Jin Mulan immediately glanced toward Luo He while several Jin guards exchanged uneasy looks nearby. Luo He merely smiled faintly before continuing in the same calm tone.
"If you report this," he said casually. "The most likely outcome is that someone decides offending me and will also loose their heads as well. So don't bother reporting to anyone else."
"Directly report to the emperor. If things get drier tell him I wish to see your face the next time I visit him."
The eunuch lowered his head immediately. He didn't understand a single word this phycopath is muttering. But he won't have to. This fool will soon lose his head he thought.
"I… understand…" he muttered through clenched teeth.
"Good," Luo He replied dismissively. "Now leave before I decide symmetry matters."
The eunuch immediately bowed again before retreating alongside his attendants. Outwardly he appeared completely submissive now. Fearful.
Broken.
But the moment he crossed beyond the outer gates of the Jin estate his expression twisted violently. The pain from his missing finger throbbed with every heartbeat.
That arrogant little bastard the eunuch nearly trembled from fury while clutching his wounded hand beneath his sleeve.
Inside his mind curses poured endlessly.
How dare a provincial brat humiliate him publicly.
How dare he spill imperial blood inside a noble estate. How dare he threaten me like some common servant. The eunuch's face darkened further. Fine.
Laugh while you can.
His spite only grew stronger the farther he walked from the mansion. He already imagined Luo He kneeling before the Emperor in chains. Imagined that arrogant smile finally disappearing.
Imagined watching soldiers drag him toward execution while begging for mercy. The thought alone soothed part of his humiliation.
And yet even while fantasizing about revenge the eunuch still walked away respectfully and without protest. Because despite his hatred he fully understood one terrifying fact.
If he challenged Luo He there in the courtyard he truly might have died before ever reaching the capital. So he endured it. For now.
His sleeves hid trembling hands while his attendants followed silently behind him.
But deep inside the eunuch was already counting the days until he could stand before the imperial court and demand Luo He's head.
Then Luo He stretched lazily. "Well," he said proudly. "That was productive."
Jin Mulan stared at him. "You cut off an imperial messenger's finger during breakfast." She said indifferently.
"He insulted Bing. I don't want strangers acting as such towards my family members, and right Infront of me non the less.
"You escalated immediately." She said.
"He escalated emotionally. I escalated physically." Luo He responded.
"That is nor any better." Jin Mulan said.
"It is more efficient though." He casually answered.
Bing stood nearby completely speechless. Luo He finally turned toward Jin Mulan again.
"Prepare for travel," he said calmly. "We are going to the capital in a few days. We won't be joining his majestys envoy, at least not this soon."
"You already decided?" She asked. "The Emperor is away. The Crown Prince will be handling affairs at the capital." Luo He said expectantly.
A slow grin appeared across his face.
"And I suddenly feel like playing a good game of chess."Luo he said with a wicked grin. Jin Mulan immediately recognized that expression. Someone important was about to suffer.
"We won't need Jin guards," said Luo He carelessly while walking across the courtyard with one hand behind his back. "Just bring Bing, Fei, and Little Lin." Jin Mulan folded her arms.
"That's it?" She asked curiously. "That's more than enough," Luo He replied casually. "Tell Fei to ride with Bing on his horse. The two of us can fly along with our daughter."
Even now hearing him say that so casually felt absurd. Fly. As though he were discussing carriage arrangements instead of defying nature itself.
"Our mansion in the capital is still maintained by servants," Luo He continued calmly. "We won't need much help there."
Then after a brief pause. "And if necessary we can always buy a few guards and recruit some cute attendant girls." Jin Mulan looked at him strangely.
"You speak about people like you're shopping for vegetables." She asked acting suprised on the surface, but actually she wasn't. She like it when he speaks like a true conqueror.
"They're bought as easily as vegetables, if you have enough gold." Luo He replied proudly. Then he added even more casually.
"Bring around ten thousand gold. Let Fei carry it." Jin Mulan nearly stopped walking. "Ten thousand?!" This time she was really surprised.
"You can never have too much emergency money." Luo He said casually. "That amount could buy a small army." Jin Mulan said."Yes," he agreed.
"Which is why it's useful." He said. Jin Mulan stared at him in disbelief before finally sighing. "You really are impossible." Luo He smiled faintly. "That is why life with me stays interesting."
On the day of the departure the entire mansion descended into organized chaos. Servants rushed through corridors preparing travel supplies.
Bing carefully packed Little Lin's clothing, blankets, medicine, and food with near maternal precision and care.
Fei stood outside beside the horses looking increasingly confused as servants loaded heavy chests filled with gold onto his mount.
"Why," he muttered weakly, "does traveling with Master always feel like preparing for either war or a robbery?"
"Usually both," answered one servant honestly while passing by. Meanwhile Luo He himself contributed absolutely nothing useful.
He wandered around leisurely eating a fruit while occasionally pointing at random objects and declaring whether they were "important for the journey."
Finally the family gathered in the main dining room for a final farewell. Jin Su looked somewhat exhausted and Jin Quan looked utterly exhausted.
Their faces carried the unmistakable appearance of two people who had not slept properly even once during the past few nights.
Luo He noticed immediately. Then burst into laughter. "You two look terrible." He said mockingly. Jin Quan's expression darkened instantly.
"You are the reason for that." He muttered. "I solved the issue for me and my wife," Luo He replied proudly.
Jin Su sighed softly before stepping forward. In her hand rested the enchanted sea shell Luo He had lent them for the previous nights.
The small artifact glimmered faintly beneath the morning sunlight. "Thank you," she said honestly while returning it to him.
"For the first time in years I experienced peace and silence." Luo He accepted the shell with satisfaction. "You're welcome."
Then Jin Su tilted her head slightly before speaking again in a softer voice.
"You wouldn't happen to know where I could acquire another one?" Luo He blinked once. "So I can continue being a good girl," she added calmly. "And avoid disturbing you in the future."
Silence. Absolute silence.
Jin Mulan slowly turned toward her mother. Jin Quan slowly turned toward his wife. Even Bing froze nearby.
Because the tone Jin Su used was dangerously close to flirting. Openly.
With her daughter's husband. Directly in front of everyone.
Luo He himself looked alarmed for perhaps the first time that morning. Jin Mulan and Jin Quan exchanged exhausted expressions filled with mutual suffering.
Luo He coughed awkwardly into his fist.
"I'll see if I can find another one." He said. Jin Su smiled faintly. "They're rare?"Luo He said ocwardly. "Extremely so," Luo He answered immediately.
"I bought this one at an auction." He said proudly. Jin Quan narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "You only own one?" He asked. "Yes." Luo He answered.
"…Good. Very good." Jin Quan said with a faint sigh of relief. The atmosphere somehow became even more uncomfortable.
With the assurance provided by the artifact, Jin Su had begun treating the nights with her husband far less cautiously than before.
The enchanted seashell rested quietly beside the bedside table now, small enough to fit within a palm, yet precious enough to feel like a divine blessing sent directly from the heavens.
For the first time in years, she no longer needed to suppress every sound, movement, or impulse out of fear the entire mansion might overhear.
And unfortunately for Jin Quan she intended to make full use of that freedom.
The moment silence could finally be guaranteed, Jin Su seemed to awaken into an entirely different person.
The elegant noblewoman who spent her days composed and dignified became bold, playful, and frighteningly determined once the doors closed for the night.