Chapter 687
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"I was abandoned in the countryside when I was a child. My adoptive parents brought me home and took me under their care when they found me by the roadside, freezing and almost starved to death. Unfortunately, my days of peace were short-lived. My adoptive parents began despising me when I was only a few years old and abandoned me in the mountains. Thanks to the benevolence of my master who took me in, I was cared for and taken care of until I reached adulthood. After my master passed away, I moved back in with my adoptive parents, who agreed to marry me off to the Shi family behind my back, all for the sake of the large sum of betrothal money. Throughout the two years of that marriage, Shi Shaochuan and I were merely married in name, and we only saw each other as strangers. At last, I divorced Shi Shaochuan and married Jin Qingyan. My adoptive parents then asked the Jin family for another huge sum of betrothal money behind my back. I severed all ties with them ever since then," An Xiaoning explained.
A sullen expression formed on Tuoba Rui's face as soon as she finished speaking. He then turned to glare at Shi Xiaoyu, seething with anger that he tried hard to suppress.
Shi Xiaoyu did not expect An Xiaoning to talk about her childhood in so much detail.
Turning as pale as a sheet, she continued to pretend like she was concerned about An Xiaoning and said, "What a pitiful child. But at least everything is going well for you now."
An Xiaoning looked down and said, "Yes, Heaven didn't shower me with the love from my biological parents, though I was blessed to enjoy the tender affection from all three sets of my godparents. I've always been grateful for that. I guess you'll always receive some sort of compensation for what you're lacking in."
Tuoba Shuo understood her intentions for saying the things she said. He smiled and looked at her, proud and pleased to see how outstanding she was. If only she was his biological daughter.
However, he was contented enough.
She had brains, brawn, beauty, and bravery.
Tuoba Rui finally broke his silence and said, "Do you resent your biological parents?"
"No, they probably abandoned me because of some difficulties they faced. I don't resent them at all," An Xiaoning answered frankly.
Teary-eyed, Tuoba Rui held his emotions back and said, "You're such a sensible child."
Tuoba Danxue did not understand why the conversation constantly revolved around An Xiaoning and was puzzled to see the strange expressions on her parents' faces.
What was happening?
She asked her brother softly, "The ambiance feels a little off, don't you think?"
"No."
"I'm exhausted. Father, Mother, Minxing and I are going back to get some rest," said Tuoba Danxue.
"Hurry along."
They then continued to speak for a while more. Just as An Xiaoning was about to leave the Autumn Palace after the end of everything, Lin Shishi called her to her room.
"Sister, you look so beautiful in red. The color really enhances the beauty of your fair, porcelain skin," said Lin Shishi.
"You look great too. How have things been for you so far, living in here?" An Xiaoning asked.
Lin Shishi took a seat and answered, "I've been well. The fetus is healthy too."
An Xiaoning could tell that she was getting on well with life from the radiance on her face.
After they'd been chatting with each other merrily for a while, a servant entered to serve them a glass of fruit juice each.
Feeling a little thirsty, An Xiaoning decided to take a few sips of it. "I've been really into sour foods and drinks lately," said Lin Shishi, who gulped the entire glass of juice in one go, seemingly having a penchant for the sour-tasting fruit juice.
"I heard that you'd be giving birth to a boy if you crave sour foods and a girl if you crave spicy foods."
Lin Shishi was delighted to hear her words. "It'd be wonderful if that's true. I do want to give birth to a boy," she exclaimed.
"Your wishes will definitely come true."
Not long after, Lin Shishi said, "I have to take an afternoon nap every day. I'm actually feeling a little sleepy now."
"Go take a short nap, then. I'm feeling a bit weary too, I'll be going back to the hotel to get some rest."
"There are spare rooms here. Sister, if you're tired, you may take a rest before leaving," said Lin Shishi.
"It's fine, go take a nap." As soon as she finished speaking, Lin Shishi lay in bed and stopped moving with her eyes tightly shut.
Feeling weary, An Xiaoning felt her eyes close all of a sudden and dozed off instantly.
Tuoba Gucheng entered the room to see that his wife was lying in bed while An Xiaoning was sitting on the carpet with her head against the bed.
He had never seen her again ever since he left A City.
He missed her dearly.
He locked the door from the inside.
