The private chamber was quiet, shadows lengthening as evening shifted toward night. Luo He had led Jin Mulan away from the dressing room to a different facility, one unsullied by violence or filth.
Luo He waited patiently while she cleaned herself. He made sure she didn't feel unsafe during her bath. He asked her whether it's okay if her foolish, scumbag husband help her bath.
She said no thanks and his teasing someone enlightened the mood, but she wasn't feeling completely fine yet. Luo He kept her company right outside the door, waiting patiently.
He was waiting for her to return after her bath. She had taken manybe for or five of them depending on the time she took. Then she moved out wrapped in a towel looking gorgeous as ever.
Luo He asked whether that bastard had kissed her. She said she didn't quite remember. And she'd been far too occupied at the time.
He laughed, then his expression darkened. "If that filthy bastard had kissed you," he said. "I would have to kiss you all over again, and claim you back as my own."
She didn't laugh quite as openly at that, but her smile was evident. A private, knowing thing. "I would love that... Husband," she whispered. "I want to be yours. Only yours. Forever."
She moved closer, letting her towel fall away. Looking down at him, she asked softly whether they could do it now. Being with him would certainly calm her down.
She said, and she needed that.
She took his hand gently, placing it against her chest. They tried to forget what had just happened, and tried to lose themselves in each other, but she couldn't manage it.
The moment grew too heavy. She stopped herself immediately and instead pulled him close. Holding him close her, finding comfort in his presence alone.
Meanwhile, guards were searching for Jin Mulan. She had disappeared after causing quite the disturbance, and no one could locate them immediately.
Because by then, they had already made their way back to the inn where they had been staying the night before. His right arm was wrapped around her waist, his left hand cradling the back of her head as she slept on his chest.
Her forehead was resting against him, her breathing still slightly irregular, still carrying the tremors of shock and adrenaline.
She could feel his heartbeat against her cheek, steady and unhurried, a rhythm that seemed to gradually synchronize with her own pulse.
"Have you ever heard of the Flame Shadow Guard?" He asked casually.
Jin Mulan blinked, pulling back just slightly to look up at him.
The sudden shift to a completely new but different topic confused her. She shook her head slowly. "I didn't think so." He said, his voice remaining calm, almost conversational.
As though they were discussing court gossip. "There are thirty-six of them." He continued quietly. She frowned, unsure where this was leading.
"Divided into six squads. Six warriors under each commander. Every single one of them has crossed into the Divine Realm." He paused, letting that sink in.
"Among them are seven who stand at Divine Rank Three." Jin Mulan's breath caught audibly. Thirty-six Divine cultivators.
The number was incomprehensible. Such a force could topple kingdoms, reshape the political landscape of entire continents with casual ease, and they won't even have to try.
"They answer to only two people in the entire empire." Luo He continued, his tone never wavering. "My father." He paused deliberately. "And my mother."
"Not to any prince. Not to any princess. Not to the imperial consorts. Not to the ministers. Not to generals." His words were precise and absolute.
"They obey only the Emperor and the Empress. No one else. Not even the Crown Prince." Jin Mulan's eyes widened. "Not even you?" She asked in utter suprise.
He smiled faintly, a private expression that somehow made the information feel even more terrifying rather than reassuring. "No. Not even me." He said humbly.
The fact that the Flame Shadow Guards didn't answer to him, that such power existed beyond even his command, made the organization feel almost transcendentally dangerous.
These weren't weapons that even the imperial heirs could wield. They were forces of nature, answerable only to the throne itself.
"One squad follows my younger sister." Luo He said, gently brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. The tender gesture contrasted sharply with the dangerous information he was conveying. "Another follows me."
He let his hand trail down to her shoulder.
"They have been watching over us for years." Jin Mulan absorbed this slowly. "They're... here? Right now?"
"They are always there." He replied calmly. "But not in any way you'd notice. They don't stand beside our doors. They don't announce themselves. You simply never see them."
His gaze drifted toward the window, toward the courtyard beyond where evening sun light still painted the stone floor gold.
"If we had traveled to this wedding by carriage or horse back instead of flying, they would have followed from the shadows the entire journey."
"Guards you'd never detect, protection you'd never need to acknowledge." He looked back at her. "They're not like the men you encountered today."
His eyes flickered with something cold for just a heartbeat. An expression that reminded her exactly what he was capable of when truly provoked.
"They're professionals." He said softly. "They don't negotiate. They don't hesitate. They kill without question." The matter-of-fact delivery made it somehow more real than any amount of dramatic emphasis could have.
"Do you remember something that man said?" Luo He asked, shifting their conversation slightly. Jin Mulan searched through the fragmented memories of those terrifying moments.
"Which part?" She asked gently. "The part about you," he prompted gently. She frowned, trying to recall. "Me?" She asked genuinely confused.
"He said he would never have dared harbor such thoughts toward an imperial princess." Luo He's expression was careful, measuring her reaction.
"He said that only after he understood who you were married to." Gradually understanding crystallized in her eyes. "You mean my new status?" She asked.
"Exactly." He reached out and tapped her forehead lightly, a gesture that was almost affectionate despite the serious nature of the conversation.
"You're no longer merely General Jin Mulan, the elder daughter of the count of the Prosperous Silk Isle. A noble woman and a warrior of the Yue Kingdom."
He paused, letting the weight of the next words settle between them. "You're the official wife of the Crown Prince of the Flame Empire. The wife of the heir to the throne."
His hand found hers. "Only me, my father and my mother stand above you in the hierarchy of power. After them, before any emperors or ministers or generals or nobles of any rank, you reign supreme."
He smiled slightly. "Even emperors of vassal states are expected to bow before you." Her eyes widened at the sudden implication.
The position she now held was incomprehensibly elevated. It wasn't just a title, it was protection written into the very fabric of imperial law and custom.
"I know," he said, reading her expression. "It sounds absurd. But that's the reality of imperial politics. Your status now protects you in ways nothing else could."
He sighed quietly, and for a moment, he looked almost weary. "And that's precisely why being beside me isn't easy." He ran his hand down her back in slow, soothing circles.
"Your position protects you from casual predators like the man today. It ensures that most threats think twice before acting." His expression grew more serious.
"But it also paints a target on your back. A very bright, very visible target." He met her eyes directly.
"The higher you stand in the hierarchy of power, the more people begin looking upward. The more people calculate whether removing you would benefit their position."
Jin Mulan lowered her eyes, now very clearly understanding the blooming uncomfortable clarity rising within her. "So... this won't be the last danger." She asked clarity dawning upon her.
"No." He answered with brutal honesty, not softening the truth even slightly. "It won't be." She felt the weight of that answer like a physical thing.
The trauma of today was still fresh, still raw. And he was telling her, clearly and without mercy, that there would be more dangers coming. More threats.
More moments where her life hung in uncertain balance. Yet somehow, his honesty was more reassuring than false comfort could have been. Because he had never once lied to her.
He leaned down and kissed the top of her head, the gesture tender and filled with something that transcended physical affection.
"But listen carefully," he said softly, his voice dropping to something almost intimate. "I'm going to make absolutely certain that everyone you love remains safe. Your family. Our child. Everyone. You have my word on that."