Shen Wei stepped forward from the shadows, every movement calculated. Jiang Mu whimpered softly, her silk sleeve clenched in Shen Wei's grip as the cold steel of the blade brushed against her neck. Her eyes flicked around, trying to look composed, but her trembling gave her away.

Across the room, Bai Jing's gaze sharpened. His expression, once cocky and cruel, turned to glacial calm. He had not expected Jiang Mu to be brought like this, like a hostage. But his reaction was eerily composed.

Bai Jing let out a short, dry laugh.

"As I said, I came prepared," he said lightly, stepping toward the open space between them. "You were clever to bring her, Shen Wei. But you must've known I wouldn't walk in here without leverage of my own."

Gasps came from the ministers behind. One tried to move toward the chest but was quickly blocked by Bai Jing's soldiers.

"You said you would exchange. Proceed." Shen Wei said coldly, eyes never leaving Yufei.

"Give her to me, and I'll give you Jiang Mu."

Bai Jing's lips curled.

"Of course," he said smoothly.

He gave a sharp nod to his men. Two of them stepped forward, dragging Qin Yufei's chest toward Shen Wei. Shen Wei began to lower his blade from Jiang Mu's throat, readying to push her toward Bai Jing.

But Bai Jing moved first.

His fingers twitched and at once, chaos shattered the hall like glass.

The soldiers behind him surged forward, drawing swords and pushing the ministers to the ground. Cries rang out as steel clashed and boots slammed against the polished floor.

"Seize him!" Bai Jing roared. "Kill Shen Wei!"

Shen Wei reacted instantly, pulling Jiang Mu back and twisting her body in front of him as a shield. A dagger flew past his cheek, slicing the air. He ducked and leapt toward the chest, scooping Yufei up into his arms while shielding her with his own body.

All around them, shouting erupted, ministers screamed, some trying to flee, others too stunned to move. Bai Jing's troops were tightening their hold on the hall, and Shen Wei, holding Yufei, was now vastly outnumbered.

But his eyes burned with a calm, calculating fury.

He'd expected betrayal and Bai Jing had just played into his hands.

Swords flashed through the air. Shen Wei ducked behind a toppled pillar, shielding Qin Yufei's unconscious body with his cloak. His eyes, sharp as ever, scanned the battlefield forming around him.

Bai Jing's soldiers, though trained, were uncoordinated in the throne hall. They weren't palace guards, they weren't familiar with the layout, the angles, the blind corners. Shen Wei, on the other hand, had mapped this place in his mind since the first time he entered it as a young scholar.

He leaned Yufei gently against the base of the steps to the throne and drew a short blade from his waist, one hand always ready to intercept danger. His eyes didn't leave Bai Jing, who was yelling orders near the front of the hall, clearly trying to maintain control. Jiang Mu had scrambled behind a column, her hands trembling, her face ghostly pale.

Shen Wei reached into his sleeve and dropped a single jade ring to the floor, a specific kind, dull green with a small crack on the edge.

Across the hall, we could hear a signal.

Suddenly, several of the guards Bai Jing thought loyal turned their blades, not toward Shen Wei, but toward their fellow soldiers. A dozen men in plain uniforms cast off their cloaks.

Bai Jing spun around just in time to see two of his own soldiers fall, stunned.

"What?!"

Shen Wei stood, blade flashing.

"You also thought I came alone and unprepared?" he said, voice cutting through the noise like frost.

"You thought I would trade lives with a man who poisons women and calls it politics?"

Bai Jing's eyes narrowed. He saw now what he hadn't expected Shen Wei had planned all of this.

"Protect His Majesty!"

Pei Fan's voice echoed down the corridor as he and a small detachment of the palace guards poured into the hall from the far side, answering Shen Wei's signal. They moved like a tidal wave, overwhelming Bai Jing's rebels.

In the middle of it all, Shen Wei lifted Qin Yufei and cradled her against his chest, shielding her from the fight as best he could. When a blade came too close, he turned like lightning, parrying with precision before driving the attacker to the ground with a silent strike.

