Lu Yuze nodded. "And Chen Xiao and Yuyan?"
"Still asleep. They heard nothing. Their rooms are well insulated... They haven’t moved and heard nothing."
Thank god for that, at least. The children didn’t need to wake up to this nightmare.
"It’s seven in the morning now," Ah Ling continued, glancing at his watch. "The servants are already working, cleaning and preparing breakfast.... Anything to note?"
Lu Yuze considered. " No visitors to the master bedroom under any circumstances. When the children wake, bring them their breakfast but keep them occupied and away from this wing until I say otherwise."
"Your schedule for today....."
"Clear it. All of it. I’m not leaving this house, and I’m not taking calls until they’re both conscious and stable. Let’s say, this day is wasted away."
"Your brother has been trying to reach you. Multiple calls overnight."
Lu Yuze’s jaw tightened. "He can wait. Everything can wait." His tone was absolute. "Nothing is more important than this."
Ah Ling studied his master for a mont, seeing the strain, the exhaustion, the fear that he couldn’t quite hide. "Understood. I’ll handle everything. The day is beginning, but we’ll maintain normalcy for the household."
"Thank you, Ah Ling. For everything tonight."
Ah Ling’s expression softened almost imperceptibly. "She’s family now, Master. We protect family."
He left, closing the door quietly behind him.
Lu Yuze turned his attention back to Shuyin. Morning light was starting to filter through the curtains, painting the room in shades of gold and amber. Outside, he could hear the distant sounds of the estate coming to life: servants beginning their duties, birds singing in the gardens, and the normal rhythm of a new day unfolding.
But inside this room, ti seed suspended.
Carefully, he reached out and took her hand in his, threading their fingers together. Her hand was cold, and he ward it between both of his.
"You scared ....."
" You really scared today!" he whispered into the quiet room. "I’ve never been that scared in my life. Watching you slip away, seeing all that blood, not being able to do anything..." His voice cracked slightly; you could hear the tremors in it. "Don’t do that again. Please. Whatever happens, whatever crisis cos, don’t sacrifice yourself like that again."
At that mont, he knew, he couldn’t lose her; he would rather lose himself than her.
She didn’t answer, but her fingers twitched slightly in his grip, as if even unconscious, so part of her heard him.
He brought her hand to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss to her knuckles. "Rest now. I’ll be here when you wake up. I promise."
Outside the bedroom, he could hear the quiet sounds of servants working in the sitting room below, furniture being moved, the carpet being rolled up, the thodical cleanup of a battlefield. The house would show no signs of the violence by the ti the children woke.
But Lu Yuze would rember. Would carry the mory of this night, of how close he’d co to losing her, for the rest of his life.
He settled back against the pillows, still holding her hand. Exhaustion pulled at him, but he fought it, unwilling to sleep, needing to keep watch over her.
Dawn light grew stronger across the bedroom floor, touching them both with gold, a mortal man and a celestial princess, bound by choice and circumstance and sothing deeper than either could na.
And in the guest room down the hall, another celestial woman slept, her servant keeping faithful watch, both of them safe for the first ti in years.
The mansion settled into the rhythm of morning as servants finished their work and the night’s violence faded into careful silence.
But the consequences of what had happened, the truths that had been revealed, the powers that had been displayed, those would ripple outward in ti.
For now, though, there was only rest, and healing, and the profound relief of survival.
The storm had passed.
At least for now.
Lu Yuze stared at Shuyin’s pale face, her hand still clasped in his, and felt the old familiar dread creeping up from the depths of his mory where he’d buried it years ago.
Blood.
There had been so much blood this morning. On the floor, on the furniture, on his hands, on her. The tallic scent still lingered in his nostrils despite the shower, despite the cleaning, despite everything.
Just like before.
His first wife, Yuyan’s mother, had died in a sea of blood. Childbirth complications, the doctors had said. Hemorrhaging they couldn’t stop. He’d held her hand just like this, watched her slip away despite every resource, every specialist, every desperate prayer he could offer.
He’d been helpless then too.
And just now, watching Shuyin convulse, watching blood pour from her mouth in dark torrents, watching her eyes roll back as her body fought sothing he couldn’t see, couldn’t fight, couldn’t stop.....
It had all co rushing back.
The terror. The helplessness. The certainty that he was about to lose soone precious again, that his hands were too human, too mortal, too useless to save the won he loved.
Lu Yuze’s grip on Shuyin’s hand tightened unconsciously, his other hand coming up to press against his chest where his heart was still racing, still trying to convince itself that she was alive, that she was breathing, that this ti was different.
But was it?
She was alive now, yes. But she was also sothing beyond human, sothing celestial and powerful and caught up in battles he couldn’t comprehend. The past few hours had proven that. Her mother appeared out of nowhere in the pre-dawn darkness, the supernatural healing, the poison that showed up on no dical scan, the way her body had expelled darkness itself.....
What did he really know about the woman lying beside him?
And more terrifyingly, could he protect her? Could he keep her safe when the threats she faced ca from realms he couldn’t even access, when her enemies wielded powers that made his wealth and influence aningless?
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