The Price Of Impatience.

Fury burned in Ding Tao's eyes as he faced his daughter. His hand trembled as he pointed at her. "You are a fool," he spat. "A reckless, impatient fool."

She recoiled from him and snapped back "You should have let me live in the capital, father. You should have let me be close to the Crown Prince. I would have won his heart long ago. It would not have come to this."

Ding Tao sneered. "And what did you think you would gain by this? Huh? Sending your own guards to attack her. How could you be so stupid?. General Liu that sly fox will not rest until he finds out who tried to harm his daughter. He has the Emperor's ear. What do you think the Emperor will do when he hears of your involvement?"

"Then what did you expect me to do, Father?" his daughter shouted. "Lie here and do nothing, while that witch steals the Crown Prince from me? She has bewitched him, father. He does not even care that I am wounded. He prefers to be with her than to visit me."

Ding Tao shook his head. "You are a child, a green child who knows nothing of the world. You think harming her will make the Crown Prince forsake her? You are a fool, my dear daughter, a fool. He will hate you, he will despise you."

"I did what I had to do, father" his daughter said. "You promised you would help me wed him, that I would become the Crown Princess, the next Empress. But you have done nothing, Father, nothing. You only say one word, over and over. Patience. Patience. Patience. That is all you say."

Ding Tao nodded. "Yes, patience. That is the word you need to learn, daughter. Patience. And I will teach you. I will teach you the hard way." He looked at the door. "Bring her in."

The door opened, and a guard entered, dragging his daughter's maid. He threw her on the floor, where she lay whimpering. She had bruises on her forehead, from hitting the ground begging for mercy. "Please, miss, please," she begged. "Save me, miss."

His daughter gasped. She ran to the maid, kneeling beside her. "What have they done to you? Why are you hurt?" She looked up at him, accusingly.

Ding Tao knew his daughter cared for the maid. They had been together for many years. He knew the maid's death would be a lesson his daughter would never forget. "She was your messenger, was she not?" he asked. "She was the one who delivered your orders to the guards. She was the one who betrayed you. She acted on her own, without your knowledge, without your consent. She is the guilty one."He waved his hand at the guard."Take her out and whip her to death."

His daughter's eyes widened. "No, Father, no. You cannot do this. She is innocent, Father, innocent. She did what I told her. You cannot do this to her. Please, Father, please." She clung to the maid, trying to shield her from the guard. But he was too strong. He dragged the maid out as she screamed for mercy.

"Father, please, let her go," Ding Tao's daughter pleaded. "Please, Father, please. I beg you, Father, I beg you." She crawled to his feet, clinging to his robes.

Ding Tao squatted before her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You need to learn, daughter," he said. "You need to learn the price of impatience, the price of failure. You need to learn to obey me, to trust me. You need to learn or your foolishness will ruin you." He rose to his feet. "You need to sleep now," he said. "Sleep and think on your mistakes." He turned and walked out of the room, leaving her alone.

"Watch her," he told the two guards at the door. Then he strode towards his sister's chambers. He needed to talk to her, he needed her help in containing this mess.