At the front of the hall, the emperor, still veiled by his curtain, sat motionless, coughing in stifled rage, watching the battle he could not rise to stop.

Shen Wei's voice echoed one more time across the Grand Hall.

"Seize Bai Jing alive."

And everything began to turn quickly.

Bai Jing was dragged to his knees, his wrists bound behind him with heavy chain. His fine robes were ripped at the shoulder, and blood darkened the silk near his collarbone. Shen Wei stood a few paces behind, Qin Yufei still unconscious but now safely guarded by Pei Fan's men. The hall reeked of smoke and spilled wine, and the once-regal silence of the imperial court had been shattered like porcelain.

From behind a pillar, Jiang Mu emerged. Her clothes were torn at the hem, just enough to look convincingly distressed. She paused halfway to the center, her eyes locking with Bai Jing's.

He stared at her.

"Jiang Mu..."

She didn't let him speak.

"Your Majesty," she said, falling to her knees with practiced grace.

"Please forgive me. I... I didn't know what he was planning. I swear it on my child's life."

Shen Wei narrowed his eyes slightly.

Jiang Mu's voice trembled with just the right mix of fear and dignity.

"He seduced me when I was weak, when the Crown Prince had turned cold to me. He promised me safety... and when I tried to leave, he threatened me. He said he would kill my servants. My maid... even the child! I didn't know what else to do.

— You lying snake," Bai Jing snarled, struggling against his binds. "We planned everything together!"

"No." Jiang Mu looked straight at him now, her expression cold and flat.

"You planned. I was foolish to trust you, but I never agreed to take arms against His Majesty.

— Jiang Mu," Bai Jing growled, "You knew! How dare you betray me?

— Silence!" the Emperor's voice rasped behind the curtain, though the cough that followed nearly drowned it out.

Jiang Mu's head bowed low, tears finally slipping from the corners of her eyes.

"I've been loyal, Your Majesty," she whispered. "Everything I did was for the Bai family name, for the safety of the court. I never raised a hand against the crown. I only feared him."

The ministers, already shocked, began to murmur. Could it be true? Had she been used all along? Was she merely a pawn in Bai Jing's mad ambition? Still... her child was still of royal blood...

Shen Wei said nothing... but his gaze lingered on Jiang Mu for a long, silent beat.

Bai Jing's expression twisted with fury as Jiang Mu remained knelt, shivering like a porcelain doll about to shatter. Blood trickled from his lip as he leaned forward and shouted, his voice echoing through the wrecked hall.

"She lies! She knew everything! She planned it with me! The poisons, Qin Yuli, Bai Shengli's case, she helped me with all of it!"

He turned toward the ministers, wild-eyed.

"Ask her! Ask her where she was when Qin Yufei was taken! Ask her who sent her maid to spy in the palace! She used my ambition to cover her own!"

But no one moved.

Not even the Emperor spoke. His breath rattled faintly behind the curtain, the sound of him alive but worn to the bone. After all the night's chaos, his strength was failing him fast.

Two guards came forward. Bai Jing thrashed against their grip, straining to look at Jiang Mu.

"You betrayed me, you filthy..."

She didn't flinch. Not once. Her hands folded neatly in her lap as she remained bowed, the perfect picture of a loyal and broken woman. Her tears sparkled just enough to win sympathy, not doubt.

"You'll regret this!" Bai Jing screamed as he was dragged backward toward the corridor. "You think they'll believe you forever? You think your secrets won't come out?!"

But his words dissolved into the distant clanking of his chains, growing fainter as the doors closed behind him.

Jiang Mu was left in the middle of the hall. Alone. Pale. Quiet.

The Emperor's voice came moments later, hoarse and nearly buried by his coughing.

"...Let there be an investigation. I want every room to be looked at, every servant questioned. If she's innocent, it will be proved."

He didn't say anything else. He didn't need to.

He waved his hand from behind the curtain, and an attendant stepped forward to deliver the final order.

"The Crown Princess is to return to her pavilion," the attendant said. "Until the investigation concludes, she is not to step out without the emperor's permission."

