Miss Hao pounded her legs hard and cried, "He was afraid of losing face, so ever since I was little, he never let me show myself in public. He never let anyone know that I couldn't walk on my own! I once had a maid who, to cheer me up, secretly took me out of the house. I was so happy—I finally had people to talk to! But when Father found out, he actually had Hong'er beaten to death! Do you know? Hearing Hong'er's screams, I wanted nothing more than to throw myself from this tower! I killed Hong'er. That poor child! From then on, I never dared speak casually with the maids at home again! They avoided me too. Unless they had no choice but to come, they would never approach me! And I... could only keep little animals to keep me company!"
"But even those pitiful little animals, Father would not spare them either. He had them beaten to death alive as well!" The more Miss Hao spoke, the more agitated she became, her voice carrying far into the distance. Yet the rabbit atop the Osmanthus tree was still gathering its strength, as though it had no confidence at all in dealing with Little Yellow and Xiaohei. "Do you know what it feels like when no one speaks to you? Do you know the loneliness of everyone avoiding you? Do you know that, in the black of night, when you looked out the window, even the softly chirping insects could make you feel happy?"
"This..." Xiao Hua rubbed his nose. He truly had not expected this seemingly quiet girl to carry so much bitterness in her heart!
"Do you know? If I had not learned the cause of Mother's death back then, if I had not secretly sworn