Chapter 51 Chapter 51 Whipping.
Xue Yuanyin knelt on the ground with his head down, his face pale as he endured the whips that fell on his back one after another. His fingers dug into the ground, his nails turning white from clenching.
In a blink of an eye, ten whips fell. She felt her back burning and the severe pain spread throughout her body.
Because she gritted her teeth and endured it, there was already a faint taste of blood in her mouth.
The guard glanced at Xue Chang, who said calmly, "Do you know you're wrong?"
Xue Yuanyin swallowed the rusty taste in her throat and said with a trembling voice, "I... am right."
Xue Chang's eyes turned cold and he waved his hand to signal to continue.
The guard raised his arm and swung the whip for the eleventh time.
Xue Yuanyin was hit by the whip that came through the air and her whole body trembled. Then she felt a burning pain that almost pierced into her bones and was spreading everywhere, making her face turn pale.
The guard lashed out with the twelfth whip.
Xue Yuanyin was in so much pain that she couldn't speak. She dug her nails into the ground, her body shaking unconsciously, and she tried hard to maintain a kneeling position.
She thought for a moment, a private transaction is just a private transaction, without any name, without any basis, and if it is discovered, how can she expect a good ending?
The guard lashed out for the thirteenth time.
Xue Yuanyin felt a buzzing in his ears and his vision went dark. After the severe pain in his back, he felt numb and his back was already a little stiff.
She couldn't quite tell whether it was pain or adaptation. Only the faint smell of blood spreading in her mouth reminded her that this was not a dream.
The guard lashed out with the fourteenth whip.
Xue Yuanyin's vision went dark again and she nearly fell down. She supported herself on the ground with her arms and slowly knelt up again.
Hearing her father asking her if she knew she was wrong, she raised her head with difficulty, swallowed the fishy taste in her mouth, and said with difficulty:
"Father, are you going to tell the Zhang family about this and have him put under strict supervision?"
When the guards lashed out their fifteenth whip, Xue Yuanyin heard Xue Chang, who was at the head of the group, say indifferently:
"Tell them? I won't tell the Zhang family. If I tell them, then when they try to arrange a date with you, won't they know the reason why you won't be there?"
He looked at the faint traces of blood oozing from the woman's back, turned the ring on his thumb, and said calmly:
"I want him to know nothing. You didn't show up for no reason, so he couldn't wait for you and had a misunderstanding. I want you to be unable to wait for him, trapped in your boudoir, and then there will be resentment between us. Isn't this better than telling him the truth?"
Xue Yuanyin felt a surge of blood and energy rushing to her head, and she coughed up a little blood while trembling. At the same time, the whip fell heavily on her back. Her vision went dark for a moment, and she lost her ability to kneel steadily, and fell to the ground.
Faint traces of blood seeped out from the fabric of her back, dotted like beautiful flowers.
The guard's eyes showed some reluctance. He glanced at Xue Chang, who was sitting at the top of the table. Seeing that he didn't speak, he stopped the family rules and asked Xue Chang:
"Master, the fifteen lashes have been administered."
Fifteen lashes is the maximum punishment for any mistake made by an army officer.
Xue Chang was silent for a moment, then said coldly, "Carry her back. Without my permission, you are not allowed to leave the yard."
"yes."
The two guards carried Xue Yuanyin back.
When Xue Yuanyin returned to the yard and was carried to the bed by the maids in the yard, she was already regaining consciousness.
After all, he had learned martial arts before, so even though he suffered some injuries, they were not life-threatening.
Xue Yuanyin barely opened her eyes, and Fuzhu had already dispersed all the servants in the yard. She lay on the edge of the bed with red eyes, and someone carefully helped her take off her clothes, revealing the wound on her back.
Seeing the purple-red whip marks all over her girl's back, still faintly bleeding, Fuzhu's eyes suddenly turned red, and she cried out in a tearful voice:
"Girl! Girl, how did you get hurt like this?"
Xue Yuanyin was in so much pain that she was unconscious, but she still tried to comfort her:
"I'm fine."
Fuzhu held back her tears, took out the compress she had prepared, and carefully applied it to the wounds on her back, saying:
"Girl, you're lying. Your smile is uglier than crying."
Xue Yuanyin stopped laughing. She really couldn't laugh right now. Not only that, but her heart was also filled with a tightness.
She buried her head in the silk pillow and let him brush her beads and apply medicine.
Fuzhu said, "The Marquis has placed the young lady under house arrest, saying that you are not allowed to leave the Xue Mansion until the winter sacrifice."
Xue Yuanyin's throat was slightly hoarse, and she pretended to be calm and hummed: "I know."
