Chapter 20

Prince Yi Feng led them to the stables, and the men headed to their various horses.

"Do I get one?" She asked with suppressed excitement.

"No," Prince Yi Feng said coldly. Lei Jiao didn't let him see her disappointment. She looked at him in question, hoping with all sincerity that he wouldn't make her ride with him again. "You walk. If you can't keep up with us, I'll whip you once for every ten minutes you make me wait."

She stared at him with wide eyes. Zhao Gui glanced back with sympathy.

She let out a quiet sigh. At least her wounds had rescabbed. Even though they were bleeding yesterday, the skin wasn't completely separated. She worried that this would make things work.

"If I can keep up, will I get a reward?" She asked shamelessly.

Mao Guanglie looked at her with utter astonishment. This girl was too bold.

Prince Yi Feng smirked at her and pulled the horse reigns, so he faced her. "No," he answered coldly. The more she surprised him, the more uncomfortable she made him feel. He wanted to kick her around a little to lessen the disgust inside of him.

She nodded her head without saying anything. She really didn't expect for him to give an award, she'd spent the few moments in between his response to fill a pack with several containers of water.

"Let's go," Prince Yi Feng said, kicking his horse.

Lei Jiao was very surprised to see that they were not riding very fast. In fact, she could easily outrun them at this speed. She didn't know how long she would have to keep it up, though, and feared she would run out of steam well before they made it to their destination.

As they ran, she let her mind wander. Above her, Xiang-Xiang and his brother Xiang-Jiao flew into her view every now and again. It was a lot hotter here, then it was in the mountains, but it was also easier to breathe; the air wasn't as oppressive as it was at the higher altitude. In all honesty, she felt rather relaxed, even when the horses picked up their speed. She knew they were still going reasonably slow though and hoped she could last until they reached wherever it was they were going.

'Running with the horses,

Keeping up my pace,

Thinking about Xiang gege,

Wondering if he will recognize my face,

Got my sword and bow,

And even a borrowed robe,'

She made up a simple toon as she ran, repeating it like a mantra to keep her mind occupied. When she was bored with that, her thoughts drifted back to Xiang gege. She sometimes wondered why she thought about him so much. Was it because he was her only friend for the last eight years? Or was it because she had feelings for him that were deeper than that. She knew when she thought about him, there was both pain and joy.

She remembered a passage in one of the books she bartered for in the little mountain village.

'What is this yearning?

A gentle breeze,

A light caress,

But there is dust in this wind,

Slowly wearing at my heart,

Grinding until there is a hole,

Gentle, so gentle,

Painful, so painful

I will stand in the wind and wait.'

She never understood this poem until now, the words finally made sense. Leaving the cabin made everything final. Even if he came back, she wouldn't be there anymore.

She had become distracted by her thoughts and didn't notice that the speed picked up again. Her chest was starting to burn. She wasn't sure how long it had been, but judging by the sun, it had been at least four hours. She had drunk two of the bottles of water already and needed to pee but didn't dare slow down. She was terrified of being whipped again. She never wanted to experience that again.

Prince Yi Fengg rode his horse steadily without turning back to see if she was able to keep up. He was thinking over the conversation he had with his mother before he was sent to the border. She warned him that if he lost focus for even a minute, everything he worked for would be snatched away. He hated that woman with every fiber of his being, but he still needed her. He could only feign filial piety and wait until he took the throne. She had ideas of grandeur and believed he would fill her life with all the things she coveted, most of all the power and authority.

But the only thing he could think of when it came to that woman was the hell she had put him through as a child. She made him stay in the room behind a screen while his Uncle, the Emperors Second brother and the head of the Right party, visited her. The noises were something that even now made him feel sick. He was there as an excuse. If anyone asked, it was Prince Yi Feng he visited. It was only natural that his mother would be there; he was still young.

The worst of it was when he accidentally broke one of the slats on the screen a few hours before he visited one time. Although he could turn away, he looked, and when he did, his mother stared at him during the actions. Her eyes were locked on his even though she was entangled with his uncle. It made him want to gouge his eyes out. He vomited, making his uncle angry.

When he left that day, she slapped Jiang Yi Feng hard across the face. Blood pulled at his lips.

"You look at me with those dirty eyes," she sneered, "I do this for you, you ungrateful little shit." He was nine at the time. Before that moment, he still had tender feelings for his mom, his heart began to harden at that time.