It was frightening, the mark of a mind far beyond ordinary brilliance. The inner palace gate loomed only a short distance away now, guarded by armored soldiers whose armor reflected dull light like still water.
Then "You are lying." Her voice sounded.
"I am not." Luo He said continuously.
"That is impossible." She said. "My father thought so too." He said proudly.
The morning wind moved softly through the palace district around them. Somewhere above, banners shifted faintly against the stone towers.
"He came back furious originally," Luo He admitted. "He intended to punish me severely for interfering with military command. But luckily my mother stopped him." He said.
"I would have executed you," Jin Mulan muttered. "You are very violent honey. You got to be gentle with kids." He said. "You manipulated an active battlefield!" She struck back.
"Successfully." Luo He said proudly. "That does not make it sane!" She said yet again. Luo He looked entirely unconvinced, as if sanity was not even a relevant category.
"Anyway," he continued. "While his official reports arrived from the battlefield he slowly realized the victory matched my instructions instead of his." He said coldly.
Jin Mulan looked genuinely stunned now, her earlier frustration replaced by reluctant recognition of something absurdly competent.
"And that was the first time," Luo He admitted more quietly. "My father ever said he was proud of me." He said happily. The arrogance on his face faded slightly for the first time.
"After that," Luo He continued. "My father personally began teaching me strategy and chess." He said. Jin Mulan glanced toward him carefully.
"But he also warned me constantly not to treat life like a game." Luo He said laughing. "I ignored that advice till this day." He said proudly. "That much is obvious." She said with indifference.
Then suddenly his expression brightened again immediately. "If life is a game, then I am winning it." He said with a small smile. Jin Mulan covered her face with one hand.
"You are unbelievable." She said yet another time. "I am historically gifted." Luo He admitted. "You are historically dangerous." She said.
"Maybe. But not for you." He was now sitting on the bunt of the pond with Jin Mulan beside him, where he drew her on to his lap by grabbing her waist.
A nearby palace guard coughed awkwardly, pretending he had not noticed any of it. Then Luo He suddenly looked thoughtful, seeing in to her pretty red eyes.
"Another time I convinced several ministers my father secretly planned to retire early." Jin Mulan looked horrified all over again.
"You spread succession panic inside the imperial court?" Jin Mulan asked in disbelief. "I was curious who would betray him first," Luo He replied casually.
"And?" She asked while jumping down from his lap, and again sitting close to him like a little girl. Luo He looked entirely pleased seeing her acting cute.
"Three ministers, one general," he paused dramatically afterward before adding. "And above all the Prime Minister himself." He said casually. Jin Mulan nearly choked.
"The Prime Minister?" She asked in shook. "For your information," Luo He continued proudly, "he had been planning for years to marry his son to my sister and eventually place his own bloodline on the throne." He said.
His smile became sharper. "Unfortunately for him, that plan ended badly." He said ocwardly. Jin Mulan already looked afraid to ask but did anyway. "How badly?" She asked.
Luo He coughed lightly into his fist as if suppressing laughter. "Well, his son was a red bloodline cultivator." He said. "And my sister, is a blue bloodline awakened."
Jin Mulan nodded slowly. "Absolutely no martial training whatsoever," Luo He added calmly. "Gentle. Quiet. Elegant. Very well mannered." He said with a voice of exquisite grandeur.
"That sounds surprisingly normal for your family." She said sarcasticly. "Yes," Luo He agreed. "Which is why what happened next became even more impressive." He replied with sarcasm all over his tone.
Jin Mulan narrowed her eyes. "Why what happened?" She asked curiously. Luo He's expression brightened immediately.
"On their very first private meeting," he said proudly. "The idiot somehow ended up with one of my sister's longest hairpins lodged directly through his balls."
Silence.
Even the nearby palace servants pretending not to listen seemed to freeze for a moment. Jin Mulan stared at him blankly.
"What?" She asked unable to believe what she heard. "Yes. He barely survived." Luo He said. "What?" She asked yet again. "The physicians saved his life eventually." He said.
