CHAPTER FIVE — WHEN TRUTH BLEEDS
1516 Words
Rui Shen did not move at first. He stood in the doorway like a blade sharpened by silence, staring at Yanfei and the wounded assassin kneeling beside her. The lanternlight flickered across his face, carving shadows under his eyes—shadows that looked far too close to hurt.
“Step away from him,” Rui Shen said quietly.
Not cold.
Not loud.
Just… dangerous.
Yanfei’s heartbeat twisted painfully. “Rui Shen, listen to me—”
“No.” His voice cracked through the room like lightning. “For once, you will listen.”
Lian Zhen forced himself upright, staggering slightly, but Yanfei instinctively held his arm to steady him.
That tiny gesture—her hand on another man—made Rui Shen’s breath hitch in a way she had never seen before. Not in battle. Not in court. Not even in anger.
This was different.
This was personal.
Rui Shen stepped forward, unsheathing his sword in a single swift motion. The steel flashed, catching the lanternlight.
Yanfei’s eyes widened. “Rui Shen!”
Lian Zhen reached for a hidden dagger, but he was too weak. His hand trembled.
Rui Shen didn’t give him time. He lunged.
Yanfei jumped between them without thinking—her arms outstretched, her body the only barrier.
The blade stopped a breath away from her throat.
“Move,” Rui Shen growled.
“No.”
Her voice shook, but her feet didn’t move.
Behind her, Lian Zhen tried to stand straighter, even as blood stained the floor beneath him.
“Princess,” he whispered harshly. “Don’t—”
“Stay behind me,” Yanfei hissed.
Rui Shen’s jaw clenched so hard she thought his teeth would crack. “You’re protecting him.”
“He’s unarmed. He’s dying.”
“He entered your chambers.” Rui Shen’s grip tightened on his sword. “What explanation is there—except the one that will destroy you?”
Yanfei swallowed hard. Rui Shen wasn’t only angry; he was wounded—deeply, silently, violently wounded.
“Put the sword down,” she begged. “Rui Shen, please.”
He didn’t.
Instead, he whispered, “Tell me the truth.”
Yanfei froze.
“If you lie,” he said, “I will know.”
Lian Zhen’s breathing hitched behind her.
And in that moment… Yanfei made a choice she knew would break something between them.
She lied.
“I asked him to come,” she said.
Rui Shen flinched. The kind of flinch a man makes when stabbed somewhere the armor can’t protect.
“You… invited him?” Rui Shen repeated hollowly.
Yanfei forced the words out. “Yes.”
Lian Zhen stared at her, eyes widening with horror—but she didn’t look back.
Rui Shen slowly lowered the sword—not because he believed her lie, but because it hurt him too much to keep holding it.
“Princess Yanfei,” he said, voice low and trembling, “don’t do this.”
“I’m telling you the truth.”
“You’re not.” His voice finally cracked. “You’re lying to protect him.”
Her breath stilled.
Rui Shen took one step closer, sword loose at his side. “Do you think I cannot see it? Your hands are shaking. Your eyes won’t meet mine. You only lie when your heart is breaking.”
The room went utterly still.
Yanfei swallowed, whispering, “Then stop trying to kill him.”
Rui Shen’s gaze sharpened. “He tried to kill your father.”
“And I saved him.”
“And he came back to you.”
Yanfei’s voice softened. “He came to say goodbye.”
Rui Shen laughed once—a short, broken sound with no humor. “Goodbye.” His eyes darkened. “Tell me, Princess… what kind of goodbye requires secrecy in the middle of the night?”
Yanfei stiffened.
He lowered his head, whispering almost painfully, “Did you embrace him?”
“No.” Her voice shook.
“Did you touch him?”
She froze.
Rui Shen’s eyes flickered to where her hand still rested protectively in front of Lian Zhen.
“…You are touching him now.”
Yanfei pulled her hand back instinctively—too quickly.
And that tiny movement told Rui Shen everything he needed to know:
She cared.
More than she wanted him to see.
