.sixteen.
Jung carried Minji all the way out to the stables to his waiting horse. Han had followed behind them and accompanied the two back to the general's home. The fourteenth prince had even carried Minji into her house and into her bedroom, with a concerned Soon Deok running after them. "What happened to Hak Soon?" She asked the two princes in the room. Jung had laid Minji on her bed and the force of the blow had been so severe that her eyes had swollen shut. She couldn't even see and her face was also red and puffy.
Han had explained everything to Soon Deok and the two had gone out to find a doctor. Jung waited by Minji's side. "I hope you learned your lesson." Jung scolded her, but there were evident undertones of worry in his voice. "Don't step in when Yeonhwa's scolding the servants next time. Her beatings are quite severe and though she wasn't trying to hurt you, she didn't hold back when she accidentally hit you in the face."
"But she was wrong." Minji protested, her hands subconsciously touching the puffiness of her now closed eyes. "That girl wasn't stealing from your brother. Hae Soo and I asked her to put that pin in his room."
"Why would you have anything to do with my fourth brother?" Jung asked with curiosity. "He's a monster. My other brother Yo says that So is a savage."
"Hae Soo saw him drop it and she wanted to return it." Minji explained with a quick lie. She didn't know why her friend didn't want to talk about her encounters with the fourth prince of Goryeo, but she knew that she probably had her reasons. "She was just afraid because everyone says he's a bad guy. And since Chaeryung cleans around the house sometimes, we thought no one would notice if she snuck into his room and left it there."
Jung hadn't been entirely satisfied with her answer, but let the subject drop. But not after giving her a warning. "You should stay away from my fourth brother. He doesn't really get along with people. I don't want him to hurt you."
Soon after, a doctor had arrived and prescribed her some ointment for her wounds. For the next few days, she was required to wear a bandage around her eyes. But Minji, being the restless teenager that she was, quickly overlooked the doctor's orders. The very next morning, she had gotten up early and left her house, surprisingly without being seen by her family or any of the servants. She was able to make it out of the property and walked out onto the dirt road to go find Hajin and see if she was okay.
She had been walking aimlessly for what felt like hours until she heard the clicking of hooves against the dirt road. Minji stopped and moved out of the way for the person to pass, but soon she heard the horse screech as its rider pulled on the reigns to stop him from continuing in its path. She next heard the crunching of human feet against the pebbles in the road, but she stood still for the moment, hoping that whoever it was, they would soon notice her predicament and either help her or continue without bothering her.
"Well, if it isn't Jung-ah's little girlfriend. Where are you headed so early in the morning--" He said in something of a teasing voice as he walked around to stand in front of her, but he stopped himself short. The moment he was face to face with her, his tone of amusement dropped and he bit down on hi lip with some concern. He had seen the bandages keeping her eyes concealed. "What happened to your eyes? Are you okay?"
It was the first time he had ever talked to Minji with anything less than disdain.
She was initially surprised and almost didn't recognize his voice.
"Shrimp prince? Is that you?" She called with curiosity, her hands shot out to feel blindly for him. Her hands crashed with the material of his gown and she felt the soft material underneath her fingers for a second before pulling back.
