’s son in the crotch on her wedding-day return to the city. Looks like the rumors were true.” Caleb wiped sweat from his forehead.
He’d always heard Serena Feng was fierce, but thought it was just gossip. Seeing her today, he realized the rumors weren’t unfounded.
General Warren Yu patted Caleb’s shoulder. “You’ll get used to it. I’ve seen Serena Feng at her most ferocious.”
“Even more ferocious? Serena Feng? Come on, tell me!” Caleb was a total gossip.
General Warren Yu ignored him, his eyes fixed on Serena Feng’s club.
He was certain Serena wasn’t just swinging at random. She seemed to use little force, yet could bring down a burly man with a single blow.
Whether the thugs were faking or not, Warren could see right through it.
Pretending? Even if they tried, Serena Feng could make fake injuries real.
Serena Feng was not someone who would ever let herself be bullied. Warren figured that, aside from Ninth Royal Uncle, no one else in the empire could truly control this woman.
Serena Feng—Ninth Royal Uncle’s woman?
The more Warren thought about it, the more likely it seemed. His gaze toward Serena Feng grew subtly different.
With the imperial succession struggle intensifying, if Warren had to pick a side, he’d rather stand with Ninth Royal Uncle—and Serena Feng was the perfect intermediary...