After calming Xiao Qiao'er down, Tao Wan's mother returned to the front hall, where everything was quiet.
"So, how did it end?" Tao Wanniang asked Zhang Liang, who had been present the whole time.
"General Ling gave Zhang Xinlan the antidote, then took Liang Laifu away, claiming it was kidnapping and extortion, and that he should go to jail," Zhang Liang said succinctly.
"Oh, that's fine then." Tao Wanniang calculated for a moment. Liang Laifu wouldn't be able to wait for the court hearing; he'd probably die in prison tomorrow.
"Oh, by the way, let me air out this silver note. I'll need it again when I get back."
Zhang Liang looked at the basin of water-soaked silver notes and felt somewhat uneasy.
"Sister Tao, is there still poison on this?"
"It will dissolve when it gets wet, then it's gone!" Tao Wanniang said lightly. So what kind of trouble is this? He even specially wrapped it in waterproof oilcloth. Liang Laifu brought this upon himself, didn't he?
The carriages for the restaurant were still parked outside. Tao Wanniang told Zhang Liang and went to the restaurant. Perfect timing, no delay, dinner hadn't even started yet.
Liang Laifu died in prison, his body curled up and his face terrifying.
Ling Yunzhou fell into deep thought upon seeing the corpse in the capital's prison. He had ordered an investigation into the poison in Liang Laifu's body, but no one could identify it. So, where did Tao Wanniang get it?
The yamen notified Zhang Xinlan to collect Liang Laifu's body, but Zhang Xinlan did not show up. She only asked Qiao Mazi to call someone to dump the body into the mass grave.
"Miss, son-in-law..." After finishing her business, Qiao Mazi came to inform Zhang Xinlan.
"What kind of son-in-law? That heartless and ungrateful scoundrel! I must have been blind to have fallen for him!" Zhang Xinlan said angrily, holding her child. Upon seeing Aunt Qiao, she shoved the child directly into Aunt Qiao's arms.
"Seeing this child reminds me of that bastard. Mrs. Qiao, could we give this child away?"
"Young Miss, you mustn't! This is the child you carried for ten months and endured so much pain to give birth to. Have you forgotten how much suffering you went through during childbirth?" Aunt Qiao exclaimed in alarm, holding the crying child and anxiously trying to persuade her.
"This child is flesh and blood of his mother, Miss. You may have just angered your son-in-law, but the child is yours!"
Zhang Xinlan waved her hand irritably, "Take the child away, let's talk about it when I'm in a better mood."
Fearing that Zhang Xinlan would bring up the matter of sending the child away again, Qiao Mazi immediately took the crying child and retreated. She had practically raised this child herself, and looking at the rosy-cheeked baby, she loved him from the bottom of her heart.
"Young master, you must grow up quickly! You're a poor child without a father!"
Tao Wanniang did not specifically inquire about Liang Laifu's affairs, but one afternoon three to five days later, Lingyunzhou came to Zhaixinglou.
"Wan Niang, let's talk." Ling Yunzhou looked at Tao Wan Niang with a puzzled expression.
Tao Wanniang wasn't worried at all, and went to a private room with Ling Yunzhou to talk. "Just ask me whatever you want to say."
Seeing that Tao Wanniang appeared unharmed, Ling Yunzhou asked in a deep voice, "Why would you poison her?"
"Why do you ask this? What aspect are you referring to?" Tao Wanniang replied calmly, "Why did I poison him? Of course, it's because I wouldn't watch my silver notes fall into the hands of a shameless scoundrel."
"No, I mean you poisoned it. You... I remember you couldn't even kill a chicken before. How did you become so disregardful of human life? And where did you get the poison from?"
"Ha, you're wrong. When I first married you, I probably didn't even dare to kill a chicken. But in the more than ten years you were gone, I not only killed chickens and ducks, but I also chased the village thugs into the mountains with a kitchen knife. When we were fleeing famine, I even stabbed a wolf in the belly. When we had nothing to eat, I wasn't afraid of a python at all."
Tao Wanniang's calm words carried a silent accusation, as if she were saying that her strength was forced out by Ling Yunzhou.
"Oh, why would I poison someone? Because my father is a doctor!" Tao Wanniang said in a very casual tone. "My father is a doctor, and my mother is the daughter of a scholar. I was pampered by my parents when I was young and learned a lot. However, my parents died when I was young, and I lived a life of dependence on others."
Ling Yunzhou was taken aback. Tao Wanniang's background was indeed like that, but it was so long ago that her biological parents could no longer be found; even her adoptive parents had passed away, and there was no one left on her maternal side.
Therefore, she always kept her talents hidden, and after marrying him, she had no opportunity to use them in Lingjia Village.
"Did you concoct this poison yourself?" Ling Yunzhou asked again.
“That’s right, a unique formula, a unique antidote,” Tao Wanniang said frankly. “I didn’t want Liang Laifu to die either. I even made an antidote. But, life is unpredictable!”
Ling Yunzhou was speechless for a moment. In the end, she passed the hot potato to him. He knew that he had become Tao Wanniang's pawn, but Liang Laifu's crimes deserved to be punished by imprisonment. However, before he could figure out the poison in Liang Laifu's body, he died.
"Did you plan all this out?" Ling Yunzhou was somewhat shocked by Tao Wanniang's cunning.
Tao Wanniang shook her head and said solemnly, "I told you, I didn't intend to kill Liang Laifu. He's Xiao Qiao'er's biological father. But man proposes, God disposes. Who could have known that two people would be poisoned? And who could have known that you would appear so suddenly?"
Ling Yunzhou gazed intently at Tao Wanniang's face. The marks of time allowed him to still see glimpses of her youthful appearance. Yet, he often felt that Tao Wanniang didn't resemble a peasant woman who had endured so much hardship. Though not young, she possessed a certain charm; though not fair-skinned, her complexion had a radiant glow; and especially her eyes… held a world-weary wisdom, and a captivating mystery.
“The antidote was given to Zhang by me, so Liang Laifu’s death has nothing to do with you,” Ling Yunzhou said, trying to exonerate Tao Wanniang.
“I know without you saying it!” Tao Wanniang said matter-of-factly. “How could I have known that you, General Ling, would have any tender feelings for women, and feel pity for that Zhang woman?”
“I didn’t,” Ling Yunzhou immediately said. “After all, Zhang is a woman, and she has a baby who is crying for milk.”
"Didn't you ever consider that Zhang Xinlan might have instigated Liang Laifu to do this?" Tao Wanniang said deliberately. "After all, I can't believe that a father would kidnap his own daughter!"
Ling Yunzhou was stunned, but Liang Laifu was dead! "No matter what, if your adopted daughter harbors resentment in the future, you can just blame it on me."
"Our Qiao'er won't blame me. It's not like I killed her father," Tao Wanniang said carelessly. "General Ling, have you finished asking about the matter? If there's nothing else, please leave. Zhaixing Tower is a place to eat, and it's not mealtime yet."
Ling Yunzhou gave Tao Wanniang a deep look. He felt like he was just a pawn in Tao Wanniang's game, the kind she would use and then discard!
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