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

Having been popped up several times in a row, Ji Yunshu was already used to it and wasn't annoyed. Anyway, she could just look at the report again when she entered the space next time.

She straightened Xie Moyao's blanket, covered herself with the blanket, and fell asleep.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking.

Outside the house, one could hear the officials urging them to set off.

Ji Yunshu rolled out of bed and turned her head to see Xie Moyao staring intently at her. Ji Yunshu seemed not to notice his gaze, and got up, dressed, and went out on her own.

The movements were swift and efficient, completely ignoring Xie Moyao, who was glaring at her through gritted teeth.

Xie Moyao was practically vomiting. He remembered clearly what happened last night—it was Ji Yunshu who had plotted against him!

He didn't know what Ji Yunshu was trying to do, but he clearly felt much more comfortable than yesterday.

However, he was quite annoyed by Ji Yunshu's behavior of occasionally making him dizzy.

She could just tell him what she wanted to say or what was wrong, why did she have to knock him out!

He gritted his teeth and secretly vowed that once he recovered, he would never give Ji Yunshu another chance to knock him unconscious so easily!

After an incense stick had burned, the procession set off again.

Unlike yesterday, each member of the team had a carriage today, and even the officials had to get one this morning.

Without a carriage in this weather, people would get scorched and faint. Having a carriage can help conserve energy.

Yesterday, Haitang delivered two carriages. Ji Yunshu gave one to the old princess and her family, and the other carriage was for herself and Xie Moyao, along with some pots, pans, and other luggage.

Today, everyone in the Prince's Mansion changed out of their white undergarments from yesterday. The clothes they wore were prepared by Haitang according to Ji Yunshu's request. Although they were not luxurious, they were comfortable and breathable to wear, making them look no different from ordinary people.

As the group left the city gate of Lin'an in their carriage, the beggars from yesterday were still there. Compared to the disaster victims who were leisurely yesterday, they were clearly less irritable today.

Every now and then, disaster victims would come up to them asking for food or trying to stop their carriages, but the officials walking at the front of the procession would draw their swords and drive them away.

But as they got further and further away from Lin'an, the number of disaster victims on the road increased, and more and more disaster victims surrounded them.

Ji Yunshu sat in the carriage, watching this scene, and subtly lowered the carriage curtain.

"What's wrong? What happened outside?" Xie Moyao asked.

He lay in the carriage and could vaguely hear the commotion outside. The noise was so loud that he couldn't make out what was being said, but he could vaguely hear the officials cursing loudly from time to time.

Ji Yunshu sighed softly, "The further we go, the more and more disaster victims we see, and the scenes become increasingly horrific. By the way, Xie Moyao, didn't you used to lead troops in battles all the time? You should be familiar with this area. Have you heard of any disasters that have occurred here before?"

She felt a vague unease. The original text vaguely mentioned that when her sister-in-law, Li, died along with her unborn child, it seemed to be related to disaster victims, and the original text described it as very tragic.

After her sister-in-law, Li, died, the fetus in her womb was cut open, taken out, and thrown into a pot. Her final fate was predictable.

Just thinking about it made it hard for her to breathe. Her sister-in-law, Li, was a very kind person and had been quite caring towards her these past few days. She would never let her end up like the character in the original novel.

Xie Moyao thought for a long time before speaking calmly.

"My father and brothers used to fight on the frontier for many years and rarely came back, but I still heard about the things happening in this area. In previous years, the disasters were not very serious. With my father and brothers guarding the border, it was very peaceful and there was not much fighting. The money saved was used for disaster relief."

Over the years, there haven't been any particularly severe disasters. But this year, since my father and brother died in battle, soldiers have been continuously fighting on the border. The imperial court's funds have probably all gone to the war effort, so there's no money left. I imagine this year's disaster will be more severe than in previous years.

Ji Yunshu frowned; it was more serious than in previous years.

As far as he knew, the disaster was out of control, leading to a series of blows including floods and plagues. Coupled with the enemy country taking advantage of the situation, Dongling Kingdom almost perished not long after.

Later, the male protagonist of the original work, the eldest prince, somehow developed a very powerful way of fighting, and managed to take back the cities that the Eastern Ling Kingdom had lost, one by one.

After all these events, the people of Dongling Kingdom were almost wiped out. Beset by internal and external troubles, the eldest prince spent several decades governing the country to prevent Dongling Kingdom from collapsing. However, during this period, countless people died and were injured, and the corpses piled up like mountains. It was a truly tragic situation.

Although the Eastern Ling Kingdom eventually grew stronger, the price was far too high.

She didn't speak, and the carriage was quiet for a while. It was still noisy outside, and more and more disaster victims were coming to the carriage from time to time, asking them for some food.

Ji Yunshu quickly instructed Xie Lin to tell the old princess, her elder sister-in-law, and her second sister-in-law to ignore the disaster victims and, in particular, not to give them any food or supplies.

Although the people in the Prince's mansion didn't quite understand Ji Yunshu's actions, they didn't ask any questions. They simply followed Ji Yunshu's instructions, tightly closing the carriage doors and curtains, and not throwing anything out.

After traveling non-stop for most of the day, the group finally couldn't keep up in the afternoon. Although the carriage was slightly faster than walking, the road was full of potholes and stones, making them dizzy and disoriented.

As soon as they left Lin'an County, disaster victims followed their carriages intermittently. The officials tried their best to quicken their pace to shake off these victims, but they still couldn't. Other disaster victims followed in twos and threes behind the procession.

"The troops will rest where they are and will set off again in one hour!" the officer shouted in the ranks.

Ji Yunshu lifted the carriage curtain and looked at the scattered groups of disaster victims around her. She lowered the curtain, turned around, and began rummaging through a pile of miscellaneous items.

On the surface, she was rummaging through the clutter, but in reality, she folded a piece of rag into the shape of a bundle, took out some milk and bread from her spatial storage, and stuffed them into the bundle.

A moment later, she hoisted the bulging bundle onto her back, got off the carriage, and walked toward the carriage where the Prince's men were.

The old princess's carriage was slightly larger than her and Xie Moyao's, but even so, it was still somewhat crowded inside.

Fortunately, Xiaolan was young and quick on her feet, and occasionally she would go down and walk with Xie Lin.

Only the old princess, Granny Li, and her two sisters-in-law remained in the carriage.

Ji Yunshu called Xie Lin and Xiao Lan onto the carriage together, opened the bundle she was carrying, and immediately, the bundle full of bread and milk came into everyone's view. Everyone looked at this pile of things with a blank expression.