Chapter 117: Chapter 69 Mother and Child_4
Why did you tell him these things?
In his confusion, you told him the truth, then forced him to admit the reality that could not be changed after revealing the truth, making him recognize his own powerlessness.
"Because," she said, "I want to help you."
"Help me?"
Lu Tong gave a slight smile.
The coffin was black, the mourning drapes were white, the line between cold and warmth blurred. Her eyes and brows were incredibly beautiful under the light of the lamps, and the silk flower by her temple bloomed in a dazzlingly vivid manner. Like those evil spirits from tales of demons and the unusual, clad in the skin of beauties, who emerge from their books on a rainy day to make deals with mortals.
You know she has ill intentions, but you can’t refuse.
She said, "Now, the entire imperial examination has been rigged, and people inside the Ministry of Rites have been colluding too. Over the past twelve years, countless chief examiners have been replaced, you have failed each time, and every year there are undeserving candidates who pass. Do you know what this means?"
"It means the chief examiners of each year have been bribed," Wu Youcai answered woodenly.
"Yes, if the matter of cheating in the imperial examinations is not addressed, then after you’ve donned mourning attire, offered paper money, and bought a burial site for your mother, you will continue as before, crawling through life, bent under mediocrity. This is your fate."
These words were too terrifying, and Wu Youcai couldn’t help shivering.
He looked at Lu Tong as if staring at a divine goddess who had abruptly descended into hell, his eyes filled with a hint of piety, hoping she could point out a clear path for him in this bottomless abyss.
"Doctor Lu, what should I do?"
Lu Tong asked, "Wu Youcai, do you want fairness?"
"Yes."
"If people from the Ministry of Rites have really been bribed, and your repeated failures over the years are actually due to exam fraud, are you willing to expose it, no matter the cost, even if it’s your own life?"
"I am willing."
"Good. I’ll tell you what to do."
Wu Youcai looked at her blankly.
"If you accuse before the examination ends, without proof or evidence, most likely, the authorities will arrest you, maybe even silence you. Unless it’s after the examination."
"After the examination?"
"Yes, after the examination, when all candidates are in their rooms. If there are impersonators, they can be caught along with their forged scripts. But..."
"But what?"
"But, given your low influence and the corrupt officials’ collusion, they might find an excuse to arrest you, release you after the autumn examinations, and by then, the evidence would be gone."
"Doesn’t that mean there’s no solution?"
"Not necessarily. You only need to make a big scene."
Wu Youcai was startled, "Make a big scene?"
"Yes," Lu Tong said casually, "If someone dies in the examination hall, if a few people lose their lives, it won’t be a small matter that the Ministry of Rites can suppress. The Trial Court, the Inspectorate, and even the Department of Military Affairs will step in. The more people involved, the harder it is to play down a serious issue. Once various interests get involved, even a simple matter becomes complicated."
Wu Youcai clung to the key point in her words, "What do you mean by someone dying?"
Lu Tong just smiled and didn’t answer.
The sky grew darker, the wild wind howled through the yard, flashes of lightning appeared and disappeared among the clouds, and a storm was quickly approaching.
Wu Youcai watched Lu Tong.
The slender silhouette of the woman was enveloped in her plain white dress, and in her delicate hand, unbeknownst to him, appeared a paper package wrapped in oilpaper.
Her voice was also gentle, laced with an imperceptible seduction.
"Those chief examiners, dressed up dogs and pigs, cause chaos in the imperial court, making the talented subject to the untalented. If it were up to me..."
Wu Youcai murmured, "If it were you, what would you do?"
She smiled faintly, placed the paper package into Wu Youcai’s hands, leaned in close to his ear, and spoke deliberately, word by word.
"Of course, I would kill them."
"Boom—" A thunderclap.
A flash of lightning illuminated the dim ancestral hall and her indifferent eyes.
Outside in the courtyard, the downpour began.