Tao Lengshuang paced back and forth in the room, unable to comprehend, "I'm just a village girl. I've only offended people in the village, and it's all been minor matters. It's impossible for someone to do this, nor do they have such capability."
Mo Lingxi was also aware of this. He tapped his thigh lightly with his fingers, "This is the crucial point."
"Neither you nor the Tao family have offended anyone you shouldn't have. Moreover, your ancestors have all been common folk; it's impossible for you to have any connection with noble families."
Tao Lengshuang racked her brain but couldn't pinpoint the key issue. "Have you found anything on your end?"
Mo Lingxi shook his head, indicating he hadn't found anything. "There was a suspicious man in green..."
"Is there a portrait?" Tao Lengshuang interrupted him.
Mo Lingxi understood her meaning and showed her a portrait. "This was drawn by a hidden guard. This person tried to kill you before."
Tao Lengshuang's hand paused as she took the portrait, her heart feeling heavy.
Looking at the portrait, she felt the person looked somewhat familiar.
"Wait a moment, I'll go ask Aunt Shen the second."
Holding the portrait, she went to Aunt Shen the second's house. "Aunt Shen the second, are you home?"
"Yes, yes, yes."
Aunt Shen the second came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron. "You're from the Mo family, what do you need me for?"
Tao Lengshuang showed her the portrait and asked if she recognized the person in it.
Aunt Shen the second said she did. "Isn't this A Qing from the end of the village?"
Hearing her say that, Tao Lengshuang remembered who it was.
A Qing from the end of the village was a very strange person. He was quite good-looking but didn't seem like a common folk. It was said he had come to the village many years ago while fleeing disaster.
However, since arriving in the village, this person had not interacted with the villagers at all. He was rarely seen going out, and even when people from neighboring villages introduced wives to him, he refused them all. He also didn't allow anyone to visit his home.
Over time, no one interacted with him anymore. Some villagers even forgot his existence.
The reason she found him familiar was that the original owner had encountered A Qing a few times while stealing chickens and dogs.
"Why are you looking for A Qing?"
Aunt Shen the second seemed a bit puzzled. "A Qing has many quirks and is rarely at home. It's said he works in town."
Tao Lengshuang simply said she had something to ask A Qing.
After thanking her, she took the portrait back home and told Mo Lingxi about it.
Afterward, the couple went to A Qing's house.
They knocked on the door for a long time, but no one answered.
Mo Lingxi cautiously opened the courtyard gate and walked in with a grim expression. Tao Lengshuang followed closely.
After searching, they found that not only was there no one inside, but all the rooms except the master bedroom were covered in a thick layer of dust, clearly having been uninhabited for a long time.
"The person probably doesn't live here often."
Mo Lingxi glanced at the new furniture and bedding. "I'll investigate where this A Qing came from."
Tao Lengshuang frowned and hummed in agreement, but she still couldn't understand why A Qing wanted to kill her. What was this person trying to do?
Finding no useful clues at A Qing's house, the couple returned home.
As soon as they got home, they heard Xiao Feng, who was playing in the courtyard, exclaim.
"It's snowing!"
Tao Lengshuang saw the falling snowflakes, reached out to catch one, and said worriedly, "It's snowing earlier this year than in previous years."
Snowfall itself wasn't a big problem. The issue was the various exorbitant taxes, the shortage of supplies, and the emperor's decree to build royal villas, all of which were enough to crush the common people.
Mo Lingxi said he had something to attend to and asked Tao Lengshuang and Xiao Feng to be careful before leaving.
Tao Lengshuang didn't stop Xiao Feng from playing in the courtyard, asking him to be careful, while she busied herself in the kitchen and checked the situation of the space's medicinal garden.
Although she had stored some supplies in the space's medicinal garden during this time, and there were some supplies at home, she worried it wasn't enough.
If there were truly no supplies, anything could happen. Most importantly, even eating would become a problem.
It was still about supplies.
If they had enough supplies, they could hide in the mountains if anything truly happened.
With food and drink and a place to hide, they wouldn't have to worry about anything.
But where could they find so many supplies?
"Mom, can we go to town again another day?" Xiao Feng, leaning against the kitchen door, asked with sparkling eyes.
Considering the current situation and the weather, Tao Lengshuang said they wouldn't go. "Later, we'll go to the mountains to see if we can find more food."
No one was coming to see her for medical treatment now, and there was nothing they could sell at home. It was purely outgoing, with no income.
Xiao Feng was not disappointed. He obediently said, "Okay," and went to play in the courtyard by himself.
Just then, Xiao Feng's scream of "Ah!" was heard.
"Xiao Feng!"
Tao Lengshuang rushed out and saw Xiao Feng lying on the ground with a purplish-blue face, black blood flowing from his mouth.
"He's been poisoned!"
She calmly looked around, picked up Xiao Feng, and brought him back into the house, placing him on the kang. She then quickly administered acupuncture.
She stopped the spread of the toxin, then took his pulse to determine what kind of poison he had ingested.
After taking his pulse and identifying the poison, she used acupuncture to push the toxin to her right thumb.
She cut her thumb, letting the poisoned blood flow out, and simultaneously prepared the corresponding antidote, intending to decoct it for Xiao Feng later.
Who could it be, and how was Xiao Feng poisoned?
Suddenly, Tao Lengshuang's nostrils twitched. She quickly went to the doorway, caught a few snowflakes, and smelled them under her nose. "Poisonous!"
No wonder Xiao Feng was poisoned.
These snowflakes had been mixed with a certain potent poison.
If it weren't for the small amount of snowflakes and her timely treatment, something would have definitely happened.
She sprinkled detoxifying powder on the ground and looked up at the sky with a heavy gaze. Could it be A Qing or his accomplice who wanted to kill Xiao Feng?
Why must they try to kill her and Xiao Feng?
She was determined to find out the truth of this matter.
After Tao Lengshuang gave Xiao Feng the antidote and confirmed he had been detoxified, her anxious heart finally settled.
"Our Xiao Feng has suffered." She stroked the child's head with pity, her eyes filled with ferocity.
No matter who it was, if they dared to harm her and her child like this, she would make them pay the most painful price.
Tao Lengshuang stayed by Xiao Feng's side, worried that he might have further complications.
She remained there until the sky was full of stars and Mo Lingxi returned.
"What's wrong?"
He noticed Xiao Feng's abnormality and touched his forehead.
Tao Lengshuang pursed her lips and explained the situation in detail. "I don't know who did it, to stoop to poisoning a child over four years old."
Mo Lingxi, who greatly valued Xiao Feng, looked at her with displeasure upon hearing this. "You've implicated Xiao Feng."
Tao Lengshuang couldn't refute this. She also suspected that she had involved the child.
"I didn't expect people like A Qing to be so depraved as to poison a child."
Seeing her distress and self-reproach, Mo Lingxi couldn't utter his scolding words, but his voice was cold. "From now on, I will take Xiao Feng. You stay away from the child."