The rain continued falling, and an eerie deadly silence surrounded them.
Liu Kun felt the cold wind drilling through his bones, and his old knee injury from years of running a noodle stall began to ache again.
He looked at the person before him, speaking frantically and incoherently: “How is this possible? Didn’t little Tong die?”
The person in front of him only smiled slightly, her smile as moving as a silk painting.
Liu Kun remembered little Tong.
His cousin Lu Qilin had two daughters and one son under his knee. Because Madam Lu nearly died giving birth to the youngest daughter, this little daughter was especially treasured. Lu Rou, Lu Qian, and Madam Lu all doted on her. Though Lu Qilin was stern in words, he actually showed rare indulgence toward this youngest daughter.
But the more precious something is, the harder it is to keep safe. The Lu family’s youngest daughter went missing at nine years old. That year, Changwu County was struck by an epidemic. After the rest of the Lu family had just recovered from serious illness, the little daughter went out one afternoon to fetch water and never returned.
At that time, Liu Kun’s entire family had already left Changwu County for the capital. He only learned of this when he received Lu Qilin’s letter. Lu Qilin begged him to help search for her in the capital as well. Liu Kun agreed, but sighed inwardly—in these times, when a nine-year-old girl went missing, she was most likely sold by passing human traffickers. What chance was there of finding her?
After all these years, except for the Lu family who still held hope, everyone else believed the Lu family’s youngest daughter had long since died.
Liu Kun thought so too.
He looked at the person before him—graceful and beautiful, completely different from the plump, spoiled, and childish little girl in his memory. Yet looking carefully, the delicate features between her gentle brows and eyes resembled his deceased niece Lu Rou somewhat.
Thinking of Lu Rou, Liu Kun’s heart shook, suddenly feeling somewhat guilty.
He asked: “Are you really little Tong?”
The other person smiled lightly.
“All these years, where have you been? Your parents searched everywhere for you, your brother worried about you too…” He babbled irrelevant words, not knowing what he was trying to conceal with them. Suddenly coming back to his senses, he stopped abruptly and stared at the person opposite: “You wrote me that letter?”
Why would little Tong write him a letter?
The letter mentioned Fan Zhenglian—had she already learned about the Fan family affairs? How much did she know about the Grand Tutor’s Manor’s inside information?
His eyes scattered in confusion as he thought, involuntarily shivering.
Until the voice opposite awakened him from his bewilderment.
“I wrote it. Uncle, didn’t you already meet my second brother?”
At these words, the surroundings fell deathly silent.
After a long while, Liu Kun heard his own dry voice, carrying a forced smile: “Yes… I met him. When Rou girl died, he came to the capital for the funeral and stayed at my house for a few days.”
“Just staying?”
“Just staying.”
“Not only that.” Lu Tong spoke lightly: “You also betrayed him.”
“I did not!” Liu Kun suddenly shouted, his voice distorting in the cold rainy night, startling even himself.
He lowered his voice, speaking briefly and trying to remain calm.
“It wasn’t me. He committed a crime and was wanted by the authorities. Little Tong, I originally wanted to hide him at home, but the arrest warrants were posted everywhere. When officers searched my house, I had no choice. What could I do?”
He spoke as if stating facts, sounding sincere.
But Lu Tong smiled, her clear cold eyes staring at him as if seeing through his excuses to the unspeakable secrets in his heart.
“Is that so? May I ask, Uncle, what crime did my second brother commit?”
“He… he broke into a private residence to steal property and assaulted the master’s daughter…”
Lu Tong nodded: “Such a serious crime. Uncle harbored a fugitive, yet the officers didn’t charge you with harboring criminals alongside taking away only my second brother. How reasonable of them.”
Liu Kun’s face turned deathly pale, his teeth clenched tightly. He suspected the person before him already knew everything, but he dared not reveal a single word.
Lu Tong looked at him, her eyes gradually growing cold.
The man before her was cowardly and timid, his gaze evasive. On that familiar face, poverty and destitution had devoured his conscience, giving birth to desire and greed.
Her father Lu Qilin was rigid and stern, but Uncle Liu Kun was kind and lively. While Lu Rou was quiet, she and Lu Qian always followed Liu Kun around everywhere. Liu Kun would scoop her up and put her on his shoulders, using his coarse whiskers to tickle her face. When Wang Chunzhi returned from doing business at temple fairs, she would bring her bright red candied hawthorns.
They had once sheltered from rain under neighboring eaves and eaten from the same pot. Now they faced each other from opposite ends of the road, with indelible blood vengeance between them.
The night rain continued pattering steadily.
Lu Tong spoke calmly: “Uncle, I’ve been wondering…”
“Do living people who make mistakes feel guilt? Do they have troubled consciences? Do they toss and turn sleeplessly at night?”
“I observed for a long time and found they don’t—not at all.”
Liu’s Noodle House on Sparrow Street was doing excellent business. Liu Zixian had become an official, Liu Zide was preparing for the autumn examinations, Wang Chunzhi had bought gold bracelets, and the Liu family was even planning to move to a larger house.
Everything was good, very good—so good it made one envious.
Liu Kun mumbled with his lips: “Little Tong…”
Lu Tong interrupted him: “But all this goodness was bought by stepping on the Lu family’s blood. How can that not make one angry?”
Liu Kun stepped back in alarm.
“Little Tong, listen to me. Back then officers were searching everywhere and came to my house. Brother Qian didn’t have time to escape…”
Lu Tong smiled.
“Uncle, you know better than I what kind of person second brother is. Once he discovered he was being hunted by officers, with his nature of not wanting to implicate others, he would immediately distance himself from you and hide somewhere no one could find him. Yet in the end, they found him at your house.”