novelA Million Times for You (283)
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Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The moment An Xiaoning stepped foot inside the house, she took out a pair of thin and transparent gloves that she put on while walking farther in. The gloves would prevent her from leaving her fingerprints behind.
She made her way up the stairs.
Before she reached the room, she could hear the sounds of an ongoing conversation, though they were talking rather softly.
She stepped forward and knocked on the door.
"Come in, " said Tuoba Gucheng.
Upon the sight of An Xiaoning, Lin Shishi flew into an immense rage and sprung up from the bed. Just as she was about to zoom toward her, she was stopped in her tracks by Tuoba Gucheng, who'd grabbed her.
"Don't stop me!" Lin Shishi hollered at him.
"Sit down, " said Tuoba Gucheng, glancing at the bed and motioning for her to take a seat.
Lin Shishi had no choice but to sit down while keeping her eyes fixed on An Xiaoning.
"Your Majesty, did you ask for my assistance in investigating this case?"
"Yes. I'm well aware that you have the ability to do it. Although you're no longer related to the Lin family, they were once your kin too, weren't they?"
"Yes. I ought to render assistance in the investigations on account of us being family once, " An Xiaoning said composedly, as if she was not involved in the matter at all.
Unable to contain her pique, Lin Shishi snapped, "Quit being a hypocrite! You know clearly whether or not you were the one who did it!"
An Xiaoning sneered, "What do you mean? You're so forgetful, Madam. Don't you remember that I was the one who saved your life back then? Is this how you should be treating your savior?"
An Xiaoning's remark was rather ambiguous — Lin Shishi could take it as a reply to her words or she could take it that An Xiaoning was referring to the poisoning incident.
Seeing how reckless Lin Shishi was, Tuoba Gucheng glared at her sternly in a bid to give her a warning. Lin Shishi then tried to get a grip on her emotions and did not say anything further.
An Xiaoning asked, "Since I'm in charge of investigating this case, I ought to find out more about the Lin family in detail. Madam, may I ask if the Lin family has done any despicable sins? Who has your family harmed before? Please tell me the truth, so as to make it easier for me to carry out the investigation."
Lin Shishi glowered at her and said, "My parents have always been careful with their actions, and I've never heard of them having any enemies. They wouldn't commit any evil sins."
"Oh, I see. Since you're so uncooperative, there's nothing else for me to investigate, then. Although I was once the Lin family's goddaughter, it was only for a short while and I still don't know your family very well, " said An Xiaoning, seemingly implying something.
Tuoba Gucheng shifted his gaze toward her hands and asked, "Are you wearing gloves?"
"Yes. I ought to be more cautious since this is the site where the crime took place. What's going to happen if I accidentally leave my fingerprints around and end up becoming a prime suspect?"
Tuoba Gucheng was momentarily at a loss for words.
"You used to be able to solve cases within a short period of time, didn't you? It's best if you can uncover the truth just as quickly this time."
"All cases are different. I still hope that Madam will cooperate properly so that I can solve your family's case as soon as possible, " said An Xiaoning.
Lin Shishi kept mum.
After An Xiaoning left the room, Lin Shishi said to her husband, "Look how composed she was. You can't even tell if she has a guilty conscience or not."
"You were too rash just now. You forgot what I said to you."
"I just couldn't help it when I saw her. She was obviously the one who did it."
"You just think that she did it out of revenge. However, you need evidence for everything. You can't solve the issue just by pinning her as the biggest suspect without having any concrete evidence. I handed this case to her simply because I want to see what results she can come up with, " said Tuoba Gucheng.
Feeling extremely uncertain, Lin Shishi said, "I have a hunch that I'm her next target. She has my birth characters and timing. She can kill me any second."
"In today's society, you can't just charge her because you're certain that she is the culprit. This matter has already been brought to the netizens' attention. If she was really the one behind it, she'll let the cat out of the bag sooner or later."
"I can't wait any longer. Hubby, just execute her in secret, will you?" Lin Shishi grabbed his arm and continued, "At the end of the day, the media still controls the information exposed to the netizens. There'll be a paradigm shift as long as you order the media to do something. You just don't want her to die, do you?"
The incident about the camera that contained An Xiaoning's photos was deeply etched in Lin Shishi's memory.
It no longer mattered much to Tuoba Gucheng whether An Xiaoning died or not. She was unwilling to comply to him and even went against him obstinately by getting back together with Jin Qingyan.
However, he had acted too rashly when he fed her with the lethal poison in the five-star hotel previously.
In hindsight, it's a blessing that she managed to survive that time. If she had died there and then, Jin Qingyan definitely wouldn't have taken it lying down. The Gu family also would have definitely pursued the matter. Although it's been said since time immemorial that businessmen and merchants would never get involved in politics, it's going to be disadvantageous to the entire nation if they were to get in cahoots with the DK Organization.
I'm not going to let myself act so impulsively again.
As the leader of the nation, I ought to have the nation's best interests at heart and prioritize political safety. I definitely mustn't do anything to put the nation in danger because of my own selfish reasons.
Besides, An Xiaoning had now become outrageously bold and brazen. Tuoba Gucheng had a feeling that An Xiaoning was keeping something from him, and he still could not figure out why she did not die after ingesting the lethal poison.
Needless to say, he had also found out that she was the only one amongst the survivors of the poisoning incident who managed to stay alive without any gastric lavage or hospitalization.
Hence, it was apparent that poisons had no effect on her at all.
He was both curious yet uneasy about that fact.
"What do you know? There are a whole string of issues involved in this. Do you really think she's an ordinary person if she could be immune to the fatal effects of poison? It's already fascinating and absurd enough that she can see and communicate with spirits. Shishi, don't you find your family and yourself to be extremely silly? You guys ruined a perfectly harmonious relationship with her and made things become so strained."
Lin Shishi was speechless.
...
The Jin family was petrified by the Lin family incident.
Commander-in-chief Jin refused to believe that An Xiaoning was the culprit, like Lin Shishi had claimed. On the other hand, Madam Jin was terrorized.
"There's no reason for her to do that. Could she have wanted to take revenge because of the ban?"
Commander-in-chief Jin said, "That doesn't seem like the case. I just think it's very likely that they decided to make the first move, for fear that Xiaoning would harm them before they do her. The investigation results showed that Xiaoning's bodyguards were all poisoned a few days ago and about seven of them died. I'm guessing that it had something to do with this. Maybe Old Lin tried to poison them to death but failed to do so, and hence, Xiaoning retaliated."
"Oh dear... If that's really the case, Sis Mei..." said the frightened Madam Jin.
"His Majesty probably requested her to take part in the investigation because he and Madam both suspect Xiaoning. However, they just don't have any evidence yet. The situation is becoming more and more complicated."
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