The servants crowded in the doorway fell silent as Prince Shen Jingye pushed past them into the room.
His dark robes were immaculate despite the late hour, as if he'd been expecting trouble. In the candlelight, his face was all sharp angles and cold beauty, the kind that belonged on marble statues, not living men.
"Your Highness!" Lady Wang's voice came from the corridor, shrill with panic. She shoved through the servants, Huiyin close behind. "What happened? We heard screaming, " She stopped dead at the sight of the body. "Qianxue! What have you done?"
"She murdered him!" one of the guards shouted. "The young miss has killed a servant!"
"Silence." Shen Jingye's voice cut through the chaos like a blade through silk. Quiet, but with such authority that everyone froze instantly.
He circled the body slowly, examining it like someone who'd seen countless corpses. His eyes tracked the blood spatter on the walls, the overturned furniture, the broken window where he'd supposedly entered.
Lin Qianxue stood perfectly still, forcing herself not to shake despite the adrenaline still coursing through her veins. She kept her breathing steady, her face neutral. Whatever game the Prince was playing, she needed to play it better.
Shen Jingye crouched beside Zhang Wei's body. He lifted the dead man's sleeve, revealing deep scratches on the forearms. Defensive wounds.
"He attacked first," the Prince said flatly. "See the angle of the scratches? Made while raising his arms to block." He gestured to Lin Qianxue without looking at her. "Show me your hands."
She extended them. They were covered in blood, but beneath it, her knuckles were scraped and swelling. The marks of someone who'd fought bare-handed.
Shen Jingye examined them briefly, then turned his attention to the torn fabric of her sleeping robe. Long slashes where a blade had barely missed. More evidence of defense, not attack.
He picked up the knife from the floor, studying it. "Hidden blade. Spring mechanism in the handle. Military grade, though outdated." His eyes narrowed. "Northern rebellion style. Interesting choice for a household servant."
He stood in one fluid motion and turned to Lady Wang. "This man was an assassin targeting your daughter. The question is why."
"That's impossible!" Lady Wang stammered. "He's just a servant, "
"Check his quarters," Shen Jingye ordered the guards. "You'll find false identity papers and probably poison. He's been planted in your household specifically to kill your daughter. The real question is who sent him."
Huiyin's face had gone pale. "Your Highness, surely you can't believe, "
"I believe what the evidence shows." He turned those cold eyes on her. "And the evidence shows a trained killer broke into Miss Lin's room tonight with intent to murder. She defended herself successfully. That's the end of the matter."
"But the blood, " Lady Wang started.
"Self-defense," Shen Jingye said, his tone allowing no argument. "She fought for her life and won. I see no crime here." He gestured dismissively at the body. "Clean this up. Cremate the corpse. And triple the guards around Miss Lin's quarters. Clearly, someone wants her dead before she can attend my banquet."
The implication hung heavy in the air: someone was defying the Prince's decree.
"Miss Lin," Shen Jingye said, turning to face her directly. "You'll pack your belongings tonight. At dawn, you'll come with me to the imperial palace. For your own protection, of course. I can't have assassination attempts disrupting my guest list."
Lin Qianxue's mind raced. Leave with him? Now? "Your Highness, I'm honored, but, "
"It wasn't a request." His tone was ice. "Someone in this household clearly wants you dead. Since I've specifically invited you to my banquet, your death would be... inconvenient. You'll stay under imperial protection until the event."
Lady Wang looked ready to protest, but one glance at the Prince's face stopped her.
"Xiao Lan," Shen Jingye said, addressing the servant who was still pressed against the doorframe in shock. "You'll accompany your mistress as her personal maid. Pack essentials for a week's stay."
"Y-yes, Your Highness," Xiao Lan stammered.
"The rest of you, out." He made a sharp gesture. "Give Miss Lin privacy to change and pack. I'll wait in the courtyard. You have one hour."
The servants scattered like startled birds. Lady Wang lingered, opening her mouth to speak, but Shen Jingye's gaze silenced her. She retreated, pulling Huiyin with her.
Lin Qianxue found herself alone with the Prince and Zhang Wei's corpse.
She should thank him. Should bow and express gratitude for his intervention. Should play the role of a grateful, frightened noblewoman saved by imperial authority.
Instead, she heard herself ask: "Why?"
Shen Jingye raised an eyebrow. "Why what?"
"Why protect me? You don't know me. The Lin family has no real political value. And you arrived at a very convenient time." She met his eyes directly, abandoning the pretense of demure nobility. "You saved me then pretended to just arrive, waiting to see what would happen."
A slight smile curved his lips. "Interesting. Most people would simply accept rescue and ask no questions."
"I'm not most people."
"No," he agreed. "You're certainly not."
He moved closer, until he stood directly before her.
"I'll tell you why," he said quietly. "Because something impossible is happening in this timeline. People who shouldn't exist are walking around in borrowed bodies. Knowledge from the future is bleeding into the past. And you, Miss Lin, are at the center of it."
Lin Qianxue's breath caught. He knew. He actually knew.
"I don't know what you're, "
"That move you used." He leaned in, his voice dropping to a whisper that only she could hear. The words sent ice down her spine. "The joint lock combined with the knee strike. Where did you learn it?"
"From my tutors, "
"Don't lie to someone who's seen it before." His eyes held hers with unnerving intensity. "That specific combination of techniques, the stepping pattern, the angle of the lock, the precise point of the knee strike, it's called Jeet Kune Do. Bruce Lee's style. Won't be invented for another four hundred years."
The world seemed to tilt.
"How do you know that?" Lin Qianxue whispered.
Shen Jingye's smile was cold and knowing.
"Because, Miss Lin, I've lived through this timeline forty-six times before." He straightened, stepping back. "And every single time, you and your cousin destroy everything. So this time, I'm changing the variables."
He turned toward the door, then paused, glancing back over his shoulder.
"One hour. Don't be late. We have much to discuss about why you keep killing everyone you love, and how to stop you from doing it again."
Then he was gone, leaving Lin Qianxue standing alone with a corpse and the impossible revelation that the Prince remembered.