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

They witnessed firsthand how many of their colleagues were buried in the mud during that incident.

"Xiao Wu, what are you still standing here for? I did hear some strange noises just now, but I thought it was just thunder, or maybe I misheard. Now, it seems it might be real!"

We've been out in the rain, so we're not very sensitive to sound, but Lingyun and the Princess Consort are inside, so they must have heard it much better. Since they recognized it, it must be true. What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and report to the First Prince, then run for your lives!

The guards were extremely anxious. What time was it? Xiao Wu was still standing there dumbfounded. If they delayed any longer, they would all die here!

Xiao Wu was getting impatient too. "All you do is rush me! If you're so capable, go and talk to the First Prince yourselves!"

Regardless of whether the landslide is as Ling Yun said, it is an undeniable fact that they failed to complete the Crown Prince's orders. If they were to tell the Crown Prince now that everyone had escaped, he would surely scold them again!

These idiots, all they do is rush people, why don't they go themselves?!

When faced with something like this, all they do is push him out and make him appease the Crown Prince's anger. It's infuriating!

The guard was speechless after being rebuked by Xiao Wu, and pouted in grievance.

He was just anxious, and besides, he didn't dare to approach the First Prince with his temper. Apart from Xiao Wu, no one here dared to approach him!

Xiao Wu didn't go, and the other guards didn't dare to move either, pacing anxiously back and forth.

Suddenly, another loud rumble echoed through the silent night, accompanied by rustling and splashing sounds, even louder than before.

The guards looked at each other, ready to run away, but then they remembered that the eldest prince was still there. They couldn't wait any longer and pushed Xiao Wu over.

Xiao Wu was caught off guard and was pushed by the crowd, slamming into the carriage wall with a thud that woke up Chu Jinsheng, who was sleeping inside the carriage.

Chu Jinsheng slept soundly. Before, when he was sleeping, he found it too noisy outside, so he specially prepared a quilt to cover his head.

Xiao Wu's impact was so loud that it immediately woke him up.

He angrily lifted the carriage curtain, his face dark with rage, and glared at Xiao Wu outside the carriage.

"Are you looking for death?!"

Chu Jinsheng was still half asleep, and with the night so dark, he had a cold expression on his face and didn't notice that the courtyard of Zhang Lizheng and Old Man Zhao was now completely empty.

Xiao Wu had a large bump on his forehead. He didn't have time to cause trouble for the guards. Seeing that the First Prince had woken up, he quickly went to his side.

"Your Highness, something terrible has happened! All the villagers have fled! The Princess and the exiled troops have run away too!"

"What did you say!" Chu Jinsheng's voice suddenly rose.

Seeing that he was about to get angry, Xiao Wu quickly continued,

"Your Highness, it's like this. We heard strange noises outside just now. To us, it sounded like something was happening in a valley. At first, we weren't quite sure, but the Princess Consort has already led everyone from the palace and others away."

The princess also said that there was a high possibility of flash floods here, and they did not want to die here, so they left despite our attempts to stop them.

"Your Highness, should we go after them?"

As he spoke, a thunderclap exploded in the sky, and a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the entire village.

The eldest prince sat in the carriage and looked up, instantly seeing the current state of the village. The original village had been mostly submerged, and because they were in a high position, the water only reached above their knees.

But if they stay any longer, this place will inevitably be submerged. He hadn't noticed this last night, thinking it was just a minor incident.

Unexpectedly, the situation had become so serious. Moreover, while they were talking, the water level suddenly rose and the flow became faster and faster.

The horses and carriages were rocked violently by the current, and Xiao Wu and the others could not stand. Many of the guards were swept into the water.

Xiao Wu barely managed to grab the edge of the carriage to steady himself, and in that instant, everyone's expression changed!

"Idiot! What are you standing there for? Get up there and get going! Are you just waiting to die? Go ahead and stop Ji Yunshu and their carriage!"

The bet he made with Ji Yunshu hadn't been fulfilled yet. This was the last time he had Ji Yunshu firmly in his grasp, and he absolutely couldn't let Ji Yunshu get away like this.

Xiao Wu didn't dare to delay. He quickly grabbed the reins, jumped onto the carriage, and drove it in the direction of Ji Yunshu and the others.

But now the water level has risen too high, and the horses are a bit frightened, thrashing about in the water. They can't see the road clearly, and the carriage is swaying so much that Chu Jinsheng almost gets thrown off.

Chu Jinsheng lifted the carriage curtain and looked at the situation outside with a stern expression. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Ji Yunyao lying under a big tree, half of her body submerged.

Meanwhile, Doctor Li was being carried by two guards not far away from her.

It's unclear whether the others either didn't see Ji Yunyao or were simply indifferent to her fate.

He looked at the two guards struggling to climb out of the water and said in a deep voice,

"You two go and help Ji Yunyao walk too."

"What???"

The two guards were dumbfounded. They could barely walk on their own, and now they were being asked to take Ji Yunyao with them?!

Most importantly, Ji Yunyao seems to have contracted the plague. Her symptoms haven't improved and she's extremely ill. The First Prince sent them over to help Ji Yunyao—isn't that sending them to their deaths?

The guard looked somewhat embarrassed and reluctant.

"Well, Your Highness, Miss Ji is very ill. Even if we take her with us, she may not live much longer. Besides, if we take her with us, we won't be able to walk fast and we'll be holding you back," a guard said earnestly, trying to dissuade the prince from the idea.

They just want to escape now and don't want to take any burden with them.

Moreover, if they come into contact with Ji Yunyao and she is indeed the source of the plague, they will definitely be infected as well!

They were already terrified, but thankfully they weren't seriously ill. If they had actually taken Ji Yunyao away, they would have been dead after all that contact along the way!

Chu Jinsheng was already in a bad mood, and seeing that the two guards dared to hesitate, his expression turned even colder.

"Since you are afraid of death, then you don't need to follow me. End your own lives. I will provide your relatives in the capital with pensions."

As Xiao Wu drove the carriage, he heard these words and felt a chill run down his spine. They had been serving the First Prince for many years, and the First Prince was truly ruthless.