With just a bowl of water and a few soft cloths, Bai Qian once again found herself cleaning his wounds while Ye Hua remained stationary watching her face closely as her thoughts took her back to the day she first met him.
The wounds back then had looked just as aweful as they did now, but rather than cry at the sight of him, she instead shook her head at how incredibly gullible she had been. Like a child, she had taken his wounds at face value and had believed every word that had come out of his mouth along with the miraculous healing and his explanation that it had been her useless concoction of herbs that had healed him.
Of course she knew now that it was all a lie just to get close to her, and had she not fallen in love with him, she might have actually angered over it. But she couldn't, not when she now knew the reason for the secrecy which they was still hanging over their heads.
Watching her, Ye Hua still couldn't believe that she was there with him. It had been one week since that war and yet here he was, on his bed wounded and there she was nursing him all over again with the same soft gentleness in her eyes as the first time. For the past seven days he had watched every manner of expression pass through her highly expressive eyes, yet always there had been something he couldn't quite put his finger on.
Only this time, he thought he may have figured out what it was. It barely sat below the surface of the calm smile that never seemed to waver no matter how unsettling things had become, especially Cheng Yus punishment which had left the woman in agony. He knew it distressed her, yet the smile remained regardless. And as she cleaned his wounds as she had done every day for seven days, it finally clicked.
The innocence was still there as were the emotions that had endeared him to Su Su. There was also that hint of mischief in the sparkle that her eyes would sometimes turn in his direction. But behind the calm smile and tender look that she was giving him at that very moment was a quiet maturity, one that could only have been born from a lifetime of experience.
She had lived through so much and suffered immensely because of the choices he had made and because of him, not only did she almost lose her life, but she would soon have to suffer again when he left to take on his own punishment. Yet still the smile remained, her eyes continued to sparkle and rather than cry like Su Su had done, she merely did what needed to be done. And that was to get him healed as quickly as possible so he could face his fate in order to free him for a future with her.
Stopping her hand before she could change the cloth, he drew it to his chest where he held onto it for a moment.
"I'm sorry." he said softly up at the eyes that were still just as calm even though he knew his were not.
"For what?" she asked as that smile grew a little wider. "For loving me?"
"I could have done things much differently. Only now you are faced with possibly losing me." he replied honestly because they both knew that what was coming could see her made a widow regardless of whether his Grandfather accepted their Mortal marriage or not which he had yet to discuss with him.
Flipping their hands around so his was now firmly in her grip, she pulled it back towards herself where she firmly placed it against her left breast.
"Ye Hua. Do you know why I am here right now, when I really should be at home tending to my people having been gone for so long or on Kunlun Mountain reuniting with my brothers that I have not seen in over seventy thousand years?" she asked as the smile suddenly disappeared and a look of determination took over.
He said nothing because he was already creating an argument against whatever came out of her mouth next. Instead he allowed her to hold his hand a little longer while he waited for her to speak. Which brought something else mind. She rarely spoke unless she had something to say, unlike Su Su, who was rather chatty, whereas Si Yin seemed to have a whole lot to say.
Only this woman was a little too reserved. The soft eyes and gentle smile may work on his most of the time, but he wanted to hear her voice more which was another reason why he chose to say nothing, instead he merely smiled at her the way she did to him.
"I need you to be at your very best for when you take your punishment and the only one who can get you there is me and Er Li. The only one who will see you survive it is us. Whatever happens, my face, our child, and every day that we spend together will be what sees you through. So please don't apologise, not when I am here of my own free will. " she said softly as the tears in his eyes began to gather.
"Everything we went through, was fated. My Ascension is proof of it and you know as well as I do, that such matter are out of our hands. All you need to worry about, is surviving, because I did not go through all of that, to see you die. So just lie back, enjoy the pampering and heal well, because when it's over, you can make it up to me then." she said with that spark of Si Yins mischief in her soft brown eyes that were also beginning to form tears.
The tears gave way as his hand was pressed tightly against her heart, the same one that had bled itself for his brother. He did not have anymore misgivings about her love for himself, but rather, he saw a woman who cared far too deeply about everyone else. In her, he saw his anchor, a sweet and kindhearted anchor that could also be firm if she needed to be,
But there was something he realized she had not said, something to do with his punishment, and this was even more noticeable by the way her eyes dipped down to avoid the sudden flare of realization at what she had actually said to him.