Upon the sight of the two glasses of juice, he knew that the empty cup must have belonged to Lin Shishi while the half-filled one belonged to An Xiaoning.
Tuoba Gucheng bent forward and carried An Xiaoning onto the couch.
He then embraced her from behind.
At this very moment, he could feel his heart beating vigorously.
It was a feeling he had never felt toward other women before.
She had a perpetual floral scent that was exceptionally fragrant. Tuoba Gucheng's heart raced, and he decided to just hug her for a while since he did not know what else he should do.
Time flew by. To him, hugging her for a day would not even be enough, let alone ten-odd minutes.
An Xiaoning woke up from her nap.
She was greatly taken aback the moment she realized that he was embracing her, and she tried to struggle to break free, but to no avail.
After all, men were naturally stronger than women.
Even scrawny men were capable of great strength, let alone Tuoba Gucheng, who trained hard six days a week.
He would find the time to hit the gym despite his busy schedule.
One can only imagine how strong his arms were.
"Let me hug you for a while more, alright?"
"No, let go."
He did as he was told. An Xiaoning stood up and adjusted her clothes. She finally understood what had happened.
"Did you get someone to spike the fruit juices?"
"Of course."
"You're too brazen, aren't you? What if Shishi finds out…"
"She won't, I'm very sure of that."
"She's pregnant! Have you never spared a thought for your child?" An Xiaoning questioned, trying hard to keep her volume down.
"Those drugs won't have any adverse effects on the fetus."
"Why did you do that? As the country's president, do you really think it's appropriate to be acting this way?" An Xiaoning said sternly.
"I had already developed feelings for you before I got married. You were the one who made me fall in love with you, yet you're still asking why I'm behaving this way. How would I know why? You can't control how you feel about someone."
"Didn't you agree that we'd remain friends? I agreed to it too," An Xiaoning said in frustration.
"I don't just want to be friends with you. Are you willing to become my woman? We'll keep it between us. Become my woman and I'll give you everything you want. I can promise that I won't touch any other woman too. I've never gotten intimate with Shishi ever since she got pregnant."
An Xiaoning was about to lose her mind.
Putting the fact that they were half-siblings aside, it was impossible between them even if they were not related by blood, for he was undeniably Shi Xiaoyu's son.
Yet, she could not tell him of her status yet, at least not now.
An Xiaoning took a deep breath and said, "Your Majesty… Please don't say such things again. It'll never work out between us. It's impossible, even if I'm dead."
She decided not to give him any more hopes, in a bid to get him to understand that a relationship between them was impossible.
"Is it because of the Major whom Commander-in-chief Jin and Madam Jin introduced you to?" he asked.
An Xiaoning's stomach twisted into a knot, afraid that she would implicate Ji Yu. After all, it was a piece of cake for Tuoba Gucheng, who was now the president, to execute and get rid of a military Major.
"Don't get any wild ideas, Your Majesty. Major Ji and I are just friends. My godparents would naturally want to set me up with him since they find him to be a great catch, but we're really just platonic friends."
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"I was abandoned in the countryside when I was a child. My adoptive parents brought me home and took me under their care when they found me by the roadside, freezing and almost starved to death. Unfortunately, my days of peace were short-lived. My adoptive parents began despising me when I was only a few years old and abandoned me in the mountains. Thanks to the benevolence of my master who took me in, I was cared for and taken care of until I reached adulthood. After my master passed away, I moved back in with my adoptive parents, who agreed to marry me off to the Shi family behind my back, all for the sake of the large sum of betrothal money. Throughout the two years of that marriage, Shi Shaochuan and I were merely married in name, and we only saw each other as strangers. At last, I divorced Shi Shaochuan and married Jin Qingyan. My adoptive parents then asked the Jin family for another huge sum of betrothal money behind my back. I severed all ties with them ever since then," An Xiaoning explained.
A sullen expression formed on Tuoba Rui's face as soon as she finished speaking. He then turned to glare at Shi Xiaoyu, seething with anger that he tried hard to suppress.
Shi Xiaoyu did not expect An Xiaoning to talk about her childhood in so much detail.
Turning as pale as a sheet, she continued to pretend like she was concerned about An Xiaoning and said, "What a pitiful child. But at least everything is going well for you now."
