Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Tuoba Rui looked away and guffawed mirthlessly. His laughter was filled with immense pain, misery, and agony.
“Father…” Tuoba Danxue murmured.
She had never seen such an emotional and distraught side of her father before.
It was, in fact, a little terrifying.
Shi Xiaoyu was no longer as confident as she was when she was arguing with An Xiaoning earlier. She stood rooted to the ground in fear, clenching her fists tightly as goosebumps began to form all over her from head to toe.
Tuoba Rui’s laughter ceased as he turned to glare at Shi Xiaoyu sullenly. “You claimed that Qingzhou tried to run away and that my parents had executed her. I was fooled by you for decades… Not only am I going to divorce you today, I’m going to remove your name from the Tuoba family’s record. After you die, you’re not to be buried in the ancestral grave. Your son may be the president now, but don’t forget, he’s in no place to meddle with the familial matters!”
Indeed, Tuoba Gucheng did not have the right to interfere with the family records.
“Tuoba Rui, you’re just a scumbag who tried to vie with your brother for his lover. How are you any better than I am? You were clearly aware that Shi Qingzhou was not in love with you at all, yet you still forced yourself upon her shamelessly and got her pregnant with your child. I really blame myself for not killing her earlier. Had I known that this day would come, I would have completely eradicated her and her daughter!” Shi Xiaoyu barked in exasperation.
However, she made a foolish decision to further provoke the infuriated Tuoba Rui.
Her three children could not save her at all from Tuoba Rui’s kick in the nick of time.
Shi Xiaoyu fell onto the ground with a loud thud, feeling as if her bones were about to be fractured.
She lay on the ground and began bawling loudly while Tuoba Danxue hurriedly helped her up.
“Mother, are you alright?”
“I’m dying…” Shi Xiaoyu struggled to get up on her feet and began barking like a madwoman, “If you’ve got the gall, kill me and avenge Shi Qingzhou. I was married to you for almost my entire life and given birth to three of your children. I ought to deserve some credit for my hard work, yet you still ill-treated me and were always aloof toward me. Would you have taken the initiative to spend the night with me if I didn’t always ask you to come and sleep with me in my room?”
Tuoba Rui completely disregarded her and walked away.
Shi Xiaoyu continued to curse and swear with all her might, raging with fury.
The revelation of the truth that Shi Xiaoyu had been hiding for decades sent her into a fizzy and a state of hysterics.
Needless to say, the consequences were grave.
The three siblings were incredibly upset.
After Shi Xiaoyu left to return to her room, Tuoba Danxue asked, “Brother, how do you plan to deal with An Xiaoning?”
“Why must I deal with her?”
“She holds the evidence to mother’s misdeeds that she can threaten us with. Aren’t you afraid that she would…” said Tuoba Danxue.
“If she really wanted to spread the evidence online or to foreign media platforms, she would’ve done it long ago. She’s not an insensible person,” said Tuoba Gucheng, who was not in the least bit worried at all.
“If she knows what she’s doing, would she have come here to stir trouble with no qualms about the consequences?”
“That’s because she was driven to exasperation. I’ll have a talk with her privately,” Tuoba Gucheng said sternly.
“Sure.”
He instructed Tuoba Danxue, “Remember… don’t divulge too much to Minxing.”
“I understand.”
“You may go,” said Tuoba Gucheng, after which Tuoba Danxue nodded and scurried away.
The pair of brothers were left alone. “You seem to be on Father’s side. Mother may have done wrong, but Father is partly to blame too,” said a puzzled Tuoba Hancheng.
Tuoba Gucheng answered bluntly, “I don’t understand. Haven’t you always been headstrong and opinionated when it comes to pursuing true love? If you could even allow yourself to fall in love with men, why won’t you approve of Father’s decision to get a divorce? What logic is that? You claim to believe in pursuing true love and freedom on one hand, yet you won’t allow your parents to do the same on the other. Why should they continue living like this if neither of them is happy at all?”
“They may just live separately and never see each other again.”
“I’m sure Father has his own reasons,” said Tuoba Gucheng, who then rose from his seat.
“Wait a minute…” Tuoba Hancheng also stood up and looked his brother in the eye. “What do you plan to do about Mother?”
“I’ll decide after having a talk with An Xiaoning.”
——
An Xiaoning did not regret her impulsive decision to act recklessly at all. She did not intend to make Tuoba Gucheng or the entire nation her enemy, for she was not tired of living yet.
Hence, she was merely making a gamble by showing up at the Autumn Palace today.
She was testing if her actions could keep Shi Xiaoyu in check.
In other words, she wanted Tuoba Gucheng and Tuoba Rui to take her in hand.
Hence, she’d decided not to hide the truth anymore.
Indeed, she did not think about the consequences that would ensue if things did not go according to her plan.
There was no turning back anyway, since what was done could not be undone.
Tuoba Gucheng must be infuriated to know that I’m his blood-related sister.
An Xiaoning rested her head on his desk and looked out of the window at the clear, blue sky.
Instead of getting up the moment she heard the door being opened, she remained still and closed her eyes instead.
On the surface, she appeared to have fallen asleep.
The door was locked.
Tuoba Gucheng walked toward her with a steady pace and blocked the light from entering through the window.
He stared at her, overwhelmed with a mix of emotions.
He then removed his blazer and draped it across her, refraining from waking her up.
An Xiaoning could feel the blazer being put on her since she was not actually asleep. However, she remained still and stiffened her body.
All of a sudden, her mobile phone began ringing and she subconsciously proceeded to fumble for the device in her pocket. It was an incoming call from overseas.
Shi Qingzhou’s mobile number was shown on the caller display.
“Mother.”
“Did you go to the Autumn Palace? I’m worried about you,” Shi Qingzhou said feebly.
“Did he call Father?” An Xiaoning asked. “He” obviously referred to Tuoba Rui while “Father” referred to Tuoba Shuo.
“Yes, I spoke to him over the phone. He said that he wants to add your name to the Tuoba family’s ancestral records and give you a proper status. I agreed to it,” said Shi Qingzhou.
“Why did you agree?”
“Regardless of how much I may detest him, I don’t want you to be treated unfairly. It’ll be better for you that way. Anyway, the ugly truth is already out. Your father and I plan to sell this house and move back to S Nation. I don’t want to be away from you ever again. It’s not that safe overseas either,” Shi Qingzhou said in between sobs.
“Okay.”
After hanging up, she placed the blazer onto the chair and made eye contact with Tuoba Gucheng.
“I’m sorry for hiding the truth all this while about being your half-sister.”
“Come here,” said Tuoba Gucheng, patting the spot beside him.
She walked forward and took a seat beside him. “I can bear with it if you’d like to lash out at me.”
“Why would I flare up or lash out at you? Nothing will change just because you’re related to me by blood,” Tuoba Gucheng said calmly, completely hiding his anger and embarrassment.
“Your Majesty…”
He pulled her into an embrace forcefully and said, “Regardless of whether you’re my sister or an animal or what have you, I’ll always love you. I loved you way before all of these happened. It doesn’t make sense for me to erase all my feelings for you easily just because I know the truth now, does it?”
