Lu Yun lifted her head and was stunned. Having depended on each other for seventeen years, she was all too familiar with the meanings behind even the slightest expression on Uncle Lu's face.
Uncle Lu was serious, and she had never seen him so happy before. Her tears started to flow.
"To go to university, to become the top scholar"—is that so?
Good.
If this was Uncle Lu's wish, then she would strive to be the "top scholar" throughout her entire academic career.
--
"Why don't you get out of the way quickly, you think the child hasn't been harmed enough and you still want to block the way and prevent the child from being saved in the township?"
Lu Hongzhen looked at Chen Juxiang, who had laid flat and taken on a posture as though she was about to throw a tantrum, with disgust and said sarcastically.
"To think a grandmother can be so cruel, it's quite rare. It's just as well that your Su Family's son has said let the child change her surname and distance herself from you. From now on, everyone will go their own way, with no more entanglements, which is for the best. Chen Juxiang, you'd better stop affectionately calling her your sweet granddaughter while behind her back you despise her like trash. It's truly disgusting."
"Indeed, it's wicked to such an extent; and you're even her biological grandmother. Using a child as a pawn like this, it's no wonder Xiaoyun's father passed away restlessly, wanting the child to stay away from your family."
Auntie Tian clicked her tongue and then looked at Chen Juxiang and the people from the Su Family as if she were looking at monsters.
"If you have any sense, you won't make a scene anymore. The child needs to be rushed to the township hospital for treatment. If there's further delay and a life is lost, the police station will come to take you away and have you shot," she said.
"I didn't mean to kill her; there was just a tiny bit of rat poison in there. It's this girl who is too weak," Chen Juxiang finally lost her composure when she heard about "police station" and "being shot." Scrambling up from the ground, she blurted out without thinking.
Hearing Chen Juxiang inadvertently confess, every person from the Su Family's face looked as if they had eaten excrement—utterly foul. Several who were usually unreasonable and had the intention to step in and create a scene, had now completely lost the will to do so, and in fact, they were also feeling guilty.
"Easily said, that tiny bit of rat poison you mentioned—not only children, even adults might not be able to withstand it. If you think the girl is useless, why didn't you try drinking it yourself?"
The speaker this time was Doctor Lin, who had only been observing from the side.
Doctor Lin was known for preferring peace and kindness toward people. His good temper was as well-known as his excellent medical skills. Hence, he had always been highly respected by the villagers. At this point, unable to bear the shamelessness of the Su Family any longer, he finally spoke out with reproach.
"That's right, how could she speak so casually about it—just a little bit of rat poison? How could such a small child endure that? And yet, they tricked the child by claiming it was ash water; why didn't she drink it herself?"
Lu Hongzhen's voice rang out again, and her words along with Doctor Lin's drew a chorus of agreement from those around them, "Indeed, I can't believe the wife of the sixth Su could be so heartless."
...
Finished!
Chen Juxiang's face went completely pale, and everything before her seemed to darken; this was the only thought left in her mind. The rest of the Su Family wasn't doing any better, including Su Huahua who had been the most arrogant. They all looked like frost-bitten eggplants, completely deflated.
Xia Yuan and Lu Aiguo didn't have the time to pay much attention to the Su Family. Lu Aiguo carried Lu Yun directly onto the tractor that was originally meant for picking up a bride, still adorned with big red flowers.
Before climbing up, Xia Yuan was pulled aside by Auntie Tian. Auntie Tian did not go herself, but she handed Xia Yuan a handkerchief full of change for emergency needs, saying, "Don't worry, I will clean up and lock your house for you."
Xia Yuan accepted it, did not refuse, and nodded through tears.
Before Lu Hongzhen and Wu Tan got on the tractor, they also briefly summoned some nearby relatives to quickly explain the situation.
Lu Yun watched, committing it all to memory. Those who had been kind to their family of three, there would always be an opportunity to repay them.
The tractor chugged away into the distance, and the Su Family members who had arrived with such bluster slunk away like rats crossing the street. Behind them, the murmurs of the villagers never ceased.
...
"Xiaoyun really said that?"
"Is there any doubt? I heard it with my own ears. You know, those old women even admitted outright that they gave her rat poison, and even Dr. Lin, who never loses his temper, cursed at her."
"Tsk tsk, I knew there was a reason her son was made to change his surname. So if he didn't change it, his life would actually be in danger? And yet she dares to call herself a grandmother? Those Su Family people truly are heartless and inhumane."
"Exactly, we should keep our distance from them in the future."
"You can't talk, remember when you believed that ridiculous tale about her being a 'cursed widow'? "
"Who said I believed it? I was just giving the Su Family face, it was only lip service."
"Oh, look who's not giving face now, hahaha..."
"Cut it out, who in the village doesn't know how her son died? And to dare to twist the truth in front of the child, falsely blaming it on Xia Yuan and Lu Aiguo?"
"Indeed, it's rare to see someone so malicious. Such a good daughter-in-law; if it were me, I couldn't let her go, she'd be cherished in my palm."
"As if you could dream! She's a girl from the city, supposedly with highly educated parents. It's a pity, a fresh flower stuck in cow dung. Luckily, she's finally found sweetness after the bitterness. Lu Aiguo is really capable."
"You don't know, do you? Originally, Xia Yuan was paired with Lu Aiguo. It was that shameless old woman who pretended to be kind, asking so warmly it deceived the girl into thinking she was a good person, catching her off guard. Then the shameless old woman drugged the water to trick her. Otherwise, how could that ugly Lu have married such a beautiful city girl?"
"What? There's more to it? Come on, tell me the whole story?"
Could there really be such a shocking secret?
The villagers' eyes widened like brass bells, their gossip-thirsty hearts thoroughly hoisted up.
...
Good news seldom goes beyond the gates, while bad news spreads far and wide. In no more than half a day, the news became an "explosive headline," known by everyone in the village, and people talked about it with added color. In just one day, there were few in the surrounding villages who hadn't heard about it.
The Su Family's reputation was now thoroughly tarnished, and many who were previously friendly began to consciously avoid them.
--
Aboard the tractor, Lu Yun stared blankly, fixating on her uncle Lu Aiguo who was embracing her. The complexity of emotions she had felt for him for seventeen years of interdependence was mostly guilt.
Before he died, her uncle told her, "You don't need to feel grateful towards me. I took care of you only because of your mother. I was afraid she wouldn't rest in peace worrying about you down below. If you feel guilty, bury me and your mother together; that way, we'll be even. Your mother's life was too hard, so in your next life, don't be her daughter."
Lu Yun's tears stubbornly refused to fall.
It was because she was too foolish that her uncle asked her not to be her mother's daughter in her next life... Her uncle also said he hated her and the more he hated her, the better he treated her, to make her feel guilty as his way of revenge.
She also knew that her uncle could say such things to her because he no longer hated her, afraid that she couldn't let go.
Her uncle must have had his own conflicts when facing her, right?