novelThe Secret About the Past (169)
| ← Ch.0550 | Ch.0552 → |
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Madam Lin remained silent throughout since she was, in fact, rather reluctant to let her daughter marry into the Tuoba family.
However, she was not allowed to have a say in this matter.
An Xiaoning could not help but feel like Tuoba Gucheng did not seem to fancy Lin Shishi much, somehow. He appeared cool and collected, hiding all his emotions beneath an expressionless face.
Compared to the elusive Tuoba Gucheng, Lin Shishi wore her heart on her sleeve.
Happiness was written all over her face, and even the blind could tell that she was thrilled about the engagement.
An Xiaoning looked at Tuoba Danxue, who was continuously pinching her own thigh to keep herself awake.
They initially thought that the Lin family would leave right after the discussion was over. Contrary to their expectations, the Lin family stayed behind for lunch and only left during noontime.
Tuoba Danxue could not take the fatigue any longer, despite pinching herself with all her might. Thus, she had no choice but to excuse herself, "Mother, I didn't sleep well last night. I'm really sleepy now. I'll come by again later in the afternoon."
Hiding her displeasure beneath a mirthless smile, Shi Xiaoyu said pretentiously, "Go ahead. Remember to come back in the afternoon. This silly child spent the entire night chatting with Minxing over the phone. Young people nowadays are so negligent toward their health. Do Shishi and Gucheng have such long conversations too?"
"We do chat a bit every now and then, " Lin Shishi answered.
In actual fact, Tuoba Gucheng rarely spoke to her and often kept their conversations short and concise.
They would only ever make small talk and chat about casual topics.
For example, "Have you eaten?" "What are you doing?" "Go to bed early" and such.
However, Lin Shishi was not too bothered by their mundane conversations, thinking that it was probably just the way Tuoba Gucheng was by nature.
—
An Xiaoning immediately ran toward the trashcan to vomit as soon as she stepped out of the mansion.
She threw up everything she had for breakfast, together with some stomach acid.
Tuoba Danxue squinted and asked, "Did you have too much for breakfast?"
"I didn't eat much..." An Xiaoning whipped out a piece of tissue to wipe her mouth, feeling much more relieved after puking.
"Are you getting the runs?"
"No, " An Xiaoning answered, catching up with Tuoba Danxue.
"Don't tell me, you're pregnant?"
It was merely a mindless remark that Tuoba Danxue blurted. However, An Xiaoning immediately realized what was going on upon recalling the date of her previous menstrual cycle.
Noticing that she remained silent, Tuoba Danxue stopped in her tracks and stared at her."You're not seriously pregnant, are you?"
"How could that be? Your Highness, don't frighten me. I don't even have a boyfriend now. Why would I be pregnant?" An Xiaoning denied.
"Haven't you ever gotten intimate with your boyfriend before, while he was still alive?"
"No, " An Xiaoning said firmly.
"Really?"
"Really."
Tuoba Danxue burst into laughter upon hearing her answer, greatly puzzling An Xiaoning.
"Your Highness, what are you laughing about?"
"How long were you in a relationship with your boyfriend?" she asked curiously.
"Hmm, a few months."
Tuoba Danxue raised her brows in apprehension and remarked, "Don't you think it's really strange for a man and a woman to not get intimate at all despite having been in a relationship for months? It's already the 21st century."
"What's so strange about that? We're both very pure!" An Xiaoning defended herself. Her eyes darted around her surroundings, obviously feeling guilty for lying.
"Since you're not pregnant and neither did you overstuff yourself, why did you throw up so badly, then?"
"I didn't have much of an appetite this morning, but I ate too much last night. Could it be because of that..." she answered, trying to find an appropriate and convincing excuse.
"Go take some medicine later."
"Alright, Your Highness, " An Xiaoning agreed with a nod.
"Um, Mu Ning, Zhi Yin may be callous and crude with her words sometimes but she doesn't mean to be rude. She's merely joking most of the time, don't take it to heart."
