She laughed out loud: “Trading one for three – I’ve profited.”

A heavy blow struck the back of her head, followed by a flash of blade swinging toward her neck. She closed her eyes, knowing that this time, there would be no escape. Perhaps it was for the best.

Three feet of clear wind and a head would fall – but the hot blood that sprayed across the grass came from someone else.

The burly man couldn’t even see who had struck before his head was separated from his body. The others moved to attack, but only saw a flash of white robes on horseback, moving with lightning speed. Several swishing sounds cut through the air, followed by deathly silence.

Han Yan slowly opened her eyes to see Fu Yun Xi sitting on his horse, looking down at her. His eyes still carried unconcealed killing intent, like a fallen immortal tainted by sin, possessed by demons. His usually composed demeanor now showed only deep concern.

Blood still dripped from his sword. Han Yan forced a smile, perhaps wanting to comfort him but not knowing what to say. She reached out her hand: “I’m fine.” As soon as the words left her mouth, darkness overtook her, and she lost consciousness.

Fu Yun Xi leaped down and caught her, bringing her up onto his horse. The woman who usually handled everything with ease now lay battered and broken, yet he felt relief flood his heart as he held her tighter.

Thank heaven, she was still alive.

It was like a long dream filled with vast spreads of blood, countless armed men closing in, shrill screams filling her ears. Looking up, she saw Zhou Shi of the Zhuang Yu Shan clan’s twisted face, her mother lying weak in bed, and the Seventh Prince ordering Zhuang Han Ming’s execution with a wave of his hand. Han Ming knelt on the ground. Han Yan found herself floating, invisible to all. She tried to grab something, but her fingers passed through cloth to grasp the emptiness. Was she dead? Why was she seeing such heartbreaking scenes? The hopelessness was terrifying.

If she were dead, everything would truly be gone. All the love, all the hatred, nothing would remain. It would be as if she had never existed in this time. She covered her face and sobbed.

Then she felt herself being held in a warm embrace, hearing a voice so steady it seemed to have the power to dispel all terrors. Someone was calling her name softly, again and again, gentle yet firm: “Zhuang Han Yan.”

Fu Yun Xi looked down at the young woman clutching his sleeve, wondering what she was dreaming about as tears streamed down her face. He had never seen Han Yan so fragile. His heart was filled with complex emotions, but mostly joy at having nearly lost and then regained her. He remembered when the Crown Prince told him Han Yan might be dead. It was easy to deduce that someone had planned this attack, targeting the Crown Prince while destroying the Zhuang siblings. But Han Yan had rushed out to protect the Prince, falling into the hands of the Western Rong men, facing almost certain death.

At that moment, his entire heart convulsed with pain. The usually composed young lord experienced fear for the first time. He feared losing her – never again seeing that still-childlike face, never hearing her soft, serious voice calling “Your Lordship,” having this mysterious maiden in his life again. How dull that would be. To Fu Yun Xi, there were only three types of things in this world: things he didn’t want, things that were his, and Han Yan. The things he wanted would naturally be presented to him, and things he didn’t want would never touch him. But wanting Han Yan wasn’t so simple.

Gradually breaking down her defenses, and slowly entering her heart, he thought he could control everything. But who had truly fallen in the end?

Han Yan clutched his sleeve in her sleep, her expression dependent and vulnerable. He remembered seeing her that moment – the blood-covered maiden kneeling, supporting herself with a gleaming broadsword, her eyes brighter than the blade. Blood pooled everywhere, the brutality obvious at a glance. Her lips smiled, but her eyes were sorrowful and desperate.

It was hard to imagine a young woman could have such eyes as if she had experienced all the world’s suffering and was left only with mockery for life’s meaninglessness. His heart ached fiercely, and for the first time, he killed without rationality. He should have kept someone alive for questioning about the mastermind, but he didn’t want to. Partly because he already knew who was behind it, but more importantly, because no one in this world could harm a hair on her head.

They had hurt her, so they couldn’t live.

Fu Yun Xi reached out and held her delicate hand. From first being intrigued by her, to wanting to protect her from harm, to now being concerned about her every detail – even someone as emotionally distant as he had to realize he had fallen for this girl. For most people, “like” wasn’t a weighty word, but for Fu Yun Xi, in all these years, besides his mother, Zhuang Han Yan was the first woman he had ever liked.

He bent down, his cool lips gently touching her forehead. Han Yan’s brow relaxed slightly, and watching this, warmth flickered in his eyes.

After sleeping for an unknown time, Han Yan woke up the next morning. Ji Lan was sleeping soundly by her bedside, and when Han Yan stirred, Shu Hong, who was wringing out a cloth, exclaimed joyfully: “Young Miss!”

Han Yan frowned: “Why are you up?” Shu Hong’s wounds hadn’t healed; how could she be up and serving others?

Ji Lan also awoke, and seeing Han Yan conscious, immediately burst into tears while smiling: “Young Miss is finally awake.”

Shu Hong came over and held Han Yan’s hand: “Young Miss, please don’t frighten us like this again. It was so dangerous – if anything had happened…” The usually composed Shu Hong’s eyes were brimming with tears. Everyone knew that yesterday, while they were peacefully at home, they suddenly heard from the front courtyard maids that something had happened at the Spring Festival. She had already felt uneasy, but then Ji Lan was brought back, along with news of Han Yan’s disappearance. The two maids were frantic but were ordered to stay within the manor during the emergency. Ji Lan had even gotten into a fierce argument with His Lordship’s guard. Later, His Lordship returned on horseback carrying the blood-covered Han Yan, immediately calling for Imperial Physician Wu. Everyone was terrified. Ji Lan and Shu Hong were especially frightened out of their wits, never having seen Han Yan lose so much blood, covered in sword wounds, unconscious in His Lordship’s arms as if she might never wake.

The Imperial Physician arrived quickly, bandaged Han Yan’s wounds, and instructed them to let her rest and heal properly. Ji Lan and Shu Hong were so worried that they begged for a long time before being allowed to stay by Han Yan’s side.

Han Yan smiled slightly: “I’m fine now. Where is His Lordship?”