Free Web NovelChapter 59: Perfectly Groomed daughter
Anning didn’t even get the chance to fully turn around. One second, she was opening her mouth to argue with the guard and the next, she felt something hard slam into the back of her head.
"F-fuck." She muttered, stumbling out of the guard’s arm as she reached up to touch the place that had just been hit.
Pain exploded behind her eyes like fireworks that refused to light up. The hallway seemed to be moving at that moment, colour’s blurring together and just before she passed out, she heard someone say,
"What the heck are you doing to her?!"
And then, everything went dark.
The first thing Anning felt when she finally regained consciousness was a throbbing ache in her head. Like someone had smacked her skull with a hammer, although that wasn’t what happened to her. Or was it?
She groaned and tried to lift a hand to rub the sore spot. But nothing happened, she couldn’t move her arms.
She felt her whole body turn cold, goosebumps forming against her skin. She tried again, harder this time but still got the same result. Slowly, she forced her eyes open.
The room around her waist dimly lit, the light from one of the lanterns made the shadows of the furniture cling to the wall.
When she shifted, the sound of metal rattling filled the quiet room. Then, she found herself looking down and noticed them.
Real, heavy chains wrapped tight around her wrists. Her eyes widened as she tried to yank her hands out of the chain, but the more she tried the tighter the restraints became.
Her ankles were bound with that same chain too. Panic engulfed her whole body as she pulled her gaze away from the chain
"Hello?" She called out, her voice echoing through the room. "Is anyone there? Who the fuck tied me up?"
But no one answered her. She swallowed hard, desperate trying to steady herself breathing.
Panic wouldn’t help.
She blinked a few times letting her eyes adjust to the darkness in the room.
The room she was currently in was big, much bigger than the one Wanqing’s slept in. At a corner of the room was a grand bed, draped in rich embroidered curtains that screamed luxury.
The heavy faint scent of expensive perfume lingered in the air, it made her feel queasy and a bit frustrated.
This place reminded her of Wanqing’s chamber, but well decorated.
Anning’s heart raced against her chest as she thought someone had actually grabbed her inside the Gu residence.
"What is wrong with these people?" She muttered, starting to struggle again. The chains clattered loudly as she twisted her wrists back and forth. "Who the hell kidnapped me? Where am I?"
After a few minutes of shouting, her throat soon started hurting. She finally stopped, chest heaving as sweat ran down her temples.
Instead, she tried to think. Who exactly would do this? General Gu? Yufang? The imperial princess?
Just thinking of the options she had, she almost hoped it was the princess. At least that woman didn’t pretend to be anything other than cunning.
The soft slide of the door interrupted her thoughts. Anning froze her body going tense as she lifted her head.
Footsteps approached where she stood, slow and deliberate. She watched the feminine silhouette move through the dimly lit room...long hair swaying, and just the way she walked sold her out. She walked like she owned every inch of the room.
Without a doubt, Anning knew she was scared, but she refused to show it. She stared straight at the person, biting on her lower lip.
Deep down, a tiny annoying part of her wished Anning would notice she was gone. But the moment she thought about it, she instantly shook her head. Why was she even thinking about her?
The woman stopped a few feet away from Anning. Then let out a low chuckle, one that sounded oddly familiar.
"I was actually getting tired of waiting," the lady said. "But the second you woke up and started shouting, I knew you would be fine."
Anning narrowed her eyes at the person. That voice... it couldn’t be her, right? fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
"Who are you and what is the meaning of this?"
The woman sighed dramatically and then moved toward a lantern hung on the wall nearby. A match was struck and warm light gradually filled the room.
When the light fell on the mysterious woman’s face, Anning’s heart skipped a bit.
Of all people who could do this, it just had to be Gu Ruiqing?!
Yes, she was surprised. But considering everything that had happened so far, she wasn’t too surprised.
A nervous chuckle escaped Anning’s lips before she even realized it.
"Was almost blinding me not enough for you? Now you’ve moved on to kidnapping in your spare time."
