This time, Sheng Li was forcibly fed a packet of medicine by the hidden guards, and no matter how she dodged, it was useless.
"What did you make me swallow?" Sheng Li coughed incessantly, her eyes bloodshot as she stared at Tao Lengshuang.
Tao Lengshuang's lips curved into a bright smile. "Something that will make your heart itch and claw at you constantly."
However, just by looking at the medicine the assassin leader used on Sheng Li, she could guess that the black hand had some special concoctions, and this medicine was likely very harmful to the body.
"Tao Lengshuang, you damned creature, I won't let you go, I absolutely won't let you go," Sheng Li roared in panic and confusion.
Tao Lengshuang ignored her. She asked the hidden guards to take the assassin leader away, then picked up Xiao Feng and left.
The remaining assassins would be dealt with by the hidden guards.
Thus, the sight of corpses and blood all over the ground stimulated Sheng Li to scream continuously, her pupils constricting and dilating, deeply traumatized.
When Ajin came to rescue Sheng Li, she was smiling foolishly, unaware that her clothes were disheveled.
Ajin glanced grimly at the corpses and dried blood everywhere, then at Sheng Li's state. His eyelids twitched. He had truly underestimated Tao Lengshuang.
Meanwhile, Tao Lengshuang and Xiao Feng returned home under the protection of comfort, neither mother nor son mentioning what had happened outside.
Tao Lengshuang asked Xiao Feng to go play with his friends, while she sat inside to rest, thinking about what to do next to quickly investigate everything and uncover the identity of the black hand.
As she was thinking, she saw Aunt Shen Er and Aunt Wang San arrive, smiling. "Why are you two looking for me together? Is there some good news?"
Aunt Shen Er sighed, her expression not very good. "It's just that more outsiders have arrived in the village, most of them are troublesome and are causing chaos in the village."
Aunt Wang San chimed in, sighing. "After you and your son went out, Aunt Shen Er and I planned to go to town to see if we could get in, thinking we could buy some rice and flour.
"But when we got to the village, we found many outsiders had arrived, many of them looking fierce and clearly not to be trifled with. Aunt Shen Er and I saw the situation and quickly returned."
Tao Lengshuang heard something amiss and inquired in detail about the matter, focusing on the descriptions of those fierce-looking people. The more she listened, the more she felt something was wrong.
Even refugees weren't this fierce. Moreover, with the previous lessons learned, these refugees wouldn't dare to rob villagers again.
Feeling uneasy, she asked a hidden guard to investigate the situation of the refugees in the village and warned Aunt Shen Er and the others not to go out for the time being, to prevent any accidents.
Aunt Shen Er and Aunt Wang San were well aware of how unstable things were now. They both readily agreed, promising not to even wander around the village.
While the hidden guard was investigating the refugees in the village, the Tao family was harassing the maid, demanding that she cure them.
"You wretched creature, how dare you lie to us? You said that medicine could cure us, but it's a poison that will kill us."
"I'm telling you, if you don't hand over the antidote today, or truly cure me, I'll kill you today."
The Tao family beat and cursed the maid. Tao Laoda and the others even took liberties with the maid from time to time, causing the maid to cry out in shame and anger.
"You stop it, stop it, do you hear me? If you dare to touch me again, I won't give you a single copper coin."
The Tao family paused at her words, then became even more ferocious in their beatings and curses, demanding that she agree to their conditions, or they wouldn't let her off.
About fifteen minutes later.
The maid lay on the ground, covered in wounds, with a lot of hair and blood scattered on the ground. She was forced to agree to cure the Tao family.
Old Master Tao glanced at his eldest and second sons, signaling them to take the maid to get the medicine, and also to find out who the maid's master was.
However, when the maid arrived at a mansion, she directly ordered the housekeepers to beat Tao Laoda and his brother severely, and even broke one of their legs.
When Tao Lengshuang learned of this, she had just received news from another hidden guard that supplies were becoming increasingly scarce, and that Mo Lingxi and Zicheng were searching for supplies everywhere.
Thinking of the sweet potatoes in her spatial medicinal garden, she hesitated and struggled. This thing was too precious. If she gave it to Mo Lingxi, she didn't know what would happen.
But if she didn't give it, her conscience wouldn't be at ease. Most importantly, if Mo Lingxi knew she had found sweet potatoes, it wouldn't arouse suspicion when she took them out in the future.
The question was, what would Mo Lingxi's attitude be if she produced the sweet potatoes?
Would he suspect her and lock her up for interrogation, or would he be suspicious and send people to watch her, or would he believe her?
Tao Lengshuang couldn't guess Mo Lingxi's thoughts and didn't dare to gamble. Innocent people are often blamed for their wealth.
For now, she couldn't tell Mo Lingxi that she had sweet potatoes. She had to find a good time, or a suitable opportunity to say so.
But Tao Lengshuang didn't expect this 'opportunity' to come so quickly.
Within two days, Mo Lingxi returned amidst the wind and snow. This time he brought nothing and asked Tao Lengshuang for various medicinal herbs and powders.
"What happened?"
Seeing his haggard appearance, Tao Lengshuang asked with some concern, "Have you not slept for a few days?"
Mo Lingxi said it had only been a day or two. As he sorted the medicinal herbs and powders, he warned Tao Lengshuang to try not to go out during this period.
Tao Lengshuang poured him a cup of water and asked Aunt Shen Er to prepare some food before asking Mo Lingxi, "Has it gotten worse?"
Mo Lingxi pressed his slightly aching temples and sighed. "It's not a big problem that it's gotten worse, but many people have died in some places, leading to the spread of diseases."
This made Tao Lengshuang understand why Mo Lingxi needed so many medicinal herbs and powders from her. "How many have died?"
"Not fully counted, at least fifty to sixty thousand people, and likely more who weren't counted."
Mo Lingxi's words made Tao Lengshuang gasp, her face horrified as she swallowed hard. Winter was not even half over, and tens of thousands had already died.
The key point was the spread of diseases.
If it continued like this, there would be serious trouble.
Mo Lingxi: "Every winter there are casualties, but this time there are too many."
Tao Lengshuang touched her chilled neck and sat on the kang to recover for a while. "If this disease cannot be controlled and breaks out, no one will be able to escape."
Mo Lingxi knew this, but unfortunately... "Zicheng has been sent to manage it. This is also a good opportunity to tell you about my and Zicheng's identities."
Tao Lengshuang didn't want to listen. She had no need to. Who Mo Lingxi and Zicheng were didn't matter much to her, and she wasn't trying to curry favor with them.
"You need to understand. I might be going with Zicheng, so it will be easier for you to handle things in the future."
"!! Why are you going with him?"