Chapter 609: The Secret About the Past (227)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Your sister lives in Wei Ni Estate and she can even afford to buy your father such an expensive piece of jade. What exactly does she do for a living?” Xiaozong asked.
“My brother-in-law is the owner of an entertainment company while my sister is a housewife.”
“What is your brother-in-law’s name?”
“Long Tianze.”
Xiaozong lit up in surprise. “Long Tianze?”
“Yes, his name is Long Tianze.”
“Do your sister and your brother-in-law share a close relations.h.i.+p?”
“Yes, they do,” Mei Shuangshuang answered with a nod.
“If we could dupe your sister, lure her out, and then extort money from your brother-in-law, I’m sure he’ll give it to you.”
“I’ll then be sent to prison after I get my hands on the money,” Mei Shuangshuang said feebly.
“Are you silly? How could you do it yourself? Don’t you know how to hire someone else to do it?” said Xiaozong.
“I don’t even have money to hire someone to do it for me. All you do is just talk.”
“I can borrow some from my friends,” said Xiaozong.
“I’ll think about it. But I’m still hoping that the police can help recover my money.”
“Alright, give it some thought. Anyway, this will not be an easy task and we’ll have to come up with a seamless plan.”
—
An Xiaoning could very clearly sense the drastic change in Tuoba Gucheng’s att.i.tude.
Apart from giving her official instructions, he had never spoken to her about anything else ever since.
An Xiaoning would often remain quiet and, sometimes, stay silent without uttering a word for several consecutive days.
He perpetually had a sullen expression on his face, which only eased up in front of Lin s.h.i.+s.h.i.+.
Everyone knew that the pair of newlyweds were becoming increasingly loving toward each other ever since they got married.
Lin s.h.i.+s.h.i.+ was just like a teenager who fell hopelessly in love, for she was beaming with joy every single day.
An Xiaoning was glad to see how well Tuoba Gucheng was treating Lin s.h.i.+s.h.i.+, and she was happy for the latter.
Don’t most women just yearn to have a husband who dotes on them?
Time pa.s.sed by, day after day. It was the end of August when a piece of groundbreaking news erupted online.
Tuoba Hancheng was photographed entering a popular gay nightclub and did not leave until the next day, causing a major uproar amongst the public.
Without a doubt, such controversial news would definitely be disadvantageous, especially since there was only a short period of time until the presidential election.
Although the piece of news was revoked very soon, the public nevertheless still continued to engage in incessant gossip about the matter, as if they had witnessed it with their own eyes.
Besides, Tuoba Hancheng was the only bachelor amongst his siblings, since Tuoba Gucheng was already married and Tuoba Danxue’s wedding was to be held in December.
Tuoba Hancheng was a stern and reserved man who had das.h.i.+ng good looks and a superb figure.
Everyone began speculating and deducing that he must be a h.o.m.os.e.xual.
There were all sorts of comments and opinions.
Tuoba Rui and s.h.i.+ Xiaoyu hit the roof when the news went out.
They immediately released a statement, claiming that Tuoba Hancheng was not a h.o.m.os.e.xual.
However, there was no way to reverse the adverse effects brought about by the piece of news, regardless of their statement.
Come September, the entire nation would be casting their votes to elect the next president.
The presidential election was held once every eight years. However, all of the presidential candidates would perpetually be from the Tuoba family.
After all, how could an outsider be elected as the president in a nation whose political system was based on royal inheritance?
An Xiaoning had a little less than a month to go before the election when she arrived back at the Autumn Palace from A City.
She would hear the fishy ringing sound once every few days. After having heard it several times, she was certain that there was definitely a secret chamber in the room.
An Xiaoning was exceptionally eager to enter s.h.i.+ Xiaoyu’s bedroom again to find out more.
The election was scheduled for mid-September.
It would be in autumn when the weather was cool and breezy.
There were voting stations in every province, county, and city of S Nation.
Citizens were allowed to cast their votes online too, though every personal identification number was allowed to vote only once. There would be staff personnel to check for void votes.
Since it was a national affair, every citizen in S Nation was prepared to make a vote.
Of course, there were only three candidates.
They were the current president, Tuoba Rui, Tuoba Hancheng, and Tuoba Gucheng.
The citizens’ votes would decide if Tuoba Rui could continue being the president or would have to give up his position for the next generation of young blood.
While outsiders were not allowed to partake in running for the president, the citizens were, however, the deciding factor of who becomes the next president.
Thus, it could be said that S Nation was a partially-democratic country.
The election would go on for two months, all the way until mid-November.
However, the people’s choice will not be immediately installed as the new president, and he would still have to undergo another round of voting by the ministers and members of the cabinet.
In the past, Tuoba Rui would often continue his position as the president, for the other two candidates were still young adolescents who were definitely incapable of running a country. But, things are different now since they’ve already reached adulthood and thus were suitable candidates.
An Xiaoning had been following Tuoba Gucheng around in the day incessantly as his bodyguard.
After a long, arduous day of work, it was only right that she finally get some rest at night.
However, that was not the case.
Her plan was to find a way to enter s.h.i.+ Xiaoyu’s room during the election period.
After all, what else was the purpose of her disguising as a bodyguard in the Autumn Palace?
To find out the ultimate truth about her mother, of course.
She would never find it tiring, regardless of how physically exhausted she may be.
Thus, when she and Tuoba Gucheng returned to the mansion at past ten o’clock in the evening, An Xiaoning did not rest even though her legs were already aching.
She had already finished memorizing the content of the book last night and had mastered all the techniques of hypnosis to awaken one’s innermost consciousness when they’re asleep.
She even ran a trial with Tuoba Shuo to test her skills, and the outcome proved that she had indeed mastered them well.
All she had to do now was wait for the chance to take action on Tuoba Rui and s.h.i.+ Xiaoyu.
After resting for two hours, she got up at twelve midnight and dragged herself out, dog-tired.
The guards on duty outside were not surprised to see her since she would frequently go out at night for a walk.
She headed to Tuoba Shuo’s mansion as agreed upon earlier.
Upon sight of him, An Xiaoning said, “I’ve thought about it carefully. It’d be too dangerous for you to send me to s.h.i.+ Xiaoyu’s bedroom. Your safety will be at stake. So, I’ve decided to come up with a better solution on my own.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier for me to bring you in?”
Shaking her head, An Xiaoning explained, “You’d be risking everything if you bring me inside the mansion when they’re both in the bedroom. I don’t want you to compromise your safety and risk losing the chance to live a peaceful life in the future. After all, we don’t know if my mother is still alive.”
“How do you plan to enter, then? Security is extremely tight around the mansion. Even if you manage to enter by luck, how are you going to make it out of there? You’ll be caught very easily,” said Tuoba Shuo.
“I don’t want to think about what will happen if I get caught, because it’s going to make me hesitate and shy away from executing my plan out of fear. Please believe me. I care most about my own safety.”
Tuoba Shuo stared at her earnestly and said, “Your mother will be very heartened to know that she has a daughter like you.”
Even if she were to unfortunately get caught, he would come clean about everything and keep her safe.
An Xiaoning looked at him and stepped forward to give him a hug before saying, “I’m going now.”
“Go on.”
An Xiaoning soon vanished into the darkness. Tuoba Shuo felt his stomach twist into a knot as he continued to pace back and forth around his room, feeling nervous and tensed up.
At the same time, An Xiaoning approached her destination.
This was her second visit to the mansion.