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

Her eyes were fixed on the fish, looking at it over and over, her eyes crinkling with laughter.

Ji Yunshu smiled faintly and didn't say anything more. These officials were smart enough; some things didn't need to be said too bluntly, and they understood on their own.

As soon as she turned around, the officials gathered together and began to discuss how to cook and eat the fish.

The fish weighed four or five pounds, and there were more than a dozen officials. Although it wasn't enough to fill them up, each of them could have a taste and replenish their energy.

For them, being able to eat a fish meal in this desolate wilderness is already considered a delicacy.

You know, the weather is getting warmer and many places are drying up, which makes fish from the water much more expensive. Even in Beijing, people wouldn't normally be willing to buy such a big fish to eat.

As Ji Yunshu returned to the group, a pair of gloomy eyes stared at her back.

Ji Yunfeng couldn't help but complain to his father.

"Father, look at the good daughter you raised. She's been living off the Minister's mansion for so many years. Now she's dragging our family down with her. Now that she has food, she doesn't even think about showing filial piety to you. All these years, it's been a waste of raising her."

Aunt Zhu finally couldn't hold back anymore; she pulled at her sleeve and wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.

"Oh, sir, it's not that I'm being harsh, but what the eldest young lady has done is truly outrageous. When she was in the Minister's mansion, we treated her to the best of everything, serving her whatever she wanted. No one in the mansion dared to say a word against her. But now, our Minister's mansion has fallen into trouble because of her, and the eldest young lady doesn't care about us at all! She's only been married into the Prince's mansion for a day, and she's already completely forgotten all the good we've done for her! When there's food, she's giving it to those lowly women in the Prince's mansion."

If you ask me, this young lady is utterly heartless! If you don't take a stronger stance, sir, she might completely forget about you, her father!

Aunt Zhu had served Minister Ji for many years and knew best what words could persuade him.

That is his authority as the head of the family! It is absolutely not to be challenged.

Even though the Minister's mansion is now in decline, Minister Ji will still never tolerate it; Ji Yunshu has no respect for him as her father.

Sure enough, not long after she finished speaking, Minister Ji's gaze toward Ji Yunshu turned fierce.

"Feng'er, when their fish soup is ready, go and get some. Tell Ji Yunshu that I, as their father, want some, and ask her to get some for me!"

Ji Yunfeng grinned, raised an eyebrow, and looked smug.

"Okay, I understand, Dad. Don't worry, I promise I'll get you the fish soup!"

Ji Yunfeng, Ji Yunyao, and Aunt Zhu exchanged glances, a hint of schadenfreude flashing in their eyes. Minister Ji was Ji Yunshu's biological father, and as long as Minister Ji gave the order, they didn't believe that Ji Yunshu would dare not give them fish soup!

A moment later, the air was filled with the aroma of fish. The people in the Prince's mansion had boiled the whole fish into fish soup. The fish soup was milky white and was bubbling in the pot, with a very tempting aroma.

The officials cleaned the fish, skewered it on tree branches, placed it on a stove, and kept turning it over until the fish was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, sizzling with oil. Then they sprinkled salt on the fish, making it even more fragrant.

The officials couldn't wait to divide the whole fish and eat it. The crispy texture and the fishy flavor filled their mouths, making the others swallow hard.

Ji Yunshu had also finished cooking the fish soup. Using the pots and pans she had picked up the night before, she served some fish soup to everyone in the palace.

The fish was large, and they made a lot of fish soup. Ji Yunshu planned to put the unfinished fish soup into her spatial storage when no one was looking. The spatial storage had a preservation function, so the fish soup would not spoil even after ten days to half a month.

A group of people sat together, enjoying fish soup in a lively atmosphere.

Xie Moyao was injured, so Ji Yunshu didn't give him fish soup. Although Xie Moyao was a little craving it, he knew that Ji Yunshu was doing it for his own good.

Seeing how much he was craving the fish soup, Ji Yunshu took out two leftover buns from yesterday from her spatial storage and gave them to him. She also gave him a look, signaling him not to think about the fish soup anymore.

Just as the group was enjoying their meal, the old lady of the Luo family walked towards them, trembling, holding a large leaf in her hand.

"Um, Miss Ji? No, Your Highness, I'd like to ask if I could have some of your fish soup? My eldest grandson is growing a lot, and he's not getting enough to eat during the day with those steamed buns. He's been asking for your fish soup right now, so please give me some."

As she spoke, Madam Luo smiled ingratiatingly, though the smile seemed somewhat forced. She had no choice; she didn't want to ask Ji Yunshu for help, but her eldest grandson had been pestering her for ages, and she simply couldn't resist.

Besides, the fish soup smelled so good! Even though she was sitting quite a distance away, she could smell the aroma of the fish soup, and her stomach was rumbling with anticipation.

After Ji Yunshu caught the big fish, she also asked her son to try looking in the river, but they didn't see a single fish, not even a fry!

I don't know where Ji Yunshu got such good luck from, catching two big fish on her first try.

The men from the Prince's Mansion exchanged glances, then continued drinking their fish, pretending not to have heard Old Madam Luo's words, but their eyes unconsciously drifted towards Ji Yunshu.

This old lady Luo is no good either. Among the exiled people, they all know each other, and old lady Luo's reputation in the capital is not very good.

They had barely interacted since yesterday, and they never expected that she would come to ask them for fish soup.

Ji Yunshu glanced at Old Madam Luo. She didn't have much of an impression of this Old Madam Luo, but seeing that everyone in the Prince's Mansion looked indifferent, she guessed that the relationship between the Luo family and the Prince's Mansion in the past few days was probably not very good.

Moreover, apart from the people from the Prince of Zhenbei's Mansion, everyone else bought cakes from the officials yesterday. The people from the Prince of Zhenbei's Mansion didn't take a single penny with them when they left the capital, as Old Man Luo knows. So why didn't he think of buying a couple of cakes for the people from the Prince of Zhenbei's Mansion when he bought them?

Now they're shamelessly asking for fish soup; they really have a thick skin.

She glanced at the fish in the pot. Fish soup might be a rare treat these days, but she now had a spatial dimension, and she could have as many fish as she wanted.

Since Madam Luo wanted fish soup, she would give it to her, but not for free; she never did anything that would lose her money.

She raised an eyebrow and said in a light tone, "Sure, Madam Luo, didn't you want fish soup? I can give it to you."

Madam Luo was delighted and nodded repeatedly. She quickly folded the leaf in her hand into the shape of a bowl, preparing to scoop the fish soup from the pot herself.

She had just reached her hand to the pot, before she could even scoop some food out, when Ji Yunshu stopped her.

"Madam Luo, don't be anxious. I said I would give you fish soup, but I didn't say it was free. If you really want to drink it, you can buy it with silver. Considering that we are acquainted, I won't give you too much. Five taels of silver per serving."