Holding the Moral High Ground, the Su Clan Lacks That Power

The complainant said not to arrest anyone, so Dominic Zhai could only keep a dark face and let Yan Yifei escort Reid Yale and the Night City people away.

Seeing how arrogant those Night City people were, Dominic Zhai was furious. As soon as they left, he pointed at Serena's nose and cursed: "Serena, you useless thing! I came here to back you up, I'm not afraid of trouble, and yet you shrink away. They've bullied you right at your doorstep, and you still endure it!"

Dominic's frustration was palpable—he couldn't understand why Serena was holding back when she had such a powerful ally. If it were him, he'd have thrown all those troublemakers from Night City into jail, making sure no one ever dared to mess with Feng Manor again.

"I'm not just enduring," Serena replied. Even if she was cautious, she wasn't afraid of Reid Yale; she simply thought it unnecessary to escalate. Seeing Dominic so upset, she had to explain herself.

"Don't be angry, Young Lord Dominic. I'm not afraid of Reid Yale, and it's not that I won't fight back if attacked. It's just that arresting him now does us no good at all."

"How could it be useless? Toss him in jail to curb his arrogance, so he doesn't think he's still in Night City and can do whatever he wants." Dominic had long disliked Reid Yale—this was the perfect chance, but he couldn't act against him, which made Dominic feel it was a huge pity.

"Young Lord Dominic, you're oversimplifying things. The City Lord of Night City died in Eastlyn. No matter who's right or wrong, the Emperor won't blame Reid Yale for losing control. If you arrest him, the Emperor will just release him and then blame us."

Reid Yale lost his father and came to make trouble for her as the suspect. The Emperor would never blame him, nor would the public. Everyone would say Reid is a man of deep feeling, pure and filial.

"But we can't just let them off so easily. Reid Yale is too arrogant. Even if he suspects you're the murderer, he should report it to the authorities, not storm your house." Dominic was still upset—Reid treated Feng Manor like it was Night City, smashing and barging in whenever he pleased, as if he were still the untouchable Young City Lord.

"And what if you don't let them off? His father just died—do you really want to get into a fight with him? If we push too hard, we'll end up with casualties on our side, and then we won't have any leverage." Serena didn't want to risk lives over pride; it wasn't worth it.

'Alright, you're right.' The pain of losing a father could explain irrational actions, both emotionally and logically. Dominic was frustrated but couldn't refute her.

'If I locked up Reid Yale, the Emperor would have to pay an even higher price to appease Night City later. We can't let him profit from this.'

'Exactly. That's why we can't just lock up Reid Yale; we have to show understanding for his actions. He holds the emotional advantage, so we need to hold the legal and moral ground. Otherwise, just his father's death would be enough to give us headaches.' Serena signaled the servants to tidy up outside Feng Manor.

'Jada Tang, register the number of injured and all the damages to our manor.' Once the truth comes out, she'll go settle accounts with Night City.

Jada Tang and Mira Tang had served Serena the longest and understood her intentions best. They immediately replied, 'Don't worry, Miss. We'll keep careful records and won't let you down.'

By 'careful records,' they meant exaggerating the values by at least tenfold. After enough time passed, no one would remember the real numbers—whatever they wrote down now would be 'evidence.'

'Smart.' Serena praised them, then invited William Wang Jinling, Dominic Zhai, and Zuo An into the manor. When she saw Zuo An, her gaze lingered on him for a moment, but she said nothing—she only gave Reid Yale a meaningful smile.

Dominic Zhai watched Serena and her maids converse, looking confused. He turned to William Wang Jinling, hoping for an explanation, but William only smiled. When he looked to Zuo An, Zuo An ignored him and disappeared as soon as he entered the manor.

'Serena, what are you going to do next? The City Lord of Night City was killed by your usual hidden weapon. By law, you'll be detained.' As soon as they entered, Dominic Zhai couldn't wait to ask.

The death of the City Lord of Night City put Serena in a bad position—there were no witnesses, but the physical evidence pointed to her as the killer. If she couldn't find favorable evidence, she'd undoubtedly become the murderer in everyone's eyes.

Reid Yale was out of his mind today. If he'd gone straight to the palace to accuse her, even with Ninth Royal Uncle Nolan protecting Serena, the law would require her to be detained.

'I'm not going to do anything. With the City Lord's death, I'm the prime suspect—every move I make is being watched, and the more I do, the more mistakes I might make. Besides, my contest with Rose Su is in ten days. Until then, the Emperor won't touch me.' Serena could only admit her luck was terrible—one crisis after another.

During the Lantern Festival, she brought Rose Su into the palace to meet Imperial Noble Consort Helena, who, as Serena expected, treated Rose Su politely and offered subtle hints.

Rose Su was very confident in her hypnosis skills. Not long after leaving the palace, she proposed the riding and archery contest, which the Emperor approved to be held ten days later at the Imperial Menagerie Grounds.

She planned to use those ten days to arrange surgery for Victor Yun and devote the rest to riding practice, then leave for the Shandong Circuit after the contest. But the City Lord's assassination upended all her plans.

As expected, plans can't keep up with changes!

'That's right, I almost forgot. Your contest with Rose Su is coming up, but with all this happening, it might affect your condition. If you lose, it won't look good.' Dominic Zhai was always missing the point—Serena mentioned the contest, and he immediately started worrying about it.

'If I lose, so be it. I'm not staking my family's reputation like the Su clan. Win or lose, I'm still the biggest winner—the contest isn't the point. The point is we have ten days, and in those ten days, we might find the real killer.' If not for the contest, she'd already be in jail. As things stood, she was the only suspect, and the Emperor would have to detain her just to save face and appease Night City.

'Serena's right—we have ten days. In that time, we must do everything we can to find the real killer. Otherwise, Serena won't be able to clear her name.' If no one else was found, Serena would be the murderer by default.

William Wang Jinling thought of Zuo An's sudden appearance and couldn't help feeling a vague unease, though he said nothing.

'Do you think the Su clan could have done it? After all, they're related to Night City by marriage. If they wanted to kill the City Lord, they could easily arrange an inside job.' Dominic speculated boldly, earning confused looks from William and Serena.

'What's wrong? Is my guess off? If the Su clan killed the City Lord and framed Serena, it would mess up her performance in the contest and let the Su clan tighten their grip on Night City. Reid's mother is a Su, and he likes Su Wan. This way, the Su clan could take over Night City without lifting a finger.' Dominic felt nervous under William and Serena's stares and hurried to explain.

Dominic's explanation actually made some sense, but he forgot one thing—this was Eastlyn territory. The Su clan didn't have the power to pull off such a big move here.