Chapter 273: You’re the Only One I Adore (6)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
With a wry smile, Jin Qingyan answered, “Is that so? Although most of the evidence are pointing towards Xiaoning, I refuse to believe that she has the ability to tamper with the surveillance cameras within the mansion. Grandma may no longer be around, but I must let her know that her beloved grandson will avenge her. No matter who the murderer may be, I will find and catch him myself. I will never forgive the culprit, be it for killing Grandma or for framing Xiaoning.”
“I absolutely believe that you’ll never forgive the culprit, Young Sir. However, I beg to differ that Ms. An doesn’t have the means to tamper with the surveillance cameras. Ms. An has trained at the boot camp academy for months before; I strongly believe she has the ability to destroy the surveillance cameras. I hope you will judge this matter from an objective viewpoint instead of getting your personal emotions and prejudice involved.”
“Tell me then, why did you deny the presence of the female servant? You can’t just cover up with the excuse of being old and forgetful,” Jin Qingyan retorted.
Unable to tolerate what she was hearing any further, Mrs. Jin snapped, “Qingyan! How long more are you going to continue acting like this? Is there really still a need to investigate any further? The truth is already obvious! You would actually rather let the case drag on just so you could save Xiaoning. Qingyan, your father and I will never show mercy regarding this matter, you don’t have to waste your efforts and time any further.”
“Mother, I really hope you’re so eager to prosecute Xiaoning because you’d like for Grandma to rest in peace and not because of another reason.”
“What other reasons could there be? Of course it’s because I want your Grandma to rest in peace as soon as possible. What else could it be?” Mrs. Jin retorted defensively.
“I didn’t insinuate anything, why are you so fl.u.s.tered, Mother?”
“Xiaoning must have put a spell on you,” Mrs. Jin rebuked, standing up quickly.
Jin Qingyan left the Jin family old mansion and returned to his villa in Wei Ni Estate.
“Young Sir,” Fan s.h.i.+xin greeted.
“Find out the mobile numbers on the ident.i.ty cards belonging to my parents and the butler, as well as their call logs and text message history.”
“Why?” Fan s.h.i.+xin asked in puzzlement.
“Why do you have to ask so much? Just do as you’re told.”
“Got it.” Fan s.h.i.+xin turned around to leave and did as instructed.
——
“Head-of-Office Xu, what brings you here?” An Xiaoning asked as she rose from her seat.
“I thought I ought to go with you guys. Ms. An, what time should we set off?” asked Xu Yang.
“11 o’clock in the evening. But old Mrs. Jin’s grave is situated in the Jin family graveyard, so we’d better make the necessary arrangements with Qingyan beforehand.”
Xu Yang nodded in agreement and said, “I’ll give him a call later and ask him to arrange for the people guarding by the graveyard to allow us in.”
“Actually, I’m not quite sure if we can summon her spirit,” said An Xiaoning as she sat back down.
“Just give it a shot, don’t give yourself too much pressure.”
Ma Jianguo entered and handed An Xiaoning her mobile phone. “Team Leader, your phone.”
“Thank you.”
“I’ll go outside to make a call,” said Xu Yang as he turned around to exit.
“The Head of Office has made his way here too. Seems like he’s very concerned about helping you prove your innocence,” Ma Jianguo remarked softly.
An Xiaoning was not confident if the ritual happening that night would work or not.
——
Chi Rui’er paced back and forth continuously while carrying her infant son in her arms. Staring at Gu Dongcheng, who had a frown on his forehead, Chi Rui’er said, “In my opinion, An Xiaoning being arrested should come off as good news for you.”
“Are your brains fried? How would her being arrested benefit me in any way?”
“Calm down, I’m not finished yet. An Xiaoning and Gu Beicheng share a very close relations.h.i.+p, and I know that Gu Beicheng fancies her. You and Gu Beicheng are half-brothers. There’s a very high chance that An Xiaoning would have a say in who inherits the family fortune and company. Why do you think Mother-in-law and Gu Beicheng are so chummy with her?”
