He raised his hand, and the masked men drew their swords and charged at Tao Lengshuang and the other two.
The hidden guards immediately split into two groups. One group was responsible for protecting Tao Lengshuang and the other two, while the other group dealt with the masked men.
The two sides soon clashed, both intent on killing.
Tao Lengshuang, however, frowned. These masked men seemed to have developed a resistance to her药粉 (yàofěn - medicinal powder). Her powder was not working, which was not good news for them.
She narrowed her eyes in thought and decided to release the snakes and other animals from her space to buy them time to escape.
But when she looked at the medicinal garden in her space, she was surprised to find a large area of wheat and potato fields. She didn't have time to look closely.
She quickly released the venomous snakes and tigers from the medicinal garden, and then, under the protection of the hidden guards, fled in a carriage with Madam Sheng and Xiao Feng.
She lifted the carriage curtain to look and saw swarms of venomous snakes and several large tigers charging menacingly at the masked men. It was a pity and heartbreaking, as these were good medicinal ingredients that could earn money, and now they were lost.
It was all the fault of these masked men!
However, when she saw another group of masked men appear, her eyes darkened. It seemed someone was determined to take the three of them away today.
"Godmother, Xiao Feng, hold on tight. We need to break through the encirclement!" she instructed the hidden guard driving the carriage to speed up.
Tao Lengshuang and the other two held onto the carriage, steadying themselves and enduring the violent jolts.
Madam Sheng was filled with regret and self-blame. She knew it was a trap, but she hadn't listened to advice and had come, leading to the current situation.
She shouldn't have come.
Tao Lengshuang saw that part of the second group of masked men was intercepted by the hidden guards. The rest charged forward. She calmly sprinkled a lot of medicinal powder, calculating how to break through.
Just as the masked men were about to catch up, the carriage stopped without warning, almost sending Tao Lengshuang and the other two tumbling to the ground.
"What's going on?" Tao Lengshuang asked.
Hidden Guard: "Princess, the third batch of assassins has surrounded the carriage."
As he spoke, Tao Lengshuang saw the third batch of assassins. The number of this batch was estimated to be the sum of the first and second batches.
"You really refuse to toast and insist on being punished. You're forcing us to take you by force," one of the masked men said sinisterly.
Tao Lengshuang sneered with a fake smile. "I don't believe all of you can resist all the medicine."
She sprinkled a handful of colorful medicinal powder: "Come on if you dare. Let's see if you die or we get captured."
The colors of these powders looked very wrong, causing the charging masked men to retreat. For a moment, no one dared to approach easily.
"What are you afraid of? We took medicine beforehand, so don't be afraid!"
"Then you go ahead. Those powders look wrong. Who knows if we can withstand them."
"Ah! My hand, my hand is festering!" At this moment, a masked man looked at his festering hands in pain and panic: "It's the medicinal powder, it's because of the medicinal powder!"
This caused the masked men to panic and constantly retreat, fearing they would become the next to fester.
But...
"My face, my face is rotting!"
"Save... save me, I don't want to die, I don't want to die!"
Tao Lengshuang remained expressionless, watching the masked men die before her. If she wasn't ruthless, the three of them would be taken away, and no one knew what would happen then.
She had to be ruthless.
Tao Lengshuang gave Madam Sheng, Xiao Feng, and the hidden guards the antidote, thinking about how to escape. There were still dozens of masked men standing not far away.
The medicinal powder alone wouldn't suffice. Firstly, she didn't have that much powder, and secondly, the powder wouldn't work from a distance.
"Lengshuang, I'm sorry. It's all my fault."
Hearing Madam Sheng's apologetic words, Tao Lengshuang shook her head and said softly, "You can't blame yourself, Godmother. I concealed things from you. I should have told you clearly earlier."
Madam Sheng gave a bitter smile: "How can I blame you? I knew it was a trap, yet I foolishly came, leading to this."
Tao Lengshuang comforted her a few times, then asked Xiao Feng to accompany Madam Sheng while she continued to think of a way to escape.
Her biggest worry was that there were still masked men lurking in the dark. If that were the case, it would be very bad.
Tao Lengshuang's worries became a reality. She saw more and more masked men appearing around them. Her pretty face was solemn. These masked men didn't approach, they just surrounded the carriage, preventing them from leaving. This was not good.
Even in such a situation, Tao Lengshuang was not flustered and calmly thought of a solution.
"Everyone, this stalemate isn't working. How about we talk?" she said loudly with a smile.
As soon as she spoke, she saw a burly masked man cautiously take two steps forward.
"We have nothing to discuss with Princess Mingrui. Either the three of you come with us, or we'll just wait it out like this."
Tao Lengshuang was unwilling to wait it out: "Alright, let's wait it out. I think it won't be long before Prince Mingrui arrives with his men, and then you'll be in trouble."
The burly man naturally knew they couldn't wait until Mo Lingxi arrived. But the current situation was that they were wary of the medicinal powder in Tao Lengshuang's hands, and with the hidden guards present, it wasn't easy for them to take these three away.
"Princess Mingrui, my master truly invites the three of you as guests."
Tao Lengshuang wouldn't believe it even if she were foolish. She didn't want to waste any more words with this person. If necessary, she would give some of the medicinal powder to the hidden guards and ask them to protect them as they fled while sprinkling the powder.
However, there was no guarantee they could escape, and she wasn't sure if there were people in the dark.
Just as Tao Lengshuang was anxiously thinking of a plan, she suddenly saw Mo Lingxi descend from the sky and land in front of her, her surprise and joy mixed.
"Mo Lingxi! Why are you here?" she asked, leaning out of the carriage window, her heart slightly relieved.
Mo Lingxi pushed her back into the carriage. His voice was gentle: "Don't worry, I will protect you."
Tao Lengshuang saw hundreds of soldiers appear, and the anxiety in her heart subsided. She stayed obediently in the carriage: "You be careful."
Mo Lingxi grunted, cast a stern glance at the masked men, and ordered, "Kill! Leave none alive!"
Hundreds of soldiers, holding halberds, charged at the masked men.
The two sides immediately engaged in a fierce battle.
Mo Lingxi instructed the hidden guards to keep watch while he entered the carriage.
Seeing that Tao Lengshuang and the other two were unharmed, he felt relieved: "It's good that you're all right. I guessed you might have encountered trouble when you didn't return, so I hurried over with my men."
"Daddy did so well this time!" Xiao Feng threw himself into Mo Lingxi's arms and gave him a thumbs-up: "It would be great if Daddy could coax Mommy as well as this."
Mo Lingxi felt a pang in his heart. As expected, his son was the best at stabbing him.
"Xiao Feng, if you were willing to help Daddy, your Mommy would have been coaxed by Daddy long ago. How about you help Daddy?"