"10.."

"12.."

"15.."

"20.."

"30.."

Zhang Yi Bo looked at his granddaughter who was enduring the painful lashes without complaining. He was worried about her more than she understood. His method was wrong and he knew it too. But he wanted her to feel this severe pain to realize what awaited her in that family. If not for that family, his precious daughter would have been alive.

This pain of lashes was nothing in front of the pain that the Long family was about to cause her if she insisted on looking for the past.

.

"50.."

"Should I continue, Master?" Mo Jiang looked at Zhang Ye Bo who was coldly staring at his granddaughter.

Alcina again proved to him that his punishment had no effect on her... Perhaps, he needs to take a soft approach this time as his hard approach evidently failed..

"Make sure she kneels in the ancestral hall all night. If she fails to do that. Double lashes and double the amount of time kneeling in the ancestral hall." With this said, he was gone.

'Alcina, you will listen to me. So what if lashes no longer work on you? Something else surely will.. Just wait for me to know about your weakness.. '

"Young Miss, please let me get the medicine," Mo Jiang said with tears in his eyes. He wished to cut off his hands for hitting the delicate flower like young miss. Why wasn't he dead? He should die for hurting her, shouldn't he?

"Mo Jiang, I have to leave early in the morning. If you go to bring medicine, it will take unnecessary time. Let me go to kneel in the ancestral hall. I do not want to upset Grandfather more than he already is." Alcina limply stood up. Throwing away her heels, she walked towards the ancestral hall, and on reaching, she slowly bent her bleeding knees to kneel while folding her hands. historical

Zhang Boyan saw that Alcina's peach colored summer dress was stained red. Rubbing his forehead, he leaned his back against the door and kept on looking at her.

Never had he ever seen such a determined and strong character! No amount of wealth or pain could waiver her heart. Her leaving the Tang family and returning to Zhang family was enough proof for him to know that she never cared about wealth and the life associated with it. And the pain she was currently going through told him different tales about her.

He still remembers the time when he first saw Zhang Ye Bo punishing Alcina with the same lash. She was eighteen at that time. She had dared to break the first and most important role of the clan. Despite being the medical genius of the generation, she chose to abandon the noble profession by choosing God knows what over it.

How could a proud young man like him bear to see a beautiful and fragile Alcina getting beaten in front of his eyes? Or this was what he had been telling him. The truth was he was jealous of how she would not say a word when that man from the Tang family would do anything for her but would scream murder if someone else would try to do the same.

To get close to her, he had begged Zhang Ye Bo to give lashes to him instead of her. Surprisingly, Zhang Ye Bo agreed to give him 50 lashes on Alcina's account. And when he thought he was done, Zhang Ye Bo had asked Mo Jiang to give 70 more to Alcina. That was the day he learned that saving Alcina from Zhang Ye Bo's wrath means putting her in further danger.

Zhang Ye Bo was ruthless..

He thought that his punishment was working on her.. When the truth was.. Zhang Ye Bo and his severe methods had given rise to a monster.. a monster that was numb to both physical and emotional pain.

____

The next morning...

As the sunlight entered the room, Alcina shouted, "Mo Jiang, the night has ended. Tell grandfather that I completed my punishment."

A moment later, Mo Jiang came running. "Young Miss, let me help you please."

"Nah. Nah. I'm fine." Alcina stopped him from helping her. "I have to leave early." So, what if her bones were breaking and her strength was losing? She couldn't go back on her words. What kind of woman would she be if she goes back on her words?

She had promised Faye that she would have breakfast with her at any cost. And of course, she had a confession to make. She was going to claim the love of her life. She had enough of everything. She wanted Ryuu now. He was hers! Only hers! So what if she had to be a villain for the sake of her and her daughter's happiness? If later she had to beg for Xiuying's forgiveness, so be it.

Just the thought of Ryuu and their life ahead was enough to ignite strength inside her. The pain she was feeling was nothing in front of the happiness she was going to have.

As Alcina tried to stand up, she fell on the ground. From the kneeling, her body went numb. She tried a few more times but failed.. her legs along with her arms were tingling.. she couldn't decide what she was feeling in words.. It was an out of world experience.

"Young Miss, are you alright?" Mo Jiang came forward to hold her but was stopped by another hand. "Young Master?" Mo Jiang called out his name in surprise.

"Drink this," Boyan said, ignoring the Butler, and passed a glass containing liquid of some sort to Alcina.

"What's this?" She asked him suspiciously.

"If you want to go back, then quietly drink it. Or keep on lying here," Boyan casually said. He behaved as if her near to death experience wasn't affecting him at all but it was far from true.

Alicia glared at him but silently took the glass from his hand and drank it.

"You lied to me. It has resting pills.." Alcina wasn't able to complete her words before she had fallen unconscious. Thankfully, he was there to pick her up in his arms.

"Young Master, she will raise hell once she wakes up," Mo Jiang said concernedly.

"Who cares? The world doesn't only have one stubborn person."