Rui Shen closed his eyes briefly, as if steadying himself. When he opened them, they were different—colder, but also shattered.
“Step aside.”
“No.”
“Yanfei—”
“NO!”
Her voice cracked as tears hit the floor. “I won’t let you kill him!”
Rui Shen’s composure finally broke.
“You would defy me for him?” he demanded, pain slicing through every word.
“I would defy injustice.”
He laughed bitterly. “You call this injustice? He is an assassin.”
“He is a person.”
“He is your enemy.”
“He was wounded!” she cried. “He was alone. He was scared. And I could not let him die.”
Rui Shen stared at her like she had become a stranger.
“You could not let him die,” he repeated softly.
Yanfei’s tears fell faster now. “Rui Shen, don’t do this…”
He stepped closer, sword trembling in his hand.
“So it’s true,” he whispered. “You care for him.”
“I care for everyone.”
“No.” Rui Shen’s voice turned raw. “Not like this.”
She couldn’t deny it—not without lying again, deeper, harder, crueler.
So she said nothing.
And her silence stabbed him deeper than any blade could.
Rui Shen lifted his sword again—not at her, but past her.
“Move aside.”
“No.”
“Yanfei.”
“I said no.”
Lian Zhen pushed himself forward weakly. “General Rui… if you want blood, take mine. But don’t—”
“Shut up,” Rui Shen snarled. “You don’t speak her name. You don’t say a word to her.”
He stepped closer.
Yanfei held her ground.
Rui Shen exhaled shakily, as if fighting himself. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Then don’t make me watch you murder someone.”
“Murder,” he repeated, as if the word physically hurt him. “So that’s what you think of me?”
Yanfei covered her mouth, shaking.
Lian Zhen whispered hoarsely, “Princess… step aside. You cannot protect me.”
“I can try.”
Rui Shen lowered his sword again, staring at her as though his entire world was collapsing in front of him.
“Yanfei,” he whispered, “why him?”
Her breath caught. “It’s not about him.”
“Then why?” he demanded.
“Because I promised myself I would never let kindness become a crime.”
Rui Shen’s voice dropped, soft and broken. “Then what am I?”
“You’re not the villain.”
“I feel like one.”
Silence.
Heavy. Suffocating. Ruinous.
Yanfei took a small step toward him. “Rui Shen…”
He stepped back.
“Don’t,” he said sharply. “If you touch me right now… I will fall apart.”
Yanfei froze.
He turned, sheathing his sword with trembling hands.
“Very well,” he said quietly. “I won’t kill him tonight.”
Relief washed over her.
But then—
“But tomorrow, he faces the emperor’s judgement. And I won’t interfere again.”
Yanfei’s heart stopped.
“Rui Shen—”
“If you want him to live,” he said without looking back, “you’ll have to choose between us.”
Yanfei gasped. “That’s not fair—”
“Neither is betrayal.”
She flinched.
He opened the door, paused, and whispered:
“I would have protected you from anything. Anyone. Even myself.”
A shuddered breath.
“But I cannot protect you from the choices you’ve made.”
He walked out.
The door closed softly behind him.
And Yanfei’s knees buckled.
Lian Zhen caught her before she hit the floor, wincing through his pain.
“Princess…” His voice was barely a whisper. “Why… why would you break yourself for me?”
She clutched his bloodstained sleeve, tears falling uncontrollably.
“Because I couldn’t bear to watch him kill you,” she whispered. “And because he didn’t deserve to see me choose.”
Lian Zhen shut his eyes, agony crossing his face—not from his wounds, but from the heartbreak he had become the center of.
“Tomorrow,” he murmured, “he will finish what he started.”
Yanfei shook her head violently. “I’ll stop him. I’ll find a way.”
“You can’t save us both,” Lian Zhen whispered. “He loves you. And because of that… he might destroy me.”
Yanfei’s breath hitched painfully. “Then I’ll destroy the fate that demands it.”
Outside, the night wind howled.
Inside, three hearts bled.
The tragedy had begun.
- Writer