Fuzhu continued, "Just now, Uncle Wei came to tell you that the Marquis told you that he has chosen an auspicious date. When the day comes, he will exchange letters with the Liu family and finalize your marriage to Young Master Liu. The Marquis also said..."
Fuzhu paused and could no longer bear to continue.
Xue Yuanyin swallowed the faint fishy-sweet taste in her mouth and said, "You said it, I can accept it."
Fuzhu bit her lip. "The Marquis said that the young lady and Mr. Liu should get married as soon as possible and give birth to a child as soon as possible."
Xue Yuanyin clenched the quilt with twined flowers in her hand, her arms trembling slightly as she forced herself to suppress the grief and anger in her heart.
If that's the case... she would rather Prince Yu and his party lose directly than be manipulated like this!
But she knew that she couldn't, she couldn't be that traitor unless she died. But she didn't want to die, as long as she lived, she would be one of the forces that helped His Royal Highness Prince Yu seize the throne.
Xue Yuanyin closed her eyes, her throat felt sore and blocked, and a huge feeling of powerlessness came over her, almost drowning her.
She was about to get engaged to a man whom she had only met a few times, and that absurd flesh trade was just a short time for her to possess him.
The joy she experienced seemed like a dream, and she didn't want to believe it at all. She was happily returning home the last second, but in the blink of an eye, this beautiful dream was about to end hastily.
After applying the medicine, Xue Yuanyin's back trembled slightly. He endured the pain but said nothing.
After applying the medicine, Fuzhu stopped and slowly helped the girl sit up.
Xue Yuanyin coughed, felt a sweetness in his throat, and actually coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Fuzhu wiped the blood from the corners of her lips with a handkerchief and said distressedly, "Girl, you must be strong."
"I know."
Xue Yuanyin threw away the handkerchief. The burning pain on her back almost made her unable to sit still. She tried to endure it again and again, but still couldn't bear it anymore. She leaned on Fuzhu's shoulder, covered her face with the back of her hand, and tears fell.
She cried and choked, "But it hurts so much, Fuzhu."
-
The winter sacrifice was getting closer, and Xue Yuanyin had been locked in the house for the past few days with nothing to do, often staring out the window in a daze.
Liu Minyan visits every day.
Every time he came, he would hand over a visiting card. Xue Yuanyin had been staying in the house these days, feeling confused, his mind was always unclear, and he was prone to forgetting things.
She didn't want to lie down or lie prone all the time, so she would sometimes go out in the yard to bask in the winter sun. Liu Minyan would sit beside her, reading a book carefully, and sometimes he would walk around her yard.
He doesn't talk much, but you can often see him.
Occasionally, Liu Minyan would approach to talk to her, but Xue Yuanyin was lost in her own thoughts and ignored him. Liu Minyan wasn't annoyed, nor did he seem to care, talking to himself and then going back to his own business.
Three days passed like this. After Xue Yuanyin changed the medicine for his wound, he was still there. He felt annoyed and asked:
"What are you doing? What's the point?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Minyan put down the scroll in his hand and said, "If nothing unexpected happens, I will become your fiancé in the near future."
After a pause, he said gently and frankly, "I think that since you are injured, I can't refuse to come and accompany you."
Xue Yuanyin was speechless, turned her head away from him, and said in a dull tone:
"You're not my fiancé yet, so there's no need for you to do this. Besides, do you really have feelings for me?"
Liu Minyan curved his lips and smiled: "Is this important?"
Xue Yuanyin paused again. Indeed, this didn't matter at all. He was willing to be the Xue family's son-in-law, and what he really wanted was a path to success.
If Prince Yu wins, his bet is right. If Prince Yu loses, he will withdraw in time and lose nothing.
What Liu Minyan was attracted to was her identity as the only daughter of the Xue family, not Xue Yuanyin herself.
Xue Yuanyin was in a daze, staring at the table in front of her. Three days had already passed, and in two days it would be the day he and she had agreed to meet at Zhuyue Palace.
Before leaving, he told her that he was taking her to visit Zhuyue Palace. She had never been to Zhuyue Palace before.
But her wound was still hurting, and she was locked up all day. Could she really go to the appointment?
Xue Yuanyin felt a tightness in her chest and slowly clenched her fingertips.
Liu Minyan spoke at the right time, speaking softly and slowly:
"Miss Xue, think positively. Marrying me isn't entirely a bad thing. First, I'm in poor health, so you won't have to deal with me for years. Second, I'm quite good-looking, so any offspring we have will certainly be handsome, at least physically. Third, I'm a son-in-law, so I won't take concubines, and I can't seize power in the Xue family from you. I'll simply help Fengli enter the court and achieve some achievements. You won't be constrained, and your life will be very comfortable, won't it?"
Xue Yuanyin remained silent and was unwilling to answer.