An Xiaoning looked down and said, "Yes, Heaven didn't shower me with the love from my biological parents, though I was blessed to enjoy the tender affection from all three sets of my godparents. I've always been grateful for that. I guess you'll always receive some sort of compensation for what you're lacking in."
Tuoba Shuo understood her intentions for saying the things she said. He smiled and looked at her, proud and pleased to see how outstanding she was. If only she was his biological daughter.
However, he was contented enough.
She had brains, brawn, beauty, and bravery.
Tuoba Rui finally broke his silence and said, "Do you resent your biological parents?"
"No, they probably abandoned me because of some difficulties they faced. I don't resent them at all," An Xiaoning answered frankly.
Teary-eyed, Tuoba Rui held his emotions back and said, "You're such a sensible child."
Tuoba Danxue did not understand why the conversation constantly revolved around An Xiaoning and was puzzled to see the strange expressions on her parents' faces.
What was happening?
She asked her brother softly, "The ambiance feels a little off, don't you think?"
"No."
"I'm exhausted. Father, Mother, Minxing and I are going back to get some rest," said Tuoba Danxue.
"Hurry along."
They then continued to speak for a while more. Just as An Xiaoning was about to leave the Autumn Palace after the end of everything, Lin Shishi called her to her room.
"Sister, you look so beautiful in red. The color really enhances the beauty of your fair, porcelain skin," said Lin Shishi.
"You look great too. How have things been for you so far, living in here?" An Xiaoning asked.
Lin Shishi took a seat and answered, "I've been well. The fetus is healthy too."
An Xiaoning could tell that she was getting on well with life from the radiance on her face.
After they'd been chatting with each other merrily for a while, a servant entered to serve them a glass of fruit juice each.
Feeling a little thirsty, An Xiaoning decided to take a few sips of it. "I've been really into sour foods and drinks lately," said Lin Shishi, who gulped the entire glass of juice in one go, seemingly having a penchant for the sour-tasting fruit juice.
"I heard that you'd be giving birth to a boy if you crave sour foods and a girl if you crave spicy foods."
Lin Shishi was delighted to hear her words. "It'd be wonderful if that's true. I do want to give birth to a boy," she exclaimed.
"Your wishes will definitely come true."
Not long after, Lin Shishi said, "I have to take an afternoon nap every day. I'm actually feeling a little sleepy now."
"Go take a short nap, then. I'm feeling a bit weary too, I'll be going back to the hotel to get some rest."
"There are spare rooms here. Sister, if you're tired, you may take a rest before leaving," said Lin Shishi.
"It's fine, go take a nap." As soon as she finished speaking, Lin Shishi lay in bed and stopped moving with her eyes tightly shut.
Feeling weary, An Xiaoning felt her eyes close all of a sudden and dozed off instantly.
Tuoba Gucheng entered the room to see that his wife was lying in bed while An Xiaoning was sitting on the carpet with her head against the bed.
He had never seen her again ever since he left A City.
He missed her dearly.
He locked the door from the inside.
Upon the sight of the two glasses of juice, he knew that the empty cup must have belonged to Lin Shishi while the half-filled one belonged to An Xiaoning.
Tuoba Gucheng bent forward and carried An Xiaoning onto the couch.
He then embraced her from behind.
At this very moment, he could feel his heart beating vigorously.
It was a feeling he had never felt toward other women before.
She had a perpetual floral scent that was exceptionally fragrant. Tuoba Gucheng's heart raced, and he decided to just hug her for a while since he did not know what else he should do.
Time flew by. To him, hugging her for a day would not even be enough, let alone ten-odd minutes.
An Xiaoning woke up from her nap.
She was greatly taken aback the moment she realized that he was embracing her, and she tried to struggle to break free, but to no avail.
After all, men were naturally stronger than women.
Even scrawny men were capable of great strength, let alone Tuoba Gucheng, who trained hard six days a week.
He would find the time to hit the gym despite his busy schedule.
One can only imagine how strong his arms were.
"Let me hug you for a while more, alright?"
"No, let go."
He did as he was told. An Xiaoning stood up and adjusted her clothes. She finally understood what had happened.
"Did you get someone to spike the fruit juices?"
"Of course."
"You're too brazen, aren't you? What if Shishi finds out…"
"She won't, I'm very sure of that."
"She's pregnant! Have you never spared a thought for your child?" An Xiaoning questioned, trying hard to keep her volume down.