"You already know what my punishment will be don't you." he said now struggling to pull his hand free.
"Ye Hua....."
"Did Lord Pua inform you?" he asked now forcing himself up into a sitting position.
"Yes he did."
His lips hardened and his eyes narrowed in the way she was now trying to back away.
"You went to see him." It was a statement rather than a question and the way he was looking at her, soon had her trying to force him back down.
"Your injuries Ye Hua, you can't sit up yet." she berated him firmly only to find herself being dragged towards him.
"Qian Qian. Why?" he asked as her small form forcefully pushed him back down.
"I had to know. I had to know what we were in for so I could prepare myself for it." she said firmly and stubbornly even though the tears were reigning down her face.
"I don't even know what's in store, you should ..... no we should have gone together." he replied just as stubbornly and becoming angry that she would put herself through the agony of knowing when he felt it was better that things just played out and one dealt with it when it happened.
Which went completely against everything he lived by. He had always strategised, organized and prepared for every situation with at least one contingency plan should any of them fail. But for her to also be doing the same thing, had him realizing one more thing about her that was showing itself. She was just as much strategist as he was, then again, she had learned under his brother and it was showing. And though he was not happy for her to put herself through the agony, in defeat, he forced himself to accept that this too was a part of her, rather than the mischievous Si Yin who would have caused a big fuss and made things worse, or Su Su who would not have handled the situation as well as the Queen he was now looking at.
"Alright.... Then help me to heal quickly so we can get this over with." he said pulling her into his arms to hold her a little longer.
The embrace wasn't gentle, it was fierce and determined to beat the odds, because even though Lord Pua had yet to inform him of his punishment, Ye Hua was well versed in the laws and already had a good idea of what was coming.
But as her head tilted back a little to look up at him, his own lowered to steal a little extra comfort. Pressing into her lips, he held them captive. Not moving, but just resting on them, he continued to hold her in that position which confused her a little. Her lips wanted to move, to open, to glide but his eyes were open and staring straight into hers. If he was trying to unsettle her, he was succeeding she thought to herself as she remained stationary.
Then slowly his lips began to spread into the smallest of smiles. Still attached to her lips, her eyes began to widen as those lips then began to pull away ever so slowly. It was their very first kiss in her true form, and one she had wanted to desperately give to him, only she thought he was too weak for any kind of excitement, so had held back. Only now, the way his eyes were laughing her as he then allowed his head to fall against the pillow, had her own lips spreading out into a small smile of her own.
She knew what he was doing. He was trying to take her mind off his punishment by creating a diversion and one that she was not overly opposed to. In fact, the moment his head hit the pillow and his eyes closed, her face lowered to steal a few more kisses and forcing him to kiss her back.
And so for a while, they enjoyed a little of each other that could easily have moved into something else, but eventually she pulled away to force his mind back on his healing which never really left hers. She didn't think she would feel truly comfortable until it was over and he was back in control of himself and in favour again, because she knew as well as he did, that even when the punishment was over, he would have to re-earn the trust he had lost and not just with his Grandfather, but the entire world who had begun to look towards him with hope for the future.
_______
It would be amost three months before he was deemed fit to stand trial, yet in all that time, not once did she waver in her duties as his wife, companion and never ending source of strength which saw him eventually rise to face his fate.
Meeting the guards who had arrived to escort him directly to the Grand Parlour, Ye Huas head was high and beside him was both Bai Qian and Er Li who refused to leave him to face it alone because as far as she was concerned, the trial was also hers.
Entering the Parlour and dressed in a simple white hemp gown which humbled him immensely before the worlds leaders, Ye Hua then moved forward to kneel, while Bai Qian remained on her feet beside him which did raise a few brows seeing as she was not even on trial.
"Queen Bai Qian, there is no need for you to stand before me." Haode said softly and taken aback by her firm stance to remain.
"Qian Qian please....." Ye Hua added weight to his words having thought she would move to the side wall where he could see his brother standing.
In fact, Mo Yuan had arrived with the hope of bargaining down his punishment, but he, like everyone else knew it was a hopeless endeavor, this time his brother was on his own and he could do nothing for him. But he did try to catch Bai Qians eye to move her away.
"I am Ye Huas wife and the mother of his child. Whatever he is facing, I will face it at his side." she informed him and everyone else in the Parlour.
