Once Xueyi was safely in his grasp, Jin Wei did not look back.
His arm tightened around her for a fleeting second—just enough to assure himself she was unharmed—before his expression hardened into something cold and merciless. He handed her over to two of his most trusted guards.
"Stay with her," he ordered, voice low and lethal. "If even a strand of her hair is harmed, you will answer with your lives."
"Yes, General!" they replied in unison.
Only then did Jin Wei turn away.
Outside the estate, screams echoed through the corridors. Jin Wei's soldiers moved like shadows, efficient and ruthless, cutting down every guard who had dared stand watch over this place. Not a single man was spared. Blood stained the stone floors, a silent testament to the price of touching what belonged to him.
Unaware of the massacre unfolding beyond his walls, the Crown Prince sat calmly in his chambers, sipping tea, laughter drifting lightly from his lips as two attendants stood nearby.
The door burst open.
Before anyone could react, Jin Wei was already inside.
Steel flashed.
The two men collapsed to the ground before they even understood what had happened, blood spreading beneath their lifeless bodies. The teacup slipped from the Crown Prince's trembling fingers, shattering against the floor.
"J–Jin Wei?!" he gasped, stumbling back.
Panic overtook him as he grabbed a sword, swinging it wildly. But against Jin Wei, his movements were clumsy, desperate—pathetic.
Within seconds, Jin Wei disarmed him and sent him crashing to the ground.
The Crown Prince coughed, fear finally breaking through his arrogance.
"Y-You can't hurt me!" he shouted. "I am the Crown Prince!"
Jin Wei stepped closer, his gaze dark and unforgiving.
"I don't see a Crown Prince," he replied coldly.
"I only see the man who dared to touch my wife."
He raised his sword.
The blade hovered inches from the Crown Prince's neck.
Before it could fall—
"Enough!"
The King's voice thundered through the room.
Jin Wei froze and turned slowly.
The King stood at the doorway, surrounded by guards, his expression grim. Disappointment flickered across Jin Wei's face—not surprise, not relief, but something far more bitter.
"You never arrived," Jin Wei said quietly, venom lacing every word,
"not once—when I needed you."
He laughed softly, hollow and sharp.
"But for this useless son of yours, you even left the palace."
The King said nothing.
Jin Wei tightened his grip on the sword and spoke again, voice trembling with restrained fury.
"I only wanted his hands," he said.
"The hands that touched something that was mine."
Silence followed.
Finally, the King spoke, his tone heavy.
"Leave. Today is your wedding day. I promise—you will have justice."
Jin Wei stared at him for a long moment before lowering his sword. Without another word, he turned and walked away, heading back toward the room where Xueyi waited for him.
The moment Jin Wei disappeared from sight—
*Slap.*
The sound echoed violently.
The Crown Prince was thrown to the ground, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
The King looked down at him with disgust.
"From this moment on," he declared,
"you are stripped of your title."
The room went deathly still.
"You are no longer the Crown Prince ."
Xueyi's POV
Jin Wei did not speak to me when he came back.
Not a single word.
He lifted me onto the horse himself, his hands firm but careful, as if afraid even the smallest pressure might hurt me. I sat stiffly, unsure where to place my hands, my heart pounding harder than it had during the chaos in the estate.
I had never ridden a horse before.
The realization came too late.
The animal shifted beneath me, powerful and unfamiliar, and for a moment panic crept up my spine. But I swallowed it down. This was not the time to complain—not after everything that had happened.
Jin Wei walked beside the horse instead of riding it.
His long strides were steady, unhurried, his armor faintly stained, his expression unreadable. He didn't look at me, didn't ask if I was afraid, didn't even acknowledge the silence stretching between us.
It was heavier than any words.
The night air was cold, biting against my skin, but I stayed straight-backed, forcing myself to endure the ache in my legs and the fear in my chest. Each step of the horse felt uncertain, yet I refused to falter. I had already been saved—I would not burden him now.
He was deep in thought.
I could feel it in the way his jaw was clenched, in the way his eyes remained fixed ahead, sharp and distant, as if he were still standing in that room with his sword raised.
I wondered what thoughts haunted him.
Whether he regretted saving me.
Whether he is wondering about rumors.
By the time the Yang residence finally came into view, my body ached in places I didn't know could hurt. Relief washed over me so suddenly that my hands trembled.
Jin Wei stopped the horse himself.
Only then did he look at me.
"Rest," he said simply.
His voice was calm, controlled—too controlled.
"It's not dawn yet. You'll need your strength for the wedding."
That was all.
No comfort.
No explanation.
No apology.
He helped me down, his grip steady, his touch brief. I nodded silently, afraid that if I spoke, something inside me might break.
As I walked toward my room, I realized something with quiet certainty.
Jin Wei had brought me home safely—
but whatever storm raged inside him,
he had locked it away far deeper than I could reach.