Chapter XXXV - Panic
The study became unbearably quiet after that.
Warm candlelight flickered softly across Prince Rui’s scars while Shen Li remained kneeling close before him, medicine cloth still pressed lightly against his reopened wound.
And Prince Rui looked at her like this.
Dangerously.
Deeply.
As though every thread of restraint already frayed thin.
Shen Li’s heartbeat lost composure instantly.
Yet before she could respond—
hurried footsteps suddenly shattered the moment.
“Your Highness!”
A guard burst through the outer doors looking pale.
Prince Rui’s expression cooled immediately.
“What happened?”
The guard knelt quickly. “The northern military prisoners escaped transfer custody.”
Silence crashed through the study.
Prince Rui stood instantly despite the unfinished treatment.
Shen Li frowned sharply. “Your wound—”
“No time.”
The answer came cold and immediate.
Military instinct already overtaking everything else.
The guard continued urgently: “They seized weapons near the western armory. Shadow Guards already engaged them.”
Prince Rui reached automatically for his sword beside the desk.
Then paused briefly.
Because Shen Li caught his sleeve.
The room quieted instantly.
Shen Li looked up at him steadily.
“Your Highness is still bleeding.”
Prince Rui’s expression softened faintly.
Only faintly.
Then he reached down and brushed his thumb once gently across her wrist.
“Stay inside the inner residence.”
“Prince Rui—”
“This prince will return shortly.”
The familiar promise again.
But tonight—
for the first time—
Shen Li did not feel reassured hearing it.
Because the blood staining fresh bandages remained far too bright.
Prince Rui noticed her expression immediately.
Then quietly:
“Trust me.”
And before Shen Li could answer—
he turned and disappeared into the snow-filled night.
—
The western armory had already descended into chaos.
Torches burned violently against the storm while escaped prisoners fought desperately against estate guards through narrow stone corridors.
Most were former enemy soldiers captured during northern campaigns.
Trained. Violent. Desperate enough to die fighting.
The moment Prince Rui arrived—
the battlefield changed instantly.
The silver wolf guards straightened immediately.
“Your Highness!”
Prince Rui drew his sword smoothly.
Cold killing intent spread through the courtyard like winter wind.
Then battle resumed.
Shen Li had witnessed Prince Rui fight before.
But never like this.
Never wounded.
Never exhausted.
And never against so many enemies at once.
Inside the inner residence, she paced restlessly while distant sounds of steel echoed faintly through the storm outside.
Qingyu looked terrified. “Princess Consort should not stand near the open windows.”
Shen Li barely heard her.
Something felt wrong.
Very wrong.
Then suddenly—
a loud explosion shook the estate.
The windows rattled violently.
Several servants screamed.
Shen Li’s face lost color instantly.
“The armory.”
Before anyone could stop her, she rushed toward the courtyard doors.
“Princess Consort!”
Qingyu nearly fainted chasing after her.
Snow lashed violently across the estate corridors while guards ran everywhere through smoke and torchlight.
The western side of the estate burned.
Shen Li’s heartbeat became unbearable.
Then she saw him.
Prince Rui stood near the collapsing armory entrance surrounded by soldiers and smoke.
Blood stained his robes heavily now.
Far more than before.
And worst of all—
he was still fighting.
A prisoner lunged toward him with a hidden blade.
Prince Rui killed the man instantly—
but the movement reopened the shoulder wound completely.
Blood spread visibly through black fabric.
Shen Li stopped breathing.
“Your Highness!”
Her voice cut through the chaos sharply.
Prince Rui turned instantly.
The moment he saw her standing exposed near the burning courtyard—
his expression changed completely.
Fear.
Real fear.
“Shen Li!”
At that exact second, another escaped prisoner hidden near the collapsed wall noticed her too.
Everything happened at once.
The prisoner rushed forward with a stolen sword.
Prince Rui moved instantly.
Too fast. Too desperate.
He crossed the burning courtyard without hesitation and pulled Shen Li violently against him just as the blade swung downward.
Steel tore across his back.
The sound alone made Shen Li’s blood freeze.
Prince Rui killed the attacker immediately afterward.
But this time—
he staggered.
Only slightly.
Yet Shen Li felt the movement instantly beneath her hands.
The world suddenly became terrifyingly quiet.
Smoke. Snow. Blood.
Too much blood.
Prince Rui still held her protectively against his chest despite his breathing roughening dangerously now.
Then Shen Li looked down.
And saw crimson spreading rapidly beneath his dark robes.
Her vision blurred instantly.
“Prince Rui—”
For the first time since entering this marriage—
real panic seized her completely.
Not fear for herself.
For him.
The realization hit violently.
Because somewhere along the way—
Prince Rui had already become more important than her own safety.
The guards rushed forward immediately.
“Your Highness!”
Prince Rui tried straightening fully again.
Still calm somehow.
Still focused on her first.
“Are you hurt?”
The question shattered something inside Shen Li completely.
Her eyes reddened instantly.
“Why are you still asking me that?!”
The words came broken. Shaking.
Prince Rui froze slightly.
Because Shen Li looked genuinely terrified now.
Not composed. Not calm. Not elegant.
Terrified.
For him.
The realization struck deeply.
Then suddenly Prince Rui’s knees weakened faintly beneath the blood loss.
The surrounding guards went pale instantly.
“Physician!”
Shen Li caught him before he fully fell.
Her hands trembled violently against blood-soaked robes while smoke and snow swirled around them.
Prince Rui looked at her through exhaustion slowly overtaking his gaze.
Then very softly— almost apologetically—
he murmured:
“…This prince may have reopened the wound a little.”