Looking at her and then back at Ye Hua, Haode thought to challenge their marriage because it was common knowledge that a Mortal wedding was not legal under Celestial laws. In fact, he had yet to discuss this with Ye Hua. He had yet to discuss anything with him, because he wanted to wait for this moment. To force the boy to explain himself before a packed court and to further increase his punishment because he knew the embarassment for him would be overwhelming about now regardless of the guarded expression on his face.
"Very well. But I must ask that you do not speak for him Queen Bai Qian," he replied with a curt nod of his head and a strong look of warning that regardless of her station, she had no legal sway or say over the trial. And seeing the curt nod in return, he then waved his hand towards the side wall.
And so began the lengthy reading of Ye Huas crimes which was read out by Lord Pua and starting with the most serious.
"Desertion of your Heavenly Post of Crown Prince, how do you plead?"
"Guilty." Ye Hua replied softly with his head now down.
"For the complete annihilation of the entire Mermaid Clan. How do you plead?"
"Guilty."
"For aiding and abetting the criminal Cheng Yu to remain in hiding. How do you plead."
"Guilty."
"For illegally marrying outside the legal boundaries of the Celestial Heavens." How do you plead?"
"Guilty."
From here, the smaller crimes were then read out. Some of which was leaving the three worlds without permission, using a spell to hide his star without permission, taking his wife to a world that they were not in control of without permission and withholding knowledge of his son Er Li from the chronicles which all Celestial childrens names must be entered into at birth by law wtihout permission, which he also pleaded guilty to because he knew they would not influence the severity of his punishment anyway.
"Then by your own admission, you are found guilty of all the crimes laid against you." Lord Pua finalized the reading before turning to Haode to finish it.
Turning his gaze on his Grandson, for moment, Bai Qian thought he was going to cry. His eyes had begun to mist over as he looked down at the boy he had held such high hopes for.
"Why Ye Hua?" he asked softly and barely keeping himself together.
He did not need to think about his answer because it was all that he was thinking of as the crimes against him were read out.
"Because I love her." he said turning his head slightly towards her.
"You loved her enough to desert is all. Place us all at the mercy of our enemies?" Haode asked as the every leaders mind went to Qing Cang who they would have all had to deal with had Ye Hua not stepped in at the last moment.
"I'm sorry." he whispered and refusing to backtrack, because at the end of it all, she was still the reason why.
"Then you leave me no choice but to accept your plea of guilt." Haode whispered before turning his head back towards Lord Pua whos head was also beginning to droop having hoped for a miracle to intervene.
Instead he unfurled the scroll that held his punishment.
"Ye Hua. For the annihilation of the entire Mermaid Clan that was led at your command, you are sentenced to thirty six lightening bolts to be taken consecutively on this day."
"For aiding and abetting the fugitive and criminal Cheng Yu, you are sentenced to thirty six lightning bolts in conjunction with all other lightening bolt punishements and to be taken on this day."
"For illegally marrying outside of the Celestial Heavens legal boundaries, you are sentenced to thirty six lightning bolts in conjunction with all other lightening bolt punishements and to be taken on this day."
For all other minor crimes which are to be combined under one punishment, you are sentenced to thirty six lightning bolts in conjunction with all other lightening bolt punishements and to be taken on this day."
With a quick look up, Ye Hua knew the bombshell had yet to fall for the most serious crime and for a second he held his Grandfathers eyes with a small measure of hope that he might leave it at that. But he knew it wasn;t to be when Haode rose from his throne and slowly made his way down towards him. His eyes were pained and his body moving stiffly, as if every step sent sharp agonizing pain through his body. If he actually had the ability to prevent his final punishment he absolutely would have, but he could not. The Heavens themselves had already put in place the punishment for desertion of the highest posts and all he could do was utter the words which forced the tears on his lashed to fall, having tried his best to hold them in so he could cry in private.
"Ye Hua. You understand that you must take on One Hundred and Forty Four lightning bolts to be taken consecutively on this day?" he asked as his voice rasped unevenly.
"I understand." Ye Hua replied while waiting along with everyone else for the grand finale.
"Then for the desertion of your post of Crown Prince of the Celestial Heavens you are not only to undertake the lightning bolt punishments, but you are then to throw yourself into Zhutian Terrace." he said quietly as the tears unashamedly rolled down his face and Bai Qian collapsed into a heap at his feet having thought her husband was only going to face lightning bolts.