With the matters of the Jin family finally settled, at least on the surface, Luo He did not linger. Preparation began quietly and efficiently.
Within two days, a procession formed at the gates of the Jin estate. Five hundred elite guards stood in ordered lines, their armor polished and banners tied tight against the morning wind.
Horses stamped against the stone road, their breath visible in the cool air. Carriages were prepared.
One grand and reinforced for Jin Mulan and Little Lin, another for supplies, and several lighter ones for attendants.
Luo He stood at the front, already dressed for travel. Jin Mulan approached slowly, Little Lin in her arms, wrapped carefully in soft layers of silk.
Her movements were steadier now, though the weight of recent weeks still lingered in her body. She looked at him and asked, "Where are we going?" Luo He met her gaze but did not answer directly.
"You'll see," he said. That alone made her narrow her eyes slightly, but she did not press further.
Su Kim stood nearby, cloaked as usual, her presence quiet but unmistakable. Several guards avoided looking at her directly.
Then they departed, the journey long but controlled. Dust rose behind them in steady waves as the convoy moved across roads and open plains.
Villages passed by in glimpses, children pausing their play to stare while merchants stepped aside as the armed column moved through.
At night, they camped in structured formations, fires burning low as guards rotated in silence. Luo He rarely slept long.
Days later, they reached the Yue Palace. The shift was immediate. Tall walls of carved stone rose before them.
Banners of the Yue Kingdom fluttering in the wind, and rows of palace guards stood at attention, their armor gleaming under the sun. The gates opened without delay because they were expected.
Jin Mulan watched closely from within the carriage, her eyes narrowing slightly. "You didn't tell me we'd stop here," she said quietly.
Luo He walked beside her carriage and replied, "There are things you don't need to know until the right time." That answer did not satisfy her, but she held her silence.
Inside the palace grounds, Emperor Yue's forces joined them, with two thousand palace guards falling into formation behind Luo He's escort.
The scale of the convoy increased instantly, causing a general riding nearby to let out a low whistle. "That's not normal," he muttered, and no one disagreed.
As they departed again, Jin Mulan finally spoke. "You're not just a guest here," she said. Luo He glanced at her. "No," he replied.
After a moment of silence, he continued, "My family resides within the Flame Kingdom." The words made her still completely.
The pieces began shifting in her mind, but before she could ask more, Luo He spoke again. His tone changed, becoming quieter and more personal.
"There's something else," he said. Jin Mulan turned fully toward him. "What is it?" After a brief silence, Luo He began, "On my last journey, I entered into a relationship with another woman."
The words landed sharply. Jin Mulan froze, and for a moment, she did not react. Then her expression hardened.
"I see." Her voice was controlled, too controlled.
"I won't make a scene," she continued. "Not here. Not now." But her grip tightened slightly around Little Lin. "You will be punished for it," she added quietly.
It was not anger or shouting that Luo He sensed from her. It was something colder, something deeper.
A faint, almost dangerous smile touched Jin Mulan's lips, but it did not reach her eyes. "Something deeper," she repeated softly. Her voice was not loud, but it carried weight.
Luo He watched her carefully, sensing the shift. This was not anger that would pass in a moment, nor something that could simply be argued away. It was something that would remain.
"Is it like a punishment in the bedroom..." he said lightly, trying to read her tone, "or you beating me to death kind?"
She did not answer immediately. Instead, she turned her gaze away from him toward the moving horizon beyond the carriage window.
The world outside rolled past in long stretches of land and sky, but her focus was not there. It was inward, quiet and measured.
When she finally spoke, her voice had changed. "Do you think this is something small?" she asked. She remained calm and controlled, but there was a coldness beneath it that Luo He could feel.
"I'm not going to scream," she said. "I'm not going to fight you in front of others. But don't mistake that for acceptance."
She looked at him fully. "You asked what kind of punishment it is." Her lips curved faintly, not warmly or kindly.
"Not something simple. It's the kind that reminds you every time you look at me that you crossed a line."
The carriage grew quieter as the words settled between them. Even the movement of the wheels seemed distant. "You won't forget this," she said, not as a threat, but as a promise.
Then she turned away again, resting her hand lightly over her stomach, over the life they had created together. For the first time since the conversation began, Luo He had no immediate answer.
A crack finally appeared beneath her controlled exterior. "Was I not enough?" she asked, her voice softer now.
That hurt more than anything else. Her eyes lowered briefly. "I couldn't even follow you," she murmured. "I was carrying your child."
There was more than anger in her words. There was sadness. Luo He watched her for a moment before speaking.
"I wouldn't have done it if I had you with me." The answer made things worse. Jin Mulan's head lifted sharply, hurt flashing clearly across her face.
"You knew exactly what to say," she said quietly. It was not admiration. It was realization. She held his gaze. "You tell me that if I had been with you, you wouldn't have done it. But that doesn't reassure me."
Her fingers tightened slightly against the fabric of her dress. "It tells me you didn't choose not to cross that line because you believed it was wrong. It tells me the only reason you didn't was because I wasn't there."
She looked at him without wavering. "That's not comforting." Then she asked, "Who is she?" Luo He did not hesitate. "Su Kim."
The answer struck immediately. Jin Mulan moved before anyone expected, stepping down from the carriage and turning sharply toward where Su Kim rode.
"I'll kill her," she said, her voice carrying absolute certainty. The guards tensed instantly, but Luo He moved first. He caught her wrist, firm but not rough, his grip unbreakable.
"Don't." She turned to him, anger now clearly visible. "Why not?" She asked. "Because you're reacting," he said calmly.
Her breath was uneven. "You expect me not to?" She said. "No," he replied. "I expect you to think."
That made her pause slightly. Luo He stepped closer and continued, "I may have other women, but that does not change your position."
Her eyes searched his, trying to find something, anything. "You have the head start," he continued, "and as long as you don't give it up, it remains yours."
He paused before adding, "She is not there to replace you." Jin Mulan's jaw tightened. "Then why is she there?" she asked. "Because she has something you don't."
The words stung, but Luo He did not soften them. "Just as you have things she doesn't."
The wind moved lightly through the convoy as Jin Mulan stood still for a long moment. Slowly, she pulled her hand free, not violently and not weakly, but with control.
Her gaze shifted toward Su Kim in the distance, cold and measured, before returning to Luo He. "This isn't over," she said quietly. "I know," he replied.
She turned and walked back to the carriage without looking back. Inside, she held Little Lin closer, her expression calm again, but her thoughts far from it.
Outside, Luo He watched the road ahead, unchanged and unshaken. Because to him, this was not conflict. It was structure. And like everything else, it would settle exactly where he decided.