Yidu Dynasty
Yidu Capital
The carriage came to a stop. Ji Keci was asleep, leaning against the inner wall of the carriage. Man Sui knocked on the wooden panel, waking Ji Keci from her slumber. Man Sui drew open the curtain inside the carriage. “Young Master, we’ve arrived at the Ji Manor. Please return to the residence!”
Ji Keci lifted the small curtain over the carriage window and only then realized that they had already returned to the Yidu Dynasty. She gave a soft “Mm,” glanced at Yin Xi and Fei Qingyan, and then stepped down from the carriage.
The carriage had stopped at the gates of the Ji Manor. After it departed, one of Ji Keci’s personal guards suddenly held up an exquisite box in his hands. Ji Keci raised her eyes and looked toward Pianfu. “Who presented this gift?”
Pianfu lowered his head slightly, and the maid Man Sui spoke up, “It is a gift from His Highness, Young Master…”
Ji Keci waved her hand, cutting off Man Sui’s words, and said with some impatience, “Enough. Go inside.”
Once they entered the gates of the Ji Manor, Pianfu handed the item in his hands to a servant of the manor. The servant tactfully sent the young master’s belongings directly to her chambers.
They passed around the elegant gardens and entered the main hall of the Ji Manor.
A tall, slender figure stood with his back to Ji Keci, motionless beside the principal seat in the hall. He wore a camel-colored, close-fitting martial outfit patterned with cloud-soaring talismanic bats, and a rhinoceros-horn belt was fastened around his waist. Within his two sleeves, his hands could be faintly seen clenched tightly.
Ji Keci lowered her head and slowly walked to the center of the hall. The subordinates who had been following by her side all tactfully withdrew to one side.
That tall figure turned his head and looked at Ji Keci, who had already lowered her head. Beneath his handsome beard, his lips parted slightly. “You still remember to come back?”
Ji Keci knelt down in fear, pressing her lips together. Timidly, she spoke, obediently stretching out both hands for her father to strike. “F-Father, your daughter knows she was wrong!”
General Ji strode over to Ji Keci’s side, lightly pinched the clothes she was wearing, and said with tightly furrowed brows, “Ci’er, as a woman, you dress in men’s clothing. You went out wandering for several years. Your wings have hardened, have they?”
He released the clothes Ji Keci was wearing, flicked his sleeves, and sat down in the principal seat. Then he shouted, “Men, bring out the family law!”
Man Sui wanted to stop General Ji’s actions. She had only taken one step when the two personal guards behind her each seized her. Seeing the two guards shake their heads gently, Man Sui stomped her feet anxiously.
The steward carried in the whip used for the Ji family law. He glanced sideways at his young master, then respectfully bowed and presented the Ji family law.
Inwardly, the steward muttered, Young Master, you must fend for yourself.
Man Sui and the two personal guards fixed their eyes on the whip upon the tray. It was a bluish-brown hemp whip, its edges inlaid with extremely sharp barbs. The handle was set with qingxiu jade, and the inlaid edges were wrapped in a distinctive strip of tough cowhide. Between the whip and its handle hung a tassel roughly one inch long.
If that whip came down even once, the young master’s body would surely be unable to endure it! The three of them clenched their hands tightly, but none of them dared utter a sound.
The Ji Manor had, for generations, been built upon martial strength and military merit. In their hearts, there were only military rules, and no indulgence was allowed.
Ji Keci knew that once her father ordered the steward to bring out the Ji family law, the family law of the Ji clan was that bone-corroding, heart-rending whip.
General Ji raised the whip and swung it. With a sharp crack, it landed heavily on the six layers of clothing Ji Keci wore. Ji Keci let out a muffled groan and gritted her teeth hard. She knew that as the daughter of a general’s manor, she could not be so cowardly. Fine beads of sweat slowly slid down from her forehead.
Then came the second lash, and the third. Fresh red blood spilled from the corner of Ji Keci’s mouth, and her face was exceedingly pale, yet she stubbornly refused to make a sound. The six layers of clothing had already been torn apart, and even the second layer of skin on her flesh had been ripped open by force, leaving her covered in blood.
General Ji continued with the fourth lash, the fifth lash, and by the time the final, sixth lash fell, Ji Keci had already fainted dead away. Man Sui and the two personal guards, anxious to protect their master, dropped to their knees and kowtowed without cease, pleading in one voice, “We beg Master to show mercy. The young master has already lost consciousness.”