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

"Yes! Your subject will take care of it immediately!" The eldest prince replied, kowtowed to the emperor, and turned to leave the hall.

As she left the main hall, she looked up at the sky not far away, her eyes gradually becoming clear and ruthless, no longer showing the fearful and apprehensive demeanor she had displayed in the hall.

As she walked further and further away, the eunuch who had been guarding the gate cautiously looked up and glanced at the prince's back. He shook his head inwardly, thinking that the prince was becoming increasingly adept at hiding himself.

The exile procession traveled for a day and finally arrived outside Lin'an County near nightfall.

Lin'an County is neither too big nor too small, but it has a large population. Within a radius of 100 miles, it is the only county town.

Villagers from many surrounding villages flocked to Lin'an County to do business and make a living.

The official stepped forward with some items and talked to the soldiers guarding the city gate. Ji Yunshu looked up and saw the large characters "Lin'an County".

The original novel describes Lin'an County as a prosperous place, but later, due to various reasons, it became a deserted city.

If she remembered correctly, a great famine would break out soon, and many people fleeing from other places would want to go to the capital. However, the capital was under strict control, and it was impossible for ordinary people to get in.

Over time, most of the disaster victims gathered in Lin'an County, and before long, Lin'an County became a deserted city.

I don't know if that's the reason.

She carried Xie Moyao on her back, but her eyes kept glancing around.

Besides them, a large number of people gathered outside the county town. These people were dressed in rags and had unkempt hair, and were scattered around the city gate.

Ji Yunshu paused. If she wasn't mistaken, these people should be disaster victims, but the famine hadn't broken out yet, so there weren't many.

A moment later, the city gates opened, and they were led into Lin'an County by officials.

Although it was nearing night, Lin'an County was still bustling and lively. People were playing and doing business, creating a vibrant atmosphere that contrasted sharply with the stark reality of the starving disaster victims outside.

Separated by a wall, yet with different fates.

The officials led them through the city in a winding, circuitous path, and soon arrived at a rather deserted post station. The officials entered the station, habitually booked rooms for themselves, and then turned to Ji Yunshu and her group, saying:

"You'll rest here tonight. Find your own place to stay. If you have money, you can rent a room. If you don't, you can sleep on the ground in the yard for the night."

Having said that, the officer seemed to remember something and looked at the crowd again, giving them further instructions.

"I'm telling you, you are prisoners now. Behave yourselves, and put away your cunning schemes. Don't even think about escaping. If any of you try to escape secretly, that's disobeying orders. You should know the laws of our neighboring country!"

Disobeying imperial orders is a capital offense, punishable by execution of the entire family, or even worse, the extermination of nine generations of relatives.

Those who were exiled all came from official families and were quite familiar with these laws.

Ji Yunshu remained silent. She wasn't interested in what the officials were saying; all she could think about was how to find lodging for the night.

Among those exiled, it was clear that everyone except those from the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion had money on them, and they probably all bribed the officials to get themselves a couple of rooms to rest in.

What should be done about the people in their royal palace?

Although she had a lot of gold and silver treasures in her spatial storage, the group from the Prince of Zhenbei's mansion left the capital without taking anything with them. If she were to take out silver now, these people would inevitably become suspicious.

In addition, they have been away from the capital for quite some time, and the fact that the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion and the Minister's Mansion have been emptied is probably impossible to hide. If the Emperor can't find any clues, he will definitely focus his attention on them.

It's better to keep a low profile.

Just then, Ji Yunyao, who was standing to the side, slowly walked to the official's side, handed him some things, and said with a smile in a low voice, "Sir, you see, we finally made it to the county town and haven't had a proper rest in a long time. Please be lenient and book two rooms for us too."

"The rooms have been booked; the remaining silver can be used for the officials' drinks."

The official weighed the silver in his hand, then nodded with a smile.

"No problem, no problem."

After saying that, they turned around and booked two more rooms from the innkeeper, at a price that was cheaper than the rooms they were staying in themselves.

Ji Yunyao's face turned green as she watched helplessly as the officials booked two of the worst rooms for her, and naturally stuffed the rest of the silver into her bag.

Although she was very unhappy, she had no other choice in the current situation. Having a room to stay in was better than having none at all.

The Luo and Zhou families exchanged glances and then took out some silver from their purses to hand over to the officials. The amount they gave was less than that of Ji Yunyao, and the officials' expressions darkened. They only asked for two woodsheds for them.

Apart from the people from the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion, everyone else had found a place to rest and was leaving one after another.

Having learned from her previous experience, Ji Yunyao is now clearly wary of Ji Yunshu. When she passes by Ji Yunshu, she makes no obvious moves, but her gaze towards Ji Yunshu still carries a hint of provocation.

Ji Yunshu ignored her, but seeing that the officials were getting ready to rest, she quickly said:

"Sir, it's still early today. May I take a stroll around the city? Our clothes are really too conspicuous. I'd like to buy a few sets of clothes to change into, and also get some food while I'm at it."

No sooner had she finished speaking than Ji Yunyao's mocking voice rang in her ears again, "Oh, you still want to buy clothes and get food? You must be dreaming, Ji Yunshu. Look at yourself now, you can't even afford to stay in the inn's woodshed, how could you possibly have money to buy clothes? Sir, don't listen to her nonsense, maybe she just wants to run away!"

The officer also looked at Ji Yunshu with suspicion, scrutinizing her from head to toe, his doubts growing even stronger.

Ji Yunshu rolled her eyes at Ji Yunyao and said without any politeness:

"Ji Yunyao, is your mouth a cesspool? What nonsense are you spewing? If you really have nothing better to do, go to bed there. Stop talking nonsense. Have you forgotten what happened to Aunt Zhu and your brother? Don't make me slap you!"

The female lead in the original book is really annoying; she's always trying to get noticed.

"Sir, if you're really worried, you can have your men come with me. We'll be back in a little while."

The officer paused, recalling the scene of Ji Yunshu catching two large fish with her bare hands that morning. His eyes darted around, and he nodded.

"Alright, I'll find someone to go with you, so you can go early and come back early, and not too late."

"it is good."

Ji Yunyao was in a hurry and was about to say something, but then she changed the subject and said,

"Sir, since that's the case, I also need to go out for a bit; I need to buy some things."

The thought of the steamed bun she ate today made her want to vomit. Now that she was in the county town and had money on her, she was determined not to deprive herself. She also wanted to buy more food and dry rations to keep on hand.

Upon hearing this, members of the Zhou and Luo families also stepped forward, indicating that they would also go out to buy supplies.