frightfiction Chapter 238 The Not-So-Bad-Scumbag
Chapter 238 The Not-So-Bad-Scumbag
Seeing the Prince of Yongning like this, Ru Yue couldn't help but feel a little happy.
She snorted and said slowly: "Since you have acknowledged the validity of this contract, then from now on, this shop is mine." After that, she carefully put the contract into her arms, then turned around and prepared to leave.
However, at this moment, Ru Yue suddenly stopped, turned around and added, "Oh, by the way. Please clean up this shop properly. I will come to inspect it in three days. Also, don't forget to settle the rent owed for the past four years and give it to me."
When the shopkeeper heard this, he felt anxious.
He didn't care how much silver he had to pay the young man. However, if he returned the shop to someone else, it would mean that he would lose the business on which he depended for his survival, and his future source of income would also be cut off.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel anxious and uneasy, not knowing how to deal with the dilemma before him. He hurriedly spoke to dissuade him, "My Lord, this... this... this is the ancestral property left by the old lady! How can you so easily hand it over to an unrelated outsider?"
At that moment, a furious roar echoed: "Shut up!" The voice seemed to be forced through teeth, filled with stagnation and coldness, devoid of any warmth. "Behave yourself and do your duty. If you can't even control your mouth, don't blame me for being rude. I'll have the traffickers take you away and teach you a lesson!"
In an instant, the entire shop fell into dead silence, and everyone was so frightened by the sudden rebuke that they dared not say a word.
Ru Yue, on the other hand, appeared quite calm. She was already fed up with the shopkeeper's pestering and didn't even want to waste any more time arguing with him. She simply called out to Feng Ying beside her, then turned around and prepared to leave.
At this moment, the Prince of Yongning suddenly asked out of nowhere, "Is that child in your hands?"
Faced with this inexplicable question, Ru Yue did not answer, but stared at the other person coldly with an expressionless face, her eyes revealing a heart-pounding chill.
"This is something I carefully prepared for her. How could it have ended up in your hands for no apparent reason?" He stared at the thing in Ru Yue's hand with wide eyes, his lips trembling slightly, but he didn't seem to really expect to get an answer from Ru Yue.
He muttered to himself again, "That day, when I rushed back anxiously, she was lying quietly in a shocking pool of blood, her eyes wide open, tears of blood still brimming in the corners of her eyes, but her body had already become cold and stiff.
And the child who was not yet full-term and the maidservants who had always been by her side, all disappeared without a trace! At that moment, my heart seemed to fall into the bottomless abyss in an instant, and I was completely stunned.
I don’t know whether they were abducted by the ruthless Shen Huaixiu, or whether they took advantage of the chaos to escape from her clutches, but I dared not inquire or ask... because I was afraid that if I accidentally angered that vicious woman Shen Huaixiu, she would probably do something even more cruel to them!
So for such a long time, I could only silently endure the inner torment and pain, and I didn't even dare to look for my own flesh and blood openly.
Now that I see you appear before me with this deed, I think I finally know the whereabouts of that child." At this point, his once handsome face was distorted by extreme sadness and self-blame, and the corners of his mouth forced a smile that was even more miserable and ugly than crying.
He seemed to have fallen into a frenzy, muttering to himself, "It's all my fault. I failed to protect her properly, and ultimately caused her tragic death. Even when it came to something as simple as finding our own child, I was so timid and cowardly! I'm so sorry for her, and even more so for that poor, innocent child!"
Ru Yue looked indifferently at the tearful and haggard Prince of Yongning, whose face was filled with tears. There was no emotion in her heart, let alone any sympathy.
After all, in this land, it is natural for a man to have three wives and four concubines. This bad habit has long been deeply rooted, and how can it be easily shaken and changed by a weak woman like her?
But it's absolutely wrong. These powerful men, having chosen to marry so many wives and concubines, should have the ability and wisdom to properly manage their relationships. But what's happening now? Instead of living in harmony, these women are scheming against each other, harming and oppressing each other, even implicating innocent people! Thinking of this, Ru Yue couldn't help but shake her head and sigh.
"Sir, I really don't dare to ask for too much. I just want to ask you, is the child safe now?" The Prince of Yongning County had a worried look on his face, and his voice trembled when he asked, as if he had used up all his strength to say every word.
His eyes flickered, he was deeply afraid of hearing the heartbreaking answer, and he was also worried that he would accidentally anger the person in front of him and thus lose the clue of finding the child.
However, what greeted him was Ru Yue's cold and unforgiving response: "At this point, you clearly know you're powerless to protect that child, yet you still bother to come and ask? Why bother? If you knew he wasn't doing well, would you have taken him home to care for him personally?"
These words were like a heavy, blunt knife, mercilessly cutting back and forth on the heart of the Prince of Yongning. In an instant, piercing pain surged into his heart like a tide.
The prince's face, which was already as pale as paper, was now even more bloodless, like a withered flower ravaged by wind and frost in the cold winter.
A sad and lonely smile played on his lips. His voice was so low and hoarse that it was almost inaudible as he muttered to himself, "Yes, you are absolutely right. From both emotional and logical perspectives, I am not a competent husband, let alone a father..."
At this moment, the prince's heart was full of regret and self-blame. All the unbearable memories of the past flooded into his mind, making him extremely painful.
Ru Yue stared silently at the Yongning County Prince. She couldn't figure out what he meant by "not being a good husband"—was he referring to Miss Ningshuang, who had shared his life together? Or was he referring to the legitimate Yongning County Prince's wife? Perhaps it was both.
But none of this mattered to Ru Yue. She simply felt that while the man before her was despicable, he wasn't completely evil. So, she said something icy cold: "Since you're already so overwhelmed and helpless, why don't you just stop prying into things that have nothing to do with you!" With that, Ru Yue refused to even consider this scumbag, though not a complete scumbag.
She was too lazy to look at the prince any more, so she said again with a blank expression: "In three days, I will come to take over this shop in person."
After saying that, she turned around and left resolutely with Fengying without looking back.
The Yongning County Prince was left standing there in astonishment, staring at their receding figures, unable to recover for a long time...