Ruiqing didn’t answer immediately. She calmly slipped off her outer robe, walked to a corner of the room, folded it before setting it on the table.
Only then did she look at Anning with a calm expression. "I’m in no mode for your games today. You should watch your mouth."
The moment she finished speaking, images of those fresh wounds in Wanqing’s back flashed through Anning’s mind. She bit back whatever comment she had been ready to throw.
She took in a deep breath and then tried again, reminding herself to be as polite as ever. "Why am I here?"
Gu Ruiqing’s face softened just a bit. She walked away from the corner where she stood and back to Anning.
"Good. See? I know you can behave when you choose to." She folded her arms against her chest and stopped just an inch away from Anning. "I need you to leave our residence."
Anning stared at her in disbelief, then let out a very unladylike snort. "You are joking."
"I am not." Gu Ruiqing said firmly, pinching Anning’s chin between her thumb and index finger. Before tilting her face upward. "I want you out of this residence. Out of my daughter’s life."
First, she died and woke up here. Then, she got labelled a slave, resulting in Gu Wanqing buying her.
Yet, this old hag had the audacity to tell her to leave. Where the fuck was she going to go without money?!
Anning frowned, trying to pull away. "Why? What have I ever done to you?"
Ruiqing released her, took a step back and then ran her fingers through her hair. "Your presence has become too troublesome."
Anning squinted her eyes at Gu Ruiqing, then said, "That doesn’t explain anything. Tell me the real reason why you’re doing this."
Ruiqing looked away for a moment. But when she turned back, the frustration in her eyes was hard to miss.
"What haven’t you done? You ruined everything!" Ruiqing snapped, her voice rising.
Anning flinched at the sudden increase in volume, but that didn’t stop Ruiqing from continuing.
Ruiqing let out a bitter, almost broken laugh.
"Do you have any idea how many years I have spent grooming Wanqing to be a good daughter? She always obeyed me. She understood her place and never caused problems for the family. Not once!"
Anning cocked her head to the side then asked, "What does that have to do with me?"
Ruiqing stared at her with a twisted expression. "The punishment she received wasn’t because of the imperial princess or because she disobeyed her father."
She paused, locking eyes with Anning. "It was because of you!"
The room went quiet now that Ruiqing had stopped speaking. Anning felt nothing but guilt at that moment, but she already knew about it.
"She told me." Anning said, her voice barely above a whisper.
"After that scene in the receiving hall, rumours started spreading like wildfire. They kept making it clear that Wanqing would choose you over the imperial princess!" Gu Ruiqing said, her voice cracking slightly.
"But that’s not true!" Anning yelled back, shaking her head furiously.
Wanqing to choose her over the imperial princess? The same mistress of hers that treated her like shit. Yeah, that wasn’t happening.
"She got into an argument with her father... things got ugly. Then, he decided to remind her where exactly her loyalty should lie."
Anning took in a deep breath, she couldn’t breathe well. That pervert had whipped Wanqing because he thought she would betray him? Was that something a father was supposed to do?
"That isn’t right. That’s wrong!" Anning yelled, her fingers curling uselessly around the chains.
"It might be wrong, but for him. It gets the job done." Gu Ruiqing said, shrugging.
"Why would she do that? For a slave? I mean, she doesn’t even like me." Anning said to herself more than Ruiqing.
"I’d like to know the same thing," Ruiqing said, stepping even closer. Her voice dropped. "She’s never acted this irrationally before, not until you showed up."
The weight of it all settled heavily on Anning’s chest. The guilt she was currently feeling wasn’t even helping at all.
Before Wanqing got punished, she had spent her time making a big deal out of a kiss. The thought made her feel disgusted.
Gu Ruiqing stared at Anning’s face for a moment, when she noticed the guilt in her eyes. She said, "That’s why you need to leave. I can give you money, a carriage, anything you want. Just leave before things get worse."
"I-i can’t."
Ruiqing frowned at her words then added, "Lin Anning, I lost a child of my own once. I am not willing to lose another one."
