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

He cursed Xiao Wu in his mind from beginning to end, then flung open the carriage curtain, glared at Xiao Wu fiercely, and turned to look in the direction of Ji Yunshu and the others.

Sure enough, Ji Yunshu and Xie Lin were standing about ten meters away from them, surrounded by a group of people, talking about something.

Chu Jinsheng himself was also a little unsure of what to do. He hadn't traveled far from home much, and this was the first time he had encountered something like this.

He was initially panicking, but seeing that Ji Yunshu, a woman, was even more composed than him, Chu Jinsheng gritted his teeth and secretly tried to calm himself down.

He's the eldest prince, how could he be less important than a woman?

"Leave? Leave what? It's the middle of the night. Are you even familiar with this area? Do you even know which way to go!"

I noticed that Ji Yunshu had something resembling a map in her hand. Given how familiar she was with these villagers, they must have already told her about the surrounding roads.

Since we can't find our way, we'll just follow behind them, making sure to keep our distance!

They were unfamiliar with the area, and rather than wandering around and putting themselves in danger, they decided to follow Ji Yunshu and the villagers.

Especially these villagers, they are very familiar with the surrounding terrain, so following them is definitely the right way to go.

Xiao Wu breathed a sigh of relief. He had thought the same thing. Rather than running around like a headless fly, it was better to follow behind the villagers and the princess.

"Yes! I understand. I will make the arrangements immediately."

He needs to tell his subordinates to keep their distance from others.

Although most of the villagers' symptoms have disappeared, no one can be sure whether they have contracted the plague. As long as they keep their distance, they should not be infected.

After discussing the route with Xie Lin, Ji Yunshu took the map back to the car and told Xie Moyao about it.

But time waits for no one. As the two were talking, Xie Mohuan's anxious voice came from outside.

"Oh no! Third Brother, Third Sister-in-law, the water's rising! If we don't leave now, we'll be trapped!"

Ji Yunshu and Xie Moyao exchanged a glance, not caring to say much, they quickly put away the map in their hands, lifted the carriage curtain and looked back.

Sure enough, not far behind them, the raging floodwaters rushed in, splashing up two meters high.

His heart sank. He grabbed Xie Mohuan, who was standing beside the carriage, and shouted behind him.

"Sherling, tell everyone to run!"

She specifically chose a relatively high spot to park the carriage, but to her surprise, it still wasn't enough.

In just a short while, the floodwaters rose.

Fortunately, she had Xie Moyao draw a map beforehand, so even if she just randomly chose a place to park the carriage, it would be somewhere on the way.

There's no need to choose a route now; we can just drive the carriage forward, saving a lot of time.

With her reminder, the group, who had just stopped to rest, soon started running after the carriage again. Ji Yunshu handed the reins to Xie Mohuan, who jumped off the carriage and quickly pulled several elderly women with children from the crowd.

They were led to the carriage, and like chicks, they were lifted up and thrown onto the carriage.

Sherin, who was in the carriage behind, followed her example and put the other older people and children in the group into the carriage.

They even pushed some people onto the roof of the carriage.

The rest were young and strong people who were in good physical condition, so they kept running behind the carriage. Even Ji Yunshu and Xie Lin kept jogging outside the carriage.

Fortunately, Ji Yunshu's carriage had been modified beforehand, with the tires replaced with off-road tires, and the horses were fed spiritual spring water along the way. Although the road conditions were complicated, the horses were very excited, pulling a carriage full of people, and running more and more energetically.

They drove their carriage all the way to the highest mountain in the vicinity, below which was a raging flood.

Ji Yunshu and Old Man Zhang and the others had already surveyed the terrain. The mountain they were going to was at a high altitude and the soil was relatively compact, so there would be no landslides or flooding.

Most importantly, they had planned this route, and it was a convenient one. As long as they crossed the mountain and continued forward, heading north, the floods and landslides would be largely avoided.

However, there is a drawback: this path is not easy to take.

There are many cliffs and steep slopes, and the mountain roads are rugged and difficult to travel, making it hard for horse-drawn carriages to pass.

But if they don't take this route, they can only go downstream, which carries the constant risk of being flooded.

Ji Yunshu discussed it with them for a long time and immediately decided to take the higher route. Although the mountain road was rugged and difficult to travel, it was still better than constantly being on guard against landslides and floods.

There's always a way out; we can only take it one step at a time.

Ling Yun was completely dazed, having no idea what he was doing. He only knew to desperately follow behind Ji Yunshu and the others, leading a group of exiled prisoners. He no longer cared about the lives of the exiled prisoners.

In the ranks, whoever dies is dead; in the current situation, protecting himself is extremely difficult, and he can't care about others. Besides, the First Prince is present, so no one dares to criticize his incompetence. Nobody wants things to turn out this way.

A large group of people braved the wind and rain, marching forward in a grand and imposing manner.

While the current was still relatively calm, Ji Yunshu urged everyone to hurry and wade across the river. Otherwise, once the current increased and the river became deeper, it wouldn't be so easy for them to cross.

No one dared to say anything more and could only remain silent.

He led the way, following behind the group.

Zhang Lizheng was now like a headless fly, not knowing what to do, and could only lead his group to follow Ji Yunshu's orders.

Fortunately, the princess saw that he was getting old and helped him onto the carriage. Sitting in the carriage was indeed much easier than walking.

With Ji Yunshu leading the way, the group waded across the river without incident.

The eldest prince and his entourage walked at the back. Seeing the river level rising higher and higher, Xiao Wu no longer cared about whether the carriage was stable.

A whip lashed the horse's back, and the horse, in pain, dragged the carriage swiftly across the river.

While inside the carriage, Chu Jinsheng still instructed Xiao Wu to have the guards leave a period for the others.

He sent people to nearby towns to fetch doctors, and also sent people to the capital to request reinforcements.

The reinforcements don't know when they'll arrive. Now that they've changed their route, they must leave marks along the way. Otherwise, when those people arrive, they won't know which road they've taken.

As the group moved forward, the rain gradually subsided, and the sky slowly brightened. Recalling everything that had happened the night before, everyone felt as if they were in a dream.

Zhang Lizheng and the villagers all looked somewhat dazed, as if they hadn't quite grasped what had happened.