The carriage drove into a house, and Tao Wanniang was dragged out of the carriage by men in black.
"Brother, don't pull so hard, I can walk by myself!" Tao Wanniang showed no panic, but rather appeared curious.
"Go in!" The man in black didn't reply, but urged Tao Wanniang into a room.
Inside the room sat a woman in elegant and gorgeous palace attire. Upon seeing Tao Wanniang, she raised her eyes, revealing both curiosity and disgust.
"You are Tao Wan Niang?" The princess felt disgusted when she saw Tao Wan Niang's appearance. A country woman from the mountains was actually quite beautiful. Although she didn't look young, she had a unique charm!
"I am Tao Wan Niang. May I ask who this beautiful young lady is and why she comes to see me in this way?" Tao Wan Niang guessed that the woman was of high status when she saw her, so she made sure to be sweet-talking!
The princess was taken aback. Was she beautiful? Why didn't Ling Yunzhou even glance at her?
"Tao Wan Niang, do you know why I'm looking for you?" the princess asked, her tone unconsciously softening.
"I don't know. I'm just a merchant's wife who runs a small restaurant. If a young lady wants to see me, she can come to the restaurant anytime. I really don't understand why you're making such a big fuss," Tao Wanniang said, looking puzzled.
"Tao Wan Niang, do you still remember your deceased husband's name?" The princess's face remained stern.
Tao Wanniang's heart sank; this must be related to Lingyunzhou!
"Although my husband has been dead for seventeen years, I still remember his name. I just don't know why you're asking this out of the blue. Is there some misunderstanding?"
"Do you remember what he looked like?" the princess continued to ask.
"This... I'm ashamed to say it, seventeen years. How many seventeen years can a person have? I only remember my late husband. When he passed away, he was a tall and upright farmer with a dark complexion and a straight back. When he smiled, he had a set of big white teeth."
Looking at Tao Wanniang's appearance, the eldest princess thought of Ling Yunzhou, but she rarely saw Ling Yunzhou smile.
"If, and I mean if, your husband hadn't died, would you have recognized him?" the princess asked tentatively.
"If he were alive and appeared before me, I would definitely recognize him. But you're joking, young lady. He's probably just bones by now. How could he still be alive?" Tao Wanniang guessed that this was the trouble Ling Yunzhou had brought her. Judging from the woman's appearance, could she be the Princess?
Tao Wanniang had heard many versions of the story about Ling Yunzhou and the Princess after making a few inquiries.
But the most common story is that the eldest princess fell in love with the victorious general at first sight and took the initiative to ask the emperor to grant them a marriage, but Ling Yunzhou refused!
Ling Yunzhou suffered severe injuries and amnesia, forgetting his past. Fearing he already had a wife and children at home, he rejected the eldest princess. However, the eldest princess was willing to wait. In the past ten years, a new emperor has come and gone, but the eldest princess has still not been accepted by Ling Yunzhou.
“I mean, in case!” the princess emphasized.
"Then... he probably wouldn't recognize me!" Tao Wanniang guessed at the princess's thoughts, and after thinking for a moment, replied, "Seventeen years have passed, and people change a lot. I'm afraid he wouldn't recognize me if he saw me now!"
"What do you mean?" the princess asked, puzzled.
“I used to be a thin, dark-skinned old woman. It wasn’t easy for a woman to raise two sons and help them both get married!” Tao Wanniang sighed. “But after I got married, I was finally free. However, after only a few years of being waited on by my wife, a severe drought struck. If I hadn’t been desperate, I wouldn’t be the way I am now.”
The eldest princess found this strange. Wasn't she already in bad shape? But why did they say she had suffered a disaster and that's why she looked like this?
“Girl, you don’t know, when a person is about to starve to death, the past becomes like fleeting clouds. Nothing is more important than survival. I led the children out of the mountain valley. When there was no food, we ate locusts, snakes, rabbits, and fish caught in the river. We fled the famine along the way, encountering bandits and refugees. It was so difficult for us to survive!”
The princess felt nauseous. Locusts and giant snakes—were these things edible?
"Later, our lives gradually improved. We no longer had to toil in the fields, and we started eating rice, which helped us grow up. Then, we started eating meat, and we had steamed buns and mantou. Our whole family changed. Before, we were just skin and bones!"
Tao Wanniang casually made up a story, saying that her ability to recover was probably due to the change of her inner shell, better food, and gradual recovery.
"Girl, look at me. Don't I look like a farmer now? Ah, the land and water of the capital are truly nourishing!"
The eldest princess watched as Tao Wanniang kept talking. Judging from her appearance, Tao Wanniang had no attachment to Lingyunzhou. So, did she not recognize Lingyunzhou at all?
"Don't tell me the truth, but my deceased husband actually shared the same name as a great general. I was shocked when I first heard it," Tao Wanniang continued, gradually getting to the topic that the princess cared about most.
"However, when I actually saw him, I knew that this was not my dead husband."
"Oh, why?" The princess was completely unaware that she had been gradually swayed by Tao Wanniang.
“This general is majestic and imposing; his imposing figure is far superior to that of my husband,” Tao Wanniang said. “His demeanor clearly indicates that he comes from a wealthy family. My man is not like that.”
Seventeen years is enough for a man's appearance to change, so Tao Wanniang had no idea that Ling Yunzhou was her former husband.
What about Ling Yunzhou? The princess was conflicted. Could it be that Ling Yunzhou had fallen for Tao Wanniang?
"Tao Wanniang, if I stay away from General Ling, how can you, a mere merchant's wife, associate with the General?" the Princess commanded coldly.
"Absolutely, absolutely! This general is a stern-faced man. He came to my restaurant today and didn't pay! We're just trying to make a living, earning penny by penny. But he's a general! How dare I, a mere woman, ask him for money!"
Tao Wanniang sighed, "I reckon the only one who can stand shoulder to shoulder with this dark-faced general is that noble princess!"
These words struck a chord with the eldest princess; only she could be a perfect match for the great general!
"Tao Wanniang, you can go now!" The princess decided to let Tao Wanniang go first, as she planned to sound out Lingyunzhou's opinion later!
"Um... could the two people who brought me here take me back?" Tao Wanniang said somewhat embarrassedly. "It's late, and I don't know where I am. I... can't find my way back!"
The princess was taken aback, then scoffed. "Go on, someone will take you back." What could she say to her? Just a merchant's wife!
Once on the carriage back, Tao Wanniang finally breathed a sigh of relief. The princess wasn't impossible to kill, but the consequences would be endless, so she decided to play dumb!
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