He looked perfectly sincere. That was what made him unbearable. Jin Mulan stared at him for so long that even Luo He who rarely waited on anyone's judgment fell silent and let the pause stretch between them.
The chamber was dim now, lit only by two low candles near the bedside. Their flames swayed gently whenever the night wind slipped through the carved window screens. Shadows moved across the walls, soft and restless. Beyond them, the estate had gone quiet.
Inside the bed, however, war remained active. At last Jin Mulan exhaled sharply through her nose. "You are an impossible man." Her voice was controlled, but the irritation beneath it was alive and warm.
Luo He gave the smallest smile. He liked that tone. Because anger meant investment. Coldness would have worried him. Instead of sulking or retreating, she began thinking. That was who she was. Even wounded pride became strategy in her hands.
"Do not go at midnight," she said firmly.
"Agreed." He answered too quickly.
That annoyed her again. "Do not ignore her completely." "Reasonable." Luo He shook his head. "Make her wait." She said. "Okey." The careless way he said it made her eyes narrow.
"Meet her tomorrow. In daylight. Somewhere public." Luo He's lips curved faintly in the darkness. "I feel jealousy in your voice," he said. "Continue."
Jin Mulan turned so sharply the blanket shifted with her. "It is not jealousy."
"No?" "It is quality control." That made him laugh under his breath.
The truth was more complicated, and both of them knew it. Jin Mulan was not afraid of another woman. She was afraid of disrespect. There was a difference.
She understood power. Understood men of status. Understood that wives of important men often shared space with politics, alliances, and ambition. What she could not tolerate was being made ordinary inside her own marriage.
And Luo He knew exactly where that line was. Which was why he enjoyed walking near it. "You thank her for the poem," Jin Mulan continued, voice cooler now. "You acknowledge her courage."
She paused, choosing the next words carefully. "Then you make it clear that if she wants access to you, she comes through respect. Not games." Luo He nodded once.
"Pretty good." Then he turned his head slightly toward her. "But she already knows I admire boldness."
A pause.
"And I enjoyed her game." Jin Mulan jabbed a finger straight into his chest.
"You do not flirt." He looked down at her finger. "No games underneath. Understood?" she said firmly yet with a slight bit of teasing in her voice. Which one was it was not entirely sure. "No promises." He laughed.
Another jab. Harder this time. "You do not smile that smug smile either." "That may be even harder." He laughed louder.
Jin Mulan glared at him, but inside she was studying him the way a tactician studies terrain. Most men lied to avoid trouble.
Luo He told truths because he enjoyed surviving them. Most men sought peace at night. He created storms so he would not be bored. And worst of all part of her admired it.
She shoved him suddenly onto his back.
The mattress dipped hard beneath him.
He looked up at her, entirely unbothered.
"I am helping you politically," she said with sharp dignity. "Do not mistake this for generosity."
He studied her face in the candlelight.
Her pride. Her intelligence. Her refusal to be weak, even when emotionally exposed. Then he asked calmly. "What is it, then?"
Jin Mulan lay back down beside him, arranging the blanket like a queen reclaiming territory. "Possession." Luo He laughed quietly into the darkness.
Not mocking. Pleased. Because that answer told him everything.
She was not insecure. She was invested.
Not afraid to lose him. Unwilling to share what she considered hers without terms.
Beside him, Jin Mulan closed her eyes with visible irritation.
But her mind was still moving. Already planning how tomorrow's meeting should unfold. Already deciding where she would stand.
What Min would see. What Luo He would say. How to win a battle no one else even knew had begun. And Luo He, staring at the ceiling with a smile still lingering,
thought again how fortunate he was that his wife never chose to be simple.
"What would you say," Luo He asked lazily, turning his head toward her on the pillow, "if we both went to the bridge separately and happened to meet by accident?"
Jin Mulan narrowed her eyes immediately. He continued before she could answer. "And then, finding ourselves there beneath the moon, we enjoy a wonderful evening together. A midnight walk. A romantic date." His lips curved. "Right in front of Xu Min's watchful eyes."
For one breath, Jin Mulan simply stared.
