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

He turned and glared coldly at everyone.

"You should have heard what the First Prince just said. You should know what to do next. Don't just focus on picking fruit and forget the First Prince's instructions!"

Otherwise, you know the consequences yourselves!

After he finished speaking, he felt a piercing pain in his back.

The other guards were initially very excited, but after Xiao Wu said that, they all looked at each other's backs and saw that each guard had several deep whip marks on his back.

This was the punishment the Crown Prince had just given them to receive themselves. They were already quite used to this kind of punishment, even numb to it, but the pain in their backs still brought them back to their senses.

"Yes, Xiao Wu, don't worry, we know what we're doing."

"Yes, we are careful. Besides picking fruit, we also record the geographical environment and the shape of the trees."

Xiao Wu didn't say anything more. The eldest prince only instructed them to remember these things; as for other matters, they had no say in them.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Aunt Zhu standing to the side and Minister Ji on the ground. His tone was slightly sarcastic.

"Minister Ji, aren't you and your wife planning to go fruit picking together? Our people are all planning to go fruit picking with the Princess and the others later. If you want to eat something, you should help yourselves instead of always asking others for it."

As you can see, we don't even have enough food for ourselves. The little we have left is only enough for the eldest prince.

He spoke so clearly, Minister Ji should be able to understand.

He was really annoyed by Minister Ji and his wife. They were so lazy, did they still think they were the high and mighty Minister they used to be?

When it comes to food, all they do is reach out and ask others for it.

In this situation, it's already a miracle that their guards can take care of themselves and the eldest prince; they're unwilling to go to the trouble of sharing the food they've painstakingly gathered with other unimportant people.

Aunt Zhu forced a smile and gave an awkward one. She understood what Xiao Wu meant, but as a woman, what could she do even if she understood? She could only pretend not to understand.

Minister Ji was also a cunning old fox.

In his view, his daughter Ji Yunyao would one day become the Crown Prince's consort, and these guards were nothing more than servants, who should naturally serve him.

"Hmph, Fifth Prince, all that time you've spent serving the First Prince has been for nothing. My daughter is Ji Yunyao, and she's of great use to the First Prince."

Even the First Prince protects her. I am her father, after all. If my Yao'er really gets together with the First Prince in the future, I will also be your master!

Have you thought this through? How are you going to talk to me? Do you think I'm supposed to do things like finding food myself?

If you're not satisfied, go and speak to the First Prince yourself. Let's see if he says you're being disrespectful, or if he's criticizing me!

He was a high-ranking official.

A temporary setback doesn't mean he'll stay that way forever. He'll have his day. These lackeys are so snobbish.

They only bully him at times like this. Once he's reinstated, let's see how he deals with these people.

Xiao Wu almost ground his teeth to powder; he had never seen anyone with such a thick skin!

Regardless of whether Minister Ji will be of any use to the Crown Prince in the future, the Crown Prince is clearly in a bad mood right now. If he were to say these things to the Crown Prince again, he would inevitably be reprimanded by the Crown Prince, and he would not do such a thing.

He curled his lip, glared impatiently at the two men, then turned to look coldly at the guards and said seriously,

"Listen up, everyone! This fruit is extremely precious. As the First Prince just said, once we bring it back, how we handle it is entirely up to him. It absolutely cannot be disposed of arbitrarily. Do you understand?"

The eldest prince never said that. It was all made up by the fifth prince himself. He just couldn't stand Minister Ji's attitude of expecting others to serve him, with everything done for him.

The guards nodded in agreement.

"Yes, I understand!"

Minister Ji gritted his teeth and glared at Xiao Wu with a sinister look. Once he was reinstated, the first person he would eliminate would be Xiao Wu.

carriage

After sending Ling Yun away, Ji Yunshu returned to the carriage and chatted with Xie Moyao for a few more minutes. When Ji Yunshu turned back, Xie Moyao put away his expression and casually continued eating the durian on the plate.

Ji Yunshu did not notice Xie Moyao's unusual behavior. She checked the water pouch in the carriage, refilled the empty pouch with spiritual spring water from her space, and then took out some snacks and nuts from her space for Xie Moyao to pass the time when he was bored. She then jumped off the carriage herself.

Outside the carriage, everyone had already finished getting ready.

Apart from the people from their royal palace, the villagers were mostly young and strong men who went, while the others stayed behind.

Although Zhang Lizheng and Old Zhao were both quite old, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and they were unwilling to let go of this chance to see something they had never seen before.

I could only repeatedly assure myself that I would be careful.

Ji Yunshu didn't say anything more and led a large group of people into the woods.

As soon as Ji Yunshu and the others left, the officials followed closely behind.

This time, Ling Yun did not go with them. The reason was simple: the injury on his forehead was too painful, and he was even unsteady on his feet. So he had to hand over the task of picking durians to the other officers under his command.

As soon as the officials left, Xie Zhaoting secretly followed behind them, followed by a group of guards.

Xiao Wu had to stay by the Crown Prince's side, so it wasn't convenient for him to go with them, which made the guards a little uneasy.

Although they were excited about picking fruit, they hadn't told Ji Yunshu beforehand and had come secretly.

After a large number of people left, the once noisy place suddenly became quiet.

Xie Moyao lifted the carriage door and looked in the direction the group had left until Ji Yunshu and the others were no longer visible. Only then did he turn his gaze away and observe his surroundings.

Nothing unusual was found.

When his gaze fell on the First Prince's carriage, he happened to see the First Prince lift the curtain, and the First Prince's gaze also looked directly at him. The two locked eyes.

Xie Moyao's gaze toward the eldest prince held a hint of murderous intent, but after a moment, it returned to calm.

Chu Jinsheng wasn't stupid; with just one glance, he sensed Xie Moyao's hostility towards him.

Chu Jinsheng was somewhat puzzled. He had dealt with Xie Moyao a few days ago, and Xie Moyao's gaze towards him at that time was not like this.

Today, he could clearly feel Xie Moyao's hostility and murderous intent towards him.

For some reason, he suddenly felt that Xie Moyao was different from before, even though Xie Moyao was still paralyzed on one side and still disabled.

Xie Moyao gave him a feeling that was somewhat different, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what was different.