Joyce spent an entire day idling in the Imperial Villa, unable to come up with any good ideas. She could only lie down and sleep.
She still hadn't figured out how Clint had managed to get her from South Island to here. South Island was heavily guarded. How did he do it? She had to admit, he was quite capable.
She knew Clint would never tell her the reason. But she now suspected it had something to do with Elsa. Perhaps Elsa was just a decoy, and there was another plan behind her arrival on the island. Other than that timing, she couldn't think of any other way someone could have infiltrated the island.
She was very worried about Luther, Anderson, Iris, Wilson, Cullen, and Cecelia.
For Luther, he had lost her once before and still suffered from that trauma. And her mother had been separated from her for over twenty years. They must be going crazy with worry. It was her fault for making them endure such pain again.
She desperately wanted to let them know she was safe. But she had no way to contact the outside world.
All she could do was wait anxiously.
Since she couldn't think of a solution, she decided to sleep. She slept from afternoon till evening, woke up to eat something, then went back to sleep until dawn, trying to regain all her energy and strength.
In the morning, Joyce was awakened by a commotion. She sat up in bed and faintly heard screams but didn't know what was happening.
She quickly got dressed, washed up briefly without even combing her hair, and rushed out of the Imperial Villa.
Following the direction of the screams, she finally reached the source of the noise.
It was the inner courtyard, with an open space in front of it. Several people stood with their backs turned, heads lowered. Behind them, a man wielded a long whip, striking them harshly.
Looking closer, she saw Clint sitting leisurely in a chair in front of the courtyard. Beside him was a high tea table with a tea set on it. A maid stood next to him, pouring tea.
Clint picked up a teacup, lifted the lid, gently brushed away the tea foam, and took a sip. His demeanor was relaxed and elegant.
The screams continued unabated, but to him, they seemed like pleasant music he casually enjoyed.
Joyce was stunned. She hurried forward and quickly walked up to Clint's side. "What are you doing?"
She looked at those being beaten and saw they were the guards who had been stationed at the East Palace gate yesterday, including the head guard who was being beaten the worst.
Joyce snatched the teacup from Clint's hand. "You already punished them yesterday by making them kneel all day. Why are you whipping them now?"
Clint glanced at Joyce. "This is the rule of the East Palace. Twenty lashes for each person, fifty for the head guard. For such a serious mistake, how could kneeling for one day be enough? You're too naive."
"You're too cruel," Joyce retorted bluntly. "Clint, you're doing this for my benefit, aren't you? You just want to warn me not to implicate others! Fine, I'm new here and don't know the rules. I've offended you; I apologize. But please don't torture others. Make them stop."
Seeing Clint unmoved, Joyce angrily threw the teacup in her hand.
The cup instantly hit the wrist of the man wielding the whip. He cried out in pain as his whip fell to the ground.
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