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

Lingyun travels around all year round, and he knows exactly what to say to the villagers.

Zhang Lizheng was initially somewhat displeased, but seeing Ling Yun's smiling face and remembering the eldest prince's status, he finally sighed and his expression softened a bit.

"It's not inconvenient at all. Many families in the village have spare rooms. Since you want to stay overnight, I'll take you there."

However, this is just a small village, and our family isn't well-off. If you don't mind, you can rest here. If you don't, you can find somewhere else to stay.

He didn't speak directly to the eldest prince, but looked at Ling Yun as he spoke, though everyone knew that Zhang Lizheng was referring to the eldest prince.

The eldest prince's expression turned cold, but before he could speak, Ling Yun said with a smile,

"Hehe, village head, what are you saying? We don't mind at all. When you're traveling, all sorts of situations and things can happen. It's already very kind of you to let us stay here; how could we possibly mind?"

Hearing this, Zhang Lizheng's expression finally softened a bit.

Although the eldest prince was displeased, he did not say anything more.

Zhang Lizheng nodded and led the team forward slowly.

"Please follow me, everyone. My surname is Zhang, and I am the village head of this village. There are several families next to me with spare rooms. I can take you to their homes to stay overnight. It's close to my house. If you need anything, you can also come to me there."

Ling Yun nodded and quickly called the group to follow behind Zhang Lizheng, walking forward together.

His gaze inadvertently fell on the tire tracks on the ground.

After thinking for a moment, he said casually,

"By the way, Zhang Lizheng, besides us, are there any other people coming to the village? To be honest, there are some other people in our group, but we got separated from them. We agreed to meet in this village, but we don't know if they've arrived yet?"

Zhang Lizheng glanced at Ling Yun and, seeing the clothes he was wearing, immediately guessed Ling Yun's identity. Considering that Ji Yunshu and her group would be following Ling Yun's team in the future, Zhang Lizheng's attitude towards Ling Yun improved.

"You mean the princess and the others? They arrived a while ago and are resting at my house now. I don't have any other spare rooms, so I can only take you to stay at someone else's house."

"Don't worry, we're all from the same village, and the villagers are very kind. If you need anything, just tell them, and we'll do our best to meet your needs."

Although he was somewhat displeased with what the court had done to the Wang family, the person behind him was, after all, the eldest prince, the prince who was second only to the emperor in the world. If he offended him too much, he was worried that it would bring trouble to the villagers, so he couldn't help but be more polite in his words.

Ling Yun smiled and followed beside Zhang Lizheng, looking completely unconcerned.

"It's alright, it's alright, Zhang Lizheng. As long as you can give us a place to rest, it doesn't matter if it's good or bad. We people who travel all year round often live in the wilderness. We are already very grateful that you can let us stay."

They had just escaped a landslide and were covered in mud and their hair was a mess. It was already a favor that Zhang Lizheng and the villagers didn't mind their dirtiness, so how could they dare to complain about their living conditions?

He was speaking with a smile when he heard the eldest prince behind him say, word by word,

"This prince will stay at Zhang Lizheng's house," Chu Jinsheng said as he walked forward expressionlessly.

The crowd paused and looked at him. They saw him sitting coldly in the carriage, his face extremely sour and somewhat gloomy.

He didn't even spare a glance for the others.

Ling Yun twitched the corner of his lips. Oh my, the First Prince is such a troublemaker!

Zhang, the village head, said he would find a place for them to stay, but he insisted on staying at Zhang's house!

The key point is that Zhang Lizheng just said that the princess and her entourage arrived first and have already settled in Zhang Lizheng's house.

What time is it? Can this eldest prince please stop causing trouble?

He wailed inwardly, but dared not utter a word, looking pitifully at Zhang Lizheng.

Ling Yun didn't speak, and Xiao Wu stood aside without saying a word. In Xiao Wu's and the guards' eyes, Chu Jinsheng, as the eldest prince, was the most honored person here, so naturally, wherever the eldest prince wanted to stay, that's where he would stay.

Ji Yunshu and the others are just exiled prisoners; how could they be qualified to compete with the First Prince for land!

Chu Jinsheng's face was very cold, and Xiao Wu quickly walked to Zhang Lizheng's side and whispered,

"Zhang Lizheng, the one who just spoke was our eldest prince. You must know his identity. He has been living a life of luxury in the capital since he was a child, getting whatever he wanted. Even His Majesty dotes on him and is afraid that our eldest prince will suffer any grievances."

You must have heard what the First Prince just said. Hurry and lead us there.

"Have the princess and the others make room for you. The eldest prince says he wants to stay at your house tonight; this is an immense favor."

Ling Yun stood aside, listening to Xiao Wu's words. His lips twitched and his head was buzzing. Xiao Wu had been by the Crown Prince's side for many years and probably hadn't left the capital much. Using the same tricks that worked on the common people of the capital to deal with the villagers in these remote mountain villages wouldn't work!

In the eyes of these villagers, the matter of whether the prince is the eldest or the youngest is completely irrelevant.

Moreover, when he was talking to Zhang Lizheng just now, Zhang Lizheng called Ji Yunshu "Your Highness" repeatedly, addressing her very affectionately.

Presumably, he has a good relationship with Ji Yunshu and the others. The fact that the First Prince is now asking him to drive them away suggests that Zhang Lizheng is not an easy person to talk to.

Oh no, oh no, this is really bad. Will I ever get a proper rest tonight?

Let's hope nothing else goes wrong, sigh.

He really misses the princess now. If the princess were in the group, she would definitely make some sarcastic remarks to the eldest prince, so that the eldest prince would have some self-awareness.

Judging from the current situation, the two will meet soon, and this eldest prince insists on taking over someone else's place.

With the princess's temper, would she let the eldest prince kick her out when her own family was resting?

Thinking about all this, Ling Yun felt a headache coming on. Oh well, he couldn't control these things anyway. In any case, the eldest prince wouldn't dare to do anything to the princess. He just needed to make arrangements for the rest of the team.

"Hey, Zhang, my team and I aren't picky about the location. Why don't you lead us first..."

Before Ling Yun could finish speaking, Zhang Lizheng glared at him with his beard.

"Hmph, a great favor? I don't think so! You are the high and mighty Crown Prince. Since you are so particular, why come to such a poor place as ours? You have seen our houses. They are all like this. None of them are good or bad. If the Crown Prince finds our place unpleasant, he can find another place to rest."

Besides, as I just said, the princess and her entourage have already settled in at my house. All guests are welcome; I can't just kick them out because you're the eldest prince!

Zhang Lizheng couldn't take it anymore and started rambling on and on.