Chapter 579: The Secret About the Past (197)

Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

Half an hour later, she switched off the lights again and rinsed the glass with some water.

She then exited his room and brought the glass downstairs before returning to Tuoba Gucheng’s room.

She knew that there was a window in his dressing room.

There were several trees outside the window, making it a blind spot of the surveillance cameras.

It was the best place she could sneak out of.

However, there was an anti-theft system installed on the window.

But it would not pose as a problem since she had already bought the necessary tools during her day off.

She removed the screws with a hex socket and pulled out the bolts with a pair of pliers. She managed to get rid of the anti-theft system of the window effortlessly.

In order to avoid suspicion, she decided to remove the bottom of the anti-theft window while leaving the top intact. She would put it back on when she gets back.

She then made her way down from the window using the rope.

An Xiaoning was wearing a surgical mask, a cap, and night-vision goggles. She sped off hastily.

She also managed to hide from the guards on patrol duty successfully.

It was more than difficult to execute her plans in the Autumn Palace.

Thus, she was naturally much more careful and alert.

She arrived in Tuoba Rui and Shi Xiaoyu’s mansion according to plan.

The lights were still on, and there were several guards standing around the door.

She had already come up with a strategic plan beforehand.

She walked toward a spot that was a distance away from the guards on duty and moved into the darkness before latching the hook of her rope onto the wall. She then climbed up the rope and onto the balcony in a fluid motion.

However, her leg was scratched by the sharp, pointed ends of the balcony railing when she was climbing inside.

An Xiaoning could feel her blood flowing out of her wound. She wiped her wound clean with a tissue paper and waited until the bleeding stopped before walking to the side of the balcony.

According to the layout sketch, she was standing on the balcony of a room belonging to the bodyguards on the night shift.

Thus, the room was indeed empty when she entered.

That made it much easier for her to go about her plan.

Considering the fact that there would be surveillance cameras along the corridor, An Xiaoning decided to return to the balcony.

What she had to do now was to turn off the master switch and enter Tuoba Rui’s study or Shi Xiaoyu’s room within the shortest possible time.

However, it was obviously not quite possible to turn off the master switch herself since security was tight around the palace, which meant that there would definitely be people guarding it. Besides, the master control room must definitely be a distance away. Thus, the quickest solution at the moment would be to tamper with the electricity flow within the mansion.

That was an easy task.

After scrutinizing and analyzing the layout sketch, she walked toward the edge of the balcony and caught sight of a few electrical wires.

She took out a pair of electrical insulator gloves from the pocket of her shorts and sliced open the outer layer of the electrical wire before cutting the copper wires in half, successfully causing a power trip.

An Xiaoning immediately entered the room to see that the lights were all switched off along the corridors. However, there were infrared detection beams everywhere.

During her training at the exercise boot camp, not only did she learn combat defense and rock climbing skills, but she had also learned how to get past infrared detection beams.

She ought to get her money’s worth, after all.

After evading the beams, An Xiaoning began approaching Tuoba Rui’s study.

The door of his study was left ajar. She peeked in through the crack to see that the room was empty.

An Xiaoning then planted the listening device bug beneath his office desk, right against the leather seat, before hurrying out immediately.

She then proceeded to Shi Xiaoyu’s bedroom.

An Xiaoning would have to go down the stairs to make her way to the first floor where Shi Xiaoyu’s bedroom was located.

However, she was afraid that the power supply would be restored very soon. By then, she would be doomed when they find out that the wires had been cut, and she’d end up being trapped inside the mansion.

An Xiaoning sprinted toward the first floor. Fortunately, she did not bump into anyone else along the way.

By the time she successfully planted the listening device bug in Shi Xiaoyu’s bedroom, An Xiaoning realized that there was no way she could make it out of the mansion.

That was because she could hear footsteps approaching from outside the door.

An Xiaoning opened the closet and climbed inside abruptly. There would be no risk since she had already set her mobile phone to silent mode.

Once the door opened, Shi Xiaoyu entered and said to the guards, “Keep watch by the door. I’m going to get some rest.”

“Yes, Madam.”

An Xiaoning held her breath and heard the door close, followed by sounds of footsteps approaching the bed and the duvet being lifted up…

The room was dead quiet, such that she would even hear a pin drop.

An Xiaoning thought that Shi Xiaoyu would fall asleep immediately and planned to leave the room once the latter was asleep. Yet, things did not go according to plan.

She could hear Shi Xiaoyu talking to someone over the phone.

“You must find An Xiaoning. Report to me immediately once you’ve found her whereabouts. But don’t alarm her without my permission. Just shadow her in secret. She may have divorced Jin Qingyan, but she’ll definitely show up in Wei Ni Estate and the Gu family mansion. Keep close tabs on those areas,” Shi Xiaoyu instructed.

“…”

“Yes, got it. You don’t have to report to me if there’s no progress.”

“…”

Pangs of panic engulfed An Xiaoning, who was hiding in the closet. Shi Xiaoyu actually hired someone to search for and follow me. Could it be that she also knows I’m Tuoba Rui’s daughter?

Since both she and Tuoba Rui knew, just what was she trying to do?

An Xiaoning was not clear about what Shi Xiaoyu’s motive was, though she made sure to be on her guard.

An Xiaoning was feeling rather suffocated inside the closet since she could not move an inch or take deep breaths.

She remained that way for a long time.

She gently pushed the closet door open only after realizing that it was silent outside.

Noticing that it was already dark outside, An Xiaoning reckoned that Shi Xiaoyu must have fallen asleep. She decided to remain in the closet and come up with a solution to escape once Shi Xiaoyu was sound asleep.

She continued to wait quietly.

After a long while, she finally came out of the closet carefully.

Fortunately, she did not alarm Shi Xiaoyu, who was lying on the bed.

An Xiaoning realized that there were people watching outside the door. She then peeked out the window to see that there were people guarding by the balcony.

It was impossible to leave via the door and the window.

Clearly, there wasn’t another way out.

She managed to sneak in stealthily. Yet, there was no way she could leave now.

She could not help but feel frustrated.

The consequences would be dire, should she not be able to make it back before Tuoba Gucheng wakes up.

She shifted her gaze to the bathroom. Upon entering, she noticed that there was a small window in the bathroom that was also facing the guards.

It was impossible to leave from the bathroom as well.

An Xiaoning was filled with panic and anxiety. Thus, she had no choice but to resort to extreme measures out of desperation.

She picked up a piece of paper from the desk and tiptoed toward the door.

The door was left slightly ajar. She placed the piece of paper in the crack and chanted a spell incessantly, after which the paper began drifting away into the corridor.

The two guards by the door were terrified at the sight of the paper moving on its own.

They looked at each other in dismay and frantically proceeded to call for help.

An Xiaoning removed the hair clip from her hair and aimed it at the lightbulb. Soon, a needle darted out from the hairclip and caused the lights to go out with a loud bang.

The corridor became pitch dark all of a sudden.

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