Shen Ershen did not understand why Tao Lengshuang was asking about this. She exchanged glances with Wang Sanshen and the others, then said,
"Let me think. What happened the year Yu Shi gave birth to you? It's been over ten years, I need to think carefully."
Wang Sanshen and the others were also thinking about it, and none of them thought much of it.
Li Shi was from another village and knew nothing about the matter. She looked at the children, urging them to go play outside.
After thinking for a while, Liu Shi recalled something. "I was still young then, and I seem to have heard someone say that Mo Jia's baby wasn't like the other village children when born, but was fair and plump. Is that right?"
When she said this, Wang Sanshen and the others remembered.
"Yes, yes, there was such a thing. At that time, the Tao family was showing off the baby everywhere, saying that their family was blessed to have such a fair and plump child."
"The baby was shown off everywhere by the Tao family right after birth. Fortunately, nothing happened. I remember when Mo Jia's baby was just born, she was so fair, plump, and cute, truly unlike the village children."
"It's rare for any village child to grow so well. Back then, Yu Shi didn't eat anything good when she was pregnant with Mo Jia, and she often worked in the fields. She didn't even look pregnant. She also said that she had given birth before, having both sons and daughters, so there was no need to eat anything special."
Tao Lengshuang's brows twitched as she listened, and her heart sank. Based on Yu Shi's condition when she was pregnant with her, she shouldn't have been so fair and plump at birth, but an accident couldn't be ruled out.
"Did anything else strange happen?"
Wang Sanshen and the others did not understand why Tao Lengshuang was asking these questions. "Mo Jia, are you suspecting something? Or do you suspect you are not the Tao family's child?"
Tao Lengshuang said with a calm expression that she had some suspicions. "The Tao family's attitude towards me and Tao Fangfang is very different. Besides, I wish I wasn't the Tao family's child, so that the Tao family wouldn't always talk about the kindness of raising me."
Shen Ershen and the others agreed. "The Tao family is too disgusting. Relying on the kindness of raising them, they want their children to die for them."
After thinking for a long time, they couldn't think of anything else strange.
Tao Lengshuang was not in a hurry. She thought of A Qing and asked when A Qing moved into the village.
Shen Ershen recalled, "It's been over nine or ten years, right? He was dressed quite well back then, saying he was in trouble and wanted to live in the village."
"He had relevant documents, so Old Man Luo allocated a piece of land to him. Not long after, he built a house with blue tiles, which made the villagers very envious at the time.
However, he rarely went out and didn't interact with the villagers. If anyone in the village asked him to borrow something, he would either frown or curse. After a while, the villagers stopped associating with him."
Tao Lengshuang organized the existing clues and increasingly felt that she might not be the Tao family's daughter, but there was no conclusive evidence.
If she were the Tao family's daughter, no one would have been watching her for years, even trying to assassinate her, yet the Tao family remained safe and sound.
If she were not the Tao family's daughter, then whose daughter was she, and why did she become the Tao family's daughter? Where did the Tao family's original daughter go? Did the Tao family even know about this?
There were too many things she couldn't figure out, and there was a lack of evidence and clues. Even if she racked her brains, she couldn't understand.
After much deliberation, Tao Lengshuang decided to follow Sheng Li's lead to investigate the mastermind and see if she could uncover the whole truth.
With an idea, she continued to talk to Shen Ershen and the others about the Tao family, hoping to find some useful clues.
As they were talking, they suddenly heard Xiao Feng cry out in pain.
"Mother, Xiao Feng's tummy hurts so much, it feels like bugs are biting it."
As Tao Lengshuang went to check on Xiao Feng, she saw the other children also lying on the ground, crying out in pain.
Her expression darkened. She turned and saw Wang Sanshen and the others also saying they felt unwell. She quickly took out pills and gave them to everyone present.
Poisoned?
She sniffed and detected a very faint, unusual fragrance in the air. Her eyes changed. A large-scale poisoning!
How vicious the mastermind was.
"Everyone sit on the kang, I'll give you the antidote."
She quickly prepared the antidote and gave it to everyone present. Then she went to the doorway and saw the snow in the yard faintly glowing, making her grit her teeth.
She then saw several hidden guards lying in the snow. She quickly went forward to give them the antidote and had them sit under the eaves to rest before scattering the antidote on the snow.
If there were several more large-scale poisonings, it would be very disadvantageous for them. She needed to find a way to make the mastermind wary and not dare to attack her easily again.
But what method could make the mastermind wary?
This question stumped Tao Lengshuang, and she didn't have time to think about it for now. She was busy taking care of the hidden guards and Xiao Feng.
After a busy period, it was already evening. She made clear congee for Xiao Feng and the others before sitting down to eat.
Wang Sanshen and the others did not know they had been poisoned, thinking they had just eaten something bad. Tao Lengshuang did not mention it, as there was no need to make Wang Sanshen and the others worry.
"Doctor."
At this moment, a hidden guard stood at the entrance of the main hall and bowed.
Wang Sanshen and the others knew that these were people helping them, and they would not ask any unnecessary questions.
Tao Lengshuang spoke a few words with Wang Sanshen and the others, then took the hidden guard to her room. "Did you find anything?"
The hidden guard took out an arrow. "We did see an arrow fly by at the time. Since it didn't get close to the house, we didn't pay attention. Who would have thought..."
This arrow was deliberately shot off target, with the intention of diverting their attention and then poisoning them.
Tao Lengshuang took the arrow and sniffed it. Indeed, she smelled a very faint fragrance. "The poison should be the same color as the snow. That's why you didn't notice it."
Some poisons take effect upon inhalation, not necessarily ingestion.
The hidden guard was very ashamed and remorseful. He knelt on one knee and said, "Please punish me, Doctor. We failed to protect you and the young master."
Tao Lengshuang did not blame the hidden guard and asked him to rise. "The mastermind was premeditated. Even if you were on guard, you might not have been able to prevent it. Besides, nothing serious happened."
The hidden guard understood this but was still very remorseful. If it weren't for the doctor's excellent medical skills, everyone would probably not have survived.
Tao Lengshuang was pondering another matter. "The mastermind acted after Mo Lingxi left, meaning the mastermind was wary of Mo Lingxi."
"Another point is that the mastermind was able to know about Mo Lingxi's departure so quickly, which means his subordinates were watching nearby."
With that said, she had a general scope. "Thoroughly investigate the surrounding neighbors. At least one household is suspicious."
The hidden guard took the order and went to investigate.
Tao Lengshuang was still pondering the whole matter. From the current situation, the mastermind was desperately trying to kill her.
The more this was the case, the more she couldn't die, and the more she had to live and uncover the whole truth.
She wanted to see who the mastermind was and why they were doing so many things.
That night, the hidden guard found some clues and reported them to Tao Lengshuang.