"Those drugs won't have any adverse effects on the fetus."
"Why did you do that? As the country's president, do you really think it's appropriate to be acting this way?" An Xiaoning said sternly.
"I had already developed feelings for you before I got married. You were the one who made me fall in love with you, yet you're still asking why I'm behaving this way. How would I know why? You can't control how you feel about someone."
"Didn't you agree that we'd remain friends? I agreed to it too," An Xiaoning said in frustration.
"I don't just want to be friends with you. Are you willing to become my woman? We'll keep it between us. Become my woman and I'll give you everything you want. I can promise that I won't touch any other woman too. I've never gotten intimate with Shishi ever since she got pregnant."
An Xiaoning was about to lose her mind.
Putting the fact that they were half-siblings aside, it was impossible between them even if they were not related by blood, for he was undeniably Shi Xiaoyu's son.
Yet, she could not tell him of her status yet, at least not now.
An Xiaoning took a deep breath and said, "Your Majesty… Please don't say such things again. It'll never work out between us. It's impossible, even if I'm dead."
She decided not to give him any more hopes, in a bid to get him to understand that a relationship between them was impossible.
"Is it because of the Major whom Commander-in-chief Jin and Madam Jin introduced you to?" he asked.
An Xiaoning's stomach twisted into a knot, afraid that she would implicate Ji Yu. After all, it was a piece of cake for Tuoba Gucheng, who was now the president, to execute and get rid of a military Major.
"Don't get any wild ideas, Your Majesty. Major Ji and I are just friends. My godparents would naturally want to set me up with him since they find him to be a great catch, but we're really just platonic friends."
"I was abandoned in the countryside when I was a child. My adoptive parents brought me home and took me under their care when they found me by the roadside, freezing and almost starved to death. Unfortunately, my days of peace were short-lived. My adoptive parents began despising me when I was only a few years old and abandoned me in the mountains. Thanks to the benevolence of my master who took me in, I was cared for and taken care of until I reached adulthood. After my master passed away, I moved back in with my adoptive parents, who agreed to marry me off to the Shi family behind my back, all for the sake of the large sum of betrothal money. Throughout the two years of that marriage, Shi Shaochuan and I were merely married in name, and we only saw each other as strangers. At last, I divorced Shi Shaochuan and married Jin Qingyan. My adoptive parents then asked the Jin family for another huge sum of betrothal money behind my back. I severed all ties with them ever since then," An Xiaoning explained.A sullen expression formed on Tuoba Rui's face as soon as she finished speaking. He then turned to glare at Shi Xiaoyu, seething with anger that he tried hard to suppress.Shi Xiaoyu did not expect An Xiaoning to talk about her childhood in so much detail. Turning as pale as a sheet, she continued to pretend like she was concerned about An Xiaoning and said, "What a pitiful child. But at least everything is going well for you now."An Xiaoning looked down and said, "Yes, Heaven didn't shower me with the love from my biological parents, though I was blessed to enjoy the tender affection from all three sets of my godparents. I've always been grateful for that. I guess you'll always receive some sort of compensation for what you're lacking in." Tuoba Shuo understood her intentions for saying the things she said. He smiled and looked at her, proud and pleased to see how outstanding she was. If only she was his biological daughter.However, he was contented enough.She had brains, brawn, beauty, and bravery. Tuoba Rui finally broke his silence and said, "Do you resent your biological parents?""No, they probably abandoned me because of some difficulties they faced. I don't resent them at all," An Xiaoning answered frankly.Teary-eyed, Tuoba Rui held his emotions back and said, "You're such a sensible child."Tuoba Danxue did not understand why the conversation constantly revolved around An Xiaoning and was puzzled to see the strange expressions on her parents' faces.What was happening?She asked her brother softly, "The ambiance feels a little off, don't you think?" "No." "I'm exhausted. Father, Mother, Minxing and I are going back to get some rest," said Tuoba Danxue."Hurry along." They then continued to speak for a while more. Just as An Xiaoning was about to leave the Autumn Palace after the end of everything, Lin Shishi called her to her room. "Sister, you look so beautiful in red. The color really enhances the beauty of your fair, porcelain skin," said Lin Shishi."You look great too. How have things been for you so far, living in here?" An Xiaoning asked.Lin Shishi took a seat and answered, "I've