Chapter 966: Perplexed and Smitten (26)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
She continued to wait patiently. Twenty minutes later, the servant said, “Miss Jin, we’re here.”
An Xiaoning frantically looked out of the window and squinted to see that the sky had already brightened and that the sedan was entering the palace.
They’re carrying me inside openly, what…
Would that Princess Consort even allow it?
What’s my status now?
An Xiaoning was clueless. She drew the curtains, overwhelmed with a mix of emotions.
Once the sedan was lowered onto the ground, the curtain was drawn open forcefully. She was greeted with the sight of Jin Qingyan.
An Xiaoning looked at him while exiting the sedan.
“You’ve had a long journey, it must have been tough on you. I’ve already arranged a room for you,” he said, sounding rather formal.
She had no choice but to nod along since she had no idea what exactly was going on.
“Let’s go, I’ll take you there.”
“Sure.”
He took the lead while An Xiaoning followed closely behind.
They finally arrived at a mansion whose door was left ajar and in which there were some lit candles. The two of them entered the room together.
As soon as they entered, she hurriedly closed the door and strode forward to tug on his sleeve. Before she could even speak, he shrugged her hand away.
An Xiaoning was shocked out of her wits.
Was he not acting aloof on purpose just now?
“What’s wrong with you?”
He glowered at her menacingly and retorted, “Whats’ wrong with me? How dare you ask me what’s wrong? Who gave you the audacity to abort my child secretly!?!”
An Xiaoning did not feel uncomfortable at all. Thus, she reckoned that the abortion must have happened some time ago. All of a sudden, she recalled one of her dreams where she had a miscarriage. Could it be that time? Or was it another one?
His temper should still be about the same as his current one in this lifetime. She said gently, “How could I bear to abort the child?”
“Do you really think you can hide it from me? Your status has changed and you’re now the goddaughter of the Gu Nation’s prince. You don’t need me anymore so you’re starting to draw a line between us, isn’t that so?”
“Of course not.”
“Hua Jin, you’re getting better and better at lying. Of course not? Would you have come here if I hadn’t stolen the Princess Consort’s identity and invited you over for a few days’ stay?”
An Xiaoning immediately thought of the possible reason. Something must have happened between us. Could it be that we were having a cold war?
But why?
She felt completely clueless, for she knew nothing about the events that took place in between and was merely aware of the ending.
Noticing that she had sunk deep into thought, Jin Qingyan flew into a rage and pinned An Xiaoning against a table, causing her to feel a sharp pain in her lower back.
She initially wanted to push him away but decided not to struggle or retaliate, considering the current situation.
He began sticking his tongue into her mouth overbearingly and pinned her onto the table. He had missed her dearly because they had not seen each other in a long time.
He was not at all gentle or affectionate with his actions, making An Xiaoning feel extremely uncomfortable.
Grabbing onto his arm tightly, An Xiaoning murmured, “You’re hurting me…”
“You know what pain is?” he retorted sternly, not reducing his strength at all.
“Let’s talk things over calmly, alright?”
He did not respond and seemed to have taken her silence to mean consent.
After a long battle, An Xiaoning sat on the bed, feeling a stinging pain between her legs.
He stood opposite her and asked, “What do you want to talk about?”
“Let me ask you, which child of ours was it?”
He squinted and questioned, “How would you not know?”
“Answer me.”
“Our first.”
Recalling the dream that she once had, An Xiaoning said firmly, “I asked you because I wanted you to know that it was our first. And since it was our first child, how could I bear to abort it?”
“If you didn’t abort it, how did you lose it? The people at the pharmacy have all said that you bought some abortion drug yourself. Don’t try and fool me,” he said in a much mellower tone.
She grabbed his hand and said, “So you just believed them? Those people have been bribed. Who knows? Maybe someone is after the child’s and my life.”
An Xiaoning was certain that she was not one who would abort a child, be it in her previous lifetime or in the present.
The frown on his forehead eased a little, and he said in a gentler voice, “You mean, someone…”
An Xiaoning had the confidence to make such a conclusion, firstly because she was not one to abort a fetus, and secondly because she was deeply in love with him and obviously wouldn’t abort their child.
“Brother Ling, I won’t lie to you. Don’t you know how much you mean to me?”
His heart was completely melted by her words. Perhaps she just had that power over him.
“I was being too brash and rough just now. Does it still hurt?”
An Xiaoning nodded and moaned a little in a coy manner. “Yes, of course it does.”
“I’ll bring you some medicine later.”
“You don’t have to…”
“Get some rest first. We’ll have breakfast together after daybreak arrives.”
“That’s not very appropriate, is it?” After pausing to hesitate, she continued, “The Princess Consort…”
“It’ll be fine. You should know from the fact that I’d forged her identity to write to you that I no longer have to be afraid of her family’s authority.”
After some consideration, she said, “I think we’d better not.”
Seeing how insistent she was, he decided not to compel her any further. Instead, he stroked her head affectionately with much tenderness before turning around to leave.
An Xiaoning tried to recall her memories carefully.
She verified that the miscarriage would have happened after she left the palace because he was still bothered by the Princess Consort’s authority and power when she left.
In that case, a lot must have happened in between.
She walked toward the bronze mirror and stared at her own reflection, which proved her conjecture to be correct.
Her features had developed much more compared to before.
She also seemed to be one or two years older.
Despite feeling the nagging discomfort between her legs, she did not wish to just lay in bed to sleep. Instead, she decided to reconnoiter around the place and check out the layout.
As soon as she stepped out of the house, the maid standing by the door asked, “Miss Jin, why don’t you rest for a while longer?”
“I can’t seem to fall asleep. Could you show me around this place?”
“Of course.”
An Xiaoning nodded and began strolling alongside her on the road.
All of a sudden, images of the residence from a millennium later flashed through her mind. She was filled with an inexplicable feeling.
When the sky turned completely bright, An Xiaoning walked to the place where she had been before.
“Whose house is this?”
“You must have forgotten. Miss Jin, this is His Highness’ house.”
She expressed assent and said, “Wait for me here while I go in to take a look.”
“Okay.”
She crossed the gate to see that there was another maid sweeping the floor in the backyard and a few bodyguards on standby. Upon seeing her arrival, they all greeted her politely.
Hearing the noises outside, Jin Qingyan came out of the house and asked in surprise, “Why aren’t you getting some rest?”
“I couldn’t sleep so I decided to come and take a look. Is this door made of wood?” she asked, placing her hand on the heavy door that had almost crushed her and Wang Jinsheng in real life.