Luo Mu was about to curse Tao Lengshuang, but Tao Lengshuang beat her to it.
"Yes, yes, you're taking special care."
Tao Lengshuang nodded repeatedly, her smile laced with sarcasm. "The kind of care that leads to the bedroom."
"That day, my son and I saw with our own eyes you stopped my husband and called him by his name. The way you looked, you were practically about to pounce on him."
"That day, my mother and I saw it with our own eyes," Xiao Feng, who was in the house, poked his head out at the opportune moment and added.
This time, the villagers looked at Luo Yang with the eyes of a promiscuous woman, pointing and gossiping about her.
"Tao Lengshuang, what nonsense are you spouting!"
Luo Mu patted her daughter, wishing she could tear Tao Lengshuang's mouth apart. "My daughter wanted to help your family, but you're publicly slandering her name. You're worse than an animal."
Tao Lengshuang was not annoyed and said slowly, "Your daughter is truly unique."
"As a young lady, wanting to help my family, you didn't come to me, but you always went to my husband, causing me to misunderstand. I'm truly sorry."
"What's all this commotion!" The village chief's roar silenced the villagers, who dared not point at Luo Yang anymore and instead lowered their heads, acting like quail.
Only then was Luo Yang's heartbroken cry heard: "I was afraid sister-in-law would hit me, and out of desperation, I sought out Brother Mo. I never expected you to say such disgraceful things."
"How can I live like this."
Tao Lengshuang said coldly, "You can't live? Then go die."
"For seducing someone's husband and attempting to break up a couple, you deserve to die a thousand times over."
Upon hearing this, Luo Yang cried and tried to run to commit suicide, but Luo Mu held her back.
"Mother, don't hold me back, let me die! I've been slandered like this, what face do I have to live in this world."
"My child, if something were to happen to you, how could your parents live."
Watching the mother and daughter struggle, Tao Lengshuang tutted and suggested sincerely, "Luo Yang, you don't need to go elsewhere to commit suicide, just bang your head against the wall."
"Don't worry, I won't find it unlucky. It's just a pool of blood, I can wash it clean."
Luo Yang couldn't help but shiver.
A chill ran from the soles of her feet to the crown of her head, making the blood in her body seem to stiffen.
This ugly woman was too terrifying; she was truly capable of doing such a thing.
"Tao! Leng! Shuang!"
The village chief stared at Tao Lengshuang with bloodshot eyes, wishing he could tear her to shreds. "Get out! Get out of our village! You're not welcome here!"
He would never let Tao Lengshuang off the hook; he would make her pay the most painful price for everything she had done.
Tao Lengshuang, with her arms crossed, looked at the village chief and said unhurriedly, "You want me to leave the village, so I should just leave?"
"To expel me from the village is not something you, the village chief, and the villagers can decide. It requires a process, reporting to the county yamen, and approval from the county yamen to migrate your household registration."
Ancient times were not like modern times; household registration management was quite strict.
A person needed a travel permit and corresponding documents, household registration proof, to leave, otherwise, they would be considered unregistered and arrested.
The village chief was astonished that Tao Lengshuang understood these things and felt inexplicably uneasy. "Don't talk nonsense here."
"According to the rules, as long as I and the villagers agree, you can be expelled from the village. Hurry up and get out."
The villagers chimed in.
"Tao Lengshuang, hurry up and get out of our village! We don't welcome a vicious woman like you."
"Are you leaving or not? If not, I'll beat you to death with a stick."
Tao Lengshuang suddenly let out a soft laugh.
It was a very ordinary laugh, yet it made the village chief and the others' hair stand on end.
"You... sister-in-law, what are you laughing at?" Luo Yang looked at Tao Lengshuang fearfully, unable to fathom her thoughts.
Tao Lengshuang leaned against the doorframe.
Her massive body occupied more than half of the doorframe, looking intimidating.
"I'm laughing at your self-importance. Do you think I don't know that you need the agreement of over ninety percent of the villagers and then report to the county yamen, and only if the county yamen agrees can someone be expelled from the village?"
She had been guarding against this move by the village chief all along, which was why she had specifically asked Shen Ershen earlier.
However, she would have to go to town or the capital another day to understand the laws of this era.
Luo Yang put on a show of concern for Tao Lengshuang, sighing, "Sister-in-law, I know you have many difficulties, but you've done too many bad things in the village. We really can't let you stay here anymore."
Only if Tao Lengshuang was driven out of the village would she have a chance to marry Brother Mo.
Tao Lengshuang saw through her thoughts and calculations at a glance, feeling disgusted. "As I said earlier, we'll proceed according to the law."
"When the county yamen issues a notice expelling me from Shilipo Village, that's when I'll leave. Until there's a notice, anyone who dares to force me out of the village will have to bear the consequences of my ruthlessness."
Luo Yang acted as if she was helpless against Tao Lengshuang, shaking her head and stepping aside, her eyes full of malice and schadenfreude.
"Good, good, good!"
The village chief shouted to the villagers, "Throw Tao Lengshuang out! Tao family, I'll help you get this house back."
Old Master Tao and his wife rushed to the front, their eyes full of their house. "Tao Lengshuang, we've severed ties with you, now get out!"
The villagers followed behind, menacingly advancing to attack Tao Lengshuang.
Tao Lengshuang showed no change in her expression and directly took out two packets of powder, flinging them with a sweep of her hand...
White powder, like snowflakes, fluttered down onto Old Master Tao and the others.
Old Master Tao and his wife, along with a few villagers, knew the potency of the powder. Seeing this, their faces changed drastically, and they ran backward, fearing they would be caught if they were slow.
The village chief and the others looked at each other, not understanding what was wrong with Old Master Tao and the others.
But—
In a moment, they understood.
"It's so itchy! Why is my body so itchy? It feels like countless fleas are biting me, but I just bathed yesterday."
"Ah! Someone help me scratch! My whole body is terribly itchy, what's happening?"
Not to mention the villagers who never cared about their image, even Luo Yang, who always cared about her face and image, was scratching herself without any regard for her appearance, not understanding what was happening.
"It's Tao Lengshuang, she used itching powder!" Old Master Tao's eyes widened in horror, and he cried out in a trembling voice.
'Swish swish swish.'
Everyone looked at the composed Tao Lengshuang with shocked anger and unease, demanding, "Tao Lengshuang, hand over the antidote!"
Tao Lengshuang smiled and spread her hands. "Antidote? There isn't one."
Her eyes flashed with cold light. "You all want to expel me from the village, and you still expect me to give you an antidote? You must be dreaming!"
"Sister-in-law, you can't do this," Luo Yang advised gently, but her face was contorted with itching. "We're all from the same village, you... Ah!"
Tao Lengshuang stepped forward and slapped her twice, then grabbed her hair with one hand, speaking to the villagers. "I'll give you two choices."