Chapter 563: The Secret About the Past (181)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Upon arriving at the Autumn Palace, An Xiaoning was immediately sent back to her room while Tuoba Gucheng ordered the doctors to remove the bullet from her body.
Xiao Chi asked Zhi Yin for the reason behind his Young Madam’s wounds, after which he hurriedly sent a text message to his Young Sir using the special mobile phone.
He relayed everything he heard from Zhi Yin to Jin Qingyan.
Due to the fact that the hiking attack involved the ties between both nations, Byron specially instructed for the incident to be kept under wraps, especially since he knew clearly what the perpetrators’ motive was.
Since there were no reports of the incident on the news, Jin Qingyan naturally would not have had a clue about it.
Jin Qingyan sprung up from his seat in shock and agitation when he received the sudden text message from Xiao Chi.
He stood rooted to the ground and hurriedly probed about An Xiaoning’s current condition.
Xiao Chi informed him that the doctors would be arriving soon to remove the bullets and treat her wounds and that her life was not in danger.
Jin Qingyan felt a slight sense of relief and instructed Xiao Chi to take a video of An Xiaoning and send it to him.
Xiao Chi understood what he meant and took the chance to install a pinhole surveillance camera in An Xiaoning’s room stealthily while he was there alone. The surveillance camera would be connected to Jin Qingyan’s cell phone and he could then receive a live feed of what was going on in her room.
Considering that An Xiaoning would need her privacy, Xiao Chi connected the surveillance camera directly to Jin Qingyan’s device.
In other words, Jin Qingyan could observe her current situation from his computer via the audio-enabled surveillance camera in her room.
The doctors soon arrived and administered An Xiaoning with a local anesthetic before removing the bullet.
Once the bullet was removed, Tuoba Gucheng instructed the female servants to help An Xiaoning change into a fresh set of clothes and replace the bedsheets.
Just as he left the room to wait outside, the door opened and the female servant said nervously, “Your Highness, hurry and go in to take a look.”
Tuoba Gucheng entered the room again, only to see that An Xiaoning had her shorts removed and that there was blood all over her legs, which had already dried up and stained her skin. Her underwear was stained the most with blood.
“Go out first,” said the quick-witted Tuoba Gucheng.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Once the female servant left the room, Tuoba Gucheng helped An Xiaoning put on her pants and carried her out.
Jin Qingyan immediately instructed Xiao Chi to follow Tuoba Gucheng and observe the situation.
He was filled with anxiety and uneasiness.
He absolutely hated the fact that he could not be beside her when she was injured.
Meanwhile, Tuoba Gucheng brought An Xiaoning to the hospital in the Autumn Palace.
She was first sent for an ultrasound scan. Tuoba Gucheng was overwhelmed with an inexplicable feeling the moment he heard that she had indeed suffered a miscarriage.
Although he would have definitely not let her keep the child, he could not help but feel a little upset now that she really suffered a miscarriage.
He waited outside while the doctor performed a surgery to remove the remaining fetal tissue. Xiao Chi stood beside him, not daring to utter a single word.
The surgery was brief. The anesthetic had yet to wear off and An Xiaoning was still in deep sleep when Tuoba Gucheng saw her again.
Afraid that his mother would find out, he specially instructed the hospital staff to keep mum about the matter before bringing An Xiaoning back.
Upon hearing that she had suffered a miscarriage, Jin Qingyan wished that he could rush there immediately to take her home. However, there was no way he could do so.
That was because the security was too tight around the Autumn Palace and he would be easily pinned as a suspect should there be any hiccups during the execution of his plan.
The situation would then be blown out of proportion.
He knew the pros and cons of the matter.
Fortunately, he could monitor her condition at all times.
It was a huge relief for him.
An Xiaoning was changed into a fresh set of clothes and undergarments. The bedsheets were all replaced as well.
Tuoba Gucheng remained in his own room in order to avoid arousing suspicion.
All he could think about now was — Is she going to blame me when she finds out after waking up that she had suffered a miscarriage? Will she mistake me for aborting her child while she was unconscious?
The thought of it made him feel ill at ease.
Thus, he instructed the servants to tend to her and to inform him immediately when An Xiaoning comes to.
An Xiaoning woke up an hour later.
Tuoba Gucheng looked down at her from above and said, “You ought to rest and recuperate for the time being, until your body recovers fully. Also… you suffered a miscarriage.”
An Xiaoning was initially lying on her side. However, she turned to glare at him abruptly as soon as she heard his words.
“Don’t look at me like that. It was a natural miscarriage. I didn’t force a surgery on you.”
She did not suspect him of putting her through an abortion without her consent.
The idea did not cross her mind at all.
It was because she had thought through the situation carefully and realized that it was very likely for her to have suffered a miscarriage since she was shot in her lower back by a gun. Furthermore, she had also performed strenuous activities that included climbing down the rope and sprinting with all her might while trying to escape together with him on the mountains. How could she possibly not suffer a miscarriage?
“Why… aren’t you speaking…”
“I’ve never suspected you of putting me through an abortion while I was unconscious… I mentioned before that it would be very difficult for me to conceive, and even if I managed to fall pregnant, it’d be tough to keep the baby. So, you don’t have to explain, Your Highness.”
Tears welled up in her eyes and a look of sorrow began to form on her face. “I’d like to be alone for a while. Please go out, Your Highness.”
Tuoba Gucheng turned around to leave upon noticing that she had teared up.
So did Jin Qingyan, who was sitting in front of his computer screen. Clearly, both An Xiaoning and Tuoba Gucheng were aware of her pregnancy.
But why didn’t she tell me about it?
Was she afraid that I wouldn’t allow her to continue remaining in the Autumn Palace once I found out?
Was that the case?
Fan Shixin entered and reported, “Young Sir… just as you had expected, there’s no way to enter or exit from the Autumn Palace right now.”
“Okay.”
“What happened?” Fan Shixin asked eagerly.
“Your Young Madam has suffered a miscarriage.”
Fan Shixin’s jaw dropped in shock. “A miscarriage…”
“Yes, since there’s no way to enter now, we’ll just have to wait until security becomes more lax before coming up with a solution to enter.”
“Alright.”
Jin Qingyan then instructed him, “I have planted a surveillance camera in her room and it’s connected to my laptop. Help me watch her while I’m away at the office tomorrow. Report to me immediately if there are any unusual situations.”
“Got it.”
“Alright, you may go out now.”
Fan Shixin turned around to leave.
Jin Qingyan tried to call An Xiaoning but her mobile phone was switched off.
He wanted to give her a tight hug and comfort her, telling her it’s alright and that they could always try for another child in the future.
However, all he could do at the moment was to get Xiao Chi to relay his message to her and tell her to call him.
Xiao Chi tried to sneak in when he had the chance.
“Young Madam, Young Sir would like you to call him. He said that your mobile phone is switched off,” Xiao Chi said softly.
An Xiaoning explained, “I lost my phone when we were escaping from the mountains. Lend me your phone.”
“Alright.” Xiao Chi closed the surveillance camera footage window before handing her the mobile phone.
She managed to reach Jin Qingyan’s mobile phone successfully.
“I lost my phone.”
“Use Xiao Chi’s phone to contact me from now onwards then. Don’t be affected by the miscarriage. Rest well and nurse your body back to health. It’s hard to enter and exit the Autumn Palace at the moment. I’ll find an opportunity to get you out once you’ve recovered.”