Then the meaning struck her. And slowly A dangerous smile appeared. "You wicked man." "It is efficient." "It is cruel."
"It is elegant." She said with glittery eyes.
That made her laugh despite her saying such words. All traces of earlier irritation vanished, replaced by sharp delight.
This was different from chasing another woman, different from being tested. This was partnership. Strategy. Husband and wife moving together against an outside player. Jin Mulan sat upright at once.
"We will need timing." "We will need distance," Luo He replied. "You arrive first." He said with grace.
"But. If you arrive first, she will suspects." Luo He said calmly. "Good point." "She expects you to act." "She expects desire." Jin Mulan started strategising.
"Then deny her certainty," Jin Mulan said, eyes bright now. "I'll arrive after you." She smiled.
"Where will she be watching from?" They spoke in low voices for nearly half an hour, refining every detail like generals preparing a campaign. Which road each would take. Where he would stand.
How long before she arrived.
When he should notice her. How much affection was believable. How much was excessive. What angle of moonlight favored appearances. What distance a hidden watcher could likely maintain.
At one point Jin Mulan even changed her robe choice. "No red," she said. "Too intentional." "You terrify me." Said Luo He."You should be grateful." Jin Mulan laughed. "I am." Luo He said without any hesitation.
By the time the candles had nearly burned down, the plan was complete.
Midnight settled silver over the estate.
The bridge crossed a quiet section of water near the outer gardens, built of pale stone with carved rails and old lantern posts dark for the night.
The pond below reflected the moon like polished glass, broken only by drifting reeds and the occasional ripple of fish beneath the surface. Luo He arrived first. Plain dark robes. Hands behind his back. Expression calm. He stood at the center of the bridge as though he had come merely to think.
A minute later, from the trees beyond he senses a presence. Light. Controlled. Hidden. It was Xu Min. He sensed her instantly. But did nothing. Another few moments passed. Then soft footsteps approached from the eastern path.
Jin Mulan. She wore flowing white robes edged with silver thread, her hair partly pinned and partly free, catching moonlight when she moved. She looked every bit the noble wife of a powerful man composed, beautiful, and entirely aware of it.
She slowed as though surprised. "Oh?"
Luo He turned with perfect timing. "My princess. What fortune it is to meet you here tonight." He said. "Strange coincidence." Jin Mulan answered. "very strange coincidence indeed." From the trees, Xu Min said to her self with a sarcastic tone. This nearly bit through her own composure.
Jin Mulan stepped beside him at the railing and looked down into the water.
"The moon is clear tonight." She said.
"It improves in your presence." Luo He said. Jin Mulan gave him a sidelong glance.
"Careful. You were warned against flirting." She said. "This is with my wife. I assumed permission." Luo He said confidently. "Conditional permission."
He chuckled.
Behind the trees, Xu Min felt a twist in her chest she had not expected. This was no uncertain man being lured into secrecy.
This was a husband at ease with his wife.
Worse they looked happy. Luo He lifted a strand of hair from Jin Mulan's shoulder and tucked it behind her ear with
maddening tenderness.
"You dressed well." Jin Mulan said. "I know. I prefer confidence to false modesty." Luo He answered. "I know that too." She leaned against the railing beside him.
"You were angry earlier." He said. "I still am." Jin Mulan said. "Yet you came." He asked. "I came to supervise." She said.
He laughed quietly.
Xu Min watched every movement with narrowing eyes. She had expected curiosity. Temptation. Maybe arrogance.
Instead she had been made audience to intimacy.
And not staged clumsy intimacy either.
The kind built from familiarity, irritation, affection, and equal footing. That was harder to counterfeit. Jin Mulan rested one hand lightly on his sleeve. "You should buy me something expensive tomorrow." She said seductively.
"For the political services rendered!" "And for emotional damages." She said.
"Approved." Luo He agreed. She smiled despite herself. Luo He looked at the moon, then at her. "Walk with me." He said.
They moved slowly across the bridge together, shoulder brushing shoulder.
No hastation. No secrecy. No shame.
Every step announced the same truth.
He had seen the invitation. He had answered it. Just not in the language expected.