Chapter 588: The Secret About the Past (206)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The bodyguards left half an hour before Ye Xiaotian’s return.
Mo Li lay in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
She remained still like a statue.
Ye Jiani was sprawled across the bed, wailing in agony.
Ye Xiaotian was greeted with that very sight when he appeared at the bedroom door.
The room reeked of urine while she lay in bed like a corpse.
“Lili?”
Mo Li ignored him, as if she didn’t hear him at all.
At the same time, Ye Jiani was bawling continuously and choking with sobs.
“Daddy, Grandma came and made Mommy drink some dirty water…”
Ye Xiaotian caressed her head and said softly, “Nini, go out first. Daddy would like to speak to Mommy for a little bit.”
Ye Jiani exited the bedroom while still sobbing.
Ye Xiaotian stepped forward and called out softly, “Lili?”
Mo Li sat up and removed all the pillowcases as well as the bedsheets, which she then threw onto the ground with a straight face. She then grabbed a new set of bedsheets and replaced it with the old ones before heading to the washroom, completely ignoring Ye Xiaotian throughout.
He watched as she changed the sheets.
After she came out of the shower and dried her hair, Ye Xiaotian stepped forward to hug her and said, “I know you’re feeling awful, but I promise you, this will be the last time. Alright?”
Mo Li had a grave expression on her face and kept mum.
Ye Xiaotian was rather upset as well.
The matter had taken a great toll on their relations.h.i.+p and marriage, which was now on the rocks.
Neither of them could sleep well that night.
—
In the evening, Tuoba Gucheng came out for a walk in the evening after dinner while An Xiaoning accompanied him.
The two of them were walking together at an unhurried pace.
“Why did you agree to come to the Autumn Palace to work as a bodyguard?” Tuoba Gucheng asked out of the blue.
“Because it pays well,” she answered without hesitation.
“When would you like to get married?”
An Xiaoning found him to be behaving rather strangely lately, for he would often pop such random and personal questions every now and then.
“I don’t wish to get married again for the rest of my life,” she answered softly.
Tuoba Gucheng did not quite catch what she meant, and neither did he ask her what she meant by “again.”
However, he was rather shocked to hear that she did not wish to marry anyone for the rest of her life.
“Why?”
An Xiaoning sighed and answered, “I don’t think a man whom I can depend on and trusts me completely exists in this world.”
“Have you lost faith in men because your boyfriend died?”
She shook her head and answered, “No, that’s not the case. If it weren’t for my inferiority complex, I’m actually rather pretty.”
He snorted with laughter.
“What are you laughing about? I really am pretty,” she retorted.
“Yes, I can tell.”
An Xiaoning did not take his words to heart, thinking that he was merely patronizing her.
“Anyway, I don’t care what others think of me. I’m different from everyone else. I’ll continue to live my life the way I want and I won’t change regardless of whoever’s opinions. I’m not going to betray myself for the sake of pleasing others or because of what they say about me. That’s just how I am. I’m a woman who’s full of energy,” she said.
Tuoba Gucheng was taken aback by her reply.
They walked along the sidewalk slowly. After having covered a distance, they heard sounds of a man and a woman getting it on coming from inside the woods ahead.
They were both feeling a little awkward and turned around to walk back unanimously.
They did not talk much for the rest of the journey.
He lay down in bed after was.h.i.+ng up while she sat on the couch.
As long as she was not planning to sneak out at night, she would not spike his milk with sleeping pills.
Once Tuoba Gucheng had fallen sound asleep, she put on her earphones and began listening for noises.
Ding Dong… It was the sound of a text message notification.
An Xiaoning opened the text message, which was sent by Gu Beicheng, who informed her that the Gu family had received a call from the Autumn Palace in the afternoon. Mr. and Mrs. Gu answered by saying that An Xiaoning could not attend the wedding due to a severe injury she had sustained abroad.
The people from the Autumn Palace did not insist that she turn up and, thus, they managed to decline the invite successfully.
An Xiaoning felt a huge sense of relief.
She felt more at ease, now that she had one less problem to worry about.
She immediately replied to Gu Beicheng’s text message.
An Xiaoning lay down on the couch and began tearing up as she stared at the photo on her wallpaper.
From her very first pregnancy to her last miscarriage, she had gotten pregnant a total of four times but only managed to keep Jin Yiheng.
Yet, the rights to Jin Yiheng’s custody were no longer hers.
After so many pregnancies, would Heaven give me the chance to get pregnant a fifth time?
I doubt so , she thought.
Besides, she could not manage to deal with any more devastation.
She’d broken all ties with Jin Qingyan as well.
At the end of the day, she still had to face everything and brave through all the odds on her own.
The only reliable person one can depend on is ultimately oneself.
Once you’ve decided to love, you’d have to be ready to lose everything one day.
Wasn’t that so?
At four o’clock in the morning, there was a sudden knocking on Tuoba Gucheng’s bedroom door. “Your Highness, bad news. A fire broke out in Her Highness’s mansion!”
Shocked beyond words, An Xiaoning immediately switched on the lights and opened the door. “Just what’s going on?”
“I don’t know how but a fire broke out all of a sudden. They’re in the midst of putting out the fire.”
“How’s Her Highness?”
“She hasn’t been rescued yet…”
An Xiaoning turned around to see that Tuoba Gucheng was getting out of bed anxiously, after which they hurried toward Tuoba Danxue’s mansion immediately.
A bright burning flame could be seen from afar, before they even reached the mansion.
By the time they arrived, Tuoba Danxue had already been rescued by Bai Zhi.
She had merely pa.s.sed out and fortunately did not sustain any injuries.
“Has everyone been rescued?” Tuoba Gucheng asked with a grave expression.
“Not all have been rescued. They’re still investigating the cause of the fire.”
“Send Danxue to my mansion,” Tuoba Gucheng instructed.
“Yes.”
The blazing fire was soon put out gradually, thanks to the advanced emergency firefighting amenities in the Autumn Palace.
Tuoba Rui, s.h.i.+ Xiaoyu, Tuoba Shuo, and Tuoba Hancheng had all rushed down to the site.
Everyone felt a sense of relief upon hearing that Tuoba Danxue was safe and sound.
After the fire was put out, they began cleaning up the scene and checking for the number of casualties.
There were not many people living in Tuoba Danxue’s mansion, to begin with.
Thus, it was extremely easy to verify the casualties.
At last, they found two casualties; one was the head cook and the other was Zhi Yin.
Tuoba Gucheng instructed his subordinates to find the corpses, after which he returned to his own mansion with An Xiaoning.
Tuoba Danxue was lying in bed with a needle inserted into the back of her hand and her eyes tightly shut.
Bai Zhi was sitting beside her, her face as pale as a sheet.
Upon sight of them, she greeted, “Your Highness…”
“So what exactly happened?”
“I don’t know either. I was woken up by the thick fumes. Upon realizing that a fire had broken out, I immediately opened the door and rushed to rescue Her Highness, only to find that she had lost her consciousness.”
Tuoba Gucheng nodded and said, “Danxue managed to make it out safely, all thanks to you.”
“This is only my duty.”
“Look after her properly and call me when she comes to.”
“Yes.”
Tuoba Gucheng was no longer sleepy, even though he did not sleep well.
“You may go back to sleep. I’ll take the rest of them with me to my parents’ place.”
An Xiaoning agreed with a nod, “Alright.”
She sped back to her room after watching him leave.
She took a shower, dried her hair, put on a sheet of beauty serum facial mask, watered the pot of lilies on the window ledge, and went to bed.
Those matters were none of her concern.
Neither should she be worrying about them.