The main hall.
Tao Lengshuang let Xiao Feng play by himself, arranged for the hidden guards to watch him, and then turned to Princess Anning with a gentle smile, "May I ask why Princess Anning is looking for me this time?"
Princess Anning looked at the woman wearing a cotton and linen jacket, sitting in the main seat yet appearing elegant and dignified, and could never understand where her composure and good demeanor came from.
Despite her mind churning with thoughts, she showed no outward expression. "I've come today to ask Sister Tao for help."
"Recently, my family intends to arrange blind dates for me, but..."
She sighed with a wry smile. "To be frank, Sister Tao, my family is only arranging dates for me with disciples from humble backgrounds, commoners."
"It's not that I look down on them, but I don't want my husband's family to use mine to rise in status. I fear that in the future, my husband's family might become dissatisfied with me because of this, ultimately leading to divorce."
"Oh? Are you finished speaking?" Tao Lengshuang smiled apologetically. "Sorry, I was just thinking of a prescription."
"This is a prescription I've recently come up with. This prescription is not for treating illnesses or saving lives, but it can make people die slowly in endless pain."
Princess Anning's face turned a few shades paler. She tightly clutched the embroidered handkerchief in her hand. "Sister Tao, why are you still thinking of such prescriptions?"
Tao Lengshuang said meaningfully, "Just in case. Princess Anning, you know that there are always people in this world with ill intentions. As a woman, I naturally need to prepare more for self-defense."
"By the way, I also have all sorts of poisons here, guaranteed to make people 'comfortable'."
Princess Anning swallowed. Her gaze towards Tao Lengshuang shifted a few times. "Sister Tao is truly amazing. I can't even distinguish medicinal herbs."
Tao Lengshuang replied, "It's okay if Princess Anning can't distinguish medicinal herbs, as long as you can distinguish what should be done and what shouldn't be done."
Princess Anning, understanding the implication, dared not underestimate Tao Lengshuang any further. "Sister Tao is right. Sister Tao, could you possibly help me with something?"
"That depends on what it is. Also, I generally don't help strangers."
"I want to ask Sister Tao to speak to His Highness Prince Mingrui for me. I hope to be able to choose my own husband."
Tao Lengshuang, with a smile that didn't reach her eyes, said, "Does Princess Anning wish to choose her own husband, or does she wish to marry Prince Mingrui?"
Princess Anning waved her hands repeatedly, hastily explaining, "Sister Tao, I truly have no such intentions now. And before, I wanted to use him as a stepping stone, not to snatch Sister Tao's husband."
Tao Lengshuang didn't believe a word of it, her voice faint. "As for what Princess Anning said, you can believe it yourself. There's no need to tell me."
"Also, I will not agree to what Princess Anning has mentioned. Your own marriage is something to discuss with your parents; it's not for outsiders like us to interfere."
Princess Anning couldn't help but sigh. "If I could explain clearly to my parents, I wouldn't have come to Sister Tao for help."
"In my family's situation, my parents hope I can seize this opportunity to marry early and avoid any further complications. But I don't want to live such a life of compromise."
Tao Lengshuang casually responded with an "oh."
Princess Anning bit her lip. "I am willing to help Sister Tao with a few things, just asking Sister Tao to help me."
Tao Lengshuang directly showed her the door. She didn't have time to bicker with Princess Anning about these matters.
Catching sight of Mo Lingxi returning out of the corner of her eye, she said in surprise, "So early today?"
Mo Lingxi didn't even glance at Princess Anning and said softly to Tao Lengshuang, "I have to go to the palace later. I see the weather is nice today, and I want to take you and Xiao Feng out for a stroll."
Tao Lengshuang also wanted to go out for a stroll. She wanted to check the prices of supplies and medicinal herbs in preparation for opening a pharmacy and living her life.
"I'll call Xiao Feng, and we'll go out for a stroll."
As soon as she spoke, she heard Princess Anning's voice.
"Greetings, His Highness Prince Mingrui. Your Highness Prince Mingrui, could I trouble you for a favor?"
Mo Lingxi still didn't look at Princess Anning. "No help."
He directly had the hidden guards throw Princess Anning out and then ordered people to investigate where she had learned of their location.
"There's something wrong with this Princess Anning," he frowned.
Tao Lengshuang had also noticed it, a layer of coldness coloring her eyes. "She could accidentally find out where I live once, and then accurately find me a second time. If there's nothing wrong with her, that would be strange."
This was a residence under Madam Sheng's name. She had just moved in, and Princess Anning had already found her. How did she find her so accurately?
Mo Lingxi told Tao Lengshuang not to worry. "I will investigate this matter thoroughly. You and Xiao Feng should be more careful when you go out recently."
He also mentioned that the court was quite chaotic recently, with some people targeting him, and specifically talked about the issue of sweet potatoes.
"Once these matters are settled, we will move... we will live a good life."
Tao Lengshuang grumbled an affirmative sound, feeling vexed, and went out with Xiao Feng and Mo Lingxi.
The three of them took a carriage to the streets. As they were about to wander around and look, Xiao Feng's sharp eyes spotted a familiar, detested person.
"Mother, it's Tao Laoda," he whispered, pointing to his left front.
Tao Lengshuang followed his gaze and saw Tao Laoda, dressed like a nouveau riche, arrogantly entering a teahouse.
From this, it was evident that the Tao family had extorted quite a bit of money from Sheng Li.
Just as she was about to go and take a look, she saw Tao Laoda and someone else come out fighting, cursing.
"Do you know who my little sister is? How dare you hit me, I'll kill your whole family!"
The other party, unwilling to be outdone, kicked Tao Laoda to the ground. He spat, "Who knows where this nouveau riche came from, acting so high and mighty in Dongdu, a place crowded with dignitaries. Anyone here could kill you."
Tao Laoda, writhing on the ground in pain, roared, "My little sister is the only daughter of the Sheng family!"
The person, upon hearing this, was stunned, then mocked, "The Sheng family's only daughter? You mean Sheng Li, right? Sheng Li was expelled from the Sheng family eight hundred years ago. Besides, she's an only child with no siblings. Where did you crawl out from?"
Tao Laoda was clearly stunned. "What did you say!? Sheng Li was expelled from the Sheng family? She's the only daughter of the Sheng family. If she was expelled, who will inherit the Sheng family?"
The person replied, "General Sheng and his wife are still young. Even if they can't have children, they can adopt. There are plenty of people willing to inherit the Sheng family."
Tao Laoda said angrily, "No!"
Everything in the Sheng family was his. No one was allowed to snatch his things.
With this thought, he stopped arguing with the other party and ran back quickly. He wanted Sheng Li to hand over everything in the Sheng family. He couldn't let this prodigal woman have it anymore.
Tao Lengshuang, who was watching the scene, had already guessed what Tao Laoda was going to do. This made her a little worried about General Sheng and his wife.
"Don't worry, General Sheng and his wife are not so easy to deal with," Mo Lingxi comforted her in a low voice.