Those days when I exiled the paralyzed, deposed crown prince to farm

Ah Man took out her small iron pot, rinsed the rice clean, and started cooking porridge with the filtered water.

The courtyard was dilapidated, with many doors and windows collapsed. Ah Man used the rotten wood to start a fire. Since there was no place to cook, Ah Man built a simple stove out of stones in the courtyard.

Place the iron pot on the stove and start cooking.

She and Zhao Ye are currently in a state of having nothing; a little rice and a bowl of porridge have become their only hope for survival.

The firelight outside flickered, and the iron pot bubbled and boiled, soon bursting open. Ah Man washed and wiped a bowl that was already cracked.

"Your Highness..." Aman brought in a bowl of warm porridge, "Have some porridge, it will make you feel better."

With no other food available, even plain porridge was a luxury.

"Your Highness," Aman called again, but the person on the bed remained motionless.

"Your Highness!"

Aman panicked and put down her bowl to check on Zhao Ye. His chest was still rising and falling slightly; she was terrified that Zhao Ye had died.

If Zhao Ye dies, she will spend the rest of her life in this place.

Thinking of her miserable, wretched life, Aman felt a pang of sadness, and tears involuntarily streamed down her face: "Your Highness, please don't die!"

"They don't want you, but I still need you. If you die, I can't live either."

Ah Man cried so sincerely, after all, she was telling the truth.

Her life was entirely in Zhao Ye's hands.

Zhao Ye, lying on the ground, twitched his eyelashes and finally slowly opened his eyes, looking at the little maid in front of him crying with snot and tears streaming down her face.

Everyone wants him dead, so why does she want him to live?

He's already a cripple; even if he lives, this is all he can do for the rest of his life.

But there were still people in this world who so earnestly wanted him to live. Zhao Ye's heart was filled with extremely complicated emotions. Could it be that this little maidservant had feelings for him...?

Zhao Ye's eyes were still lifeless, but this time he did not refuse the porridge that Aman fed him.

Aman watched as Zhao Ye's lips moved slightly and his Adam's apple bobbed, clearly indicating that he had swallowed it.

She stopped crying and started laughing.

That's great. As long as we can eat, we can definitely survive.

Zhao Ye drank a bowl of porridge, and A-Man drank the rest left at the bottom of the pot herself.

To be honest, porridge doesn't keep you full. In the middle of the night, Ah Man was so hungry that she tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep.

The next day, as soon as it was light, Aman got up and started working. Yesterday, she had only removed the weeds in the yard, and the rest of the area had not yet been tidied up.

While tidying up the backyard, Ah Man discovered a small patch of land that, if cultivated, could be used to plant some things.

[Ding--]

With a soft click in his mind, the system page popped up.

"seed?"

Aman's eyes widened. There were some vegetable and wheat seeds, but the quantity was limited. If she wanted to get more, she would have to work harder. Aman immediately clicked to claim them.

There are seeds, water, and land!

The dog system finally did something humane.

The morning sunlight suddenly streamed into the dilapidated room. Ah Man brought in water and, as usual, wiped his body dry first.

"Your Highness, I just found a plot of land in the backyard that can be used to grow some vegetables and fruits. I'll go to the street later to see if there are any seeds for sale."

"From now on, we'll be able to eat fresh vegetables."

Ah Man's voice was clear and lively, chattering like a lark, constantly talking in his ear, yet full of vitality.

Zhao Ye kept his eyes closed and did not speak.

Aman didn't expect Zhao Ye to speak, and continued talking to herself: "This servant will be back in a little while, not too long. There's water ready over there..."

It was only when Aman spoke that she realized Zhao Ye was completely paralyzed and unable to move, unable to take care of himself in terms of eating, drinking, and relieving himself.

The atmosphere suddenly fell silent.

Ah Man only left one sentence: "This servant will be back as soon as possible!"

Then he left, making sure to lock the door to prevent anyone from breaking in.

This is Yong'an in Ningzhou, a place of chaos and disorder, where all sorts of people come from all walks of life. But A'man is not afraid; she is very strong and ordinary people can't do anything to her.

Although Yong'an County was poor, it was actually quite large; otherwise, it wouldn't have been chosen as a place of exile by our ancestors.

Vendors hawked their wares by the roadside, peddlers carried their wares on shoulder poles, brokers came and went, and the camel bells of arriving caravans jingled.

"Shopkeeper, do you have any medicine to treat boils?" When Aman arrived at the pharmacy, she gave a rough description of the boils on Zhao Ye's body. She couldn't tell what kind of boils they were, but they looked like one hole after another, still oozing yellow fluid and pus.

Occasionally, when it congeals, a large chunk of skin and flesh can be peeled off, which is quite frightening to look at.

"Yes." The shopkeeper saw that she was a dark-skinned, thin, tall girl with an unfamiliar face, and with a quick glance, he brought her the medicine.

"Here, these are specially for treating boils."

"Just take it back, boil it in water, and use it to wash your face. It'll cost you ten taels of silver."

Ten taels?!

Ah Man touched the few copper coins in her purse. This shopkeeper was trying to rip her off.

It was just some Coptis chinensis, Phellodendron amurense, dandelion, and honeysuckle, yet it cost her ten taels of silver.

Judging from her unfamiliar face, and the fact that she was an inexperienced outsider, they thought they could rip her off. The shopkeeper was cunning, and so was Ah Man.

"I...I don't have that much silver, shopkeeper, could you give me a discount?"

She said, "I only have ten copper coins on me."

In fact, Aman had twenty coins and a little bit of loose silver on her. When the Crown Prince's residence was raided, all her belongings were confiscated along with them.

They dug three feet into the ground, thoroughly excavating the yard inside and out, but found nothing. Even the silver that Aman had hidden in the mud of the flower bed in the back garden was unearthed.

With such a force, even the locusts that passed by couldn't eat as much as they could.

They even searched the latrine three times, so where did Ah Man get the copper coins and silver scraps from?

It was something Ah Man usually hid in her shoe insoles, and she happened to wear them that day. Although they were uncomfortable, they were just enough to cover her occasional necessary expenses while on the road.

"Ten copper coins?" The shopkeeper's eyes widened, and he shooed Aman away like a mosquito: "You dare to buy medicine from my pharmacy for ten copper coins? You're out of your mind! Get out of here!"

Ah Man felt a surge of anger in her heart. "You're the one who's desperate for money!"

It's not a valuable medicinal herb to begin with, yet it's being sold for ten taels of silver. Why not just rob someone?

After being kicked out of the pharmacy, Aman turned around and headed into the mountains.

She had no money to buy medicine and didn't know how to administer it to Zhao Ye, but she recognized the medicine; she had memorized all the herbs in the pharmacy.

You might be able to find some in the mountains. Honeysuckle isn't too hard to find, but at this time of year, most honeysuckle has already finished blooming and withered.

There were dandelions, but they were a bit old. Aman dug them up with the stems and roots, and even the old leaves were used. They can be dried and used to make tea.

The tender leaves can be used in cooking.

As for the medicinal herb safflower, Ah Man has no way to find it. If he can find a yellow bark tree in the mountains and peel off the bark, it will become the medicinal herb Phellodendron bark.