"You taught the Third Princess as well?" She asked, sounding mildly confused.
"Not exactly," Luo He replied lazily.
"But I did sleep with her. That should still qualify as mentorship somehow." He said shamelessly. Jin Mulan stared at him blankly.
"That is somehow more concerning than impressive." She said indifferently.
"I told you about her already, didn't I?" Luo He asked thoughtfully. "You did," Jin Mulan admitted in a quieter voice.
And that was precisely why she was not reacting more violently now. She already knew. Knew about the affair. Knew about the strange complicated history between Luo He and the Third Princess.
So this was not shock. Not jealousy in its rawest form either. It was something far more irritating. The simple unpleasant awareness that other women had once occupied pieces of his attention.
Even if she trusted him now she still disliked the thought. Unfortunately Luo He noticed that too. His eyes drifted sideways toward her flushed expression before amusement slowly appeared again.
"You look offended." Luo He asked calmly. "I am evaluating whether pushing you into the lotus pond would improve palace diplomacy." She said jokingly.
"It might," Luo He admitted seriously. "Though it would damage my elegance." He followed. "You do not possess elegance." She said. "That is slander." He replied.
Then instead of continuing deeper toward the Crown Prince's residence Luo He suddenly changed direction entirely.
A short distance away stood a low decorative palace wall surrounding part of an inner garden, filled with winter plum trees and flowing water channels.
To Jin Mulan's disbelief Luo He casually jumped onto the wall before sitting directly on top of it like a wandering street delinquent instead of a noble guest standing inside the imperial palace.
Even the guards behind them looked mildly traumatized by the sight. One older servant nearly looked ready to faint.
Jin Mulan stared upward at him. "Why are we stopping again?" She asked. Luo He leaned back slightly against one of the carved stone lantern posts nearby, looking completely relaxed.
"The timing is not right yet," he answered calmly. Jin Mulan frowned slightly. "What does that even mean?" She asked. Luo He's gaze drifted lazily toward the deeper palace roads ahead.
"The road ahead is still unclear." He said casually. Several moments passed before realization slowly appeared in her eyes. "You think this is another setup." She slowly whispers in his ear.
"I know it is." He said.
His answer came instantly. Jin Mulan folded her arms. "Haven't we wasted enough time already?" She said annoyed. Luo He smiled faintly afterward. "The Crown Prince clearly does not think so." He said lazily.
That single sentence told her everything she needed to understand. This was no longer simple arrogance from the Crown Prince. This was control. The delays.
The humiliation. The repeated waiting.
It was all carefully designed to force Luo He into moving according to the Crown Prince's rhythm instead of his own. A subtle political reminder. You enter when I allow it. You move when I permit it. You wait because I command this palace.
But unfortunately for the Crown Prince
Luo He was perhaps the worst possible person to play such games with. Because instead of becoming irritated
he simply sat atop the palace wall smiling lazily like a man enjoying afternoon scenery.
Completely refusing to dance to another person's pace. Jin Mulan slowly realized something else afterward. "You are waiting for the Third Princess to arrive first." She asked.
Luo He glanced toward her approvingly.
"Very good honey." He said proudly. "You want another political witness present before meeting the Crown Prince." She said in her usual confident voice.
"Not exactly," Luo He said this time with faint disappointment. For a brief moment, his gaze drifted toward the deeper palace roads ahead before a small smile returned to his face.
"The road ahead contains traps," he continued calmly. "Which means we need someone foolish enough to place her hand directly into the fire while fully knowing she may get burned." He said.
Then his eyes shifted lazily back toward Jin Mulan. "Someone wise enough to recognize the danger, yet bold enough to get burned for me anyway." He smiled afterward with entirely unreasonable pride.
"Someone stupid like you." She said yet again. Jin Mulan stared at him in silence.
"That may genuinely be the worst compliment I have ever received." She said.
"You still accepted it emotionally." Luo He laughed. "I absolutely did not." She screeched. "You are still standing beside me." He said confidently. "That proves poor judgment, not affection." She said.
Luo He nodded thoughtfully. "Fair enough." He brushed her off. Then he leaned back slightly against the carved stone lantern tower behind him.
"But having you still makes those traps less dangerous." He said happily. Jin Mulan sighed softly afterward while folding her arms.