"I didn't, " said An Xiaoning, who thought that Zhi Yin had a low EQ. Besides, she did not see a point in getting upset over Zhi Yin's snide remarks since she did not actually look like the mask.
"That's good."
Tuoba Danxue headed straight to her room to take a nap as soon as she returned to her mansion. An Xiaoning was at a sudden loss for what to do.
Under normal circumstances, she could easily go out to buy a pregnancy test kit from the pharmacy without being recognized. However, things were different now that she was working in the Autumn Palace. She did not wish to purchase a pregnancy test kit from the drug store in the palace, in fear of getting recognized and sparking rumors unnecessarily.
After thinking it through thoroughly, An Xiaoning decided to steal one tonight.
She decided to steal it from a pharmacy near the Autumn Palace.
Having come to a decision, all she had to do now was wait for nighttime to arrive.
Little did she expect that she would throw up everything she had for lunch, even before her food had been digested. It was the same case for dinner as well.
In fact, she barely ingested anything throughout the entire day, other than some water.
"Have you not gone to buy some medicine like I told you to?" Tuoba Danxue asked.
"Not yet."
"Your Highness, I think she's become bulimic. She's already so thin, and yet she still wants to lose some more weight. She's seriously asking for death, " Zhi Yin blurted.
"Trying to lose weight!?! Mu Ning, are you trying to lose weight?" asked the flabbergasted Tuoba Danxue.
Realizing that she would probably continue to throw up again in the future, An Xiaoning had no choice but to admit, "Yes."
"Mu Ning, you're only giving yourself a hard time. How silly of you. Drink some porridge to warm your stomach for the time being. You're not fat at all, why are you trying to lose weight? Don't think about starving yourself and trying to lose weight anymore. You're so much slimmer than me and Zhi Yin right now, " Tuoba Danxue said in bewilderment.
"Exactly, your ugliness has nothing to do with your figure at all. You'll look even more hideous if you become gaunt and sickly-looking, " Zhi Yin scorned.
An Xiaoning was faint and feeble from an entire day of throwing up everything she ate and, thus, did not bother wasting her energy to argue with Zhi Yin."Your Highness, I'm going to get some rest upstairs."
"You haven't taken any medicine yet, have you? Go buy some first."
"I'll do that tomorrow instead."
"That works too. Go get some rest then."
An Xiaoning lay down in bed, feeling famished since her stomach was practically empty. However, she did not have any cravings for food at all.
She set an alarm for twelve midnight on her mobile phone.
—
Mrs. Gu lived in Wei Ni Estate for an entire month, during which she felt exceptionally safe and at ease.
Although she would more or less allow her imagination to run wild when it was dark and quiet at night, the month fortunately passed by very quickly.
Mrs. Gu returned to the Gu family mansion in the afternoon.
The first thing she did when she arrived home was to tell Mr. Gu about her plans to get Gu Dongcheng and Xu Youran to move out of the house.
Mrs. Gu only revealed the reason behind her decision to move to Wei Ni Estate for a month when Mr. Gu asked.
Shock and terror consumed Mr. Gu after hearing what she said, particularly the mishap Mrs. Jin had met with.
"I'll bring it up to Dongcheng, " said Mr. Gu. Recalling the incident about the ancestral hall, Mr. Gu realized that his wife's concerns were not groundless.
"Alright, then. Although we don't know who the culprit behind Mrs. Jin's death is, I still find those things way too sinister and horrifying. Besides, I've been traumatized by the misdeeds the two of them are notorious for."
Mr. Gu nodded and gave her a pat on her hand."I understand. I'll make things clear during dinner later."
During dinner in the evening, Mr. Gu rehearsed his lines in his head before saying, "Dongcheng, since you and Youran are married and she's pregnant now, I think it's time you two move out into a mansion on your own. It'll be more convenient for everyone that way."
| ← Ch. 0550 | Ch. 0552 → |