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

"earthquake?"

Everyone looked bewildered.

Ling Yun looked at Ji Yunshu with a puzzled expression. "Your Highness, what do you mean by earthquake?"

Seeing that no one really understood, Ji Yunshu patiently explained.

"An earthquake is a natural disaster. I read in an old book that once an earthquake occurs, the ground shakes, the earth cracks, and houses collapse."

And everything happened in the blink of an eye, leaving no time to react. Lingyun, why don't we leave here first? I have a feeling something is about to happen.

Along our journey, we encountered fish leaping out of the lake, and all sorts of images, such as the hot water in the well—that was one of them.

As Ji Yunshu spoke, she became increasingly flustered, and the horse, which had just been calmed down, began to become restless again.

"Why don't we stop resting here today and travel through the night to get out of here as soon as possible? Better safe than sorry."

Furthermore, since the eldest prince is in the city, I suggest that we organize the evacuation in his name.

Yuncheng has a rather unique geographical location, with mountains on both sides and a small river running through the middle, where local people live on both sides of the river.

Once an earthquake occurs, the mountains on both sides will collapse, and Yuncheng, located between the two mountains, will be completely buried by the falling rocks.

Ling Yun was somewhat embarrassed. He didn't know if what Ji Yunshu said was true or false, and he had never heard of this earthquake before.

But now that they've entered the city and settled in, are we really going to set off immediately just because of a mere guess?

That's a bit unrealistic.

Before Ling Yun could speak, Zhou Yanran, who was standing next to A Cai, said...

"Hey, Ji Yunshu, are you kidding me? What earthquake? We've never even heard of it. Don't try to scare us. We've only just entered the city. The First Prince said we should rest here for a few more days."

You have air conditioning in your carriage, so you can rest well. Can't you be a little more considerate of others? We haven't had a proper rest on this journey, and we finally get to rest here for a few days, but you make up stories, insisting there's some kind of earthquake.

I think you're doing this on purpose; you're deliberately trying to prevent us from getting a proper rest here!

"If you want to leave, go ahead. I'm not leaving today!"

The Crown Prince has given the order to rest here, so she doesn't believe that Ling Yun would dare to lead the troops away without permission!

Ling Yun was also in a dilemma. Putting aside the possibility of an earthquake, their rest in Yuncheng for a few days was ordered by the First Prince. He was just a minor official, and he dared not disobey the First Prince's order.

Even if we really have to set off, we have to inform the eldest prince first.

Having spent some time with Ji Yunshu, he didn't think Ji Yunshu would deliberately fabricate these things to scare them, but it was simply too unbelievable.

"Your Highness, no, when we entered the city, the First Prince said he wanted to rest here for a few more days, and he took Ji Yunyao with him. Even if we want to set off, I have to ask the First Prince first."

Ling Yun himself did not want to set off. He had never heard of anything as terrifying as an earthquake. They had just entered the city, which was peaceful and quiet. How could an earthquake suddenly occur?

Ji Yunshu frowned, knowing that no one wanted to leave at this time. But she felt uneasy. She turned to Ling Yun and said…

"Then you should quickly send someone to ask the First Prince what he has to say. For the safety of my own people, I really don't want to stay here. Even if the First Prince disagrees, I will lead everyone out of the city first."

"If you don't want to leave, then you can wait here. We can wait for you outside the city; it's the same as us waiting for you."

Ling Yun couldn't persuade Ji Yunshu otherwise, so he casually beckoned a minor official to repeat Ji Yunshu's words to the First Prince.

After the officials left, Lingyun called the other officials to get off the carriage and tidy up the rooms they were to stay in.

It's clear they have no intention of leaving.

The other exiled prisoners also began to look for places to rest. They could not go inside the houses to rest, so they could only find a spot against the wall in the yard where they could rest more comfortably.

The people in the Prince's mansion sat to the side without moving.

Although they found Ji Yunshu's description of the earthquake somewhat unbelievable, they were still grateful to her for helping them escape one disaster after another, and they believed her somewhat.

But Lingyun refused to leave, and they didn't know what to do.

Just then, Tuanzi suddenly started crying loudly inside the carriage.

The noise was so loud that the horses, which had calmed down, began to become restless again.

The Li family members took turns holding and comforting him, but the little boy wouldn't stop crying, which was quite heartbreaking.

Seeing everyone scrambling to soothe the little dumpling, but the little dumpling still crying loudly,

Ji Yunshu approached the carriage, took the small dumpling from Xie Mohuan's hand, and held it in her own arms.

She adjusted her facial expression and teased the little dumpling with a smile.

"Little dumpling, don't cry, don't cry."

"Little dumpling, be good, little dumpling, be good."

The little dumpling seemed to understand Ji Yunshu's words. It stopped crying for a moment, then opened its big eyes and stared at Ji Yunshu.

Not long after, she started crying loudly again.

Helpless, Ji Yunshu turned her back to everyone, secretly took some spiritual spring water from her spatial storage, and gave it to him to drink.

After the little dumpling licked the spring water a few times, its crying stopped.

A pair of small hands tugged at Ji Yunshu's sleeve, her eyes narrowing into slits with laughter.

Just then, the messenger who had gone to inform the eldest prince returned.

He ran so fast that when he returned to the courtyard, he was out of breath. Before anyone could ask him anything, he waved his hand.

"No, no, the Crown Prince said we should rest in the city for the next few days and not go anywhere."

The other exiled prisoners breathed a sigh of relief and continued to rest in the spots they had found, looking at Ji Yunshu with smug expressions.

Who does Ji Yunshu think she is?

She just left like that?

Hehe, that's perfect. With the Crown Prince's order, no one can move. That's exactly the effect I wanted.

Ling Yun's tone also carried a hint of helplessness.

"Your Highness, as you can see, I have consulted with the First Prince, and he forbids us from leaving the city. So, we should stay in Yuncheng peacefully for the next few days. Even if there is an earthquake, our houses are thatched huts, so they probably won't collapse."

As Ling Yun said this, he unloaded his own belongings from the carriage and prepared to go inside.

Ji Yunshu was helpless. She knew the structure of ancient houses; they were made of wood and were indeed not easy to collapse.

But the place they live in now is essentially a slum. The houses here are all made of mud walls and are shaky on a daily basis. They might collapse if washed by rain, let alone an earthquake.

But these people didn't believe her, and there was nothing she could do but protect the people in the Prince's mansion for now.