Jiang Mu lowered her head.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

She stood, eyes lowered, lips pressed together in silent gratitude. Shen Wei said nothing as she was escorted past him. But their eyes met, just for a second.

She smiled softly.

And walked on.

In a quiet side pavilion away from the wreckage of the Grand Hall, the wind rustled gently through the curtains. Shen Wei kicked the doors open with his foot, Qin Yufei limp and cold in his arms, her hair matted and her lips pale.

"Physician!" he bellowed. "Now!"

A pair of servants rushed ahead, bringing the imperial physician who had been stationed nearby on Shen Wei's orders. The old man stumbled in with his medicine box, half-asleep, only to freeze when he saw Shen Wei soaked with blood at the sleeves, a deadly shadow etched in his brows.

"Save her," Shen Wei said.

No threats, no anger. Only a tight, thin line of desperation in his voice.

The physician bent over Qin Yufei without a word, checking her pulse, lifting her eyelids. Shen Wei hovered beside the bed, watching every movement with sharp eyes.

"She's cold," the physician murmured. "But no visible trauma. No bruises. It seems she was drugged. It's a potent sleeping concoction, but not one meant to kill." He paused. "She must've been kept unconscious the entire time."

Shen Wei's jaw tightened.

"How long until she wakes?"

"She should begin to stir soon. I've used some acupoints and already prepared a warming tonic. If she can drink it, she'll recover faster."

The bowl was brought, its contents steaming faintly with bitter herbs. Shen Wei took it without hesitation, moved to the bedside, and sat down with a quiet focus. He lifted her head gently into the crook of his arm, the warmth of her skin barely perceptible.

"Yufei..." he whispered.

She didn't stir.

He dipped the spoon into the medicine, brought it to her lips, and coaxed it slowly. It took effort. She coughed faintly at first, as if her body refused to respond, but he persisted, gentle and patient, feeding her one spoon at a time.

On the fourth spoon, her eyelids fluttered.

Shen Wei froze. He leaned closer, eyes searching hers, waiting.

Her lashes twitched again. A faint sound escaped her lips, unintelligible, hoarse, but real. Her fingers curled slightly in the bedding. Her body, though still weak, was no longer entirely limp.

Shen Wei let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. He set the bowl down and brushed a strand of hair from her cheek.

"You're safe now," he said lowly. "I will protect you."

Outside, the world was still reeling from betrayal and chaos. But in this quiet corner, with Qin Yufei's breathing steadying and color slowly returning to her lips, Shen Wei allowed himself for the first time in days, to hope for peaceful days to come.

Qin Yufei's lashes trembled again. Her brow knit as if in pain, and a soft breath shuddered past her lips. Shen Wei leaned forward instantly.

"Yufei?"

Her eyes opened slowly, dazed, heavy-lidded, like someone surfacing from a deep, endless sea. She looked confused at first, staring into the dim candlelight, then toward the blurred figure hovering above her.

"Shifu..." she whispered, her voice barely audible.

"I'm here," he said gently, his hand already at her back, supporting her shoulders. "You're safe now. You're in the palace."

She struggled to move, but with effort, she sat up little by little. Her limbs trembled under her weight, and Shen Wei tried to steady her again, but this time she didn't stop.

She moved toward him.

He stilled, unsure what she needed, until she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him.

Soft, slow. Her fingers clutched at the back of his collar, her cheek pressing to his shoulder. She buried her face there, not saying a word.

Shen Wei froze.

For a moment, he didn't even breathe. His heart thundered so loudly it seemed to echo inside the silent pavilion. Slowly, almost hesitantly, his arms circled her waist. His hands awkward, brushing over the fabric of her gown.

They stayed like that, locked in silence, wrapped around each other.

He didn't ask why she held him.

She didn't dare explain.

There was nothing to be said between them yet, not after everything, not with blood still staining the halls of the palace, not when the night had barely ended.

But in that single embrace, something broken between them began to mend.

And Shen Wei closed his eyes, pulling her closer, as if to promise without words that he would never let her be taken again.