843 A Million Times for You 205

"Mother, do you want to know?"

Madam Lin kept the suspense and said, "Well, Shishi found a few photos of Gucheng's former bodyguard in his camera. They were photos of her sleeping. However, Shishi said that she has never heard that bodyguard's voice before. She has the same height and build as you. Even her hairstyle is identical to yours. Her Highness said that the bodyguard whose name is Mu Ning has a voice that's very similar to yours. Besides, she has a 'Ning' in her name as well. That's why I had the guts to ask you that. Was it you?"

An Xiaoning's heart sank, for she knew that Madam Lin was certain that she was Mu Ning.

"Mother, what's your purpose for asking me that?" An Xiaoning asked, well aware that Madam Lin had a hidden agenda.

Madam Lin did not answer her and instead said, "You were that bodyguard, weren't you? You're Mu Ning, right?"

"Yes, it's me. In order to rescue my mother, I wore a mask and disguised myself as a bodyguard working for Her Highness. I was then transferred to work for His Majesty. I secretly investigated my mother's whereabouts. I still didn't know if she was dead or alive at that time. I left the Autumn Palace after rescuing my mother," said An Xiaoning, who did not bother arguing any further.

"You weren't injured at all like you claimed to be during Shishi's wedding. You even lied to us about being abroad," Madam Lin said assertively.

"That's right, I was still in the Autumn Palace then and there was no way for me to show up at Shishi's wedding using my real identity," said An Xiaoning, who did not feel in the least bit guilty at all. After all, she did not do anything wrong.

"Old Lin and I treated you like you were my own daughter, yet how did you treat us? Not only did you lie to us, but you're also even thinking of harming Shishi. You and Gucheng are related by blood, how could you come up with such an immoral act!?!" Madam Lin snapped, appearing as if she was aggrieved and disappointed.

An Xiaoning was not in a hurry to explain and instead answered calmly, "You must be mistaken. I tried to get a sample of my biological father's blood not long after I entered the Autumn Palace and proceeded to carry out a DNA test. I knew that he was my half-brother at the time. I didn't do any immoral deed at all like you mentioned. On top of that, I'd like to ask you something. Since you and Godpa treated me like your own daughter, what have you really done for me?"

"When you were abducted by the terrorists, Old Lin supported the decision to save you. Is that not doing something for you?"

An Xiaoning sighed and said, "Would you have reacted the same if Shishi were the one who was abducted? I know clearly whether or not you treated me like your own. A goddaughter is still a goddaughter at the end of the day. You guys only acknowledged me back then because I saved Shishi from a close shave with death. Frankly speaking, you guys only acknowledged me because you felt that you could use me to your family's benefit. I don't deny that I agreed to acknowledge you as my godparents also because I wanted to use your authority to stand up against the Xu family. But in fact, I could've done the same just by acknowledging Commander-in-chief Jin's family alone."

An Xiaoning glared at Madam Lin coldly and continued, "If you really treated me like your own daughter, would you have accused me of being immoral even before getting your facts right? I didn't attend Shishi's wedding because I had far more important things to do than that. There was no valid reason for me to absent myself as a bodyguard either. If you insist on saying that I lied to you, then I've also lied to the Jin family as well. I'll have to ask my other godmother if she'll blame me for lying to her or if she'll understand the predicament I was in at the time."

An Xiaoning was parched after saying her piece in one breath.

Feeling rather embarrassed, Madam Lin asked, "Does Gucheng carry a torch for you? After all, he didn't know that you were his half-sister during the time that you were his bodyguard, didn't he?"

An Xiaoning scoffed and answered, "Why don't you ask him whether he carried a torch for me or not? I don't fancy him anyway. Besides, I'll never have anything to do with him for the rest of my life. To end off, I'll also be severing ties with the Lin family. From now on, you guys are no longer my godparents and I'm no longer your goddaughter."

An Xiaoning turned around to leave and made eye contact with Lin Shishi the moment she opened the door.

An Xiaoning had no idea how long Lin Shishi had been standing by the door for. Lin Shishi remained silent while An Xiaoning hesitated for a moment before saying, "After I returned to S Nation after being rescued, I learned that you constantly tried to persuade His Majesty to put the nation's interests first. You even told him that it was worth sacrificing me for the nation's good. I didn't think of blaming you after I found out, because you did the right thing from your perspective. After all, that man is your husband and the father of your child while I'm just your godsister. Your husband should be your next-of-kin while you can have as many godsisters as you'd like, am I right? Even then, Shishi, I'm still rather upset to hear about what you had done. When you were on the brink of death, I put in my heart and soul and did everything I could to save you. I won't come in between your marriage and go against my morals. Please allow me the last bit of respect and stop tarnishing my reputation on account that I once saved your life. Alright?"

She left as soon as she'd said her piece.

Lin Shishi stood rooted to the ground, dumbfounded.

Madam Lin had also heard her words.

Lin Shishi recovered from the shock and snapped back to reality. She then entered the room. The reason she'd made her mother start the conversation by telling her that Tuoba Hancheng was homosexual was to test An Xiaoning's reaction and see if she would immediately express her support for Tuoba Hancheng.

She was rather satisfied with An Xiaoning's answer about staying neutral. However, she immediately felt a strong urge to slap An Xiaoning upon hearing her confess to the fact that she was Mu Ning.

Nonetheless, she curbed her urge to do so and continued to eavesdrop outside the door. She was filled with doubt and disgruntlement after hearing An Xiaoning's words.

When she first suspected that An Xiaoning was Mu Ning, she gave Tuoba Danxue a call to ask if she had thought that An Xiaoning sounded a lot like Mu Ning when she met her in A City.

After hearing Tuoba Danxue's opinion about their voices sounding identical, she began to realize that An Xiaoning's name was closely similar to "Mu Ning."

She decided to confirm it with An Xiaoning first before confronting Tuoba Gucheng.

However, now that she had already verified it, she felt that An Xiaoning was speaking the truth about not committing any immoral acts. Otherwise, An Xiaoning could have just continued to stay by his side in the Autumn Palace, couldn't she?

After much thought, Lin Shishi had a hunch that her husband had fallen for An Xiaoning before he found out that she was his half-sister.

Ironically, Tuoba Gucheng fell in love with An Xiaoning when she was the plain-looking Mu Ning who was not in the least bit attractive at all. Wouldn't he be head over heels in love with her if she had used her real identity instead of wearing a mask? Lin Shishi wondered.

"Mother, does that mean she's no longer a member of our family from now on?" Lin Shishi asked.

Madam Lin expressed assent and said, "Things have already come to this, what's the point in being relatives? Forget it, I don't need another daughter anyway. I'll go out for a while."

Madam Lin exited through the door, leaving Lin Shishi alone in the bedroom.