The Sixth Prince stood outside the courtyard for goodness knows how long before slowly lifting his foot and walking inside.
When the two servants saw the Sixth Prince, they were clearly both given a fright. Just how much of their cursing their master had he heard?
Yet upon second thought, everyone in the Prince's Manor knew that the Sixth Prince held Ou Ruoxuan in utter contempt; they had cursed away as they pleased, and surely nothing would happen, right?
Thinking this, the two servants relaxed quite a bit.
Right at that moment, the Sixth Prince beckoned to a guard, and the guard stepped forward. "Your Highness."
The Sixth Prince spat out a few cold and ruthless words:
"Drag them out and beat them to death!"
The two servants had still felt quite secure in themselves, but upon hearing those words, they went completely blank and dazed before letting out shrieking cries for mercy.
Without a word, the Sixth Prince waved his hand and had the guards drag the people away.
Ou Ruoxuan still showed no reaction, continuing with the task in her hands!
The Sixth Prince walked up to Ou Ruoxuan. She neither offered a greeting nor spoke, nor did she even raise her head to glance at the newcomer, mechanically washing the clothes as before.
The Sixth Prince squatted down, preparing to pull Ou Ruoxuan up. He never expected that the moment he reached out, Ou Ruoxuan would shrink back and then wrap her arms around her head:
"Don't hit me, don't hit me!
I don't want the position of Princess Consort, take it away!
I beg you, don't hit me..."
Seeing Ou Ruoxuan like this, the Sixth Prince felt utterly wretched inside.
How could a perfectly fine person have ended up like this?
If Song Yaoyao were here, she would definitely have rolled her eyes to the heavens and said: Why has she turned out like this? Don't you have the slightest self-awareness in your heart?
The Sixth Prince drew close to Ou Ruoxuan and forcefully pulled her into his embrace.
Ou Ruoxuan trembled incessantly within the Sixth Prince's arms.
Enduring the heartache within, the Sixth Prince picked Ou Ruoxuan up. Oh, how light and thin she was!
The Sixth Prince carried Ou Ruoxuan back to his own courtyard.
The moment he set Ou Ruoxuan down upon the bed, she immediately shrank back into the innermost corner of the couch, curling her body up as she gazed at the Sixth Prince with a guarded expression, her frame trembling continuously.
Looking at Ou Ruoxuan like this, the Sixth Prince spoke in a soft voice:
"You will live here from now on, and I will dispatch a few reliable maidservants to wait upon you..."
The Sixth Prince wanted to say more, but seeing Ou Ruoxuan's intense wariness toward him, those words simply would not come out.
Misunderstandings were not built in a day or two; if he wanted to make Ou Ruoxuan trust him again, it was bound to be a long process!
Let everything come slowly!
Acting with undue haste would only make matters worse.
The Sixth Prince sighed, turned around, and left.
Only when Ou Ruoxuan saw that the Sixth Prince had departed did she let out a breath of relief!
Ou Ruoxuan thought continuously in her heart: Is this some new torture method the Sixth Prince has cooked up?
First he shows me goodwill, and after I trust him, he will deal me another savage blow, plunging me into hell?
She no longer cared, nor would she ever trust the Sixth Prince again!
The Sixth Prince had only Ou Baiqing in his heart; when had he ever trusted her or cared about her?
What was happening now was merely a novel means of torture!
From the times she had been beaten to within an inch of her life and brushed shoulders with the Grim Reaper, Ou Ruoxuan had already given up hope on the Sixth Prince.
Did she regret it if someone asked? Ou Ruoxuan's answer was affirmative!
Had she known she would come to such a day, Ou Ruoxuan would never have rescued the drowning Sixth Prince back then! Nor would she have met with her present plight.
In the year since Ou Ruoxuan had married the Sixth Prince, her maternal grandfather, General Han, had also sent people to check on her.
Her mother had been killed by her grandfather's self-righteousness!
And now he had pushed her into an abyss of fire once more. Oh, how she hated him!
By what right should her life be dictated by him?
For over a decade previously, he had never bothered to manage her; by what right did he meddle in her marriage?
Her grandfather had even sent people to ask whether she was living well or not?
Ou Ruoxuan said not a word, merely pulling back her sleeve to let the messenger look,
And then saying: "Whether I'm living well or not, see for yourself."
Upon seeing the scars-new alternating with old-upon Ou Ruoxuan's arm, the man's pupils constricted.
"How could it be like this?"
Ou Ruoxuan pulled down her sleeve and said:
"How could it be like this? Could it be that General Han does not know?
It wasn't enough that General Han caused my mother to die, but he had to push me into a fiery pit as well. Is he satisfied now that he sees I am not living well?
Go back, and report the truth of what you have seen to General Han.
Furthermore, help me pass along a message to him: I, Ou Ruoxuan, have a cheap and worthless life and am unworthy of scaling the high branches to General Han. As for my affairs in the future, he need not trouble himself over them."
Before the messenger could say more, Ou Ruoxuan had him escorted out, along with the items he had brought, casting them all out of the Prince's Manor together.
After returning, that man reported everything he had seen to General Han in full detail and conveyed those words as well.
General Han collapsed backward into his chair, tears streaming down his aged face!
Why had things developed to the present state!
This granddaughter of his was refusing to acknowledge them anymore!
Later, General Han sent people to the Sixth Prince's Manor a few more times, but Ou Ruoxuan refused to see the messengers again.
General Han knew that this granddaughter of his had thoroughly grown to hate him!
General Han also sent people to investigate matters concerning Ou Ruoxuan after she married into the Prince's Manor.
He wouldn't have known if he hadn't checked, but upon checking, his lungs nearly exploded with rage!
This was all brought about by his own hands; no wonder his granddaughter hated him!
If they were an ordinary family, they could still seek a Divorce, but this was a marriage bestowed by the Emperor—getting a Divorce was far too difficult!
Just as General Han was racking his brains and preparing to have the Emperor consent to their Divorce, the Sixth Prince had already learned the whole truth!
Every single day, the Sixth Prince wrung his hands trying to make amends to Ou Ruoxuan.
No matter what he did, Ou Ruoxuan would hide from him, refusing to let him get close or speaking a single word to him!
Ou Ruoxuan was just like someone living inside her own world, completely sealing herself off!
Truly, delayed affection was worth less than worthless grass!
Served him right!
Over here, after the Sixth Prince and those few people he brought had departed, Song Yaoyao spoke up:
"He's finally gone!
Eldest Sister, there are so many dishes here, dig in!"
Watching the Sixth Prince leave, Song Qingling finally let out a breath of relief as well.
With Song Yaoyao cursing the Sixth Prince so fiercely in her heart, Song Qingling had been terrified that the man would take offense and have her sister dragged out and executed!
It had scared her half to death!
Song Qingling never would have imagined that the Sixth Prince, who appeared so gentle and refined like jade on the outside, could be so cruel to his own Princess Consort!
She had watched the footage from earlier as well!
Every time she saw Ou Ruoxuan beaten to within an inch of her life, she worried that Ou Ruoxuan wouldn't be able to pull through!
With the incident today coming to light, the officials still wanting to cram their daughters into the Sixth Prince's Manor would probably drop by half!
Any household that truly cherished their daughters would be unwilling to send them off to be abused!
Upon seeing the footage, Song Qingling felt her very heart and liver quaking!
Ou Ruoxuan was truly pitiful, too!
Unfavored by her father since childhood, and with no one left to protect her after her mother passed away!