I Got Punished

"A disgrace!!!"

PA!!

A crisp slap landed on Xiao Yue's cheek. In front of her, First Madam paced back and forth, her face red from anger.

"Since you got married, you only went outside once, and you are already causing a problem! If I do not discipline you today, can I still maintain my face as the First Wife??"

Xiao Yue's tears flowed like tiny streams down her cheeks. She felt immense pain, not because of the slap but because she was completely useless. She had watched with her own eyes how Uncle Ma was paraded around and ridiculed by the city folks, but she could not even do anything to prevent that.

Even worse, Uncle Ma was going to be executed the next morning and she was helpless. She was just a woman, a mere third wife with no real power to make changes. Xiao Yue wished she were not revived to witness all of this. She wished she had died for good together with the many people from her tribe. She sobbed and cried pitifully.

First Madam clicked her tongue and flicked her sleeve angrily.

"It's good that you regret what you have done! Go kneel in the ancestral hall for the whole evening and then copy the house rules three times! You are not allowed to go outside, not until I say otherwise!!"

It was fine. Xiao Yue did not mind being punished. But she still had to do something regarding Uncle Ma. Choking with sobs, she grabbed the hem of First Madam's dress and begged, "Elder Sister, I know I am wrong. But can I please go back to the palace tomorrow? There is something I need to do..."

First Madam glared at her in disbelief.

"Do what???" she exclaimed. "I don't care what urgent business you have, you are on house arrest for three months!"

Xiao Yue's lips trembled. She had not expected much, but she still asked out of desperation. She wanted desperately to hear a yes just for encouragement.

The young woman knelt at the ancestral hall until dinner time. Instead of reflecting on her mistake, she kept picturing Uncle Ma's tattered appearance at the back of her eyes. He did not recognize her, of course.  Xiao Yue already took up a new appearance.

If he had known it was her, what would he say to her? That he was disappointed in her? Xiao Yue sighed. If she had known that Uncle Ma was kept captive, she would have run away from the Long household as soon as she was resurrected. Revenge could wait if she could save anyone, anyone from her tribe. The thing was, she didn't know. She didn't know!!

Xiao Yue buried her face in her hands and cried again.

"Uncle Ma, I am sorry... Everyone, I am sorry..." she sobbed.

"Oh, look at that. You can actually act like a proper high-born lady."

Xiao Yue gasped and turned around, facing the person who had the insensitivity to mock her while she was dwelling in pain. It was Long Zhao Feng who did not seem to regret what he said even after seeing Xiao Yue's tear-streaked face. The latter quickly turned back to wipe her tears away using her sleeves.

"How unsightly. Use this."

A hand appeared in front of Xiao Yue, offering a white plain handkerchief.

"..."

Xiao Yue took it anyway and blew her nose into it. Long Zhao Feng's right eye twitched a little.

"You cry so sadly just because you got punished. Really, have you not been kneeling since you were a child? I lost count of how many times I have had to kneel in this place. In fact, I knelt so often that I remember the birth dan death dates of most ancestors by now."

"Nonsense. I do not cry because I have to kneel."

"Oh? Then what's wrong?"

Xiao Yue bit her lips and carefully pondered. She needed help to get out of the house to meet with Uncle Ma, but she could not reveal the truth to anyone, even less Long Zhao Feng, the brother of her nemesis! No, she had to find another way. Asking help from this brat was out of question.

"None of your business," she snapped.

Long Zhao Feng laughed.

"If you still have the spirit to be feisty, then I worry for nothing."

Long Zhao Feng left. Xiao Yue continued kneeling until sunset. By dinner time, teary Yu Fen came to pick her up.

"Young Lady, ah, Young Lady..." she lamented through tears.

Xiao Yue did not know what to say to comfort her. She herself needed comfort badly. It did not matter whether she ate dinner or not, because the food tasted bland in light of her distress. All she could taste was the iron taste of blood. Blood of Uncle Ma. She broke down again during dinner, sobbing uncontrollably without any comfort.

Yu Fen really could not stand Xiao Yue looking so miserable. After dinner, she shooed all other maids out and sat together with Xiao Yue.

"Young Lady, what really happened?" she gently asked.

"You were fine when you left this morning. Then you had such a big reaction when you saw the criminal in the town. Do you..."

She swallowed.

"Do you know that criminal?"

Xiao Yue hesitated, but she slowly nodded.

"Oh, Young Lady..."

Yu Fen sighed.

"How did you even get to know that barbarian man? He's..."

"He's not a barbarian," Xiao Yue said, sobbing even louder. He was her uncle. He was the respectable Tribe Chief who took care of the whole tribe with full dedication. He did not deserve to be reduced to a mere 'barbarian'.

Yu Fen helplessly gazed at her young lady. In the end, she could only pat Xiao Yue's back while softly muttering words of comfort.

Xiao Yue finished copying the house rules and then retreated to bed. Yu Fen extinguished the candles and closed the door behind her, leaving Xiao Yue to sleep. In the darkness, the latter wait until the chatter outside disappeared, until all activities in Long household ceased before she silently got off the bed.

Xiao Yue look lighted a candle, opened her closet, and searched for plain clothes to wear. She silently cursed when all she could find were expensive silk robes that a high-born lady like Chun Ya wore on daily basis. These clothes were not good. She could not run or jump or ride horses in them. How could she hope to reach the palace that way?

Xiao Yue kept searching, ransacking the tidy pile of clothes that Yu Fen painstakingly maintained day after day.

On the other side, Yu Fen had a bad feeling about Xiao Yue's odd behavior so she could not easily go to sleep. Yu Fen thought about accompanying her young lady the whole night, just in case she needed her.

When she arrived in front of Xiao Yue's bed-chamber, she was shocked by the candlelight. Thinking that it was a thief, Yu Fen went back to grab an iron bar to attack the thief with. Bracing herself, she opened the door stealthily and prepared to attack.

When she saw that it was Xiao Yue instead, she was so overcome with a shock that she almost dropped the iron bar on the floor.

"Young Lady???"

Xiao Yue gaped at Yu Fen. She rose and put her hand against Yu Fen's mouth swiftly.

"Yu Fen why are you here??"

Yu Fen freed herself and asked in return, "Why is Young Lady not in bed??? What are you doing in the middle of the night??"

Yu Fen stared at the scattered clothes, then at Xiao Yue's guilty expression.

"Young Lady, don't tell me... Are you planning to run away?"