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Chapter 539: The Secret About the Past (157)

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Finally, the tightly-shut door opened.

To An Xiaoning’s surprise, the man whom she imagined to be a monk was completely different from her expectations.

He was fairly handsome and slim, with a full head of hair. He appeared rather youthful with radiant and healthy skin, perhaps due to his long-term vegetarian diet.

Tuoba Shuo was momentarily stunned to see the pair of eyes before him. He squinted and asked in an extremely faint voice, “Qingzhou?”

An Xiaoning knew who he was referring to.

“May I enter?”

“Please, come in.” He was in a state of confusion and seemed to be in a trance. The instant that the door was shut, An Xiaoning felt him embrace her tightly from behind.

“Qingzhou, you’re still alive, aren’t you?” he asked agitatedly in disbelief.

An Xiaoning remained still and asked, “Why did you stay here for so many years?”

“Because you’re no longer around.”

He must have loved her mother dearly and mistook An Xiaoning for her mother due to the striking resemblance between the two.

An Xiaoning struggled to break free from his embrace and turned around to face him. Looking him in the eye, she said, “The Qingzhou you mentioned is my mother.”

She removed the surgical mask to reveal her youthful beauty.

Tuoba Shuo stared at the face in front of him in utter bewilderment. Logically speaking, there was indeed no way that the beautiful woman whom he knew back then would still look so young and brimming with youth, considering the fact that she would have aged too since they were about the same age.

“What... what did you say?”

“I’ve been searching for my biological parents recently because I was abandoned as an infant. I was wrapped in a small blanket when my adoptive parents found me on the streets, and the blanket was made with a fabric that was only meant for use in the Autumn Palace. That’s why I came here to search for them,” An Xiaoning explained.

Tears welled up in Tuoba Shuo’s eyes upon hearing her words. “According to what you said, Qingzhou didn’t die back then...”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know if she was pregnant when she passed away, but I know for sure that she didn’t have a child. Besides, I don’t believe that doppelgangers who aren’t related by blood exist in this world. You resemble your mother tremendously, be it appearance, voice, or frame and stature,” said Tuoba Shuo, keeping his eyes fixed on An Xiaoning.

“Are you my father then?” An Xiaoning asked eagerly.

Shaking his head, he answered, “I’m not too sure about that, because I’ve always thought that she was already dead all along. In fact, I don’t even know if she’s still alive now.”

“Give me a few strands of your hair. I’d like to run a DNA test.”

He immediately plucked a few strands of hair from his head and handed it to An Xiaoning, who then wrapped the hair in tissue paper and placed it inside her pocket.

“What is your name?”

“My name is Xiaoning.” An Xiaoning suddenly thought of a crucial question and asked, “May I ask if you have any supernatural powers?”

“Supernatural powers? I don’t possess any, but your mother has the ability to read fortunes,” he said bluntly.

At this point, An Xiaoning was a hundred percent sure that the woman was her mother.

She whipped out her human mask and said, “I’m currently disguising as the princess’ bodyguard because I wanted to sneak in to find my parents, so...” An Xiaoning continued to ask about his living conditions, “How many years have you been living here?”

“I’ve been living here for ages, I don’t know exactly how many years. It’s been too long since I stepped out of this yard. In the past, I’ve been thinking that your mother was dead. But now it seems to be otherwise. Well, after all, it’s tough for a woman to overcome great scourges.”

Although he did not say so, his actions proved that he loved Shi Qingzhou dearly.

Tuoba Shuo had managed to earn An Xiaoning’s admiration and respect. She felt that her mother was exceptionally fortunate to have a man devote himself to her and love her eternally.

“Were you and my mother deeply in love with each other back then?”

“Yes, we adored each other to bits. So, I’m quite certain that you’re highly likely to be my daughter. But I’m a little unsure since I don’t know what she had experienced back then.”

An Xiaoning leaned closer toward him and gave him a hug. “Regardless of whether she’s still alive or not, I’m going to get to the bottom of the truth. I’m determined to find her if she’s still alive and retrieve her ashes if she’s dead.”

“I’ll help you with this. I’ve cooped myself up in here for so many years. It’s time I went out to face reality. By the way, the current Mrs. President is your mother’s half-sister.”

“...”

An Xiaoning was already wearing the human mask when she made her way back.

While she was heading upstairs, she stumbled across Zhi Yin, who was making her way downstairs.

It was inevitable for her to be questioned again.

“Did you go for a night jog? Why were you out for so long?”

“Yeah, I went for a jog.”

An Xiaoning pushed the door open and entered the bathroom to take a shower.

She was filled with panic and fright when she came out of the bathroom.

She hurriedly sent Jin Qingyan a long text message to inform him of her progress.

Jin Qingyan was delighted upon reading her message.

An Xiaoning told him that she would be instructing Xiao Chi to send the hair samples belonging to her and Tuoba Shuo over to him tomorrow night. She wanted him to get a DNA test run at two separate test centers using the hair samples.

Jin Qingyan agreed.

An Xiaoning then lay flat on the bed, both her calves and abdomen aching with acute soreness.

She had sprinted too quickly while on her way back.

She rested her hands behind her head, thinking to herself that it definitely would not be easy to unravel the truth.

It was unknown to her whether or nor her mother was still alive.

However, like she said, she would get to the bottom of the truth, regardless of whether her mother was dead or alive.

An Xiaoning’s eyes brimmed with tears at the thought of Tuoba Shuo, who was a royal heir. Yet, he was willing to give up everything he had and become a monk for the sake of the woman he loved. His courage and bravery were indeed worthy of respect.

An Xiaoning had no idea what his motivation was, but she knew that such devoted men were rare to come by in today’s society.

The next morning, An Xiaoning discovered that Tuoba Danxue had woken up bright and early in the morning, unlike her usual self who enjoyed sleeping in and lazing in bed before getting up.

“Your Highness, why didn’t you sleep in a little more today?”

“Mu Ning, do you remember what I told you about my uncle? I don’t know what had gotten into him, but he went to look for my father this morning, before daybreak even arrived. My brothers and I tagged along too. It was my first time meeting my uncle in the flesh. He’s very handsome and nowhere inferior to my father.”

“Why did he look for your father all of a sudden?” An Xiaoning asked with a face full of astonishment.

“He said that he was getting sick of staying in the bungalow by the main entrance and did not wish to live there anymore. He’s already so old and yet he’s still unmarried and childless. My father would naturally agree to let him come out and even offered to let him move into a superior mansion by himself. Yet, he refused and strangely insisted on living in one near us. My father conceded to his request,” said the naive and simple-minded Tuoba Danxue.

“Your Highness, I guess your uncle must be getting too lonely after living alone by the entrance for so many years. He’s finally thought it through,” Zhi Yin said with a chuckle.

“I guess so. My father even mentioned that he won’t stop my uncle from marrying anyone he fancies, if he ever wants to get married. What a thing to say when he’s already come to this age,” Tuoba Danxue said light-heartedly.

“What did your uncle say then?” An Xiaoning asked.