Tao Lengshuang said nothing, holding Xiao Feng as she waited by the side. It wasn't that she couldn't enjoy herself, but she was very clear about her position.
While Mo Lingxi treated her well now, no one could say for sure the purpose behind his kindness or how long it would last.
More importantly, she didn't want to be a woman who relied on a man; she wanted to rely on herself.
"Daddy's way of saying it is wrong,"
Xiao Feng corrected earnestly, "Mama and Xiao Feng don't not know how to enjoy, we just understand where we should live... Oh no, we understand our positions!"
Mo Lingxi paused in his tidying and looked up at Tao Lengshuang and Xiao Feng, "You are my wife and child, there is no such thing as understanding your positions."
Tao Lengshuang just shook her head, not saying more, nor letting Xiao Feng speak further.
Mo Lingxi felt a pang of discomfort and reached out to embrace Tao Lengshuang and her son, "I don't like this distance."
"Tao Lengshuang, Xiao Feng, we are a family. Everything I own is yours."
Tao Lengshuang sighed softly and said in a gentle voice, "Pack your things, let's move over sooner."
How could Mo Lingxi not know she was refusing to discuss the matter, and even more so, that she was unwilling to accept him, one of the reasons being his identity.
"Alright, we'll talk about it later."
Tao Lengshuang neither agreed nor refused. She held Xiao Feng and walked out silently, creating distance from Mo Lingxi step by step, as if preparing to leave his side.
Noticing her walking further and further away, as if about to disappear, Mo Lingxi's heart panicked, and he reached out to stop her, "Where are you going?"
Tao Lengshuang suppressed her myriad thoughts, her expression unchanged, "To the pharmacy, where else can I go with Xiao Feng?"
Mo Lingxi tightened his grip on her hand, his heart unable to settle, "Let's go now, the rest can be handled by the dark guards."
Saying this, without waiting for Tao Lengshuang's reply, he took her and Xiao Feng in a carriage to the pharmacy.
In the carriage, Tao Lengshuang, as usual, played with Xiao Feng, occasionally exchanging a few words with Mo Lingxi, as if everything were normal.
But Mo Lingxi's heart could not be calmed, his gaze fixed on Tao Lengshuang, not even blinking.
Tao Lengshuang let him stare, doing what she needed to do.
When they arrived, she got out of the carriage with Xiao Feng, then led him to the backyard.
"Xiao Feng, we'll be living here for now, okay?"
The word "for now" made Mo Lingxi's eyelids twitch, "Why do you say 'for now'?"
Tao Lengshuang let Xiao Feng go play, reminding him to stay away from the well, and then turned to Mo Lingxi, "In the future, Xiao Feng and I will move back to Shilipo Village. We're not temporarily staying here, are we going to live here forever?"
Mo Lingxi felt something was wrong, but couldn't quite pinpoint what it was, "I was thinking, you and Xiao Feng would move back to the Prince's Mansion in the future..."
Tao Lengshuang raised her hand to interrupt him, saying seriously, "Until you've thought it through, I won't move to the Ming Rui Prince's Mansion. As your son, Xiao Feng should go and see it after things are settled."
Mo Lingxi frowned, staring at her.
His gaze made Tao Lengshuang's skin crawl, "Why are you staring at me like this?"
Mo Lingxi stared at her for a long while before saying slowly, "Are you hiding something from me?"
Tao Lengshuang's heart tightened, and she calmly shook her head, "What could I be hiding from you? You have dark guards arranged, you know everything about me."
Mo Lingxi quickly explained, "You've misunderstood. The dark guards don't report your and Xiao Feng's affairs to me unless it concerns your safety."
Tao Lengshuang's eyes flickered slightly, "That's for the best. You know I don't like being watched all the time."
Mo Lingxi repeatedly assured her, then turned and asked again if Tao Lengshuang was hiding something from him.
Tao Lengshuang said no with a straight face, then asked Mo Lingxi to help tidy up, as she and Xiao Feng would be living there for a short period.
"Xiao Feng will help too!"
Xiao Feng trotted over, grinning, and raised his hands, "Mama, Xiao Feng can help with lots and lots of things!"
Tao Lengshuang smiled and stroked Xiao Feng's head, handing him a rag, "Xiao Feng, help Mama wipe the room, okay?"
Xiao Feng patted his chest, promising to wipe it clean, then picked up a small bucket of water and wobbled into one of the rooms to start cleaning.
Tao Lengshuang and Mo Lingxi tidied up the interior and exterior.
The side rooms were bare except for a few old, secondhand pieces of furniture.
Tao Lengshuang winced at the thought of having to buy many things, her money was not much, and after paying for the pharmacy, there wouldn't be much left.
After some thought, she decided to buy only daily necessities, which could still be used when they moved back to Shilipo Village.
After tidying up the side rooms, Tao Lengshuang and Mo Lingxi, father and son, went out to buy some daily necessities.
Walking on the street, Tao Lengshuang clearly felt the atmosphere had changed. The people coming and going seemed much more spirited, with smiles on their faces.
Indeed, a good emperor was truly important.
As the three were about to enter a general store, Tao Lengshuang heard a somewhat unfamiliar woman's angry shout.
"You stop right there!"
Tao Lengshuang turned her head and saw Sheng Li, her face full of anger, grabbing a common-looking young man.
"This is Ah Jin," Mo Lingxi explained at the opportune moment.
Tao Lengshuang held Xiao Feng, ready to watch the show in case anything went wrong. What conflict were Sheng Li and Ah Jin having?
It was good that these two were having a conflict; she wished they would quarrel every day, so they wouldn't scheme against her.
Sheng Li and Ah Jin hadn't noticed Mo Lingxi and the other two.
Ah Jin impatiently pushed Sheng Li away, angrily saying, "Are you annoying? I promised you, and I'll handle it."
*Slap, slap, slap.*
Sheng Li furiously slapped him several times and said in a tone used to scold servants, "You insignificant wretch who can't even get on stage, how dare you shout at me? Who gave you the courage?"
Ah Jin's eyes turned sinister. He kicked her to the ground and then grabbed a carrying pole from a nearby vendor, unleashing a barrage of blows upon her.
"What the hell do you think you are? You're a nobody cast out of your family. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't even have a hot meal. And you dare speak to me like this."
Seeing Sheng Li screaming miserably as she was beaten, Tao Lengshuang felt incredibly pleased, not even feeling the biting cold.
She saw that no one was helping Sheng Li, everyone was just pointing and gossiping, and she didn't lift a finger to help.
After a while, perhaps Ah Jin's anger had subsided, he dragged Sheng Li into a teahouse.
Tao Lengshuang thought about it and didn't follow. Instead, she asked Mo Lingxi to have the dark guards follow and observe. Their group of three was too conspicuous and easily discovered.