Then another realization struck him deep within Gin Wenyuan's primal instincts.
She spoke with the confidence of someone who already belonged to the man standing beside her. His eyes slowly shifted toward Luo He. Rage exploded within him.
In one swift motion the old general surged to his feet, crossed the room in two strides and seized Luo He by the throat. The impact against the heavy wooden desk echoed throughout the silent military tent.
Maps slid from the table. An inkstone toppled onto the floor. "Did you sleep with my granddaughter?" The words emerged like thunder.
Gin Hao immediately reached for his sword. The guards outside instinctively stiffened. Yet Luo He did not resist. He neither reached for the old man's wrist nor struggled against the crushing grip.
He simply answered. No hate in his eyes.
"Yes indeed. I absolutely slept with her."
His voice remained remarkably calm. The complete lack of fear only fueled Gin Wenyuan's fury.
"You dare admit it you filthy dog?" He threw him on to the ground very very hard. "I have no reason to lie. I am proud of my achievements." He said still on the ground.
The old patriarch's fingers tightened. For a brief moment, genuine killing intent flashed through his eyes. To him, this man spoke of his granddaughter's chastity as though it was just another achievement to proudly claim.
Then Gin Xuexin rushed forward. She grabbed her grandfather's arm with both hands. "Grandfather! Please! Don't hurt him!" Tears streamed freely down her face.
"He never forced me. He treated me kindly. He respected me. He has always respected me. Please... don't hurt him."
The desperation in her voice finally broke through the old man's anger.
After several tense seconds, he calmly sat down. The young man didn't rub his neck or anything he just dusted him self and very calmly took the seat that Gin Wenyuan pointed toward.
Only then did the true conversation begin. "Who exactly are you?"
"I was an orphan," Luo He replied. I grew up surviving however I could. I owned nothing. I became somebody only after marrying Jin Mulan and entering the Jin family as a living son in law."
"My wife knows why I am here. I have already received her permission." That final sentence caused the proud Gin Hao's expression to twist instantly. "So, my daughter will become a concubine?"
His voice rose sharply. "The only heir of this branch of the Gin family. The future commander of five hundred thousand cavalry, reduced to a concubine for a man who owns nothing?"
"I don't mind." Gin Xuexin answered before Luo He could.
Her voice remained quiet, yet absolutely unwavering. "I truly don't. I don't care about titles. I don't care about status. I only want to stay beside him."
The sincerity of those words somehow made Gin Hao even angrier. His own daughter had abandoned everything that generations of the Gin family had built.
In one emotional outburst, he raised his hand and struck her. The sound echoed throughout the command tent. Gin Xuexin stumbled several steps before catching herself.
For a brief instant she instinctively looked toward Luo He. Not because she doubted him. But because every frightened heart naturally searched for the person it trusted most.
Luo He remained where he stood. He did not interfere. Not because he lacked courage. Not because he approved. This was still her family. This was still her father.
To challenge Gin Hao inside his own command tent would solve nothing except humiliate the family further. Some battles were won through restraint.
Before anyone else could move, Gin Wenyuan stepped between father and daughter. "Enough." He shouted. His voice carried the true unquestionable authority of the clan patriarch.
Gin Hao clenched his fists. "She is as stubborn as her mother." He said. "And also naive and gentle as her mother." Gin Wenyuan said emotionally.
The words instantly drained the anger from the room. Silence followed. Gin Wenyuan slowly closed his eyes. Memories surfaced without invitation.
His daughter-in-law. Her smile. Her kindness. Her stubbornness. Her untimely death. Even Gin Hao lowered his head. His fury had always hidden grief that never truly disappeared.
The tent remained silent until Luo He quietly broke it. "I have nothing." There was no self-pity in his voice.
Only honesty. "I cannot offer noble birth. So can't I offer inherited wealth. I can only offer myself."
Gin Wenyuan studied him in silence for a long while. The old patriarch's gaze was sharp, as though trying to strip away every layer of deceit hiding beneath the young man's calm expression.
"Tell me the truth," he finally said. "Do you seek my granddaughter... or do you seek my cavalry?" Luo He did not hesitate. "Both." He said calmly.
The straightforward answer caused the atmosphere inside the tent to freeze. Luo He met the old man's eyes without the slightest intention of disguising his thoughts.
"Tell me honestly. Have you come for my granddaughter... or for my cavalry?" He asked once again unable to believe the him the previous time.
Luo He smiled faintly. "Both." He said calmly once again. The answer was so direct that even Gin Hao who was just now grieving was momentarily caught off guard from his thoughts.
"I love Xuexin. That is why I have come to ask for her hand in marriage." He paused before continuing. "But I also need some cavalry."
"My wife is surrounded. Every hour I waste here is another hour she fights alone. If I do not bring reinforcements soon, she may not survive."
His expression remained composed. "So yes, I have come seeking your aid as well." He said. Gin Wenyuan narrowed his eyes. "Then you admit it." Luo He nodded. "I most certainly do."
"But don't mistake one matter for the other." He continued. He looked directly at the old patriarch. "I am not asking for your cavalry because I wish to marry Xuexin." He said coldly.
"Nor am I asking for Xuexin because I want your cavalry. Those are two separate matters." His voice was calm, yet every word carried conviction.
"I want Xuexin because I love her. I want cavalry because I need to save my wife. The cavalry is not a dowry. It is not an inheritance. It is a transaction." Both Gin Wenyuan and Gin Hao frowned.
Luo He continued before either of them could interrupt. "I don't need five hundred thousand horsemen. I couldn't feed them even if you handed them to me."
"An army that large would consume mountains of grain and endless fields of grass. I have no interest in becoming another warlord struggling to feed an army larger than his own nation."
He raised one finger. "Lend me ten thousand elite cavalry. I will pay for them. Every man. Every horse." He said calmely as if doing business.
"Every sack of grain. Every blade of grass. Will be on my behalf. When this war ends, your men will return home, and the expenses will be repaid in full." He reassured.
He looked once more toward Gin Xuexin.
"The only thing I ask that cannot be bought is her. Because I don't wish to buy her. I wish to marry her. Make her stand beside me."
The command tent fell silent. Luo He stayed quiet, allowing the old patriarch time to consider his words. Neither his expression nor his posture betrayed the slightest impatience.
After a long pause, he spoke again. "I do have one request." Gin Wenyuan raised an eyebrow. "Speak. Lend me ten thousand cavalry." He said calmely.
"They are all I require not as a reward." His voice remained calm, yet every word carried unwavering certainty.
"If I can successfully lead those ten thousand horsemen to victory against the Wu Kingdom, then I ask only one thing in return."
He turned briefly toward Gin Xuexin before looking back at the old patriarch.
"Consider whether I have proven myself worthy of your granddaughter's hand in marriage."
"I ask for no promise today. I ask only for the opportunity to earn your approval."
The old patriarch remained silent. Luo He continued. "But if I fail..."
For the first time since entering the tent, his expression became completely solemn. "I shall return here myself. I will kneel before you and you may personally cut off my head."
Not another word followed. The tent's atmosphere became deathly still. Gin Hao's eyes widened ever so slightly.
Even Gin Wenyuan, who had witnessed countless men make grand declarations throughout his life, found himself unable to respond immediately.
Among soldiers, no pledge carried greater weight than staking one's own life upon one's word. Gold could be repaid.
Land could be reclaimed. Promises could be broken.
But a man who willingly placed his own head upon the line had left himself no path of retreat. It was the highest pledge of sincerity a warrior could offer.