Luo Yang and Sheng Li had different reactions upon seeing Tao Lengshuang. One pleaded with Tao Lengshuang to let her out, while the other raged at her.
Tao Lengshuang gestured to Mo Lingxi to stop and then sat in a chair, smiling faintly as she watched Luo Yang and Sheng Li, occasionally clapping her hands.
Her demeanor gradually silenced Sheng Li's insults, but her resentment and unwillingness grew. "Tao Lengshuang, what are you so smug about? My mother now knows I'm not her biological daughter... Ah!"
Tao Lengshuang suddenly flew into a rage, kicking Sheng Li hard in the head. "Sheng Li, you've crossed my bottom line. Since you're so eager to die, I'll oblige you."
Turning, she instructed the jailers to torture Sheng Li. "Our Miss Sheng here once enjoyed a life of honor as the Sheng family's only child. You must treat her well."
The jailers lecherously assured her they would, then two of them forcibly bound Sheng Li to a rack. Another jailer stood before her with a whip covered in barbs.
"Miss Sheng, rest assured, no one is better at entertaining guests than we are." With that, the jailer fiercely lashed Sheng Li with the whip.
"Ah!" Sheng Li screamed in agony. "No, no, no, Tao Lengshuang, you can't do this to me! My parents won't let you get away with this!"
Tao Lengshuang waved for the jailers to step aside and, with a smile that didn't reach her eyes, sneered at Sheng Li. "Look at what you're saying. You yourself told my godmother that you are not her biological daughter. How would my godparents possibly care about you?"
Upon hearing this, Sheng Li regretted using the issue of her birth to provoke Madam Sheng. She shook her head like a rattle drum, tears and snot streaming down her face. "I said that on purpose! I am my parents' biological daughter. How could someone deliberately switch daughters?"
She shouldn't have listened to that man and used this to provoke her mother.
Tao Lengshuang saw through Sheng Li's thoughts at a glance and scoffed. "Tell me, what was the other party trying to achieve by having you publicly announce the switch, and what else do you know?"
"If you confess honestly, this whip and other punishments will be spared. If you don't..."
"I'll talk, I'll talk, I'll tell you everything!" Sheng Li hurriedly confessed all she knew.
That day, the middle-aged man had approached her and ordered her to tell Madam Sheng about the switched daughters in front of everyone, to provoke Madam Sheng.
It was then that she truly confirmed she was not Madam Sheng's daughter but the youngest daughter of the Tao family. Unable to accept this, she fainted.
She woke up shortly after fainting to the wails of the Tao family. Afterward, the middle-aged man brought her before Madam Sheng, demanding she speak of the switched daughters.
In her fury and haste, she revealed the switch to Madam Sheng and everyone present, intending to hurt Madam Sheng and make herself feel better.
"I really don't know why that person did this. I didn't have time to ask, nor could I. However, that person has been meeting with many people recently, including some from the Sheng family's businesses. I didn't get a clear look.
That person was very fierce, always hitting and scolding me. I didn't dare to get involved in these matters."
Tao Lengshuang exchanged a look with Mo Lingxi, forming a guess. Given Zhou Wenxing's perverse possessiveness and madness, he had likely bribed many people within the Sheng family.
Sheng Li didn't know much. She was usually busy plotting against Tao Lengshuang and the Sheng family or preoccupied with her appearance, never concerning herself with such matters, only wanting to seize the Sheng family as quickly as possible.
Luo Yang knew nothing either. She was usually informed of tasks by the stewards. If she needed to do something, she would simply tell the steward and then go out with her maids.
"Tao Lengshuang, please, spare me! Please, let me live. I promise I won't bother you again."
She truly regretted not listening to her master and coming out to deal with Tao Lengshuang herself.
Tao Lengshuang ignored her, covering her mouth with her hand, and whispered to Mo Lingxi, "What do you think about giving these two to Zhou Wenxing?"
Mo Lingxi understood her intention and, after a moment's thought, agreed. "Zhou Wenxing happens to need a wife, and Sheng Li is quite suitable. Moreover, with these two around, I believe they can help us resolve Zhou Wenxing quickly."
Tao Lengshuang's eyes glinted with cold light, her voice laced with menace. "Zhou Wenxing, to kill me, has repeatedly used Luo Yang, Sheng Li, and others, and deliberately provoked my godmother with the switched daughter issue. Now it's my turn to teach him a lesson."
Mo Lingxi comforted her. "We can deal with Zhou Wenxing soon, and my godmother will be fine. You need to relax; otherwise, it's bad for your health."
Tao Lengshuang waved her hand, indicating she was fine, and then asked Mo Lingxi how they could hand Sheng Li and Luo Yang over to Zhou Wenxing, as he couldn't refuse.
Mo Lingxi replied, "An imperial decree! I have a way to handle this. Leave it to me."
Tao Lengshuang nodded, then turned to Sheng Li and Luo Yang with a smile. "I've found a good home for you two. You don't need to thank me too much."
Sheng Li and Luo Yang looked panicked. "Where are you sending us? You can't do this!"
Tao Lengshuang didn't say where she was sending Sheng Li and Luo Yang, only asking people to help them dress up nicely and wait for Mo Lingxi to finalize things.
In the meantime, Tao Lengshuang and Mo Lingxi returned to the Sheng family and informed Madam Sheng about Zhou Wenxing.
"It's Zhou Wenxing causing trouble?!" Madam Sheng knew Zhou Wenxing, albeit only by name. "Is he doing all this to get me?"
Seeing her astonished and disgusted expression, Tao Lengshuang took her hand and said softly, "Godmother, Zhou Wenxing is very obsessive. It might be related to his upbringing. In his eyes, anything he desires, anything he wants, should be his. That's why he so desperately wants you – to prove he's no less than General Sheng."
Madam Sheng laughed in anger. "Ridiculous! If he likes me, must I marry him? What does he think he is!"
"Don't be angry, Godmother. We shouldn't get upset over someone like that," Tao Lengshuang said, patting her back. "The more he thinks he's in control, the more we need to strike him. Once we figure out his arrangements and subordinates, we can deal with him."
Madam Sheng knew she shouldn't be angry, but the thought that Zhou Wenxing was behind everything, including the switched daughter issue, all to possess her, made her want to kill him with her own hands.
"Lengshuang, how mentally ill must this person be to have such absurd ideas?"
Tao Lengshuang had seen countless patients of all kinds and understood human nature deeply. "Godmother, I'm telling you this so that you'll stay away from Zhou Wenxing in the future. He's too crazy; no one can predict what he might do."
Madam Sheng, however, replied, "Lengshuang, if I were to frequently appear before Zhou Wenxing and deliberately say harsh words to provoke him, would he expose his trump cards?"