Chapter 13

Inside the prison cell, Liang Lai Jiao curled herself against the corner wall. It was dark and smelled sour with sweat and feces. She was kept in the cell for three days, only given a watery broth once a day over those three days. On the fourth day, she was brought outside.

The sky was bright with the sun, she held her hands over her face to shield her eyes while they adjusted. She was disheveled and smelled. Some of the soldiers looked at her in pity. She was just a young beauty, after all, even if she was gross at the moment

.

She was brought onto a platform and forced to bow down in front of the Prince. He stood in front of her with little expression in his eyes. He purposely stepped to the side, and Liang Lai Jiao saw blood soaked the opposite side. She lifted her eyes; it was that woman and her child. Both dead. She turned her eyes towards the Prince, who was also watching her with curiosity. The horror in her eyes stirred something bitter in his chest.

"This woman abetted a traitor and is guilty of death. This Prince has chosen to be merciful as a sign of good faith towards my great nation's citizens. I am not a heartless Prince, and this woman was only softhearted because of a child. Punish her with twenty lashes." He looked down at her, his head slightly tilted.

She turned away from him.

Men came from the side and forced her to lie down. A heavy whip was mercilessly struck against her back twenty times. The skin on her back and legs felt mangled. She wasn't a dainty female anymore and had suffered her own share of pain in the past. It was only a few months ago that she was nearly killed by a mountain lion. She almost lost an arm when a set of leopards cornered her in a narrow cave a year ago, those pains were just as painful, but this pain was worse because it was filled with humiliation. There was no feeling of satisfaction when it ended, no joy that her life had been spared. Only a dim sense of regret. Why hadn't she just run when she first encountered this Prince in the forest? The woman and child had died, either way, her noble actions had been nothing more than a joke in front of him.

Prince Yi Feng watched her the entire time she was punished. Every lash that came down, he expected her to cry out. He expected to hear her beg for mercy, but she never opened her mouth. Her lips were covered in blood from where she had bit down to keep her mouth clenched. He bent down in front of her, the smell of the prison, and the stench of blood filled his nose. She disgusted him, but that pair of bright and solid eyes amused him.

"Bring her to one of the tents and treat her wounds," he said, glancing towards a pair of servants.

Liang Lia Jiao was gently raised from the raised slab. Her body raged in refusal; blood poured from each wound with every movement. She could only grit her teeth and bear it, but even then, the pain became too much, and she blacked out.

When she woke up, she was lying face down on a bed. Her entire body ached, there wasn't a part of her that wasn't sore. She could tell that her wounds had been treated, and her body was washed. She was horrified knowing that someone had seen her body without her knowledge. She tried to raise up a little to get a better look at her surroundings, but the pain caused her to instantly pass out again.

She slept like that for another two days. When she woke up, she could tell that she was in a carriage of some kind. The motion of the back and forth made her feel nauseous. The pain on her back was still horrible, she bore it and sat up. She could feel some of the wounds break open again.

She was in a small carriage. Besides, her was a sleeping girl, not much older than she was. She lifted the curtained window and looked outside. Soldiers were marching alongside the carriage. The Prince was riding a horse a few yards ahead of her. He looked incredibly handsome in his w blue and silver military armor. His hair was neatly tied behind his head; his tall, muscular body was elegant and powerful. Of course, she wasn't paying attention to those things, she was thinking about her wolves, and wondering where the hawks were.

She looked away. She had kept her word, she knew that one day that promise would come back to her, and even now, she couldn't regret that she had promised. At least her family could rest; at least she had all these years of freedom; at least she had met Xiang gege.

Thinking of him, she felt her heart ache.

'Will he ever come back for me? What will he think when he sees I'm gone?'

The sound of a shrieking hawk broke her thoughts. The soldiers started murmuring and guessing about its origins.

"Strike it down," Prince Yi Feng said with little thought.

Liang Lia Jiao panicked. She pushed open the curtain and jumped out of the moving carriage. Every movement was painful to her, but she couldn't allow them to shoot her old friend. She let out a long whistle, the hawk spotted her and knew she was ok and quickly retreated to a safe distance. Prince Yi Feng glanced at her. She was obviously still in terrible pain, but for one bird, she had endured it. He motioned her to come to him. She walked over slowly, trying not to cause any more damage than she already had. He stopped his horse, so the rest of the caravan had stopped as well. When she was at his side, she tried to bow.

"Forget it, "he said, "come closer." She eyed him warily but could only obey. When she was close enough to touch, he suddenly swooped her up into his arms, setting her in front of his own body. She let out a panicked shriek. The soldiers dared not look at the scene, only speculated in their hearts about what it meant.