The next morning, Luo He rose before dawn, long before the estate had fully awakened.
The air was cool, touched with the fading breath of night, and a pale gray light rested over the rooftops of the Jin Mansion.
Servants moved quietly through the courtyards carrying luggage, securing supplies, tightening harnesses, and whispering to one another with the urgency that always followed a great departure.
By midmorning, when the sun had climbed high enough to cast gold across the tiled walls, all was prepared.
A grand carriage stood before the main gates, lacquered in dark wood and trimmed with polished metal. Its wheels had been freshly reinforced for the long road. Around it stood ranks of guards in ordered formation five hundred household soldiers and another thousand of the peasant army assigned to escort the convoy.
Spears gleamed. Armor caught the sunlight. Horses stamped and snorted, filling the air with the smell of leather, sweat, and dust. Before leaving, Luo He sought out Xu Mun.
They met in a quieter section of the courtyard where maps had been spread across a stone table weighed down by daggers at each corner. The sea routes, the island chain, and marked supply points were all laid bare between them.
Luo He rested a finger on the cluster of islands. "From now on," he said calmly, "this place is Pirate Ile." Xu Mun gave a short laugh. "A glorious name." "It is honest," Luo He replied. "Better than false poetry."
Xu Mun straightened. He was to lead fifty-thousand troops and depart within the week. Ships were already provisioned. Weapons distributed. Officers briefed.
"All is ready," he said. "It had better be," Luo He answered. "You are not invading fishermen. Raiders survive by cunning."
Then his gaze sharpened. "And take your daughter with you." Shuman blinked. "To war?"
"To learning," Luo He corrected. "If she remains in the Jin mansion, she will grow soft from comfort. Let her see command, hardship, numbers, men, ambition. A clever mind rusts when idle." Shuman considered it then nodded slowly.
"She'll curse your name." Xu Mun said. "She may join a long line." Luo He laughed. Su Kim remained behind in the Jin estate with the newborn child.
The boy had been named Feng by Luo He.
Though because of his mother's unofficial status until the day of formal recognition, many called him Su Fang.
Wrapped in soft cloth, the infant slept peacefully in his mother's arms, untouched by the weight of names, bloodlines, and future politics. Su Kim stood quietly in the doorway when Luo He came to see her before departure.
"You're leaving again," she said softly.
"For a while." She looked down at the child. "Then come back before he forgets your face." Luo He glanced at the sleeping boy. "If I don't return tell him his father was a random jerk who seduced his mother. Don't ever address me as a hero in his eyes." He said.
Su Kim almost laughed out loud. "Unfortunately." For a moment, neither spoke. Then Luo He reached out, briefly touching the child's small hand before turning away.
Jin Sun and Jin Quan also came to see him off. Jin Quan clasped his forearm firmly. "Do not cause chaos in the capital." He said to his son in law.
"No promises." Luo He said seriously.
Jin Su sighed. "Then at least cause profitable chaos."
"That is more reasonable." Jin Mulan said, who had already prepared for travel. She stood near the carriage dressed for the road, poised and striking as ever, with little Luo Lin in her arms.
Their daughter had grown enough to wobble on uncertain feet and tug at anything within reach. Today she was attempting to steal a tassel from her mother's sleeve.
Bing, the maid assigned as nurse and attendant, stood ready beside them with blankets, toys, and enough supplies to survive a siege.
Fei emerged carrying a rough sack tied across his horse's saddle. Luo He had given his expensive horse he got from his mother as a gift for him. His belongings were few; tools, spare clothes, gauntlets and the blunt practicality of a man who had once owned little.
Luo He looked over the assembled convoy, then at the horses, then at the carriage. "I hate both," Luo He said. Fei frowned. "Both what?" "Horses and carriages." He said. The blacksmith looked confused.
"The horses galeping make your ass go numb," Luo He continued. "The carriage shakes like punishment on the rough roads." Jin Mulan stepped into the carriage without sympathy. "Then walk."
"I intended to." Luo He said and so he did.
When the gates opened, the convoy rolled forward in a storm of wheels, hooves, and rising dust, leaving the Jin Mansion behind.
The journey was swift by ordinary standards and exhausting by Luo He's. He often strode beside the carriage rather than ride, cloak moving in the wind, occasionally vanishing ahead to scout the road before returning as though distance meant nothing.
At night, campfires burned in guarded circles. Steel clinked softly. Men murmured over rations. Children slept. Jin Mulan watched him sometimes from the carriage steps, wondering whether he is ever truly tried. In less than three days, they reached the Kingdom of Yue.
Its capital rose from the plains like a carved mountain. Great walls ringed the city, layered in stone and crowned with battlements. Watchtowers stood at intervals like silent giants. Standards bearing the imperial crest snapped in the wind. Lines of merchants, petitioners, caravans, and soldiers waited outside the gates but Luo He's convoy did not wait long.
He had already informed the emperor's trusted servant, eunuch Lee, of his arrival. The moment the lead officer recognized the seal presented by the escort, the gates were ordered open.
Massive timber doors groaned inward.
The city beyond was wide, disciplined, and alive with sound vendors calling, wheels rattling, smiths hammering, fountains splashing, distant temple bells carrying over tiled roofs.
A special residence had been prepared for him a modest palace within the capital grounds, elegant without excess, private yet respectable. The emperor, careful and thoughtful, had arranged it personally.
Yet Luo He's true interest lay elsewhere.
He had already fixed his attention upon the Third Princess. She was famed throughout the capital for her beauty, her white hair like winter silk, and the mastery of water refined into ice.
It was said she could freeze a basin with a gesture and shatter steel with cold precision. She wore blue robes and colder expressions.
Winning her allegiance perhaps more was one of the chief reasons Luo He had come. The other was simpler. He was bored.
Too long at the Jin estate had dulled him.
He needed movement, conflict, games, danger. He had not yet told Jin Mulan of this plan. But he intended to. Soon.
If I married the third princess her water element would magastically clash with Jin Mulan's fire element. And their battle for my attention would be an epic one. He was day dreaming on the way.
Because Luo He wished to remain unnoticed, he had instructed the emperor not to reveal his identity. No royal procession greeted him. No drums sounded. No heralds shouted titles.
He entered as nothing more than a noble guest.
That evening, weary from travel, the family settled into the residence. Lantern light glowed warmly across carved screens and polished floors. Servants brought hot water, food, and fresh bedding.
Luo He lay beside Jin Mulan and little Luo Lin, who refused sleep for nearly an hour and insisted on climbing over both parents like a conquering general. "She is truly your daughter," Jin Mulan said.
"She is clearly yours," Luo He replied while being kicked in the ribs by her tiny heels.
Eventually the child slept between them.
Luo He watched her for a while in silence.
Then slept. The next morning, Luo He went alone to meet the emperor. The throne hall was broad and solemn, incense drifting beneath painted beams.
Ministers stood in ordered ranks. Eunuch Lee announced him quietly. The emperor descended two steps from the dais as Luo He entered and moved instinctively to bow. Luo He stopped him at once.
"No." The court froze. "I did not come as Crown Prince of Flame," Luo He said calmly. "I came as a common nobleman."
Then, before anyone could react, he bowed deeply to the emperor. Gasps spread through the hall. The emperor stared at him, momentarily speechless.
Luo He straightened.
The court doesn't know what happened but they knew something was off. That wasn't much to work with.
"I stand here not as Luo He," he said, "but as Jin He son-in-law of the Jin family." in a way only the emperor could hear. The emperor blinked once then twice. Slowly, understanding dawned.p