Let Sheng Li have her moment of triumph for now; she would be crying soon.
Unaware of this, Sheng Li covered her nose with an embroidered handkerchief, her disdain evident as she imperiously commanded, "Kneel and thank me quickly. If not for my great kindness, you lowly wretches would have died long ago."
Soon, she would order these refugees to surround Tao Lengshuang and then hand Tao Lengshuang over to them for their amusement. This was the consequence for that bitch daring to offend her.
The refugees knew that someone had provided them with all this, but they never imagined their benefactor would be such a person.
They exchanged glances, unsure whether to kneel or not.
Just then, a fawning villager prostrated himself on the ground and kowtowed three times to Sheng Li, "Thank you, benefactor, for your great kindness!"
"If not for the benefactor's immense virtue, how would these lowly folk have a way to live? In the future, if the benefactor needs anything from these lowly folk, just command us, and we will spill our blood and guts for you."
Sheng Li was very pleased with this person's discerning attitude and, like bestowing charity, tossed a silver ingot onto the ground, "A reward for you."
"Thank you, benefactor!" The villager scrambled to pick up the silver ingot and, with a smile, took a bite. "It's real, it's a real silver ingot!"
This seemed to be a signal. The refugees went mad and surged towards Sheng Li, their eyes filled with greed and excitement.
"Rob her!"
"She has a lot of silver, and her fine clothes and jewelry. Quickly, rob her."
"Benefactor, won't you give us some silver too? Our family will erect a longevity tablet for you."
Sheng Li never expected the refugees to swarm and rob her. Terrified, she quickly tried to flee, "You lowly wretches, get away from me, all of you, get away, do you hear me?"
But Sheng Li could not outrun these desperate refugees. Before she could get far, she was surrounded, and then the refugees ferociously pounced on her to rob her.
The refugees did not care if Sheng Li was male or female. Some even took the opportunity to grope her. Those who were resentful of wealth or narrow-minded scratched and clawed at her.
Thus, Tao Lengshuang personally witnessed how Sheng Li was stripped bare by the refugees, then thrown into a snowdrift, with some refugees even attempting to assault her.
If not for the timely appearance of assassins, Sheng Li would likely have been truly violated by these refugees.
Tao Lengshuang felt no emotion, nor a shred of pity. This vicious woman had tried to kill her multiple times and had even hired people to kidnap Xiao Feng. How could she possibly sympathize with her?
Watching Sheng Li lying in the snowdrift, as if insensible to the cold, her entire being dazed as she stared at the sky, Tao Lengshuang prepared to leave with Xiao Feng when she saw an assassin approach Sheng Li and then throw his outer garment onto her.
"Miss Sheng, for these refugees to act like this, someone must be behind it," the assassin hinted meaningfully.
Upon hearing this, Sheng Li suddenly sat up, clutching her outer garment. Her็ฐ็ face was filled with hatred and rage. "Kill them for me, kill everyone here, I want them to die a horrible death!"
The assassin, eager for Sheng Li to escalate the situation, exchanged a look with his companions. Gripping their cold swords, their eyes filled with bloodlust, they charged towards the refugees.
The refugees, who were happily grabbing their spoils, were startled and panicked as they saw the assassins charging towards them.
"Help! Murder! Is anyone going to save us?"
"Don't kill me, don't kill me, I'll return the things to her, don't kill me."
"It has nothing to do with me, it has nothing to do with me. They were the ones who wanted to rob, go kill them."
Seeing the refugees scattered and chased by the assassins, Tao Lengshuang handed a packet of powder to her hidden guards. "Make everyone unconscious. Be careful not to fall into an ambush."
The hidden guard was not alone; he had several companions.
Half of the hidden guards remained to protect Tao Lengshuang and Xiao Feng, while the other half quietly scattered the powder.
During this time, Tao Lengshuang personally saw the brutal assassins cut down the refugees one by one, as easily as slicing tofu.
The snowdrift was stained red with blood, and pits were formed by the fallen bodies.
"Hahaha~~ Die, die, die, all of you die for me, all of you die!" Sheng Li laughed maniacally. "Kill them for me, kill them all, kill them all!"
"You dare to rob me, dare to ruin my reputation, and I will make you have no place to be buried. And that Tao Lengshuang, for daring to arrange these refugees to harm me, I will make her die a horrible death, along with her bastard son. I want her to witness how her son dies miserably before her eyes."
Hearing this, Tao Lengshuang hugged Xiao Feng tightly beside her, her anger towards Sheng Li growing. This Sheng Li was truly a beast, not even sparing a child.
Xiao Feng buried his head in his mother's embrace, his small mouth pouting in annoyance. He really disliked this woman.
Tao Lengshuang gently patted his head and then saw Sheng Li, the assassins, and even the refugees all fall to the ground. She knew the medicine had taken effect.
She had her hidden guards take away Sheng Li and the assassins and brought them to a secluded mountain gully, looking down at Sheng Li coldly.
"Sheng Li, I have no enmity with you, yet you have harmed me repeatedly. Now it is time for me to settle the score with you."
Sheng Li wanted to get up, not wanting to lie so miserably before Tao Lengshuang, but she could not muster any strength.
"If it weren't for you, you lowly wretch, how could my good reputation be tarnished? If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have ended up in this state. I wish I could devour you alive."
As soon as Tao Lengshuang heard this, she knew it was useless to say more to a selfish and self-centered woman like Sheng Li, so she stopped wasting her breath on the matter.
"Devour me alive?"
She sneered, "Unfortunately, you have fallen into my hands now. If I want you to live, you will live. If I want you to die, you will have only death."
Sheng Li wanted to escape but couldn't. She shouted with feigned ferocity, "Bitch, I am the only daughter of the Sheng family. If you dare to touch a single hair on my head, the Sheng family will not let you go."
Tao Lengshuang acted as if she had heard the greatest joke, laughing incessantly. "Sheng Li, everyone knows you were long ago expelled from the Sheng family. How could the Sheng family possibly help you?"
"Besides, who would know it was me who did this?"
Sheng Li's expression changed drastically, and she shook her head in terror. "You can't, bitch, you can't do this!"
She hadn't enjoyed her good life enough, hadn't dealt with her parents, and hadn't reclaimed everything that was hers. She couldn't die.
Tao Lengshuang said coldly, "Why can't I? You could freely hire people to kill me, so why can't I find someone for revenge?"
Not wanting to waste more words, she took out a packet of medicine and slowly walked towards Sheng Li. "Don't worry, I won't make it too easy for you. You've done so many wicked things, I will make you experience a fate worse than death."
Sheng Li desperately wanted to escape, but she could barely move. "No, you can't do this, you mustn't do this."
Tao Lengshuang grabbed Sheng Li's jaw, preparing to force-feed her the medicine.
An unexpected event occurred!