#Midday
While Luo He retreated to his room for his midday nap, Jin Mulan moved through her own responsibilities. She assisted her mother with household management.
Inspecting the silk operations where workers were plucking mulberry leaves for the silkworms. She walked the walls of the mansion, checking for damage or needed repairs.
She conducted patrols with the soldiers, maintaining the security of the estate. Ning Jia had her own activities, she read accounts of political situations, studied various texts.
Sometimes assisted Jin Mulan with patrols, though less frequently. Mostly, she occupied her time with more lighter pursuits.
Reading, studying the application of cosmetics (a hobby she found surprisingly engaging), and simply watching as her sister-wife and daughter played together.
By 2 p.m. lunch was served. Luo He emerged, refreshed from sleep, ready to eat. He was always present for meals. This was one of his few consistent behaviors, food motivated him in ways little else did.
After lunch, Jin Mulan and Ning Jia changed into their training clothes.
#Afternoon Practice
Jin Mulan waited about forty to forty five minutes for her meal to settle, then began her second training session. She started light, warming her body, gradually increasing intensity.
As evening approached, she eased back into lighter movements before stopping as the sun touched the horizon.
Ning Jia practiced similarly, though her regimen was somewhat different. She trained more deliberately, with less variety.
Building strength and technique through repetition rather than experimentation.
When they finished, both women were exhausted in the satisfying way that comes from pushing one's body to its limits again and again and again.
They bathed together, talking quietly about the day, about politics, about small things. The servants brought fresh water constantly, maintaining the perfect temperature.
This was their time together. Time away from Luo He's shameless teasing, time to simply exist as women and warriors rather than wives of a infuriatingly annoying lifeform.
#Evening
Dinner was served at 7:30 p.m. and this was when the entire household gathered.
Count Jin and Madam Jin joined them.
Bing, now officially recognized as Jin Bing. As a legitimate member of the household, sat at the table alongside them. Something that would have been scandalous in any other noble family.
But Luo He had never cared about such conventions. Status was irrelevant in his home. Conversation ranged from military matters, discussed seriously to Luo He's increasingly absurd stories.
Which made Little Lin laugh uncontrollably all the time. He spoke about science with genuine enthusiasm. About the ancient texts he was reading.
About various strategies he was considering for the emperor of Yue's situation. His wives responded in kind. Jin Mulan offered tactical observations. Ning Jia contributed political insights.
Even Bing added her perspective, though she was often bewildered by Luo He's logic. The meal lasted nearly an hour, comfortable and intimate in the way that only families could be.
The entire family contributed. Jin Quan, Jin Su, Jin Yang also sit there. Jin Su genuinely contributed while Jin Quan was mostly quiet since he didn't seem to be understanding most things Luo He said. Jin Yang was ever the quite one.
Jin Quan had mostly lost his status and attention as he gently had more interesting things to talk about and the women genuinely seem to be drawn by him dispite his talking complete trash.
#Night
Immediately after dinner, Luo He retired to the master bedroom. Ning Jia and Jin Mulan followed eventually, after tending to their evening routines.
They removed their elaborate hairpins and hidden daggers, practical precautions even in the safety of home. They changed into their sleeping robes, light garments that offered comfort without much restriction.
Little Lin was tucked into her attached chamber with Bing, who would watch her through the night. In the Jin master bedroom, Luo He was already lounging on the bed.
Propped up on one hand, waiting with the patience of a predator at rest. Jin Mulan began brushing her hair, a nightly ritual that took time and care.
Ning Jia removed her makeup, loosened her hair completely, performing her own version of the evening routine. And Luo He talked.
He was constantly talking, teasing, throwing absurd comments at his wives as they prepared for bed. Sometimes his words were deliberately provocative.
Sometimes they were genuinely funny. Always, they filled the space with his presence, his attention, his shameless delight in their company.
Sometimes these conversations took dangerous turns, and they end up discussing about most effective ways of torturing people and others weird, dark and sadistic stuff.
Luo He possessed a genuinely sadistic streak, and his wives knew it better than anyone else.
Far from being disturbed by every dark conversation, Jin Mulan and Ning Jia often joined in, matching his imagination with ideas of their own.
What began as discussions about captured enemies or troublesome nobles would sometimes spiral into increasingly outrageous and unsettling suggestions, each trying to outdo the others.
Even so, there were rare occasions when Luo He proposed something so excessive that even his wives paused, exchanged glances, and admitted that perhaps he had gone a little too far.
Those moments revealed far more about their relationship than any public ceremony ever could. To the outside world, Luo He was a worthless nobody, who lives off of a rich noble woman.
Behind closed doors however, he could be mischievous, sarcastic, stubborn, and unapologetically sadistic, and his wives were not innocent bystanders either.
They laughed with him, challenged him, encouraged him, and sometimes even escalated his ideas simply because the three of them found the absurdity entertaining.
It was an unusual side of their marriage, one few people would ever believe if they saw the dignified image of the three presented in public gatherings.
Yet it was precisely those private conversations, where none of them felt the need to maintain a perfect reputation, that revealed the real people behind the widely spoken legends.
Despite all of Luo He's flaws, and despite sharing more than a few questionable traits themselves, Jin Mulan and Ning Jia chose him wholeheartedly.
They loved not the flawless image everyone else admired, but the imperfect man they knew better than anyone.
"You're taking forever." He sometimes complained, watching Jin Mulan's careful brushing her hair. "Your hair is lovely, but surely it doesn't require such dedication every single night." He said impatiently.
"If I didn't maintain it, you'd complain about that too," Jin Mulan replied without looking up. "Absolutely true," Luo He admitted shamelessly.
Ning Jia laughed, settling onto the bed beside him. She kissed his shoulder. A casual intimacy, familiar and extremely comfortable and at ease.
When both women were finally ready, they joined him under the silks. What happened next was inevitable, rather predictable in its consistency.
Every single night, without exception, they made love. Not always the same way, not always with the same intensity, but always with the same commitment to pleasure and connection.
Hours would pass. Sometimes they'd still be entangled as late as 4 a.m.
Exploring each other with the familiarity of long practice and the endless novelty of genuine desire.
This afternoon everything changed. After lunch, as Luo He was settling into his usual leisure time, he found his wives still lingering in the living area with Little Lin.
Jin Mulan was still eager to leave the safety of the mansion. So she sat close to him. Ning Jia on one side, Jin Mulan on the other, both sipping tea while their daughter played with her special blocks.
Luo He reclined on a cushioned seat, watching his child work. Jin Mulan set down her tea with a deliberate clink.
"You're far too lazy," she announced.
"Completely lethargic. You need more physical fitness. At least some actual workout would benefit you." Luo He didn't even glance at her.
His attention completely on Little Lin who is building a surprisingly complex structure. "What ever," he responded noncommittally.
Ning Jia leaned against his shoulder, her tone deliberately provocative. "Besides, you're getting slower." She said softly. "Your endurance isn't what it used to be."
She purred. That got his attention.
Luo He turned to look at her, and his expression shifted into something playful and dangerous. He sat up straighter, and when he spoke, his voice carried the tone of someone issuing a challenge.
"Is that so?" He said, deep amusement dancing in his eyes. "So you're both saying I lack flexibility and endurance? That I'm not capable of proving my physical capabilities?"