“You’re so ignorant. An Xiaoning is not part of the board of directors, how would she be able to decide who inherits the family company?” Gu Dongcheng retorted, staring at Chi Rui’er.
“Even if she can’t, the fact that she’s close to Gu Beicheng alone is a huge disadvantage to you. Don’t you realize how evil she is?” Chi Rui’er remarked. Needless to say, Gu Dongcheng was definitely not aware that Chi Rui’er had long treated An Xiaoning as her arch nemesis.
“You really can’t tell good from bad. If you’re so high and mighty, don’t go seeking help from her when our son runs a high fever.”
“Does the child belong to only me?”
Gu Dongcheng could not be bothered to argue with her and decided to go to sleep instead.
Chi Rui’er was filled with frustration. She simply could not stand having to take care of the child every day, which took up the bulk of her time.
“Hubby, why don’t you look for two babysitters to take care of our son tomorrow? It’s too tiring for me to handle it alone.”
“At the beginning, I suggested that we hire babysitters to help you, but didn’t you insist on taking care of him yourself just so you could shower him with your motherly love?”
Pouting her lips, Chi Rui’er answered in frustration, “I said that casually, but you actually took it for real. Can’t you just be empathetic and understanding towards my plight?”
“I still have to go to work tomorrow morning. Must you really keep me awake and disturb me like this?”
Chi Rui’er kept quiet and coaxed her son to sleep.
After painstakingly putting her son to sleep, she began to be aware of how sore and achy her muscles were. She then headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth. Staring at her reflection in the mirror, she realized that her hair was in a complete mess and her eye bags were dark and heavy. She had become so haggard and dishevelled that she almost could not recognize herself.
Touching her face with her hands, Chi Rui’er decided that she must hire a babysitter as soon as possible. She’d lose all her radiance and beauty, should this go on.
She frantically put on a sheet of facial mask in a bid to stop her skin condition from deteriorating.
Chi Rui’er laid in bed while holding her mobile phone in her hand. She could not help but feel enthralled at the thought of An Xiaoning being in prison.
As soon as she heard about the incident An Xiaoning had met with, she proceeded to spread the news online using an anonymous account she created. However, to her disappointment, she could not find any data when she searched the keyword “An Xiaoning” in every possible form, be it Chinese characters, pinyin, or both. She soon realized that every single piece of information related to An Xiaoning was being automatically erased from the internet as soon as it was uploaded.
Thus, she had never succeeded in spreading the news online.
Everything she uploaded would be deleted almost instantly.
She was utterly dejected and helpless.
She decided to make do and leave it be, thinking that An Xiaoning would be tortured in prison for a long while more anyway.
——
It was 11 o’clock in the evening.
The group of six made their way to old Mrs. Jin’s tomb.
They scanned their surroundings and saw that the graveyard was made up of the graves of all the ancestors of the Jin family.
It was not exactly a joyous and relaxing activity to visit the graveyard at such a late hour.
They were granted access to the graveyard and arrived at old Mrs. Jin’s tomb after guiding themselves with a torchlight each.
An Xiaoning first offered the gifts before burning the incense.
She bowed to the grave and began chanting softly.
She then picked up a pile of amulets she had written the night before and scattered the amulets across old Mrs. Jin’s tomb.
While An Xiaoning continued to chant a spell with her eyes closed, several pieces of amulets began to hover in the sky and revolved continuously around old Mrs. Jin’s tomb.
It was Xu Yang’s first time witnessing such a phenomenon, though not for the other four colleagues since they had already seen something similar during w.a.n.g Fangfang’s case.
“Old Madam, this is Xiaoning. I know you have suffered a great grievance, but if you are present at this very moment, please tell me, who was the one who caused you such harm? The police and I will definitely give you justice.”