The emperor staggered backwards once his muddled brain cleared. The terrible state Jiang was in made his heart shiver and he couldn't believe he had let his past control him. His hate for that enchantress was so much that he even saw him in Jiang just because he came from General Lei manor.

That enchantress had caused him so much pain in the past to the extent that he had hurt the one person he had made up his mind to always protect, he might not have said it out loud but he had silently done so in his heart.

The emperor took two steps towards Jiang, he wanted to embrace him and soothe his pain but upon Jiang hearing his boots approach him he curled up even more. His body and clothes were drenched in his own blood, from his head to his toes, nothing could be seen but his own blood. He didn't scream or cry anymore but the unbearable pain made him whimper.

"Lu Han, take him and get a doctor!" the emperor let out a shaky breath, he wanted to sound indifferent and unaffected but seeing Jiang like this, there was no way he could keep on that facade.

Jiang felt like he was betrayed by Jun Tang, for the first time in his life he began to feel hate, hate towards the family that treated him and his mother badly, hate towards Jun Tang for not even given him a chance to explain himself after seeing his horrendous appearance but most especially he hated himself for not been able to obtain these peoples goodwill. These feelings felt familiar, like he had felt such hate before if not more, Jiang felt like the hate he was feeling now was once his constant companion sometime in the past.

The bitter memories he had blocked out when he was three years old was now coming back to him, flashes of dark memories he kept hidden in the deepest part of his mind resurfaced in full force, Jiang remembered everything he had previously forgotten.

Jiang had always thought that he was born disfigured but that wasn't the case at all, he wasn't always this ugly, although he was indeed born a trash and couldn't cultivate but he was a really beautiful child and smart child, just like his mother before she had gotten poisoned.

During the time he wasn't so ugly, although both mother and child were not doted on by his father, they were to some extent being provided for, food and clothes were in abundance and the only thing they lacked was a good resting place. At that time his father had thought than even if he is useless, he could still be married off for a good price to a good family as there are still many noble families in Tang Qin Shang that will want to have such a beauty in their household as a pet if nothing else.

"Make sure nothing happens to that face of his because that's the only thing he is good for and remember that once he clocks fifteen this General will marry him off." General Lei had once said to his knelling mother, he had also been knelling down with her on the hard stony forest ground in front of their thatched hut, he could see unwillingness, bitterness and pain in his mother's eyes after his father had left them there never to return but he didn't understand then why she looked that way but now he does.

His mother had then said to him "I wish I wasn't so weak, I wish I could at least live long enough to protect you from them, I am sorry for been such a useless mother, for knowing fully well that they wish to sell you off but still been unable to do anything about it." No matter how smart Jiang was then, he couldn't understand his mother's words or her grief as he was just too young.

He was just three years old when his whole life was planned out for him. That period was the loneliest in Jiang life for he had no friends and was hidden from the world. His mother's health at the time seem to deteriorate a lot as a result she couldn't play with him as much he wanted her too.

When his elder brother and sister from the legitimate household came over to their thatched hut and introduced themselves, also they requested to play with Jiang thereby making him really happy. Jiang felt going forward he won't be less lonely.

Jiang didn't understand why his mother didn't want him to go with them then but when he was taken away he never liked the way they played, they either pierced his skin with sharp needles and injected something in him or forced him to drink something really bitter and he hated it but to please them he took it anyway.

Little Jiang complained.

"Smack" Jiang didn't understand why he was hit, his left cheek had swollen up and his eyes swelled up with tears.

the real Little Lei Yue had said with disdain in her eyes.

The little young master Lei Chow ordered, they were jealous of his beauty so they always chose to downgrade him and curse him out of spite and because of this Jiang became timid, believed he was ugly and had an inferiority complex, he was always conscious of how people see him.Jiang although his cheeks were swollen and it was really painful to move his mouth drank the bitter drink anyway.

They had both ordered Jiang sternly and he nodded obediently, he really didn't want to be so alone again, his mother was mostly sleeping this days.

