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

Xiao Wu was really out of options. They themselves hadn't eaten in a long time, and this little bit of dry rations was specially reserved for the eldest prince; otherwise, it would have been eaten by his men long ago.

After another fierce battle with the crocodile, everyone's energy was completely depleted.

It was getting late, and they dared not venture into the woods to find food.

Chu Jinsheng glanced disdainfully at the sesame seed cake in front of him, then out of the corner of his eye, he saw piles of crocodile skin on the ground outside the carriage. Not a single piece of meat was left; it had all been divided up by the villagers and officials.

Remembering his past grievances with Ji Yunshu, Chu Jinsheng gritted his teeth fiercely. As a prince, he would never eat other people's leftovers, nor would he ask the villagers and officials for food!

Otherwise, Ji Yunshu would definitely underestimate him again.

Smelling the aroma of roasted meat in the air, he resignedly took the sesame seed cake from Xiao Wu's hand and took a bite.

The cold sesame seed cake was rock hard, and it hurt his teeth.

"Try to find out where the people in the capital are. Didn't you say they should have arrived by now, based on the timeline?"

"What a bunch of useless trash! We sent them over by express courier, and they're rambling on and on. What good is all this nonsense!"

Xiao Wu lowered his head, not daring to say anything more, and stepped out of the carriage to discuss with the guards.

The original plan was to send two guards back the way they came to meet the people from the capital, but after discussing it, no one dared to go back the way they came, for fear of encountering crocodiles again.

They were so hungry they had no strength left. If they encountered crocodiles again, they would surely die.

Xiao Wu didn't force them. Instead, he selected two guards who were good at climbing trees and found the tallest and largest tree nearby. He had them climb the tree to check the surrounding area.

The tree is very tall, and the view is excellent; once you climb to the top, you can see the surrounding area clearly.

Compared to returning the way we came, this is the safest way.

The guards were satisfied, and immediately selected two skilled tree climbers from the ranks to climb up the tree and observe the surrounding situation.

There must be a lot of people coming from the capital. If they get to the vicinity, they should be able to see those people more or less from the trees.

The two guards looked around from the tree for a while but didn't find anyone nearby. They were a little disappointed, but after thinking for a moment, they climbed up a little higher, still unwilling to give up.

"Hey, how's it going? Have you seen anyone?" Xiao Wu asked anxiously.

The two guards did not rush to answer, but instead carefully observed their surroundings.

A short while later, one of the guards suddenly shouted in surprise,

"I see them! I see them, Xiao Wu! I see them! There are a lot of people behind us! Right where we were resting before!"

Upon hearing this, the other guard followed his gaze and indeed saw some figures in the place where they had rested and been chased by crocodiles.

It was a dark mass, and there seemed to be quite a few people there.

Hearing this, Xiao Wu breathed a sigh of relief. They desperately needed help; otherwise, even surviving would be difficult for them.

He quickly waved to the two guards in the tree.

"Alright, now that you've seen them, hurry up and come down. Take a few people and go bring them over!"

Great, great, the reinforcements have finally arrived! He can finally breathe a sigh of relief!

The group spoke loudly, and Chu Jinsheng and Ji Yunyao, who were inside the carriage, also heard their conversation.

Knowing that it was someone from the capital, Chu Jinsheng's mood improved significantly, and he threw away the cold steamed bun in his hand.

He wouldn't eat that stuff!

When his men arrive, there will definitely be plenty of food in the troop, and he can finally have a proper meal.

After the two guards came down from the tree, Xiao Wu instructed them to take several other guards and hurriedly go to the front to pick up the people.

Ji Yunshu held a piece of meat in her hand, tearing it off casually and stuffing it into her mouth.

Knowing that people from the capital had arrived made her very happy, as it meant that the bet she made with Chu Jinsheng was about to be decided.

Remembering Chu Jinsheng's promise, a faint smile appeared on her lips; her gold was just ahead.

I wonder if Chu Jinsheng brought enough money this time. Besides what he promised to the villagers, I also saved him, and he still owes me a thousand taels of gold.

Thinking about this, she felt quite good and unconsciously started humming a little tune.

Xie Lin sat beside her, seeing that she was in a good mood, and asked with a puzzled look,

"Your Highness, what happened? You seem to be in such a good mood. Is the Prince's leg better?"

Knowing that this matter couldn't be known by others, Sherlin kept his voice very low, so that only the two of them could hear it.

"No, your prince's leg will take a few more days to fully heal. What I'm thinking is that those people who came from the capital are like gold ingots right now. Their arrival means my gold ingots have arrived too, so of course I'm happy!"

Her tone became lighter as she stood up and gave instructions to Shering.

"The road ahead is difficult to travel, and our carriage may not be able to make it. I'll go into the woods and think of a way to find a suitable tool."

"Pack up the things inside the carriage. If the road is too narrow for the carriage to pass, we'll have to walk."

After saying that, she turned and went into the woods nearby. Before leaving, a knife appeared out of nowhere in her hand.

No one else noticed, but Xie Lin, who had been watching Ji Yunshu the whole time, did.

He rubbed his eyes, staring intently at the knife in Ji Yunshu's hand, his eyes filled with confusion.

"Wait, when did the princess get a knife? Do we have any knives in our ranks?"

When the princess just got up, she clearly didn't have a knife in her hand. Could he have mistaken her for someone else?

Xie Lin rubbed his eyes and saw that the knife was still in Ji Yunshu's hand. He slowly shook his head.

He must have misread it.

The princess probably already had the knife beside her, but she just didn't see it.

He shook his head, handed the roasted meat to Xiaolan, and went to pack the things in the two carriages.

Some of the things in the carriage were too heavy for Xiaolan to carry, so he had to do it.

The thought of possibly having to abandon the carriage still made Sherlin somewhat worried, since in this environment, the carriage was a natural sanctuary.

Without the carriage, their journeys will be even more difficult, especially for the First Madam and the Prince.

The First Madam just gave birth not long ago and has another baby, as does the Prince. They are both in a critical period of recovery, and nothing can go wrong with either of them. It's really worrying.

When he went to pack up the carriage, Xie Moyao didn't say much, only telling Xie Lin to take the light and important things, and not to take anything too heavy.

In this situation, it's best to keep only what you can use to save your life; carrying anything too heavy will only add to your burden.

Anyway, Ji Yunshu has some money, so we can buy some more when we get to town.

Chen, who was not far away, also saw what was happening. After settling Li and the old princess, she also started to help Xie Lin tidy up the two carriages.

Along the way, Madam Chen was no longer the pampered second wife she had been in the capital.