Chapter 1298: I Want to Make You Stay (176)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The old patriarch definitely knew more than the old lady.
And this despite them being husband and wife.
In such a family, there was a severely ingrained inequality between both genders, and it was needless to say that the status of women was exceptionally low in R Nation. Although the old lady probably knew about some things, her knowledge of things was probably incomplete.
Donggong Lianzhi stood there with his back stiffen, frightened at the thought of his grandparents suddenly awakening. After all, the elderly were commonly known for having light sleep.
But his worries were unnecessary, for An Xiaoning successfully hypnotized the old patriarch.
Her method was extraordinary, which left him rather dumbfounded.
She had done so by inducing him.
The old patriarch loved to smoke, but Old Mrs. Donggong disliked him doing so. As a result, he avoided smoking in front of her and only did so privately.
The reason An Xiaoning had decided to start from this topic was that when she was about to cover the tile on the roof, she had noticed the old patriarch laying his fingers on the cigarette box a few times but eventually removing them.
Hence, this was what she had deduced.
After she had gained his trust, which allowed the two of them to get nearer to his bed, Donggong Lianzhi remembered clearly that this was the first time in his life that he stepped inside his grandparents’ bedroom.
While he surveyed the room with a pair of night vision spectacles on him, he recalled a memory of his cousin Nineteen, who was his grandparents’ favorite, proudly bragging to him about their grandmother calling him into this bedroom and then secretly pa.s.sing him a kind of food that they were not commonly able to eat. Although that incident had happened so long ago, he still remembered vividly the pair of sparkling eyes his cousin had when he was bragging to him. It was as if his cousin was high up in the clouds while he was trapped on the ground in a mud pit.
“Why did the Donggong family change their surname?”
She already had a clear answer inside, as it was the only possible reason the Donggong family would take such a risk to attempt to kill her.
“Because it was claimed that our ancestors were wiped out and many of them died. Eventually, the rest of them had no choice but to leave their homes and migrate elsewhere. For the sake of future generations and to prevent such annihilation from occurring again, our ancestors had no choice but to forbid their descendants from practicing witchcraft and black magic, as well as to stop pa.s.sing on the knowledge regarding this area. Until today, no one in the entire family knows witchcraft and black magic, and we have lived peacefully until now.”
These words were definitely not what An Xiaoning were expecting to hear.
It was by chance that she had discovered that this was the Wu family clan, and she was beyond excited because it meant that she had a way to remove the curse.
Yet, now…
It was indeed not good news for her.
However, she did not give up just because of this.
“What have your ancestors left for you that is more important than money?”
“Other than money and rules, they didn’t leave anything for us.”
“…”
By this point, An Xiaoning had no more desire to continue asking him questions.
“Why did you try to kill Donggong Lianzhi and An Xiaoning?”
“It is Lianzhi’s greatest honor to sacrifice himself for the family clan. As for An Xiaoning, we fear that she may come to us for revenge, so we decided to make the first move on her.”
“How did you find out that An Xiaoning was going to find your family for revenge, and why would she want to do so?”
“Because, a very long time ago, our ancestors once put a curse on An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan, preventing them from being together for an eternity. As to how I know this, I was informed by an elder.”
Upon hearing this, An Xiaoning asked, “Who… is this elder?”
“He’s the most respectable and authoritative figure in our clan, and he has lived for many years. No one knows his age, apart from himself.”
“Why is he able to live for so many years?”
“If we had known the reason behind it, we would have used it to allow ourselves to live this long as well.”
An Xiaoning exchanged glances with Donggong Lianzhi before asking further, “Where does he live now? What is his name?”
“He has been hibernating underground and just woke up recently. His name is Wu Haigang, and he’s living at the Mingxin residence right now.”
“The tomb where Lianzhi and An Xiaoning were almost buried, who did it belong to? Why was there a drawing of An Xiaoning on the wall in the tomb?”
“That was the tomb of Wu Lianzhi. Because it’s the past life of Lianzhi, the elder woke up once previously and gifted this name upon him, saying that he’s extraordinary and that we should raise him for a period of time first to see how things would go. If he’s unable to be controlled, then it’ll be better for us to get rid of him. I heard that the drawing was drawn by Wu Lianzhi himself.”
“Why was there a need to raise him for a period of time to see how things would go?”
The old patriarch’s tone sounded dull as he replied, “Because they said he’s a source of misfortune and that he was very close to An Xiaoning in his previous life. When the family clan were about to put the curse on An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan in their previous lives, he tried many means and ways to stop them. If he hadn’t been imprisoned and punished in time, the consequences would have been unimaginable. Lianzhi has been very obedient since he was born and hasn’t done anything out of line. Whenever he was tasked with a mission by the family, he always completed it on time. That’s why we continued to raise him until now.”
This had completely never occurred to An Xiaoning.
It was not only An Xiaoning who had not thought of it, Donggong Lianzhi also never expected there was this relations.h.i.+p between them.
The first time they met at the hotel, the two of them both found each other to be familiar, as if they had already known each other for a long time.
Moreover, when An Xiaoning recollected her memory of her past life, there was nothing about him at all.
As such, the two had not expected that they had close ties in their past lives.
If they had close ties, that probably meant that they were friends who were particular close, right?
She probed a few more questions before deciding to leave this place.
She did not immediately lift the hypnosis from the Old Master, since the effect would automatically wear off a while after they leave.
After leaving the place, Donggong Lianzhi said to her in a whisper, “I want to make a trip to Mingxin residence.”
“You mean that house that Wu Haigang resides in?”
“Not only that, it’s also where my mother lives.”
“…”
An Xiaoning’s nostrils constricted. An elder and a daughter-in-law living in the same house given the strict rules of the Donggong household?
With the Donggong residence being so huge, a prestigious person like Wu Haigang would definitely be treated respectfully. Why would they be so hard on him?
There was something fishy about it.
An Xiaoning did not hesitate to reply to him, “Let’s go.”
As it wasn’t the time for them to chat casually, the two refrained from talking to each other.
Risking a few times where they were almost caught on the surveillance cameras, they finally arrived at Mingxin residence.
“Why isn’t there anyone guarding outside your mother’s house?”
“There’s no one guarding this whole place, so we can relax a little.”
“Why?”
“Since I was young, my father has had another concubine who received more love from him. My mother wasn’t in favor, so there would only be two people around cooking and cleaning up the place usually.”
An Xiaoning responded, “I think all of that is just a facade.”
“What do you mean?”
“Didn’t you hear your grandfather say that Wu Haigang’s living in your mother’s house? I think there’s something fishy about this.”
“It’s probably because my mother’s place is quiet.”
An Xiaoning did not say a word further and climbed over the wall with him.
Curiously enough, An Xiaoning did not notice any light in the courtyard, and she did not spot any surveillance cameras either. It was as if they had entered a black hole.