"But unfortunately," Luo He continued thoughtfully. "Future children were no longer a possibility." He laughed at the bastard's poor luck. Jin Mulan slowly lowered one hand over her face.
"That is horrifying." She said. "It was an educational opportunity." Luo He corrected. "That is not what that word means!" She said. Luo He ignored her completely.
"The strange part," he continued. "Is that my sister refused to explain what actually happened." He said enthusiasticly. His eyes narrowing slightly with curiosity even now.
"She never denied it. Never defended herself either." He said. "What did she say?" Jin Mulan asked curiously. "Nothing." Luo He answered calmly.
"Nothing?" Even she looked curious now. "She simply drank tea while the entire court exploded around her." Luo He said. Jin Mulan stared in disbelief.
"That is terrifying." She said. "I know," Luo He admitted proudly. "That is exactly why I am so impressed with her." He said joyasly. Then he shrugged lightly.
"If she was not my sister," Luo He added thoughtfully. "I probably would have married her on the spot after that incident." He said with no hesitation.
Jin Mulan stared at him in complete disbelief. "That is somehow the most disturbing part of this entire story." She said. "I admire talent," Luo He replied shamelessly.
"That girl crippled a noble heir with a hairpin." She said indifferently. "Yes," Luo He admitted proudly.
"With absolutely no martial training. Pure instinct. And was also incredibly composure afterward." He added in admiration.
Jin Mulan slowly rubbed her forehead.
"Your entire bloodline is mentally unstable." She said. "Strong bloodlines often are. And my mother and father are completely normal people." He added.
"That is not comforting to hear." She said. Luo He merely smiled lazily while resting one arm behind him against the cold stone edge of the lotus pond.
"My father stripped the Prime Minister of his position afterward and expelled both him and his son from court." He added casually.
"He let them live?" Jin Mulan asked quietly. "My father was some times merciful. It's also proof he is not insane." Luo He replied calmly. "Personally, I considered the situation self-correcting already."
"That entire family is insane," Jin Mulan muttered under her breath. "Thank you." Luo He said calmly. "That was not praise." She said angryly. "It still sounded affectionate." He said gently taking her hand in his.
Jin Mulan sighed deeply. The palace wind moved softly through the inner corridors while distant officials passed through stone walkways pretending not to overhear anything.
Somewhere beyond the gates, armored guards still intentionally delayed their entry under the Crown Prince's orders.
Yet Luo He looked perfectly relaxed.
Then his expression suddenly became amused again.
"Eventually my father started complaining constantly to my mother."
He said. "I can imagine." Jin Mulan agreed.
Luo He immediately straightened before lowering his voice into a deep exhausted imitation.
Imitating Luo Shogun — 'Your son is provoking ministers again.'
Then instantly he switched into a calmer feminine tone.
Imitating Luo Xinyue — 'Then stop him. He is your son too.'
Imitating Luo Shogun — 'I tried. Yet it's clearly not successfully.'
Despite herself Jin Mulan burst into laughter. The sound echoed lightly beneath the massive inner gate pillars while nearby guards struggled very hard not to react.
"You are making this up," she said between laughs. "Am I ?" He asked.
For the first time in a while, Luo He's expression softened into something quieter. Almost nostalgic.
"My mother defended me for years," he admitted calmly. "Mostly because she thought my behavior was entertaining."
He said.
"That explains far too much." She said.
"But eventually even she became tired." Luo He added.
Luo He sighed dramatically afterward.
"My father eventually decided I was too much for the household to manage."
"And your mother agreed?" She said immediately.
Luo He smiled faintly afterward. "She said," He paused briefly before quoting her calmly.
Imitating Luo Xinyue — 'We will let him find his own path.'
Jin Mulan stared at him silently for several moments. Then slowly said, "that sounds disturbingly like her." "I know." Luo He said. "She was my mother after all and I am living with her for ages."
He sounded genuinely proud of her complement. Then after several moments he shrugged lightly. "So they threw me into the world to become someone else's problem." He added dramaticly.