Chapter 142: Chapter 77 Executioner_3
Liu Kun’s gaze was somewhat hazy.
He remembered what Little Girl Tong looked like as a child.
Among the Lu family’s three children, Lu Rou was gentle and poised, Lu Qian was bright and dashing; both inherited their parents’ good looks and were exceptional in their studies. Cousin Lu Qilin wouldn’t say it, but he was especially proud of them in his heart. Yet the youngest daughter always caused headaches.
As a child, Little Girl Tong wasn’t as pretty as Lu Rou nor as eloquent as Lu Qian. She was round and chubby, disliked reading, and often infuriated her father to the point of exasperation. Lu Qilin would often say she had "a rebellious streak," and after scolding her, he secretly sent Liu Kun to bring her candy buns as she stood punished.
As the saying goes, a crying baby gets milk. Little Girl Tong was the naughtiest of the Lu family’s three children, yet she was also the most doted upon. Liu Kun also liked teasing her back then; the childish roundness of the little girl’s face, those eyes always carrying a glint of cunning—it was impossible not to adore her.
Many years had passed, and the round little girl had grown into a slender young lady. If you looked closely, you could still find traces of her old self in her brow and eyes, but those once vivid and mischievous black eyes now held a depth of quiet stillness, like a silent pond.
He had heard about Ke Chengxing’s death and the Ke family’s downfall before, and at the time, he just felt a sigh of regret and thought nothing more of it. But now, hearing Little Girl Tong claim she was responsible, Liu Kun still remembered the girl from Changwu County who was so easily frightened that just seeing a mouse could make her jump a mile and cry her eyes out...
How could she possibly have done this?
As he pondered in his daze, he heard the woman continue to speak before him.
"Not just that, I was also behind what happened to the Fan family."
Liu Kun’s face turned ashen in an instant, his gaze fixed on her with fear.
She lowered her eyelids, her gaze on Liu Kun like she was looking at a dead man, "Now, it’s your turn."
"No... no..."
Liu Kun’s mind exploded, and he instinctively scrambled and rolled to the hem of her skirt, rain streaming down his face. He grasped Lu Tong’s skirt hem, his teeth chattering, his voice excited yet frantic, "Little Girl Tong, listen to your uncle, I can help you!"
Lu Tong looked at him in surprise.
"Really!" Liu Kun said hastily, "Fan Zhenglian locked Brother Qian in the penal prison and executed him on a frivolous charge. Little Girl Tong, your uncle can be your witness. I was the only one who knew the whole truth. We can clear the cases of Sister Rou and Brother Qian together, alright?" He coaxed the person in front of him, just like many years ago when he consoled his little niece frightened by mice at the Lu Family.
After a brief silence, she said, "Thank you, uncle."
Liu Kun forced a grotesque smile, just as he was about to speak, the person before him slowly crouched down and opened a palm toward him.
In the dim light of the lantern, Liu Kun saw it clearly, that delicate and pale hand holding a finely crafted porcelain bottle.
His throat tightened suddenly, and he lifted his eyes to Lu Tong, "What is this?"
"An opportunity."
"... What opportunity?"
"An opportunity for Uncle to bear the sins of the entire family on his own."
Liu Kun stiffened.
Lu Tong smiled, and whispered softly to him, "This is a bottle of poison. If Uncle drinks it, I will spare my cousins and aunt, absolving the three of them from their crimes."
"Little Girl Tong..."
The corners of her lips still bore a smile, her countenance delicate and pretty, yet her eyes were like a cold pool under the clouds, devoid of any hint of mirth.
"Uncle," she said, "I drowned Ke Chengxing, yet the rumors outside say he died accidentally from being drunk. The Ke family is ruined, its wealth scattered overnight."
"I interfered at the Tribute Court, and the Ministry of Rites was discovered manipulating the exams. Now Fan Zhenglian has been thrown into prison, his reputation tarnished and support gone."
"You see, I have done so much, yet I face no punishment."
She looked at Liu Kun, "I was able to kill them, and I can kill you. Uncle knows, I am very clever."
Liu Kun looked at her in disbelief, murmuring, "But they are your cousins... "
"I know," said Lu Tong, curving her eyes slightly, "It’s precisely because we are family that I can’t bear to do it. Hence, I gave you a chance."
She spoke slowly, each word piercing into Liu Kun’s heart.
"Both my cousins are now in jail for colluding in the examination scandal; though not a minor crime, their lives aren’t in danger. How could this be right? So I thought, I should do something. I forgot to tell you, I am now a Doctor, and if I wish to kill a few people without anyone noticing, it’s very easy. Moreover, my brothers are not clever, certainly much easier to deal with than the Ke and Fan families."