Chapter 600: The Secret About the Past (218)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“My father has to attend an urgent meeting that cropped up at the last minute. We don’t have to go anymore.”
An Xiaoning immediately pulled a long face and asked, “What did Mr. President want to see you for?”
“He probably just wanted to brief me about the elections, what else could it possibly be about? I already know what to do even without his instructions. Great, now I don’t have to go listen to his lecture. C’mon, let’s go back.”
An Xiaoning was speechless.
“Why are you upset again?”
“I initially thought I could take a tour around Mr. President’s office. But I guess I don’t have the chance to now.”
“Take a tour? Do you think this is a tourist attraction? There’s no way you’ll be allowed to take a tour around the office freely like you’re at home. There’ll be people following you the moment you enter the mansion. The same goes for me too, I’m no exception,” he said solemnly.
Upon hearing his words, An Xiaoning could not help but feel like she was being too naive before.
In the Autumn Palace where security was tight, no one else could give her a helping hand except Tuoba Shuo.
It was quite a tall order. Although she wanted to find out the truth about her mother as soon as possible, she had no choice but to take things one step at a time.
She ought to be extremely careful at all times while going about her investigation if she did not want her identity to be exposed.
Just as they entered the yard of Tuoba Gucheng’s mansion, they were greeted with the sight of two bodyguards walking alongside Bai Zhi, each holding some heavy training equipment in hand.
Bai Zhi’s hands were empty, however.
Clearly, Bai Zhi was the one who was tasked with carrying the equipment. However, the two men could not bear to let such a gorgeous babe exert herself and thus offered to give her a hand.
An Xiaoning was immediately reminded of the treatment she was subjected to a few days ago. She could not help but remark bitterly, “Looks are truly of utmost importance in today’s society. No one has come forth to help me whenever I’m struggling to carry heavy items.”
The bodyguards beside Bai Zhi chuckled awkwardly, not daring to utter anything callous in front of Tuoba Gucheng. Thus, they said politely, “Mu Ning, if you’re tasked with carrying heavy items again in the future, feel free to call us for help.”
An Xiaoning gave a courteous smile but did not answer.
After waiting for the three of them to leave, Tuoba Gucheng turned around abruptly and stared at An Xiaoning intently. “Bai Zhi may be able to gain some perks because of her good looks, but she won’t stand to gain as much as you.”
“What do you mean, Your Highness?”
“Figure it out yourself,” he answered vaguely.
An Xiaoning could not be bothered to waste her time trying to figure out what he meant and, thus, just let it slip.
“Your Highness!” a voice yelled from the entrance.
An Xiaoning and Tuoba Gucheng turned to look.
They caught sight of one of Tuoba Rui’s bodyguards running toward them and exclaiming, “The results from the blood DNA test are out. Military Commander Xu’s daughter is Bai Zhi.”
Tuoba Gucheng and An Xiaoning looked at each other in astonishment, both greatly taken aback by the news.
“Is that so? Bring Bai Zhi over then. She’s headed to the training ground.”
“Alright.”
A grave expression formed on An Xiaoning’s face. She’d had a gut feeling that Bai Zhi was not a simple person, though she’d been unsure if she was thinking too much.
“Your Highness, is this the reason for the blood drawing exercise that was conducted a few days ago?”
“Yes.”
“I’m a little confused. How was Military Commander Xu so sure that his biological daughter was in the Autumn Palace?” An Xiaoning questioned in puzzlement.
“Nothing is impossible in this world. I heard he found out about it after a special visit to a fortune-teller. Turns out it’s really the case,” said Tuoba Gucheng, after which he entered the mansion right away.
It did take some special abilities to be able to accurately tell a person’s whereabouts based on their birth characters.
However, An Xiaoning knew that there was no way she could read her mother’s birth characters.
Unless she sought help from the elderly man in the mountains again.
However, it was unclear if fate would allow her to meet him again.
—
Bai Zhi was brought to Military Commander and Madam Xu.
Tears welled up in her eyes the moment she saw them. “Are you guys my biological parents?” Bai Zhi asked.
Madam Xu rushed forward to hug her and burst into tears. “My daughter, I’ve finally found you!” she cried.
Military Commander Xu stepped forward to pull the two of them into an embrace. A somber mood filled the air all of a sudden.
Unlike her parents, who were extremely agitated, Bai Zhi was at a sudden loss for what to do, seemingly unable to recover from the shock of the abrupt news.
Tears streamed down Madam Xu’s face uncontrollably. She wiped her tears with her hand and said between sobs, “It’s wonderful now that we’ve found you. Pack your bags and come home with us, alright?”
Bai Zhi nodded and said calmly, “Okay.”
After thanking Tuoba Rui and Shi Xiaoyu, Military Commander and Madam Xu brought her to their car and headed back to A City.
Bai Zhi had a million questions on her mind. Yet, she did not know where and how to begin asking. Madam Xu then took the initiative to explain to her about how she had gone missing when she was an infant.
“When we lost you back then, your father and I were so anxious that we almost lost our minds. The nanny was murdered and you disappeared without a trace. There were many times when we thought that you were probably no longer around in this world. Afterward, we went to consult a fortune-teller who told us that you’d be living an exceptionally-blessed life. But, why did you alter your fate?”
“Alter my fate? I didn’t,” Bai Zhi asked in bewilderment.
“That can’t be the case. We managed to find you this time, all thanks to an elderly lady in Beijia Bay who managed to tell us your whereabouts. She said that your fate has been altered. You were initially destined to live a life of blessings, but your life has taken a turn for the worse after you altered it,” Madam Xu said firmly.
Bai Zhi shook her head and said, “That’s impossible. I didn’t alter my fate. I don’t even know when my birthday is, how could I possibly go about altering it?”
Military Commander and Madam Xu looked at each other in dismay, breaking out in cold sweat.
“When you were abducted back then, the nanny was murdered but nothing was missing from our home. We were certain that someone was out to wreak havoc within our family. We used to think that it might’ve been someone we knew. But now, it seems the person also knew what your birth characters are. I’m afraid…” Madam Xu frantically said to her husband, “Let’s rush to see the elderly lady in Beijia Bay once we arrive back in the city and get her to restore our daughter’s fate.”
“Alright,” Military Commander Xu agreed with a nod.
Bai Zhi felt a shiver down her spine upon hearing their words.
After a moment of silence, she said, “It’s already been so many years since it happened. I’m afraid it’d be extremely difficult to get to the bottom of the truth now.”
“Even then, we still ought to continue investigating. You were abducted and separated from us for so many years. We’ve never done our part as your parents. Bai Zhi, have you ever resented us for that?” Madam Xu asked.
Bai Zhi shook her head and answered, “No, I’ve always thought that my parents were already dead and that I was an orphan.”
Military Commander and Madam Xu were incredibly upset to hear her words.
“Quick, tell Mother, how did you manage to survive all these years?”
“I’ve been living like a zombie. There has never been a day that I lived as a normal person,” Bai Zhi answered with a sigh.
“Your father and I heard from the fortune-teller that you’re married and that your husband treats you exceptionally well. Is that true?”
She nodded and answered, “Yes, but what’s the point of treating me well? He can’t protect me anyway.”
“What does he do for a living?”
Bai Zhi hesitated for a moment before answering bitterly, “He has the same job as I do. If only you guys had found me earlier…”
“We’ve always been searching for you, but it was extremely difficult since the world is so huge. We even mistook another girl for you and doted on her for nothing throughout all these years. She posed as you and lied to us,” Military Commander Xu explained.