After taking in so much of that unknown substance that was given to him to take, his body finally reacted to it and that night when he went home he couldn't sleep, his little fragile body was in unimaginable pain, Jiang had never felt so much torture in the little time he had lived. His small brain could not process what was happening, his mother kept asking him what he ate when he went out and he could barely get out any words out, his lips became black, his vision began to become dull, he felt like little snakes where moving all over his body and biting his insides. It was like his whole body was been restructured, his mother ran out of the thatched hut calling for help but didn't come back after a long time and when she eventually returned she was in a more miserable state than him, all she could do was drag her bloody injured body to her son's side, embrace him tightly and keep apologizing for been so useless.

Jiang kept twitching and his mother tried to hold him and prevent him from hurting his self, he was wailing all night like he lost his soul, Jiang sounded like a wailing ghost if one believed in that, his mother kept crying with him. It was a long insufferable night for both mother and child and when Jiang woke up the next morning and saw his reflection in the bowl of soup his mother brought for him to eat, he couldn't help but scream and cry some more, he couldn't recognize his own self.

Jiang wailed in his mothers arms, his little body kept shaking violently as he kept crying until he eventually fainted due to exhaustion.

The next morning General Lei paid both mother and son a visit and upon seeing Jiang's new hideous appearance all he could say was "You were ugly before but now its just worst, how dare you stupid woman accuse my precious children of doing this to that already accursed child of yours" He said as he ruthless sent both mother and son crashing against a tree in the forest, the tree was quiet special since the thick bark had sharp pointed spikes protruding out of it,

Jiang could only scream in fright while his mother tried her best to shield and protect him, her shoulder back was the only part of her body that hit a spike and she didn't even have time to register the pain she was feeling before the screaming and frightened little Jiang's voice drew her attention so before he could crash on her she quickly grabbed him with outstretched hands.

The force in his landing further pushed her body backwards thereby making the spike further imbed itself in her skin, blood was oozing out of the hole that the sharp spike had caused, after seeing Jiang was safe and sound, she dropped him not so gently on the ground. Jiang screamed as his butt hit the ground, he turned back and wanted to complain to his mother for manhandling him but when he saw her sorry state he could only bite his teeth. He didn't understand why she was trying to smile sweetly at him despite the pain he knew she was feeling, her flesh had been punctured and she could still smile in other to reassure the worried Jiang that she was okay.

The way the rest of her body didn't hit the other spikes on the bark of the tree clearly showed that his father had calculated his actions well because if all her body did indeed hit all the spikes she would have died immediately, Jiang's little mind was confused about his father's actions.

General Lei said with disdain written all over his face.

Jiang's mother painfully spoke each word out and with each word that came out she coughed up an enormous amount of blood "My lord forgives this humble servant, I deserve death" Jiang on seeing his mother in such a pitiful state could only cry silently by her side, her already sick body deteriorated even more.

The General had walked up to his mother that was still stocked to the tree and not so gently pulled her out, she couldn't help but scream and faint , more blood rushed out of the injury and she was practically on the verge on death, her mortal body couldn't take it anymore,

Jiang wailed so loudly to the point that his throat hurt , General turned to the son that he believed was the cost of all his woe and angrily shouted, "Will you shut up, if I hear one more sound from you I will throw both you and your mother in the family dungeon!" That was enough to shut Jiang up, his little face was red and he tried hard to sniff off any tear that threatened to come out and as for the General it was like the more he saw that ugly disfigured face the more he got angry.

He though he could have sold this little thing to that bandit chief if he had known this will happen, When the bandit chief first saw Jiang he had wanted to buy him then but General Lei refused because he knew when this child grows up his beauty will be even more eye catching and then he will have more people wanting him, General Lei wanted him to grow and then offer him to the highest bidder which will most likely be a noble family but now he had lost on both fronts.

General Lei really hated this mother and child pair to the bone for not been of any use to him at all. His beloved wife that had a strong family backing her and brought nothing but fortune to him was still angry with him after so many years and he had to pay a lot of price to appease her daily bases.

E.

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