552 The Secret About the Past 170

"Father, didn't you use to nag me and Beicheng to come home more often? Isn't it great that we come home all the time now and we get to see each other every day? It's so lively. Besides, Youran and I don't plan on moving out. Youran too thinks it's great living together with you guys," said Gu Dongcheng.

"Yeah, Father and Mother, Dongcheng is right. We don't have any plans to move out," Xu Youran chimed in.

Mr. Gu did not know what to say next.

Not wishing to let the matter drag on, Mrs. Gu said bluntly, "Youran may enjoy living with us, but we don't feel comfortable living with you two at all. That's why it's better that you move out."

Gu Dongcheng and Xu Youran placed their chopsticks onto the table.

"Mother, are you trying to chase us out now?"

"Yes, I am chasing you out, all right. Dongcheng, I should've done that earlier. I should've chased you out of the Gu family from the very moment that you asked your father for the key to the ancestral hall and placed a piece of bone in the joss urn to put a hex on me!"

Even 'til this day, Mrs. Gu would still get the chills whenever she recalled the incident. "If it weren't for Xiaoning's timely discovery and intervention, I probably would've died long ago. Do you dare deny that you're the culprit behind this!?!" Mrs. Gu hollered.

Gu Dongcheng refused to admit it and stood up with his hands in the pockets of his trousers. "You don't necessarily need a key to enter the ancestral hall. What evidence have you got to put the blame on me? You're accusing me out of the blue, but I have nothing to say if you insist on putting it that way."

"Mother, Dongcheng may not be your biological son, but aren't you going overboard? This is the Gu family we're talking about. As the matriarch of the family, isn't it too inappropriate of you to treat your stepson this way?" Xu Youran scoffed.

Unable to tolerate it any further, Mrs. Gu snapped, "I've been treating you a million times better compared to the way you two treat me! You actually put a hex on me in the ancestral hall. If it weren't for Xiaoning, I would've died long ago. Xu Youran, don't you know how malicious and scheming you are? You tried to harm our Xiaoning time and time again. You look just like a human, but why are you always up to such inhumane acts!?!"

Xu Youran chuckled sarcastically and retorted, "Do you have any evidence of me harming her?"

"I have plenty. Listen up, Xu Youran, you're not the biological daughter of the Xu family. You'd better accumulate more merit for your parents. Don't keep stirring trouble and leaving your parents to clean up the mess you've created! Not only will you disgust others, but you'll also be bringing shame to yourself."

Mrs. Gu had been suppressing her emotions for way too long. Now that she no longer had to keep up with the pretense, she finally felt relieved and at ease after releasing all her pent up anger and resentment toward them.

"You… what has it got to do with you whether or not I'm the biological daughter of the Xu family? It's none of your business!" Xu Youran barked, feeling exasperated and humiliated.

"I don't care, it's none of my business anyway. But stop showing up in front of me, I can't stand the sight of you."

"…"

Xu Youran stared at Gu Dongcheng, who was biting his lip with a malevolent expression on his face. "Hubby…"

"Pack your bags, we'll move out immediately." Glaring at Mr. and Mrs. Gu, Gu Dongcheng hissed, "Are you happy now?"

Xu Youran immediately headed upstairs to pack her luggage and quickly left the Gu family mansion together with Gu Dongcheng.

"Let's continue eating. I instantly feel so much more relieved without the two of them around," said Mrs. Gu, appearing much more relaxed.

"Mother, Mingxi and I have actually been hiding something from you and Father," said Gu Beicheng, who decided to tell them about the incident in M Nation.

"What is it?" Mrs. Gu asked.

"Do you remember when Mingxi tagged along during the business trip to M Nation that Xiaoning and I had gone on? Mingxi and I were abducted and taken onto a boat. The instigator didn't have the intention to kill us but instead was planning to send us to a faraway place, such that it'd be impossible for us to come back ever again."

Mr. and Mrs. Gu looked at each other in dismay as they both got the chills. "What next?"

"Afterward, Xiaoning went to save us along the way. I only learned later that they were planning to abduct her too but failed to do so due to the fact that she was too sharp and highly vigilant. Xiaoning and I have analyzed the situation. Who would stand to gain the most if Xiaoning, Mingxi, and I all don't make it back? We really couldn't think of any other possible suspects other than the two of them."

"How vicious and ruthless! It's so obvious that they were the ones behind it. I knew they were up to no good. Do they really think we won't hold it against them for the incident about the ancestral hall just because they refuse to admit it? They're too simple-minded!" Mrs. Gu exclaimed agitatedly, clenching her jaw in anger.

"So, Mother, what you did was right. It'll be a piece of cake for them to harm us again if we continue letting them live together with us. We have to eliminate that possibility," Lin Mingxi said in approval.

"Seems like I did the right thing by mustering the courage to chase them out today. We have to be extra careful from now onwards. After all, it does pay to be cautious and it's better to be safe than sorry," Mrs. Gu cautioned.

"…"

—

The clock struck twelve at midnight.

An Xiaoning was woken up by her alarm.

She changed into a casual outfit and left the palace.

She then treaded along the sidewalk and sprinted toward the pharmacy.

After observing her surroundings, An Xiaoning climbed over the wall and went in through the entrance. As expected, the door was not locked.

Thinking that there might be a guard on duty supervising the pharmacy at night, An Xiaoning slowed down her pace and tiptoed inside.

She entered the room while wearing her night vision spectacles and found that there was indeed someone sleeping inside one of the smaller rooms.

She stealthily made her way toward the medication counter.

Scanning the display glass up and down, she finally caught sight of the pregnancy test kits.

There were two sets in total.

Filled with joy, An Xiaoning gently opened the glass door and reached a hand in to grab the two pregnancy test kits, which she then placed inside her pocket.

She then closed the door of the glass cabinet and placed five dollars on top of the counter.

She again tiptoed out of the pharmacy.

To her surprise, everything went according to plan smoothly.

An Xiaoning hurriedly climbed over the wall with much finesse and sneaked away.

She quickly embarked on her journey back to the palace.

Little did she know, Tuoba Gucheng had been standing behind a tree ever since she climbed over the wall from outside and had witnessed her entire act of stealth.

Placing both hands behind his back, Tuoba Gucheng squinted to stare at the road where An Xiaoning had long vanished from. He wondered what she sneaked into the pharmacy at midnight for.

Was she there to steal money?

It can't be, bodyguards were paid high wages. There's no need for her to steal at all.

Could it be that she was there to steal some medicine?

It must be something secretive, mustn't it? Otherwise, she could've just bought it openly.

The matter had managed to pique his curiosity.

Tuoba Gucheng walked toward the entrance of the pharmacy and knocked on the door.

"Who's here in the wee hours of the night?"

"It's me."

Upon hearing his voice, the sleepy-eyed pharmacy owner instantly sobered up and asked in surprise, "Your… Your Highness, why are you here at this hour?"

"I just happened to pass by and chanced upon someone climbing over the wall after exiting your store. Check and see if anything's missing."

"Is that so?" The pharmacy owner first took a look at his cash register to find that none of the money or loose change was missing.

He discovered that the locks were all intact and nothing else had gone missing either.

"Check if any of the medical supplies are missing. I suspect the person came to steal some medicine," said Tuoba Gucheng.