Luo He slid open the wooden window of his carriage, letting the crisp night air cut right through the lingering scent of Liusu's plum blossom perfume inside.
Outside, Fei was riding steadily on his dark stallion, maintaining a careful distance from the carriage door, or at least trying to look like he was all this time ago.
Luo He rested his chin in his hand, a lazy smirk tugging at his lips as he looked up at his head guard.
"So..." Luo He called out casually. "Did you hear what just happened in here?"
Fei's shoulders instantly went rigid in the saddle. He stared straight ahead between his horse's ears, his face hinting a faint, line of betraying embarrassment.
"No! No, master!" Fei stammered, coughing into his fist with sudden, intense feeling of embarrassment.
"I heard nothing! Not a single word, master! I know absolutely nothing about what might have transpired in there!" Luo He rolled his eyes, a somewhat cheeky grin spreading across his smug face.
"Why are you lying right to my face? You heard every single bit of it, didn't you? The woman came in here trying to seduce me, and I pushed her away."
"I am nothing but a man of noble integrity."
Fei swallowed hard, sweating under his master's amused gaze.
Caught between caller-out truth and polite deference, he bowed his head from atop his mount and offered the most earnest, panic-fueled response he could muster.
"Yes, master! My master is truly the most reliable, virtuous man in the entire world!"
Luo He knew perfectly well that Fei was lying through his teeth just to survive the conversation, but he leaned back against the carriage frame and closed his eyes.
He was thoroughly enjoying the shameless flattery anyway. "Ah... You spoken like a true politician." Luo He sighed contentedly.
Then he opened one eye, fixing Fei with a pointed look.
"If you ever talk about this back home. Wait, are you going to talk about this when we get back?" He asked nonsalantly
"No! Never! I wouldn't dare say a word!" Fei squeaked.
"Ah... Don't be like that." He chided, waving his hand dismissively.
"Tell the truth. If anyone asks, tell them that a dangerously beautiful woman came into my carriage, threw herself at me to try and seduce me, but I stayed loyal to my wife."
He stopped, blinked and then, thoughtfully corrected himself. "Wives, actually."
Fei nearly fell off his saddle, but wisely bit his tongue, nodding furiously as Luo He let out a low, amused chuckle. Watching the dark road ahead, Luo He muttered under his breath with a sly grin.
"Though after what she just tried with me, she's definitely going to be needing a very, very long bath tonight."
Fei stopped nodding. He slowly turned his head to stare at Luo He, his eyes widening as his mind jumped straight to the most scandalous possibility imaginable.
He had been keeping a close watch on the carriage the whole time, but knowing his master's unpredictable nature, a sudden, horrifying thought crossed his mind.
"Master..." Fei whispered, leaning down closer to the window, his expression a mix of shock and cautious disbelief.
"Did...Did... Something like that actually happen in there just now?"
"In that short amount of time?"
Luo He stared at Fei for three long seconds, utterly speechless at how fast his guard's mind had sprinted straight into the gutter.
He shook his head solemnly, gave a heavy sigh, and just closed the carriage window without another word.
Meanwhile, miles away, the grand estate of the Zhoung family stood silent under the moonlight.
Zhoung Liusu swept into her father's private study, her silk robes whispering against the floor. She looked entirely composed, but her eyes burned with a dark, restless heat.
Seated at the low table, Elder Zhoung, Wu's most brilliant strategist and a master mind of political chaos, looked up from his tea.
He observed his daughter closely, noting the subtle tension in her jaw.
"Welcome back, daughter." Elder Zhoung said calmly. "How did your meeting go? Did you manage to achieve your goal?"
Liusu's official mission had been simple on paper. Assess Luo He's genuine potential to conquer the Wu Kingdom, evaluate his true confidence.
And to determine whether the Wu kingdom should position itself to surrender to the Yue and become their vassals.
"He is ridiculously confident for someone of his standing." Liusu reported, sitting down opposite her father. "He is an anomaly. For a man with his clear level of command."
"It makes no sense that he married into a lesser noble family, let alone became a live in son-in-law."
She folded her arms, her voice sharpening. "He is playing the long game nicely. He is deliberately maintains a useless, persona so his enemies will underestimate him."
Elder Zhong nodded slowly, taking a sip of his tea. "Then we must not make the same mistake everyone else has made. He is the worst kind of man to underestimate."
"He builds schemes within schemes, and his frivolous attitude is nothing more than a mask to blind the arrogant."
Liusu leaned forward, her eyes narrowing. "Father... did you manage to uncover who he actually is?"
"No, not yet." Elder Zhong admitted quietly.
"His true origins are sealed tight. But one thing is clear, whatever he is pretending to be, that is not what he truly is."
"But what about you, my daughter? How did he react when you pressed him?"
Liusu's expression darkened.
"He didn't react at all. I threw myself right at him, tested him point-blank, and he didn't even flinch. It was as if I weren't even there.
"I tried to hint that we knew who he really was, but to no avail. He didn't react in the slightest. Perhaps he genuinely didn't catch the hint. Perhaps he was simply too slow to understand what I was saying."
"Nonsense." Elder Zhong countered rather instantly, his sharp eyes locking onto hers.
"He is far too smart for that. He definitely noticed, and he deliberately brushed you off. He understood that acknowledging it means he would hand you control of the negotiations completely."
At those words, Liusu's composure finally fractured.
"That arrogant, infuriating, shameless son of a bastard!" She burst out, her slim fingers clenching into her sleeves.
"He touched me, looked me dead in the eye, and then just let go without a single flicker of any hesitation!"
"Powerful men from three dukedoms crawl on their knees just to catch my glance, and he brushed me off like an insect landed on his robes! He didn't even flinch."
Elder Zhoung watched her quietly.
Her anger wasn't merely political. It was intensely personal. Luo He had not just rejected a deal, he had casually disarmed her greatest weapon. Her irresistible allure.
As she continued to fume, cursing Luo He's name with a fiery passion, Elder Zhoung leaned back, a subtle, highly satisfied smile forming on his mature face.
He had never ordered his daughter to try to seduce Luo He.
He knew Liusu's fiery, independent nature. If he had ordered her to romance the man, she would have resisted out of sheer spite. Instead, Elder Zhoung had simply created the exact conditions for them to meet.
Knowing very well that Luo He's carefree attitude, sharp mind, dangerous aura, and striking appearance would do the work for him. Listening to her rant endlessly about Luo He, Elder Zhoung knew his secondary, unstated scheme had succeeded perfectly.
She hadn't just met him. She had maybe unknowingly, but completely fallen for him.
"Ugh, enough!" Liusu snapped, standing up abruptly and smoothing her silk robes with agitated motions. "I'm done talking about that insufferable man."
"I'm going to take a long bath." She turned on her heel and strode out of the room, her head held high.
Elder Zhoung watched her door click shut.
The moment she was out of earshot, a low quiet, rumbling laugh broke from his chest. He shook his head, utterly amused by his daughter's transparent denial.
"Yes, my daughter," Elder Zhoung chuckled softly to himself, raising his cup in a silent toast to the empty doorway. "Go for a bath... See whether you can wash away the man you clearly can't stop thinking about."