A part of the populace noticed the issue from Tao Lengshuang's words, and they looked at each other.
"That's right, if it were me, I wouldn't lose it. This is physical evidence that needs to be shown to the official."
"I just feel like something's not right. It's impossible for this madam to intentionally disfigure herself to harm Princess Mingrui, right?"
There were many discordant voices.
"You just don't understand. If it were me, I would definitely discard this pill. Just looking at it would remind me of the disfigurement, how painful that would be."
"Clearly, Princess Mingrui harmed her for money. What else is there to say? It's just that I don't know if the authorities dare to arrest Princess Mingrui, as she is protected by Prince Mingrui."
Madam Li pointed to her face, her hatred and anger growing. "Princess Mingrui, if you don't give me an explanation for this, I will definitely file a complaint with the imperial court."
Tao Lengshuang signaled with her eyes for Mo Lingxi not to say anything. She made a gesture of invitation to Madam Li. "It's perfect that you're going to file a complaint. I also want to know how your face became ulcerated."
"There are so many madams and young ladies who have taken my pills, yet only your face has ulcerated. Others' skin has become better and better with use, and they look younger and younger."
Madam Li was stunned for a moment, then angrily rebuked, "Nonsense! It's just that those madams and young ladies haven't exposed this matter. They are wary of your status."
Tao Lengshuang didn't want to get into these useless topics and directly said, "Since you claim that my pills caused your disfigurement, let's have the Ministry of Punishment investigate this matter. I believe the Ministry of Punishment will give both of us justice."
Not only Madam Li was stunned, but everyone present was surprised by Tao Lengshuang's statement. They looked at each other. Was she really going to ask the Ministry of Punishment to investigate?
Tao Lengshuang didn't care what these people thought. She scanned the crowd and asked, "Are there any servants from the Minister of Punishment's mansion here?"
There was indeed a servant from the Minister of Punishment's mansion. He had been instructed by the mistress of the household to observe the situation. "May I ask what Princess Mingrui's orders are?"
Tao Lengshuang asked him to help inform the Minister of Punishment of the situation here and to ask the Minister of Punishment to bring people to investigate the case.
The servant took the order and quickly returned to the mansion.
This move stunned everyone present, and even Madam Li was speechless for a long time. She had never expected such a situation.
Seeing Mo Lingxi thoughtfully bring over a chair, Tao Lengshuang smiled at him. "This will be resolved soon."
Mo Lingxi carefully protected her and softly replied, "Handle this as you see fit. Leave the rest to me."
Tao Lengshuang nodded and spoke softly with him, waiting for the Minister of Punishment to arrive with his people.
Both of them paid attention to the surrounding situation, wanting to see who was behind the scheme.
Seeing this, none of the onlookers left. Instead, more and more people came to watch the commotion, and the discussions grew louder.
Tao Lengshuang and Mo Lingxi paid no attention to them. Tao Lengshuang glanced at Madam Li, who was being supported by a maid, and exchanged a look with Mo Lingxi.
By the time the Minister of Punishment arrived with his men in a hurry, it had been over an hour, but the enthusiasm of the onlookers had increased.
The Minister of Punishment and his entourage bowed to Prince and Princess Mingrui. He then asked, panting, "May I ask Princess Mingrui, can the investigation commence?"
Tao Lengshuang nodded calmly, indicating that it was possible. "This case is entirely handed over to you, Minister. If you need any assistance, please do not hesitate to ask."
The Minister of Punishment wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, inwardly lamenting. Everyone knew that Prince Mingrui cherished Princess Mingrui as his lifeblood, always holding her in the palm of his hand. Now that such a major incident had occurred, he didn't know how chaotic it would become.
He immediately led his men to investigate the case, focusing on questioning Madam Li and having a physician examine Madam Li's facial condition.
When the veil was lifted, Tao Lengshuang saw Madam Li's face for the first time.
It was a face that had ulcerated significantly, looking bloody and mangled. It was terrifying at first glance.
Some people present gagged, while others cried in fear.
"Heavens! Her face is too horrifying! Princess Mingrui is so malicious to have ruined her face like this."
"Can her face recover? I'm afraid even if it recovers, it will be full of scars. How will she live then?"
Tao Lengshuang noticed that the ulceration was not right, but she did not speak. The Ministry of Punishment was investigating the case, and as a suspect, it was better for her to speak less.
Due to the seriousness of the case, the Minister of Punishment sent people to investigate Madam Li's residence, focusing on the servants attending Madam Li, and then sent people to investigate the household that sold the pills to Madam Li.
Next, he sent someone to retrieve the pills used by his own wife and daughter, and obtained a bottle of pills from Tao Lengshuang, all of which were handed over to the physicians for examination.
After repeated examinations, the physicians stated that there were no problems with these pills. "These pills are all good. After taking them, the skin will indeed improve. Furthermore, these pills do not contain any medicinal ingredients that could cause Madam Li's face to ulcerate."
"Impossible!" Madam Li exclaimed incredulously. "It was only after I used the pills formulated by Princess Mingrui that my face ulcerated and became like this."
The physician snorted unhappily. "If Madam Li does not believe it, she is welcome to invite other physicians to examine these pills, or to find more pills to examine. The results will not change."
Madam Li did indeed find more than a dozen physicians to examine them. The Minister of Punishment also borrowed pills from the madams and young ladies of different households for joint examination.
The results of all examinations showed that there were no problems with these pills, nor did they contain any medicinal ingredients that could cause facial ulceration.
This result caused a stir among the crowd.
"So, it was only the bottle of pills Madam Li used that had problems? I suddenly thought of many unsavory things."
"Me too! Me too! I heard at the time that the pills had passed through many hands. I was wondering if anything had been tampered with. As expected, these pills were tampered with."
"This is too terrifying. Who would do such a malicious thing, to completely ruin a woman's appearance?"
Madam Li sat on the ground with vacant eyes, saying somewhat hysterically, "I found the wrong enemy!? How could this be?"
"I thought the pills caused my disfigurement, but the reality is not so. If it wasn't for the pills, how did I become disfigured?"
The Minister of Punishment was also investigating this point. He specifically asked Madam Li one thing: "Madam Li, were these pills only handled by these few people? Did anyone else handle them?"
Madam Li was not very sure. "I bought them at a high price from another madam. At that time, I had matters to attend to and couldn't go out, so I sent my maid to get them."
"As for exactly how many people handled them, I don't know."
Upon hearing this, the Minister of Punishment sent people to apprehend the maid Madam Li mentioned and assured Tao Lengshuang and Madam Li that he would thoroughly investigate the matter.
Madam Li became even more distraught. "Then it must have been someone trying to harm me?"
"You'll have to ask yourself who you've offended. Perhaps it was done by your husband's concubines or illegitimate daughters," someone shouted.