Exile? A mad, wicked woman empties the national treasury to escape famine.

It seems that the First Prince will indeed rescue Ji Yunyao. However, she didn't see this part in the original story, and she doesn't know whether they were captured by bandits in the original story, or when the First Prince rescued them. She has no idea about any of this.

But she has never been one to place her hopes on others.

"Alright, since we're certain the Crown Prince will bring his men, but he might not be able to find where we were captured, let's all try not to sleep tonight. Later, someone will come to open the door for us. Then, everyone should quietly leave the bandit stronghold without alerting anyone else."

If we run away and hide, try to contact the Crown Prince's men, and reunite with them, we should be safe.

Although these bandits outnumbered each other, if they were to face the Crown Prince, who was surrounded by numerous guards, I believe they wouldn't dare to fight to the death.

This is our only chance! You must be on your guard tonight. Whether you escape or not depends on this!

Everyone nodded vigorously. Yes, the eldest prince was still nowhere to be found, and they still had to rely on themselves to save him. But what did Ji Yunshu mean when she said that someone would come to open the door for them later?

"Third Sister-in-law, what do you mean by saying someone will come to open the door for us later?"

Seeing that everyone's eyes were on her again, Ji Yunshu smiled mysteriously and didn't say anything.

"You'll find out later. Okay, everyone sit down and rest. Don't struggle. Their ropes are tied very tightly. The more you struggle, the more you'll get hurt, and the more your hands will get chafed. Save your energy so you can escape later."

Everyone nodded and didn't ask any more questions. Following Ji Yunshu's advice, they found a comfortable position, either lying down or sitting on the ground, trying to calm their emotions.

Ji Yunshu came to the fence, gently called out to Uncle Wu, explained their plan, and told Uncle Wu and the others to conserve their energy so that they could leave together later.

Wu Bo and his group were so excited that tears streamed down their faces. They never thought they would have the chance to leave this place. They were incredibly excited and followed Ji Yunshu's instructions to conserve their energy as much as possible.

They had been captured and brought here for quite some time, and the bandits had barely given them anything to eat, so they had already exhausted most of their strength.

Ji Yunshu thought for a moment, then turned her back to the people behind her, reached into her sleeve, and gently took out a small water pouch filled with spiritual spring water from her spatial storage. She handed the pouch to Uncle Wu through the gap in the sleeve.

"Uncle Wu, here, this contains some medicine that I make myself to strengthen my body. I've dissolved it in water. You should all drink some so you'll have the strength to escape later."

"Oh, Your Highness, this... this is impossible! You should keep it for yourselves. We're already so grateful that you took us with you. How can we possibly drink such precious medicinal herbs from you?"

We're old bones, we're just fighting to the death. If we really can't walk anymore, it's okay. You should keep this medicine for yourselves. You're young, you have a long life ahead of you. It's such a waste to use it on us, such a waste.

Ji Yunshu's hand froze in mid-air, and no matter what Wu Bo and the others said, they refused to take the water bag from Ji Yunshu's hand.

On the contrary, Zhou Yanran, who was sitting on the ground, couldn't take it anymore.

"Hey, Ji Yunshu, if he doesn't want it, then forget it. You can give it to us. We're exhausted. Besides, they're right. They're practically dead. They won't live for many more years if they run away. You might as well give us the medicine so we can conserve our strength. Maybe we can really make it out. Why waste such good stuff on..."

"Shut up!" Ji Yunshu roared, interrupting Zhou Yanran.

"Zhou Yanran, if you say another word, believe me, I'll rip your tongue out! Have you eaten shit? Your words smell so foul."

If you can't speak, then don't speak. In her eyes, the lives of Old Man Wu and the others are much more precious than those of Zhou Yanran and the others!

Zhou Yanran choked for a moment, opened her mouth, pouted, and dared not say another word because she felt wronged.

But she was still unconvinced. What she said was the truth. This group of old men didn't have many years left to live. Even if they ran away, how many more years could they live?

Rather than letting them waste that thing, it's better to give it to her so she has more energy and won't fall behind when they escape.

Faced with Ji Yunshu's murderous gaze, Zhou Yanran didn't dare to utter another word.

Ji Yunshu talked with Old Wu and his group for a while before they took the water bag from her and shared it, drinking it down in large gulps.

On their other side, there were other villagers, and Ji Yunshu also managed to pass some water bags to some of them.

After drinking a few mouthfuls of the sacred spring water, the villagers were moved to tears.

The weather was so dry that they had trouble even getting water at home, let alone in this village. They were all parched and their lips were cracked. Now they were able to drink such good water, and the princess gave them several jugs at once!

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that this water is worth a fortune.

Ji Yunshu didn't say anything more, telling everyone to rest well, and she sat back down next to Xie Moyao.

"Should we try to get Xie Mu to find out what's going on?" Xie Moyao asked.

"No need, that's pretty much what I just said. We'll just wait a bit and wait for someone to open the door for us."

"Who will open the door for us?"

"Ling Yun," Ji Yunshu said matter-of-factly.

Xie Moyao...

"Have you forgotten that you pushed him into those two men's arms just now? You were the one who pushed him out. What makes you think Ling Yun would come and open the door for us? He probably wants to kill you."

Ji Yunshu smiled faintly, a sly glint in her eyes.

"How do you know I'm harming him and not helping him? What if he's willing? After all, you men can have countless women, but you rarely have the chance to have a man. It's such a novel experience, what if he himself is so happy that he doesn't want to leave? Don't you think so?"

Xie Moyao...

What exactly did he hear? What does "novel experience" mean?

What does it mean to be so happy that you forget your homeland?

What is all this stuff?

Fortunately, those bandits didn't kidnap him. If those two bandits had taken a liking to him, wouldn't this woman have been gloating and letting him have his fun?

Poor Ling Yun, who knows what kind of suffering he's enduring right now. Xie Moyao shook his head at the thought of that scene.

Ji Yunshu didn't explain much. Xie Moyao would find out sooner or later, and she didn't have time to explain now.

She threw Li and the little one into the space. She didn't know if they were awake or not. If they were, they would be in an unfamiliar place, and she didn't know if they would be frightened.

And that so-called First Prince, right now he's probably running around like a headless fly. Even if he really comes to rescue Ji Yunyao, we need to let him know where he is!

Otherwise, by the time he slowly finds his way here, it might be too late!