Chapter 212
Tao Tao finally realized what was happening and hurriedly reached out to try to pry open the restraints around her neck, but somehow her strength suddenly became so great that she couldn't break free no matter what she did.
Her face turned bright red, her eyes were filled with tears, and she was suffocating from lack of oxygen to her brain.
He desperately raised his limp hand, reaching for the hairpin on his head. A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes as he stabbed the woman in front of him fiercely at the side of her neck.
Tao's mother screamed in pain, which also alerted Leng Qiao, who was waiting not far away.
The wooden door was suddenly pushed open, and Leng Qiao appeared in the doorway. She ran quickly into the inner room.
Seeing Tao Tao slumped on the ground, clutching her neck and coughing violently, she was startled and rushed over to help her up.
"Miss!"
The girl collapsed weakly into her arms, her cheeks flushed, tears welling in her eyes, and she coughed incessantly, looking utterly pitiful.
Meanwhile, Tao's mother, lying to the side, clutched the hairpin embedded in her neck, looking pitiful. She tried to pull it out, but a sharp pain made her afraid to move any further.
Leng Qiao frowned, her eyes filled with worry. She reached under Leng Qiao's legs, picked her up, and started to carry her outside.
He hadn't gone two steps before she called out to him.
Tao Tao endured the pain, her voice hoarse: "Wait, wait a minute, I... cough cough cough... I'm fine now."
"Put me down."
She reached out and patted Jordan's shoulder, signaling her to put herself down.
"Miss, let's go see a doctor first." This was the first time she had spoken in opposition to Tao Tao, which made Tao Tao feel displeased at being disobeyed.
"No need, I have something to talk to my mother about."
Tao Tao spoke in a calm tone, then forcefully broke free from her restraints. Leng Qiao had no choice but to put her down.
She walked to the table, panting slightly, and poured herself a glass of water to soothe the burning pain in her throat. She drank it too quickly and started coughing again.
Leng Qiao looked worried and was about to walk over when she saw her pour a glass of water, pass by her, and approach Tao's mother, who was not far away.
Tao Tao half-squatted down, held her shoulders, and pulled her into her arms. Looking down at her mother's pained expression, she frowned slightly.
Tao's mother looked up, her eyes filled with resentment, her tone filled with disgust: "Get out! Get out of here! You're not my daughter, you're not!"
She reached out and shoved Tao Tao away violently. Tao Tao didn't resist and was pushed to the ground. She turned around and saw her on the verge of collapse.
Tao's mother moved too much, aggravating the injury on her neck, causing her to gasp in pain.
She stared calmly at her crazed state, a chill creeping into her eyes, and said in a low voice, "Mother, what are you saying? The dead cannot be brought back to life. I know Father's death was a huge blow to you, but wasn't it your fault?"
"If you have something to blame, you can only blame yourself, you can't blame me."
Tao's mother looked up at her, her eyes filled with shock and disbelief. She was even more convinced that the person in front of her could not be her obedient daughter who always listened to her.
Leng Qiao looked at the mother and daughter facing off, feeling somewhat helpless. If it were someone else who had hurt her young lady, she could have killed them directly, but the person in front of her was her young lady's mother.
For a moment, she didn't know what to do.
Tao Tao looked at Leng Qiao and said softly, "You can go out first, I'm fine."
Despite her repeated urging, Leng Qiao finally left.
"What kind of monster are you?! You are definitely not my daughter! My daughter would never lay a hand on her mother like you! You are a monster without humanity or conscience!"
She clutched her bleeding neck and roared at Tao Tao, completely devoid of her usual gentle and kind demeanor.
Between their狰狞 (zhengning - ferocious) appearances, who is more terrifying...?
Tao Tao thought to herself.
“My mother would never be as heartless as you, to lay a hand on her own daughter.”
Her eyes were slightly red, and clear tears silently streamed down her fair cheeks, revealing a sorrowful and heartbroken expression.
“Tao’er doesn’t know where you heard such absurd words, but I have been doing my best to change our predicament. I never thought that I would become a greedy and scheming person in my mother’s eyes.”
"Even if I became this kind of person, it's all because of this family. Back then, we were isolated and helpless. The gambling den wanted to shut down our shop and even tried to sell me into a brothel to pay off debts. Did anyone stand up for us?"
"No, right? Even you, as the mother, don't seem to have solved any problems. It's all thanks to me that the Tao family is living such a good life now, and that Tao Liang was able to attend Yingtian Academy."
"Do you think what I said is right, Mother?"
Faced with a barrage of questions, she was rendered speechless. It was indeed because of Tao Tao that she was able to live a good life now.
But without the Tao family's shop, she wouldn't have been able to make money. So ultimately it's because of the Tao family and the connections Tao Yuan had built up; otherwise, how could she have gotten business?
As Tao's mother thought this, she stared blankly as the woman walked towards her, then half-squatted down, looking at the face that was similar to her own yet different.
The more she looked at the face, the more unfamiliar it seemed, as if her former daughter no longer existed, and the person standing in front of her was a completely new Tao Tao.
"You're the one who killed your husband, and you turn around and call me a heartless monster. Speaking of heartlessness, you're no less so. You even went to bury him again on a rainy day, just to avoid being discovered, weren't you?"
"I...I didn't..." Tao's mother said, sounding somewhat unsure.
"Only you know whether it's true or not. Anyway, it doesn't matter anymore. He's already dead, so why bother with this?"
Tao Tao said nonchalantly, reaching out and pulling the hairpin from the side of her neck as she dazed, causing blood to gush out instantly.
Her face contorted in pain, she screamed in agony, her forehead was soaked with sweat, tears and sweat streaming down her face, her whole body trembled, and her clothes were stained with blood.
Her eyelashes trembled as she struggled to open her eyes, which were blurred with sweat. Her vision was hazy, but she could vaguely make out the cold, indifferent face above her.
His amber eyes gleamed coldly as he stared down at her.
This immediately filled her with fear of the girl in front of her, and she couldn't help but back away. No matter what Tao Tao had said before, she became more and more certain that the girl was not her daughter.
"Mother, let's stop the bleeding first. You've lost so much blood. What if you die without even seeing your hometown or the people you truly want to see? Wouldn't that be such a pity?"
Tao Tao frowned, looking at her with heartache.
She took out a handkerchief and gently wiped the bloodstains from Tao's mother's neck, sighing and groaning, completely ignoring the trembling body beneath her hand.
"In my eyes as her daughter, it seems that my mother is the one who is truly two-faced. She is so cowardly and timid, yet she can do such shocking things."
"You...you must stop talking..." Tao's mother covered her head, tears streaming down her face.
"Why can't I say it? I'm telling the truth."
She glanced down at the half-splashed tea, picked it up, and drank it all in one gulp. The cool, refreshing tea slid down her dry throat, instantly making her feel much better.
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