"You really do treat politics like chess." She said with a sigh. Luo He looked genuinely confused by the accusation. "Because it is chess, only in three dimensions." He said confidently.
Then after a brief pause he casually patted the empty space beside him atop the wall. "Come have a seat." Jin Mulan stared at him in disbelief. "This is the imperial palace, I can't sit there." She said firmly. "It means disrespect."
"Yes." Luo He answered calmly. "And yet you are sitting on palace architecture like a village hooligan." She said. "Yes." Luo He answered calmly. "You are unbelievable." She muttered under her breath.
"Yet still lovable." Luo He laughed innocently. Jin Mulan rolled her eyes heavily afterward. But despite herself, she stepped closer to the wall standing closer to him anyway.
Not because he asked. At least that was what she told herself.
Though somewhere beneath the lingering irritation still sitting quietly in her chest over the Third Princess, she also understood something uncomfortable.
Luo He trusted very few people enough to expose weakness around them. Very few people he would willingly allow near him while entering dangerous territory.
And somehow without even realizing when it happened, the Third Princess had become one of them.
A drunken palace guard eventually staggered toward them from one of the nearby corridors.
His armor hung crooked across his shoulders, and even from several steps away the smell of strong alcohol drifted through the cold palace air.
The moment Luo He noticed him approaching, he casually jumped down from the short decorative wall. Jin Mulan looked toward him in confusion. Luo He sighed softly.
"We did not go searching for trouble," he said calmly. "So naturally, trouble decided to come searching for us." He said eagerly.
Jin Mulan's expression shifted almost immediately. The relaxed amusement vanished from her face as instinctively she adjusted her footing slightly, her posture becoming sharper and more alert like a soldier preparing for conflict.
But before she could fully move Luo He lightly raised one hand in front of her. "We do not provoke dogs unless they try to bite first," he said provokingly.
His voice carried just loudly enough for the drunken soldier to hear clearly.
Unfortunately the man heard every word.
The guard's face twisted instantly. "What did you just say you filthy ass hole?" He barked while stumbling closer.
The nearby palace guards immediately pretended they had suddenly lost interest in the entire situation. One stared toward the sky. Another adjusted his spear repeatedly for no reason at all.
None of them wanted involvement. The drunken soldier pointed aggressively toward the decorative wall Luo He had been sitting on moments earlier.
"You dare disrespect palace property?" he shouted. Then his gaze shifted back toward Luo He with open hostility. "You arrogant bastard." He shouted.
The insults grew uglier quickly. Then suddenly the man spat directly toward Luo He's face while cursing his mother viciously. The amusement in Luo He's eyes not even dimmed slightly.
He calmly lifted one sleeve across the lower half of his face not out of fear but to prevent his face from being spoiled by the soldiers spit.
Jin Mulan's expression became colder instantly. The soldier, emboldened by drunkenness and stupidity, suddenly pulled his sword free from its sheath and pointed it recklessly toward her.
"You think you can glare at me bitch?" He snarled. Jin Mulan remained completely still. Then without warning the drunken guard swung the blade wildly toward her chest. Fast. But uncontrolled.
The edge aimed high and recklessly.
Several nearby servants gasped in shock. Jin Mulan moved immediately.
Her body shifted sideways with smooth precision, the blade passing harmlessly through empty air inches from her robes.
And before the soldier could even recover she struck once. A clean direct punch straight into his nose. CRACK.
The sound echoed sharply beneath the palace corridor.
Blood exploded instantly from the man's face as he flew backward before collapsing heavily onto the stone path unconscious. Silence followed. Complete silence. Even the palace servants froze.
Luo He slowly lowered his sleeve afterward before looking down at the unconscious guard. "That seemed educational enough," he said thoughtfully. Jin Mulan flexed her fingers once.
"He aimed a sword at my chest." She said angryly. "That is true." Luo He agreed.
Several nearby guards immediately straightened nervously now, suddenly looking far more sober than the drunken man lying unconscious on the ground.
Because everyone there understood the situation clearly. A palace guard had just attacked guests personally invited by the Crown Prince inside the imperial palace itself.
And somehow the problem had now become much larger than one unconscious fool bleeding across the stone floor.