The emperor lifted his wine. "Because he is trouble for the right people." He drank.
Then added with a grin "And because I wish to see which child of mine survives traveling with him."
On his way back from the palace Luo He's expression remained composed but inwardly he was far less respectful. That stingy bastard he thought coldly. One thousand troops.
Against the Bizarre Barbarian's forty thousand hardened raiders. Against another four thousand one hundred Nang loyalists and retainers likely to join them. Against terrain they knew and he did not.
The emperor had spoken as if granting a great favor. Luo He saw it for what it was.
A test or a trap. Perhaps both. "He expects me to use my own strength," Luo He muttered as he walked through the palace avenue lined with cypress trees.
"Good. Then I will." He had not come to the Yu capital empty handed. When he first returned from the Flame Kingdom, one thousand elite soldiers from his homeland had accompanied him quietly.
Veterans. Disciplined. Loyal to him above all banners. They had remained stationed discreetly in the Jin estate, outwardly serving as household guards and escorts.
They had never truly been idle. Now messengers rode through the city under sealed orders. By dusk, the Flame elites were already preparing armor, weapons, and baggage lines.
In addition, Luo He summoned the five hundred Jin elites he had brought earlier to the capital men chosen for steadiness rather than pedigree. He then made another decision.
One thousand household guards would remain behind to protect Jin Mulan, the children, and the residence. Fei wouldn't ride with the campaign as well. The blacksmith needed war more than comfort. But he needs someone trusted to take care of his wife and daughter while Jin Mulan is not in her best shape to fight.
So, by torchlight, the true force taking the road north was assembled One thousand Flame elites. Five hundred Jin fighters. Luo He. Fifteen hundred men.
Still outnumbered. But no longer ridiculous. Also he will be accompanied by another one thousand men lead by the third prince.
That night, while the city slept under lantern glow and drifting mist, Luo He had attended to another matter. The Second Princess.
As predicted, once the First Princess refused the assignment, attention shifted toward her. Capable. Available. Politically acceptable. Unacceptable to Luo He. So he had intervened. Not dramatically. Not violently.
Tea. A carefully measured powder dissolved into the cup before it reached her mouth. Enough to cause cramping, feverish diarrhea, weakness, and an urgent inability to travel.
Yet not enough to cause lasting harm. By dawn, palace physicians would insist she remain in bed. By necessity, the duty would pass to the next suitable royal candidate. The Third Princess.
Exactly where the path had always led.
But Luo He was not careless. He had also prepared the antidote. A sealed packet of medicine had been entrusted to one of his most reliable soldiers with strict instructions.
Deliver it only after the convoy had departed far enough that no reversal could occur. When asked where it came from. He was to imply, subtly and without saying so directly, that it had been sent through channels connected to the Third Princess.
Thus the Second Princess would recover quickly. The palace would assume sisterly concern. The Third Princess would gain goodwill she had never intended to earn.
And Luo He would gain a traveling companion she had never intended to become. As he reviewed the plan in his quarters, he poured himself tea and smiled faintly.
Even if investigated further which won't ever happen, still he can say the Third Princess informed him of her sisters illness so he sent a medicine he had prepared.
"In one hour she'll be well again." He took a sip. "No permanent harm. Better medicine than most palace doctors." He looked out toward the moonlit palace roofs. Somewhere within those walls, the Third Princess likely believed fate was inconveniencing her.
Luo He knew better. This was not fate.
It was administration. The next morning, campfires smoked outside the capital walls. Armor buckles tightened. Horses stamped the earth.
Standards rose in the pale dawn wind.
And inside the palace, servants rushed in alarm through the Second Princess's residence while physicians declared travel impossible. Exactly on schedule.
Dawn unfolded gently over the Yu capital. Pale light spilling across the palace roofs and city walls. Outside the northern gate the expeditionary force had already assembled.
Spears rose in ordered rows, banners stirred in the cold breeze, and supply wagons groaned beneath grain, arrows, rope, and medicine. And some unknown cargo specialy protected by the Flame elite soldiers.
At the head of it all stood Luo He. On foot as always. No horse waited beside him. No carriage had been prepared for his comfort. He despised riding whenever he could avoid it.
Horses were annoying, carriages were uncomfortable, and both placed a man's fate in something else's hands. His own legs had never betrayed him. Fei was absent.
The blacksmith had been left behind at the new residence under strict orders.
Not to spar. Not to test strength. Not to accept challenges from Jin Mulan. But to restore and protect her from her self.
Her brutal victory in the underground arena had left bruising through her ribs, strain in her shoulders, and lingering instability after the blow to her head.
Though Luo He had treated her personally and the danger had passed, recovery still required patience.
Something Jin Mulan did not possess.
So Fei had been assigned as warden, helper, and unwilling nurse.
If anyone one else was up to the task they had to obay her orders due to her high status as his wife. But Fei was different, though it's traditional to respect the senior desipels of his master it's normaly strength that matters most.
The strongest desipels were not obligated to listen to the others. Specially seniors. If they have enough strength to buckup their disrespect. The master nor the others won't care if they commanded their seniors around. So Fei had both right and the strength to protect Jin Mulan and the child.
The previous morning at the estate had nearly become a battle itself. Jin Mulan already dressed in training clothes, spear in hand, tried to walk into the courtyard.
Fei blocked the path awkwardly.
"Master said no combat." He said. She stared at him. "Move." Jin Mulan said with a horse voice. "Master said walking only." Fei insisted not minding Jin Mulan's threats. "I said move." Jin Mulan insisted with killing internet in her eyes. Fei visibly considered death.
Then held his ground. "You still sway when you turn fast," he muttered. "And yesterday you tried to stand up too quickly." Fei said.
Jin Mulan's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"You monitor me now?" she asked angered by his remarks. "I monitor your wellbeing." She almost smiled despite herself. Almost.
When Luo He came to depart, he found them glaring at one another in the hall.
Perfect. He pointed at Fei. "Your task is simple. Make her strong enough to hate me properly when I return." Fei nodded seriously.
Then Luo He pointed at Jin Mulan.
"No weapons. No full combat. Walking, balance work, breath control, light movement, recovery drills." That is it no more no less. "I am not fragile," she snapped.
He didn't defend him self. "Is that Understood." Luo He said calmly. "You are impatient. I don't like students who don't like to listen." That struck deeper.
That was as her master. Strict and to the point.
He had then stepped close enough that only she heard the next words. "If you rush healing, you weaken future strength." Her jaw tightened. Because she knew he was right. This was as her husband.
Luo He was really great at stealth. Roleplay. And is a master of disguise. He can change characters mentally, physically and even emotionally. So this was just some random joke in his eyes.
So instead of arguing, she looked away.
Which for Jin Mulan was practically surrender. Thus Fei remained behind.
Each morning he walked beside her through the estate gardens while she pretended not to need support.
Each afternoon he made her repeat slow stances, controlled breathing, measured spear forms without impact. Each evening he reported honestly through messengers.
"She tried to run." "She stole a heavier spear." "She says I am stupid." "She is improving." Luo He had laughed at every report. With time the reports shifted.
Calmer and more accurate assessments. Luo He knew then they had reached a common ground. Now, with Fei and Jin Mulan at peaice, the northern column marched lighter.