Chapter 780: A Million Times for You (142)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Yes, in order to defend her mother, she gave me all sorts of reasons and explanations to say that her mother wasn’t practicing witchcraft. She even told me where the book had been found, as told by her mother. I asked her several times and made her surrender the book. However, she refused and said that she had hidden it somewhere. I know clearly what her mother is like,” Mr. Shi said with a frown.
Shi Xiaoyu opened the door and barged right in. “After much consideration, I still think that we can’t just get them to give us the book. It won’t make a difference if they had already made several copies of it. It’s best if we kill both her and her daughter.”
“Your mother is right, we can’t allow any of them to survive. If we don’t eradicate the root of the problem, there’s bound to be more trouble ahead.”
Fuming with anger, Tuoba Gucheng said, “I can’t act rashly just because I’ve heard your side of the story. I’ve yet to verify the truth about this book you’ve mentioned. You guys are so eager to kill her because you’re afraid that I’d find out the actual truth, aren’t you?”
“See, you still refuse to believe us. Who are you going to believe if not your closest family members? I was too furious to think clearly yesterday and forgot about this. We can’t afford to delay any further. Bring her and her daughter here immediately,” Shi Xiaoyu urged impatiently.
“That’s enough. You two may go back first. I’ll handle this as I deem fit.”
Just as Shi Xiaoyu was about to speak, her father stopped her with a glance he shot at her. “Leave the decision to Gucheng. He understands the pros and cons of this matter. Let’s go back first,” said the elderly Mr. Shi.
After they left, Tuoba Gucheng immediately began brainstorming and instructed his subordinates to find out Shi Qingzhou’s whereabouts, only to discover that she and An Xiaoning were together at the moment.
An Xiaoning happened to be packing her things in the bedroom when she received a call from Tuoba Gucheng.
“What are you doing?”
“Watching a movie. How do you have the time to call me when you’re already so busy?” An Xiaoning asked, cocking her head sideways and clasping her phone in between her neck and shoulders.
“How about you come and live in the Autumn Palace for a while together with your mother?”
An Xiaoning paused in her actions and stood up straight. She grabbed her phone with her other hand and asked, “What for?”
“Move back with Uncle.”
“My question is, what for? Tell me clearly. Are you going back on your word and thinking of killing me and my mother now?”
“No, that’s not what I meant. I just want you guys to stay here for a while.”
“Don’t think of lying to me. My mother and I are not moving back there. The Autumn Palace is a place of painful memories for my mother. I won’t let her step foot in there again,” said An Xiaoning.
After a moment of silence, Tuoba Gucheng said in a colder tone, “Do you want me to send my people over to pick you up or would you like to come over yourself?”
He was practically threatening her.
An Xiaoning did not make a sound and continued to let the call drag on.
“Did you know? I absolutely hate being threatened. People who threaten me usually make me feel repulsed,” An Xiaoning said in a crisp, clear voice.
Tuoba Gucheng mellowed his tone and tried to convince her, “I won’t do anything to you and your mother, just move here for the time being.”
“If there’s nothing else, let’s hang up.”
An Xiaoning ended the call and threw her mobile phone onto the bed before rushing downstairs.
“Mother!”
“What’s wrong?” Shi Qingzhou asked, feeling a sudden panic upon hearing how frantic her daughter sounded.
“Tuoba Gucheng gave me a call just now and he wants us to move to the Autumn Palace for a period of time. He sounded extremely insistent. It seems he’s going to send his men to bring us there if we refuse to give in. I’m afraid he’s really after the book.”
Upon hearing her words, Shi Qingzhou said calmly, “I think so too.”
“I won’t let you guys enter the Autumn Palace again. We’ll only be putting ourselves in danger by going there again. Rest assured and continue to live here. I’ll ask Jin Qingyan to send another batch of bodyguards here to protect you,” said An Xiaoning, who had gotten a grip on her emotions.
Shaking her head, Shi Qingzhou objected, “I don’t think we should do that. I do have a solution, though. Hear me out while I explain it to you.”
An Xiaoning was all ears.
“I did tell my father about the book back then, but no one else except me knows what it looks like. Hence, they have no proof at all. Xiaoning, what we ought to do now is to make Tuoba Gucheng believe that this book doesn’t exist. Before this, your father and I have already thought of a strategy. As long as I refuse to admit it, there’s nothing they can do. You shall just pretend as if you’ve never heard about this matter.”
Upon hearing her words, An Xiaoning asked, “Mother, are you thinking of going back inside the Autumn Palace?”
“There’s no harm in entering that place again. Although I detest Tuoba Rui, he’s really going to come in handy at a time like this.”
“I don’t want to let you guys go inside that place again.”
“Since we can’t afford to go against them, we can only compromise. It’s best if you get a hold of the book sooner and memorize its contents as soon as possible, then burn it. Everything will be fine then,” said Shi Qingzhou.
“I’ll give Tuoba Gucheng a call and try to get the book tomorrow.”
She turned around to leave and returned upstairs.
After closing the door, she walked toward the bed and picked up her mobile phone to see that she had received four missed calls from Tuoba Gucheng.
The call went through within seconds. “Why did you call me again?” she asked in frustration.
“One week. Okay?” Tuoba Gucheng asked.
Noticing that he seemed less insistent and sounded much more willing to make compromises, An Xiaoning asked coquettishly, “Are you thinking of killing me and my mother? Are you thinking of going back on your word again?”
Tuoba Gucheng’s heart softened and he answered, “Why would I get rid of you and your mother? Why don’t you trust me?”
“Can I go tomorrow instead? I’m running a fever and I feel giddy,” said An Xiaoning, telling a white lie, which was mandatory at times. Otherwise, there was no way she could retrieve the book.
“Alright,” he agreed.
“Okay, I’m hanging up, then.” An Xiaoning ended the call and let out a long sigh. She then hurriedly sent Jin Qingyan a text message and informed him about the situation briefly, lest he gets worried.
In order to prevent being tailed, she drove to Wei Ni Estate together with No. 5 and No. 8 and parked her car in Mei Yangyang’s backyard. She then instructed Mei Yangyang to exchange outfits with her and drive the car back to Sanqiao Estate half an hour later.
After waiting for two hours, she asked Long Tianze to take over the wheel and drive out of Wei Ni Estate while she lay flat on the back seat.
Long Tianze drove along the expressway.
An Xiaoning sat up and asked, “How long more will we take before we reach our destination?”
Long Tianze tapped on the GPS system and said, “Come and take a look.”
She inched forward to glance at the screen. “Two hours.”
“Yes, it’s pretty far away. We have to cover a distance of about 300 kilometers, but it’ll be faster because we took the expressway,” said Long Tianze.