Twenty-two surviving men were reassigned under new jurisdictional control in accordance with the match's outcome. No celebrations followed.
Only procedure.
The Twelfth Princess was dismissed almost immediately. Luo He did not even bother softening the rejection. "You are not worthy enough to stand beside me," he said coldly.
The words landed harder than a slap.
For a brief moment, the princess simply stared at him in disbelief. She was still an imperial princess. A daughter of the Emperor.
Across the empire, noble clans and military houses would gladly ruin themselves for even the possibility of marrying into the imperial bloodline through her.
Yet Luo He looked at her with complete indifference. Not anger. Not hatred.
Simply dismissal. As though she had failed to meet some invisible standard only he understood.
What humiliated her most was not rejection itself but the fact that Luo He had not even considered keeping her close as an attendant after the match.
To him, she was not valuable enough to retain. Not even as a maid. The Twelfth Princess lowered her eyes slightly, hiding the resentment building beneath them.
If not for the current balance of power inside the court she genuinely would have ordered his execution. But unfortunately for her the person standing behind Luo He was Ning Jia.
And Ning Jia was not someone she could afford to provoke. The Third Princess possessed not only terrifying martial strength, but also overwhelming political protection.
The Twelfth Princess understood this reality better than most. Her fear of the Crown Prince did not come from affection or loyalty but from vulnerability.
Inside the imperial court, a princess's value was often tied less to who she was and more to what political advantage she could provide through alliances and marriage.
Every movement, every rumor, every relationship could become dangerous if discovered by the wrong people.
If the Emperor ever learned that she had secretly given herself to one of her own good looking guards.
Both she and the man involved would likely face severe punishment regardless of their feelings for one another.
Neither possessed enough political backing to survive such a scandal. She had no powerful maternal clan capable of resisting imperial authority, and her influence within court was negleible.
To the throne, she was ultimately still considered a political asset first. And damaged political assets were easily discarded.
That was why she envied Ning Jia so deeply. Because Ning Jia existed above rules that crushed everyone else. The Third Princess was the Emperor's favorite daughter.
Her martial talent alone made her exceptional, but more importantly the Emperor openly protected her. Even court officials feared offending her directly.
If another princess were caught in scandal, even if rumoured, punishment would be immediate and brutal. If Ning Jia did the same even in public, the emperor would likely silence the matter himself.
At worst, she might receive symbolic punishment for appearances something like being confined to her room for a couple of days.
Before ultimately being quietly forgiven afterward. Everyone in court understood this unspoken truth. There were princes and princesses born beneath heaven.
And then there were those personally favored by the Emperor. The distance between those two positions was greater than the distance between heaven and earth.
And the Twelfth Princess knew very well which side she belonged to.
She was just a "Back-alley princess," as some cruel nobles privately described, those born from politically insignificant concubines.
Her rank existed. But her influence barely did.
So despite the fury burning inside her chest she endured it silently. Meanwhile, Luo He had already lost interest in her entirely.
His attention shifted toward more important matters. The surviving twenty two men obtained through the
Life-and-Death match were reorganized immediately afterward.
Luo He casually placed them under Fei's command without even reviewing them personally. "Keep the useful ones," he said calmly. "Replace the useless ones later." He ordered casually.
Fei nodded once. No further explanation was needed. Then Luo He turned toward Jin Mulan, Bing, and Little Lin. "You all will leave first," he instructed lightly. Jin Mulan's eyes narrowed slightly.
"You are going alone?" She asked worried. Luo He smiled faintly. "Not alone." His gaze shifted slightly toward Ning Jia standing nearby.
The Third Princess folded her arms proudly afterward. "With me present," she declared confidently. "Even the Crown Prince will behave properly."
Luo He laughed quietly.
She appeared cold and untouchable to outsiders at first sight, yet once someone truly came to know her, that intimidating image almost felt absurdly foolish in retrospect.
"She even looked somewhat stupid." Luo He thought. But he didn't show it, because she was his woman after all more over he really needed her protection.
"That confidence is exactly why I brought you." Luo He said proudly. Ning Jia looked extremely pleased with herself afterward.
Meanwhile Jin Mulan looked far less convinced. Still, she understood the meaning behind the arrangement immediately. This meeting with the Crown Prince was no longer about chess.
Now it was politics. Dangerous politics.
And bringing Ning Jia along was equivalent to carrying a royal blade directly into the discussion room.
With everything arranged, Luo He finally adjusted his sleeves calmly before beginning to walk deeper into the palace.
Ning Jia followed beside him without hesitation.
And somewhere ahead the Crown Prince waited. The deeper palace corridors had grown quieter now.
Fewer servants moved through these inner sections of the imperial residence, and those who did lowered their heads immediately upon seeing the approaching group.
Behind Luo He and Ning Jia, the Black Cloud Shuttle continued to move slowly through the corridor halls, carried once more by two assigned palace guards.
It remained wrapped beneath layers of old black cloth stained by dried blood.
No one asked questions about it. No one dared to.
The guards carrying it kept their eyes lowered the entire time, as though even looking directly at the object too long might bring misfortune upon them.
The atmosphere gradually changed as they advanced deeper into the Crown Prince's territory. The warmth of the outer palace disappeared.
Everything here felt colder. Sharper.
Like walking through the inside of a drawn blade. Finally they arrived.
The Crown Prince stood beside an open window overlooking the inner palace gardens.
His one hand calmly resting behind his back. Golden lantern light illuminated half his face while the remaining half remained hidden beneath shadow.
He did not turn immediately when Luo He entered.
Only after several moments did he finally speak. "You survived remarkably well today." He said as if judging a piece on the board. Luo He laughed softly.
"You sound disappointed about it." He said coldly.
The Crown Prince ignored the remark entirely. Then slowly he turned. For several seconds the two men simply looked at one another in silence.
Neither bowed. Neither lowered themselves.
Two predators measuring distance.
Nothing more. Ning Jia quietly moved to one side afterward, folding her arms while observing the exchange carefully.
Even she understood this conversation mattered far more than the match outside. The Crown Prince finally broke the silence. "Let go of the Sovereign," he said calmly.
"Join me instead." He said invitingly. The words were direct. No games just like Luo He liked it. No hidden meaning.
A genuine invitation. Or perhaps a final attempt at recruitment before eventual conflict became unavoidable.
Luo He stared at him for a moment.
Then suddenly smiled politely. "Lately I happen to have a liking to the old man." Luo He said laughing.
"All your prior attempts to eliminate eliminate me failed," his smile widened slightly afterward. "So now you expect me to kneel beside you as your subordinate. Just because your earlier plans failed."
The Crown Prince's eyes narrowed faintly. But Luo He continued before he could speak. "You are far too corrupted," he said calmly. "Far too cruel." Then his tone sharpened slightly.
"And above all far too stupid to play the game well enough." The temperature in the room seemed to drop afterward. Even the servants outside the chamber entrance stiffened slightly at the words.
No one spoke to the Crown Prince like that. No one. Yet Luo He stood there completely relaxed. The Crown Prince remained silent for several moments before finally replying.
"You think yourself untouchable." He asked cold hetrate in his eyes. "No," Luo He corrected calmly. "I think differently from you." He said casually. Then he slowly stepped closer.
"This is life and death for you," he continued quietly. "That is your biggest weakness. You don't know how to enjoy the game, Brother." The Crown Prince's gaze hardened.