Chapter 808: A Million Times for You (170)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“No, it takes effort to feel resentment. I don’t wish to put in any effort for you, Your Majesty. You’re the mighty and powerful president, you can execute whoever you’d like. My life is completely worthless. Your Majesty, please warn me before you decide to kill me again. Let me make the necessary preparations for my funeral. After all, I’m no deity and I can’t rely on luck to survive. It’s tough being human. My life is worse than the average citizen’s. I really don’t know if I should feel blessed or doomed to be loved by you,” An Xiaoning said straightforwardly, with no qualms about offending him.
“I can promise not to kill you again. Just because you didn’t die from the poison, it doesn’t mean that you won’t die via other ways. However, you must promise me one condition.”
“Please speak, Your Majesty.”
An Xiaoning initially thought that he would want her to promise not to marry Jin Qingyan again. However, things did not turn out the way she had expected.
“All countries across the globe are actively searching for a treasure map. Have you heard about it?”
“I’ve heard a little about it.”
“Find it and give it to me. If you can find it, I’ll stay out of your relations.h.i.+p with Jin Qingyan and I won’t threaten him again. You may marry him again or do whatever you please. But if you can’t find it, you’re not to see him again. How does that sound? But of course, you can make your choice now. You either find me that treasure map or never see Jin Qingyan again. Take your pick,” he said with raised brows.
“Your Majesty, you really like giving others an ultimatum, don’t you? I, An Xiaoning, utterly detest being threatened and forced to choose an option. I don’t know if you’ll honor your word and really let me off if I manage to find the treasure map,” An Xiaoning said with a smirk.
“Of course I will. I’m a man of my word, I’ll keep my promise.”
She whipped her phone out and turned on the voice recording function. “Please repeat yourself again, Your Majesty, so that I can have some evidence.”
He repeated his words while An Xiaoning saved the recording and asked with a nod, “Is there a time limit?”
“I’ll give you a year’s time.”
She nodded and said, “Got it. If I can’t find the map, I’ll never see Jin Qingyan again. If I do manage to find it, I’ll have the freedom to live the life I want from now on, and that includes not seeing you ever again.”
I almost died here today. I remember him promising to spare my life once previously, but clearly, that promise wasn’t kept. What’s the point of granting me that, then?
He’ll probably settle scores with me if he finds out one day that I had lied to him about the book, won’t he? By then, will that promise come in handy?
After she left, Tuoba Gucheng stared at the blood-stained tissues in the wastepaper basket and instructed his subordinate, “Take the blood on these tissues for a lab test.”
“Yes.”
He drove back to the Lin family home.
“Hubby, how did it go?” asked Lin s.h.i.+s.h.i.+, who was waiting earnestly for his return.
“I was really hoping that Jin Qingyan could marry Cousin, but he was dead against it. I thought I probably shouldn’t force him against his wishes either. How about I matchmake you with someone else, Cousin?” he said calmly.
Lin s.h.i.+s.h.i.+ did not have much of an opinion and asked Feng Qiubai, “Cousin, what do you think?”
“I’m in no hurry, I think it’d be better to let nature take its course.”
Tuoba Gucheng did not insist further since Feng Qiubai had tactfully declined his offer. “In that case, let’s have dinner tonight. We’ll return to B City tomorrow.”
“Alright.”
While she was alone with Tuoba Gucheng, Lin s.h.i.+s.h.i.+ pretended to ask casually, “Hubby, what did you look Jin Qingyan up for?”
“Some matters are to be discussed only between men. What are you asking so much for?”
Lin s.h.i.+s.h.i.+ answered, “At the end of the day, Jin Qingyan is a divorced man who has a son. In fact, he was even married twice while my cousin has never been married before. Yet, he was still so against it. How strange. I reckon it’s because he hasn’t seen how gorgeous my cousin is. We should really arrange for them to meet each other one day.”
“Your cousin may be pretty, but can she be compared to An Xiaoning?”
Lin s.h.i.+s.h.i.+ was dismayed and said, “Did he turn down the marriage because he still fancies Sis Xiaoning?”
“That’s obviously the case. I’d like to be alone for a while. Go downstairs and chat with your aunt and cousin,” he said in a monotonous voice.
“Alright.”
He recalled filling the cup with poisoned tea and emptying it before pouring some into the cup again repeatedly back in the hotel.
He was extremely hesitant at the time.
Unlike what he had expected, she did not beg for his mercy and instead gulped the tea down straight away.
He began to regret his decision the moment she downed it.
However, there was no way he could change the situation.
He was thinking to himself that it didn’t matter even if she died, for her death would make him give up on her completely.
Yet, things didn’t go according to plan.
She did not die.
At that very moment, he actually felt rather thankful that she had survived.
Finding the treasure map was an impossible task by his standards.
It was a highly-coveted item that many have tried to find but to no avail, even after years of searching.
She’s just a woman, how could she manage to find it?
He’d decided to give her that task because he was certain that it would be impossible for her to achieve it.
One year was a short period of time. However, he would rather send her onto the quest for the treasure map rather than watch her be together with Jin Qingyan. She promised that she would never see Jin Qingyan again if she failed to find the map.
They were both taking a gamble.
Half an hour later, the subordinate returned with the blood test’s results and said softly, “Your Majesty, there are traces of a lethal poison in that blood.”
“Under what conditions will the lethal poison fail to take effect and become non-fatal?”
“Your Majesty, such conditions don’t exist.”
Could it really just be because of her body’s conditions? he wondered. He then gestured for his subordinate to leave. “Got it, go out.”
——
Jin Qingyan was already waiting for her when she arrived at Sanqiao Estate.
She alighted from the car and almost lost her balance, for her legs were weak and had turned to jelly.
Jin Qingyan strode toward her with a sullen expression and hugged her tightly in front of everyone.
Being pet.i.te and slender, An Xiaoning felt as if she was about to be suffocated by him.
“I can’t breathe…”
Jin Qingyan released his grip on her and asked, “What… happened to your eyes?”
“Nothing, let’s talk inside.”
They headed to s.h.i.+ Qingzhou’s room where she explained everything to the three of them, causing s.h.i.+ Qingzhou to be overwhelmed with fright and terror. “You silly child, are you out of your mind? Why did you drink that tea? What if you… what is going to happen to me!?!” s.h.i.+ Qingzhou exclaimed agitatedly.
“I only drank it because I was certain that nothing would happen. I’m not that foolish.” She raised her wrist and continued, “Look, I was wearing this bangle that had saved my life in the past. I was wondering why it was so spiritual. I reckon it would’ve exerted its effects and kept me safe even if I didn’t force my body to expel the poison in the tea. I decided to test my skills and see if I could expel anything I ingested while drinking the tea this morning. Turns out I really could, although I doubt I threw up everything. But I’m alright now, aren’t I?”