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

She stood there, looking left and right; everyone seemed to be busy with their own things.

The villagers huddled together, helping each other, while the officials were busy with their own affairs. Even Aunt Zhu and Minister Ji had already become involved with Ji Yunyao. The group of them stood together, talking about something.

Ji Yunyao looked very unhappy, seemingly displeased that Aunt Zhu and Minister Ji had come to see her.

Xie Mohe gritted her teeth. She had originally wanted to go to Ji Yunyao to see if she could get some food from her, but now it seemed that was no longer an option.

If she goes back to the way she is now, that bitch Ji Yunyao will only laugh at her.

After thinking it over, Xie Mohe decided not to stand there and wait any longer. She looked in the direction the officials had left, thought for a moment, and then quickly left the crowd, following behind the officials into the woods.

These officials went in to find food, and she could follow behind them without making a mistake. As long as they could find something to eat, she could also pick up some scraps from behind.

Not long after Ji Yunshu left, the curtain of the carriage where Chu Jinsheng was located moved slightly, and a corner of the curtain was lowered. Chu Jinsheng jumped down from the carriage with a cold face.

His gaze fell in the direction Ji Yunshu had left, his eyes flickered slightly, and after exchanging a few words with the guard beside him, he left with Xiao Wu and two other guards.

Ji Yunyao had just woken up and was completely unaware of what had just happened in the village. All she knew was that she had just woken up and found herself being carried away by two guards.

Both guards were under the First Prince's command. Being supported by these two men made her very uncomfortable, but unfortunately, she was not feeling well and had no strength to walk without being supported like this.

She had finally managed to rest here for a while, but before she could even exchange a few words with the Crown Prince, Minister Ji and Consort Zhu came looking for her.

The two women kept bothering her, asking her to help solve the problem of food. Ji Yunyao was extremely annoyed. She was already in a precarious situation herself, so why would Aunt Zhu and Minister Ji want to hinder her?

"Father, Aunt, it's not that I don't want to, but you can see my current situation. I can barely take care of myself, how can I help you? You have hands and feet, can't you go find someone yourselves?!"

"You've all seen how Brother Jinsheng treats me. Instead of staying away, you're coming closer to us!"

"If Jinsheng sees you, he'll only despise me more. If he completely abandons me, then our family will truly have no hope of turning things around in this lifetime. Don't you understand?"

She was feeling extremely anxious, a kind of anxiety she had never experienced before. She felt that her brother Jinsheng was about to leave her.

Minister Ji has been a pathetic figure all along. His eldest daughter doesn't care about him, and now his youngest daughter, whom he dotes on and spoils, is talking to him like this too. She's truly lawless!

He raised his hand and slapped Ji Yunyao hard across the face.

"You wicked girl! I've raised you for so many years, just to let you find some food, and you're still making excuses here. Useless, utterly useless!"

Just as a slap was about to land on her face, Ji Yunyao's pupils widened. It was too late to dodge. She had no strength left. She never expected that her father, who had always doted on her, would be so heartless as to hit her!

"Snapped!"

A heavy slap landed across his face.

The others around remained expressionless as they witnessed this scene; they were too preoccupied with their own problems to even watch the spectacle.

Ji Yunyao kept her eyes closed, but the expected pain did not come. When she opened her eyes, she saw Aunt Zhu standing in front of her, with five clear finger marks on her face and her cheeks flushed red.

She breathed a sigh of relief; thankfully, the slap hadn't landed on her face.

She has no strength left in her body. If that slap landed on her face, she would probably be half dead, and it would take who knows how long to recover!

Her father is really ruthless; he hit her without warning and with such force!

Since that's the case, let's go our separate ways from now on!

She refused to believe that without the Minister's mansion, she could climb up to the Crown Prince through her own abilities.

When she becomes the Empress, she will have plenty of opportunities to ask Minister Ji for favors.

Aunt Zhu was already very weak, and the slap from Minister Ji made her cough up blood. She felt that the figures in front of her were overlapping.

Looking at the stalemate between Minister Ji and Ji Yunyao, she was filled with helplessness.

"Master, Yao'er is ignorant, please be more tolerant. Also, Yao'er, you are not allowed to talk to your father like that. We are a family, and we should live in harmony. In the end, we can only blame Ji Yunshu for our family's current predicament."

If she hadn't married into the royal family and dragged us into this mess, we wouldn't be in this situation. At times like these, we must unite against external threats and never fight amongst ourselves behind closed doors. That would only make others comfortable while we suffer.

The atmosphere was somewhat tense. After a moment, Ji Yunyao bit her lip and let out a cold snort.

"Hmph, Father says I'm useless. In my opinion, we're no better than each other. Aren't you a Minister? You've fallen to this state, and in the end, you have to rely on your daughter to rise to power and help you!"

Father, if I were you, I would keep a low profile at times like this. If you don't make me angry, I will never forget your kindness in raising me when I finally succeed!

But if you continue to act recklessly and cause me trouble time and time again, don't blame me for not caring about family ties!

Yes, I'm useless. You, on the other hand, have a daughter who's quite useful. If you think I'm useless, go and flatter her. See if she'll care about you then!

As Ji Yunyao spoke, she became more and more agitated, which angered Minister Ji so much that he wanted to hit her again. However, she was prepared this time. Before Minister Ji could slap her again, she left the spot and went straight into the First Prince's carriage.

If the First Prince were present, she certainly wouldn't dare to get into the carriage like this, but since the First Prince wasn't there, and no one was watching her.

After she got into the carriage, she went straight to the place where she often rested in the carriage, where there were paper and pens, and the drawings she hadn't finished before.

Ji Yunyao picked up the paper and pen from the carriage and continued to write and draw. Taking advantage of the Crown Prince's absence, she was determined to hurry up and draw as much of what was in her mind as possible.

Only if she brings benefits to the eldest prince, only if she is still useful to him, will the eldest prince keep her in his heart.

outside the carriage

Minister Ji was furious at Ji Yunyao's last words, and when he heard her last few words clearly, he almost vomited blood!

Ji Yunyao actually sent him to find Ji Yunshu?!

Doesn't Ji Yunyao have any idea how Ji Yunshu treats them?

He went to find Ji Yunshu, but Ji Yunshu would never pay him any attention!

However, Ji Yunyao did remind him that no matter what, Ji Yunshu was still his daughter, and he didn't believe that Ji Yunshu really didn't care about their father-daughter relationship at all!