been well. The fetus is healthy too." An Xiaoning could tell that she was getting on well with life from the radiance on her face. After they'd been chatting with each other merrily for a while, a servant entered to serve them a glass of fruit juice each. Feeling a little thirsty, An Xiaoning decided to take a few sips of it. "I've been really into sour foods and drinks lately," said Lin Shishi, who gulped the entire glass of juice in one go, seemingly having a penchant for the sour-tasting fruit juice."I heard that you'd be giving birth to a boy if you crave sour foods and a girl if you crave spicy foods." Lin Shishi was delighted to hear her words. "It'd be wonderful if that's true. I do want to give birth to a boy," she exclaimed."Your wishes will definitely come true." Not long after, Lin Shishi said, "I have to take an afternoon nap every day. I'm actually feeling a little sleepy now.""Go take a short nap, then. I'm feeling a bit weary too, I'll be going back to the hotel to get some rest.""There are spare rooms here. Sister, if you're tired, you may take a rest before leaving," said Lin Shishi. "It's fine, go take a nap." As soon as she finished speaking, Lin Shishi lay in bed and stopped moving with her eyes tightly shut.Feeling weary, An Xiaoning felt her eyes close all of a sudden and dozed off instantly.Tuoba Gucheng entered the room to see that his wife was lying in bed while An Xiaoning was sitting on the carpet with her head against the bed. He had never seen her again ever since he left A City. He missed her dearly.He locked the door from the inside.Upon the sight of the two glasses of juice, he knew that the empty cup must have belonged to Lin Shishi while the half-filled one belonged to An Xiaoning.Tuoba Gucheng bent forward and carried An Xiaoning onto the couch. He then embraced her from behind.At this very moment, he could feel his heart beating vigorously. It was a feeling he had never felt toward other women before.She had a perpetual floral scent that was exceptionally fragrant. Tuoba Gucheng's heart raced, and he decided to just hug her for a while since he did not know what else he should do.Time flew by. To him, hugging her for a day would not even be enough, let alone ten-odd minutes.An Xiaoning woke up from her nap.She was greatly taken aback the moment she realized that he was embracing her, and she tried to struggle to break free, but to no avail.After all, men were naturally stronger than women.Even scrawny men were capable of great strength, let alone Tuoba Gucheng, who trained hard six days a week. He would find the time to hit the gym despite his busy schedule.One can only imagine how strong his arms were."Let me hug you for a while more, alright?" "No, let go." He did as he was told. An Xiaoning stood up and adjusted her clothes. She finally understood what had happened."Did you get someone to spike the fruit juices?""Of course.""You're too brazen, aren't you? What if Shishi finds out""She won't, I'm very sure of that." "She's pregnant! Have you never spared a thought for your child?" An Xiaoning questioned, trying hard to keep her volume down."Those drugs won't have any adverse effects on the fetus." "Why did you do that? As the country's president, do you really think it's appropriate to be acting this way?" An Xiaoning said sternly. "I had already developed feelings for you before I got married. You were the one who made me fall in love with you, yet you're still asking why I'm behaving this way. How would I know why? You can't control how you feel about someone." "Didn't you agree that we'd remain friends? I agreed to it too," An Xiaoning said in frustration. "I don't just want to be friends with you. Are you willing to become my woman? We'll keep it between us. Become my woman and I'll give you everything you want. I can promise that I won't touch any other woman too. I've never gotten intimate with Shishi ever since she got pregnant." An Xiaoning was about to lose her mind. Putting the fact that they were half-siblings aside, it was impossible between them even if they were not related by blood, for he was undeniably Shi Xiaoyu's son. Yet, she could not tell him of her status yet, at least not now. An Xiaoning took a deep breath and said, "Your Majesty Please don't say such things again. It'll never work out between us. It's impossible, even if I'm dead."She decided not to give him any more hopes, in a bid to get him to understand that a relationship between them was impossible."Is it because of the Major whom Commander-in-chief Jin and Madam Jin introduced you to?" he asked.An Xiaoning's stomach twisted into a knot, afraid that she would implicate Ji Yu. After all, it was a piece of cake for Tuoba Gucheng, who was now the president, to execute and get rid of a military Major. "Don't get any wild ideas, Your Majesty. Major Ji and I are just friends. My godparents would naturally want to set me up with him since they find him to be a great catch, but we're really just platonic friends."