She actually knew that Liu Minyan was telling the truth, and even knew that Liu Minyan was a rare and good candidate for a husband, but she was still vaguely unwilling.
She didn't want to think too deeply about why she was unwilling and why she was so resistant and reluctant.
Some things, if you don't think about them clearly, will be over.
Once you think too clearly, you will see the outcome that you are powerless to change, and thus fall into the quagmire of pain and trap yourself.
Liu Minyan gently placed his palm on the back of her hand. His palm was very cold and large.
Xue Yuanyin paused and pulled his hand out.
Liu Minyan smiled helplessly, as if not caring at all, and made an invitation: "In two days, Miss Xue's wound will have scabbed over, right? By then, can I invite Miss Xue to accompany me to enjoy the scenery in the mountains and forests north of the city?"
Xue Chang placed her under house arrest, and there was only one situation in which she could be released, and that was if she went to have a tryst with Liu Minyan.
Xue Yuanyin lowered his eyes for a moment, then whispered, "My wound hasn't healed yet."
Liu Minyan said hello and did not insist. He said goodbye to her and left gracefully.
Xue Yuanyin also returned to the house. She couldn't move too much at the moment and needed to rest.
The next day, Liu Minyan invited her again, but Xue Yuanyin still refused.
He was very patient. After another day, he came to invite her again, saying:
"Miss Xue's wound should have scabbed over. It's better to go out and relax than to stay cooped up in the house."
Seeing that she did not refuse at the first time, Liu Minyan placed his palm on the back of her hand again, and his slightly cool palm covered her slightly warm fingertips.
Xue Yuanyin's hand moved slightly, but she didn't pull it away in the end. After a long silence, she said "Okay" and said softly:
"Then please take me out of the house for a walk."
Liu Minyan was a little surprised. Thinking about what he had just said, could it be that the scabs on the wound on the fifth day touched her? He nodded and said softly:
"Then I'll wait for you at the gate of Xue's mansion after noon."
Xue Yuanyin agreed and called the servants to send him out.
After he left, she did not return to the house, but gathered her crane cloak.
There was a century-old mulberry tree in the corner of the courtyard wall, with a lot of its crown extending outward from the wall. She stared at the mulberry tree in a daze.
-
Zhuyue Palace is located in the north of the imperial city. It has green tiles and red roofs, flying pavilions and flowing red. It has an excellent location. Looking south, you can see the emperor's feet, and looking north, you can see the towering green mountains on the outskirts of the city.
Zhang Jingxuan sat in the hall until the sun set in the west. He looked up at the gradually darkening sky, indifferently threw down the book in his hand, closed his eyes, and pressed his swollen forehead.
He asked, "Huaizhou, what time is it?"
Huaizhou lowered his head and said, "My lord, it's the evening hour."
At the hour of You, it is already past dinner time and every household stays in the house to rest. No one will come out at this time.
Zhang Jingxuan opened his eyes and stared at the sky outside.
For a long time, until dusk had completely fallen and the moonlight was draped over his shoulders, the hall was lit with bean lamps, and it was so quiet that there was almost no one around. The secret guard finally rushed out of the gate and reported in a low voice:
"Sir, the eldest daughter of the Xue family is currently enjoying the scenery of the mountains north of the city with another young man in plain white. They will not be returning until dusk."
After a while, Zhang Jingxuan sneered. The sound was not loud, but it was particularly clear in the silent hall.
With a hint of sarcasm on his face, he pulled out a red sandalwood box and opened it. Inside lay a Hundred Flowers and Flowing Pearls hairpin. He took it out and held it in his palm, looking at it carefully with lowered eyes, feeling the cool temperature of the hairpin, and then slowly applied force.
Suddenly, the golden hairpin broke into two pieces and fell to the ground with a crisp sound.
For a moment, no one in the hall dared to make a sound, and you could almost hear a pin drop.
Zhang Jingxuan looked at the broken gold hairpin on the ground and suddenly felt it was a little ridiculous.
He remembered that Xue Yuanyin's seventeenth birthday was coming up soon, just after the New Year. Worried that he wouldn't have the chance to meet her then, he had wanted to give her a birthday present in advance.
But he didn't expect that she didn't show up for the appointment, and the gift he personally chose couldn't be given away.
The secret guard retreated silently without waiting for any orders.
After a long while, Zhang Jingxuan stood up and said calmly:
"Huaizhou."
Huaizhou stepped forward and asked, "What do you want, sir?"
Zhang Jingxuan stepped out of Zhuyue Palace step by step. His handsome face remained gentle and calm in the misty night. His voice rang out slowly, as if carrying the winter wind and frost with the fluttering corners of his robe. Compared to his usual warmth, it seemed a little too cold and dull:
"Go and find out who that young man in white is."
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