Day Two: The Third Wife
The Black Cloud shuttle descended silently through the night sky, its arrival masked by the night and the isolation of the camp's perimeter.
Gin Xuexin's tent stood apart from the rest of the military encampment. A deliberately isolated structure, heavily protected, positioned far from the thousands of soldiers that filled the Gin family's camp.
But isolation meant nothing to someone with Luo He's abilities. He landed the shuttle at a distance and approached on foot, his presence completely concealed.
The tent flap opened without resistance, and he slipped inside as smoothly as smoke. Gin Xuexin noticed the movement immediately.
Her hand went instinctively to the sword at her side, her body tensing. She assumed it would be her father or her grandfather. The only men permitted to enter her private space.
But the moment she recognized the figure standing in her tent, all tension evaporated. She came running without hesitation.
Her body colliding with his as she hung from his neck, her arms wrapped around him with desperate urgency. "Do you know how long I've been waiting for you to return?"
She asked, her voice carrying months of loneliness compressed into those few words despite it only being weeks. This was not their first meeting.
Luo He had visited her twice before, each visit carefully orchestrated and perfectly timed. The first visit had been entirely different.
When he had appeared in her tent that first night, Gin Xuexin had immediately drawn her sword and threatened to call the guards.
A strange man in her private quarters was a violation of everything her family had worked to protect. But Luo He, was skilled in the art of reading women and disarming their defenses.
He had adopted a completely non threatening posture. He had spoken softly, explaining that he was simply an admirer.
A devoted fan who had heard of her beauty and wished to see her in person. The combination of his genuine handsomeness, his careful words, and his obvious respect had transformed her initial fear into curiosity.
They had talked through that entire first night, and by morning, he had promised to visit again. She had agreed, though she couldn't quite explain why.
The second visit, during the preparation of war, had been more intimate. The two had grown extremely close that night, spending hours in conversation and gentle physical affection.
Luo He had not pressed for more than she was willing to give. Instead, he had spoken to her carefully, explaining his situation.
That he was a married man, bound to his wives with ties that were real and substantial. He had asked if she could accept such an arrangement.
If she could love a man who belonged to others as well. If that's okay they could be more than just friends Jin Shuoxin had answered without hesitation.
She had said anything was acceptable as long as he stayed with her. She wanted nothing but his presence, his company, his attention. She had no demands beyond that simple fact.
But Luo He, even in his shamelessness, had maintained a boundary. He had refused to take her that night, despite her requests, because he hadn't asked for permission from Jin Mulan.
Instead, he had promised to return after seeking permission from his wife. A courtesy that spoke to something deeper in his character than his casual hedonism suggested.
He had also asked if her grandfather would approve of their union. Gin Xuexin had assured him that her grandfather was affectionate and protective of her.
He is willing to agree with whatever she desired. If necessary, she had said, she would run away with Luo He despite her family's objections.
But Luo He had told her something that had moved her deeply. That he respected her grandfather's protective instincts, and if he ever claimed her as his own, he would seek their approval first before pressing any further.
He had made a promise then, that he would return on the third night to fulfill what they had both begun to want. And today was that third night.
Now, with her hanging from his neck and her eyes shining with anticipation and love, he nodded slowly. "Yes," he said quietly. "I never break my promises.
Haven't I come twice before as I told you I would? I'm here now, just as I initially promised." She responded by pushing him toward the bed.
She showed surprising strength for a woman who had been isolated her entire life. There was no hesitation in her, no doubt or fear.
There was only eager anticipation and the absolute trust of a woman who had been starved of genuine affection for her entire existence.
What followed was tender and overly passionate. This was her first time, Luo He was careful about that, aware of both the physical and emotional significance of what was happening.
But Gin Xuexin was completely present, fully engaged, intensely curious about him and every sensation. She had nothing in her mind but Luo He.
No other thoughts, no other concerns. He consumed her entire world. Luo He had used the sea shell to seal the tent earlier that evening, a technique that prevented any sound from escaping.
The silk barriers that surrounded them became utterly silent, a private world where only the two of them existed. They remained together through the night.
Their intimacy building and deepening as the hours passed. By morning, when sunlight began to filter through the tent's edges, they were still entwined, still lost in each other.
Day Three: The Promise
Luo He didn't leave immediately. Instead, he remained with her into the morning hours, extending the intimacy beyond the night. They came together again in the soft light of dawn.
And then once more as the morning progressed. With each encounter, Gin Xuexin became more and more his, both physically and emotionally.
Not through force or manipulation, but through genuine affection and the simple fact of his presence giving her something she had never experienced before.
By the time he finally prepared to leave, it was close to mid-morning approximately 10 a.m. Gin Xuexin clung to him, reluctant to let him depart. "Will you come back?" She asked, her voice small and vulnerable.
"Of course." Luo He replied, and his tone carried absolute certainty. "I promised you I would never abandon you. That's not my style."
"But before I return, I need to speak with your grandfather about our marriage. I want his blessing, and I want your father to understand what's happening between only the two of us."
"That's why I need you to keep this secret for now. Can you do that for me wifey?" She nodded, though tears gathered at the corners of her eyes.
"On the fourth night," he continued. "I will come again, and this time I will speak with your grandfather. I will make this official so we won't have to hide again."
He kissed her forehead and then her lips one final time before stepping toward the tent flap. "I promise you," he said. "I will return. You have my word."
And with that, Luo He disappeared into the morning light, leaving behind a woman whose entire world had fundamentally changed in a single night.
To most of the world, Gin Xuexin was the most sought after unmarried woman in the Gin family. It was not merely because of her beauty, though few could rival it.
Nor was it because she possessed remarkable talent in cultivation. Her true value lay in her inheritance. She was the only daughter of Gin Hao, and the only granddaughter of Gin Wenyuan.
The legendary warlord who commanded five hundred thousand cavalry. Gin Wenyuan himself was the second son of the late emperor of the Gin Kingdom.
And the younger brother of the reigning emperor, Gin Taizong. Although he had renounced any claim to the imperial succession decades earlier, he had built an independent military faction powerful enough to rival entire kingdoms.
Unlike many nobles, Gin Wenyuan never filled his household with concubines or additional wives.
He married only once, and despite always wishing for a larger family, he and his wife were blessed with only a single son, Gin Hao.
Years later, after a long and peaceful marriage, his wife passed away from illness in old age. Gin Wenyuan never remarried. His son inherited that same unwavering devotion.
Gin Hao likewise married only once. He and his wife had a single daughter before illness claimed her life. Refusing to replace the woman he loved, Gin Hao remained a widower for the rest of his life.
Thus, by nothing more than fate, an entire branch of the Gin imperial family narrowed to a single descendant. Gin Xuexin.
Everything Gin Wenyuan had built, his lands, his prestige, and above all, his five hundred thousand cavalry, would one day belong to her.