Mo Lingxi snapped her fingers, and a hidden guard seized Sheng Li.
"Take her to the Ministry of Justice and ask the jailers to treat her well. Make sure she enjoys herself."
The hidden guard responded with a "Yes" and took away the crying and pleading Sheng Li.
Mo Lingxi rode his horse to pursue.
Meanwhile, Tao Lengshuang comforted the weeping Madam Sheng, "Godmother..."
"I knew it, I just knew it would be like this."
Madam Sheng held her hand tightly, crying uncontrollably, "I suspected Sheng Li wasn't my daughter before, and it turns out she really isn't."
"I don't know where my poor daughter is suffering now. It's my fault for not taking good care of her, allowing bad people to take advantage."
Seeing her self-blaming and guilty appearance, Tao Lengshuang opened her mouth to say that she was the one, but swallowed the words.
There was no evidence.
"Grandmother, don't be sad, don't cry. When Grandmother cries, Xiao Feng wants to cry too." Xiao Feng used his sleeve to wipe Madam Sheng's tears, "With Xiao Feng here, Grandmother is not alone."
Madam Sheng cried while hugging Xiao Feng.
Tao Lengshuang sighed with worry and didn't persuade her further, thinking that letting her godmother cry it out might be better.
When they returned to the Sheng residence, Madam Sheng's emotions were extremely unstable, consumed by immense grief and self-reproach.
Worried about her, Tao Lengshuang stayed with her and Xiao Feng until Madam Sheng fell asleep from exhaustion.
To be safe, Tao Lengshuang gave Madam Sheng a medicine that wouldn't harm her body, allowing her to sleep longer, and instructed the nanny to keep a close eye on her.
Seeing the nanny, Tao Lengshuang remembered something and asked, "How long has the nanny been by my godmother's side?"
The nanny thought for a moment, "For several decades. I was the madam's wet nurse, taking care of her since childhood, and then accompanied her to the Sheng family as part of the dowry."
"Time flies so fast, it's been so many years."
Tao Lengshuang's spirits lifted. She invited the nanny to sit down and said in a low voice, "Nanny, do you remember if anything was unusual or strange on the day my godmother gave birth? Any small detail would suffice."
The nanny had learned what happened from Madam Sheng's cries. She recalled carefully, "When the madam gave birth that year, the master was guarding outside..."
At this point, she remembered something, "The midwife was a bit strange. After the baby was wrapped, she was supposed to be brought out to the master, but the midwife asked us to help clean the madam."
"This was nothing unusual, of course. We are used to serving the madam, so it was more reliable for us to do it."
"But when the midwife carried the young lady out, the master happened to be called aside by a subordinate to discuss something. It's estimated that the incident happened during this time."
Tao Lengshuang nodded slowly, understanding how the mastermind had swapped the children.
Back then, the mastermind had carefully selected the Tao family, bribed the midwife, and utilized spies within the Sheng family to swap the two children.
How much hatred and resentment must there be to commit such a malicious act?
"Is the midwife still alive?"
The nanny replied that the midwife had died of illness a few years later, "The household staff has also been replaced several times. It will be difficult to find the young lady's whereabouts now."
Tao Lengshuang thought to herself that she was sitting right here, but unfortunately, there was no conclusive evidence. "Nanny, please try your best to recall the events of that year in the coming days, to see if you can find any clues or people from that time, so we can clarify this matter as soon as possible."
The nanny repeatedly assured her that she would think carefully about the past.
Tao Lengshuang checked on Madam Sheng's condition again before taking Xiao Feng's hand and leaving the courtyard. At the courtyard entrance, she saw Mo Lingxi and shook her head, "Let's talk about it when we get back."
The family of three returned to Tao Lengshuang's courtyard.
Xiao Feng was very well-behaved and sensible. He sat at the desk reading and writing, not disturbing his parents' conversation at all.
Mo Lingxi massaged Tao Lengshuang's shoulders and said softly, "The hidden guards just sent news. The mastermind's identity has been basically confirmed, but we still need conclusive evidence."
"Who is it?" Tao Lengshuang's face turned cold.
"Zhou Wenxing."
"Zhou Wenxing?"
Mo Lingxi nodded, "The current Prime Minister, deeply trusted by His Majesty. He was practically the sole authority in the court before."
"After the former Prime Minister's incident, he leaped from a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Revenue to the first-rank Prime Minister."
Tao Lengshuang knew nothing about court officials and asked, "What kind of person is he?"
Mo Lingxi's eyes were fierce, "He is a person who is half a traitor and half a loyal minister."
Tao Lengshuang immediately understood how extraordinary this person was. Thinking back, when the emperor held absolute power, he had caused a lot of trouble and would do anything for his own pleasure.
At that time, the court was full of sycophantic officials who flattered the emperor. Yet, Zhou Wenxing could earn such a reputation, which was enough to show how extraordinary he was.
"Why would he do these things?"
Mo Lingxi: "Obsessed with my godmother."
Zhou Wenxing was a renowned young talent in his youth, the legitimate son and grandson of the Zhou family, with countless suitors. However, Zhou Wenxing fell in love at first sight with Madam Sheng, the most beautiful woman.
At that time, Madam Sheng was an engaged couple with General Sheng, deeply in love. But Zhou Wenxing, disregarding everything, used all sorts of schemes to try and break up General Sheng and Madam Sheng, but all failed.
After Madam Sheng married General Sheng, Zhou Wenxing married the legitimate daughter of a noble family, who was of equal standing. However, she died of illness within two years.
"She didn't die of illness, did she?" Tao Lengshuang asked.
Mo Lingxi: "She indeed did not die of illness. After my investigation, I learned that Zhou Wenxing's first wife was beaten to death by him."
"At that time, Zhou Wenxing, unable to marry Madam Sheng, took his anger out on everyone. He was abusive to his first wife, not only causing her to miscarry but also beating her to death. Afterwards, he faked her death as illness and buried her hastily. Zhou Wenxing feigned extreme grief, so her family did not suspect anything."
Within a year, Zhou Wenxing married a second wife of equal standing. During this time, he secretly kept many women who resembled Madam Sheng outside, many of whom died from his torment. His second wife also died of illness within a few years, also tortured to death by him.
After that, he married two more wives, their deaths almost identical. From then on, he claimed that he was cursed to be a widower and stopped marrying, but he took many concubines and fathered many illegitimate children. In reality, the reason he killed his wives and stopped marrying was to keep the position of wife for Madam Sheng. In his eyes, only Madam Sheng was worthy of being his wife.
"I haven't found out when he started plotting against my godparents, but he has been plotting for many years, such as instigating my godfather to take a concubine, deliberately designing to ruin her reputation, and so on. Fortunately, he did not succeed."
Tao Lengshuang understood after listening, "This person is pathologically obsessed and his mind is abnormal."
"Such people appear normal in their daily lives, but if they are provoked, or encounter related people and events, they will go mad."