Mo Lingxi cast a cold glance at her.
With just that one look, Luo Yang couldn't help but retreat a few steps, as if all her little schemes were seen through.
"Brother Mo..."
Mo Lingxi frowned impatiently and walked away quickly.
Luo Yang bit her lip, stomped her foot in unwillingness, and refused to believe she couldn't win over Brother Mo.
Turning back home, she saw Tao Lengshuang sitting comfortably in a chair as if she were the owner, with her parents standing not far away.
Hatred and anger flared in her eyes, but her face was filled with gentle confusion: "Sister-in-law, what brings you to my house?"
What had happened? Why did her parents look so terrified?
Tao Lengshuang cast a cold glance at the affected Luo Yang and said unhurriedly, "I came to talk to your parents about the law."
Law?
Luo Yang, who didn't understand the law and had grown up as the village chief's daughter, doing whatever she pleased, had a look of mockery in her eyes: "Sister-in-law, what are you talking about? Is something wrong?"
She said, seemingly kindly, "If Sister-in-law has any difficulties, just tell me, and I will help if I can."
Tao Lengshuang chuckled lightly.
The village chief and his wife both flinched, and Luo Yang's mother quickly covered Luo Yang's mouth.
"Luo Yang, stop talking, don't provoke her anymore."
Hearing her mother's trembling voice, Luo Yang became even more confused and asked with her eyes what had happened.
Luo Yang's mother couldn't pay attention to anything else and looked pleadingly at Tao Lengshuang: "Mo family, you see we are all from the same village. Don't push things too far, don't you think?"
Tao Lengshuang smiled, her voice betraying no emotion: "Look at what you're saying. If we really get down to it, it's you who pushed things too far."
"You wanted the villagers to ostracize me, to drive me out of the village, and you wanted to marry your daughter to my man. Your family is truly something."
"Mother, what exactly happened?" Luo Yang pulled her mother's hand away, utterly bewildered.
Luo Yang's mother looked anxious, opened her mouth, but couldn't speak.
"Perhaps I can tell you."
Tao Lengshuang said in the calmest tone, explaining the relevant laws: "By law, your family's actions are punishable by banishment to the frontier or demotion to servitude."
Luo Yang burst into laughter as if she had heard the greatest joke, covering her mouth, her eyes tinged with mockery: "Sister-in-law, what kind of joke are you telling..."
The rest of her words died in her throat as she saw her parents' devastated expressions. Her heart jolted. Could it be that what Tao Lengshuang said was true?
How could this be possible!
Her family had been in the village for so many years, and no one had dared to say a word about anything they did.
Now Tao Lengshuang was saying that their family's actions could lead to banishment to the frontier or demotion to servitude.
What was going on?
Tao Lengshuang looked at Luo Yang with the eyes of someone looking at an ignorant person, her words full of sarcasm: "You don't understand the law, and you don't know that your family's actions have already violated the law."
"By the way, just for your family's insistence on driving me out of the village, if I were to report it, your family would have a hard time."
The Eastern Jin Dynasty had very strict regulations in this regard. If household registration was to be moved to a certain place, or if one was to go to a certain place, it required strict examination.
However, in the current situation, it might not necessarily undergo strict examination, depending on how the village chief's family acted.
Luo Yang, who had been a 'princess' in the village for many years, didn't believe such laws existed and asked her father in astonishment: "Father, is this true?"
The village chief understood the law to some extent, especially concerning himself.
He kept signaling to Luo Yang, then turned to Tao Lengshuang with a smile: "Mo family, let's reconcile, how about it?"
Tao Lengshuang didn't intend to completely fall out with the village chief's family.
For a long time, she would have to live in the village, and given that the village chief's family had someone behind them, it would be of no benefit to her to completely fall out with them at this time.
She raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly: "Village Chief, you say reconcile, and I reconcile? You say deal with me, and I'm dealt with? What do you take me for?"
The village chief truly hadn't expected Tao Lengshuang to understand the law, let alone know which laws he had violated with his actions.
The villagers were all ignorant of the law, and whatever he said was final. No one dared to cause trouble or speak a word to the outside.
But Tao Lengshuang was different; she understood the law and dared to cause trouble.
If things were truly blown out of proportion, he would not only cease to be the village chief but would also go to jail.
"There's no such thing."
No matter how much he resented Tao Lengshuang, he didn't show it: "Tell me, how do you want to resolve this matter?"
The most important thing now was to stabilize Tao Lengshuang.
Once she was stabilized, it wouldn't be too late to find a way to deal with her.
Tao Lengshuang could guess the village chief's thoughts but didn't expose them.
She feigned a sad sigh and pinched the fat on her face: "Village Chief, look, you've been tormenting me so much lately that I've lost weight and become haggard."
"Tell me, how should your family compensate me?"
The village chief looked at her fleshy face and really wanted to say that she had gotten fatter, not thinner.
"My family will give you two chickens," he said, clearly pained.
"Just two chickens?"
"...How many more do you want?"
Hearing the village chief's angry tone, Tao Lengshuang said unhurriedly: "Two hens, two ducks, two geese, a piglet, and you must tell the villagers not to ostracize our family."
"Resolve this by today, and I won't report your family to the county yamen."
She added at the end: "The village chief knows better than me that in this chaotic world, the county magistrate might do anything for his own sake."
The village chief knew this very well, and knowing that the current county magistrate was a just and law-abiding official, he didn't want to escalate the matter.
"Alright!" He agreed through gritted teeth.
Tao Lengshuang smiled with satisfaction: "Village Chief, I've always been one to not offend unless offended."
As she said this, her eyes turned into ice blades: "If anyone insists on provoking me, it won't be resolved with a packet of poison. I will fight them to the death."
"I hope the village chief doesn't act foolishly and do something he shouldn't. Your precious daughter, for instance, is quite liked by certain establishments."
With that, she left gracefully.
"Father!"
Luo Yang suddenly raised her voice, then lowered it: "Father, why did you agree to her? We have ways to deal with her."
She was just a village girl. She had countless ways to deal with Tao Lengshuang.
The village chief glared at her, his low voice tinged with displeasure: "Do you think I wanted to agree to her?"
"The current situation is not good, and the county magistrate is fair and just. If Tao Lengshuang were to make a fuss regardless of the consequences, it wouldn't matter if she died, but what if we suffered because of it?"
He had been the village chief his whole life and didn't want to get into trouble at the end.
Luo Yang was just a village girl who grew up in the village. She had a little cleverness but not much foresight.
Hearing this, she secretly curled her lips, thinking her father was making a mountain out of a molehill.
"Father, we can ask that person for help to deal with Tao Lengshuang."