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

Xiao Wu has already learned his lesson and will never have a direct conflict with Ji Yunshu again.

Thinking of this, he carefully moved his body to the side and went around to the front to chase after Chu Jinsheng.

As for the others, let them do whatever they want.

When the mistress saw the fifth mistress sneaking away, she became furious.

The more I look at this Fifth Prince, the more useless he seems. I really don't understand why the First Prince always likes to keep him by his side.

The princess in front of him was nothing more than an exiled prisoner. Sometimes, when he saw Xiao Wu speaking to her with utmost respect, Xiao San spat inwardly.

He scolded Xiao Wu, who was afraid of dying.

He stood still, and when he came to his senses, he saw that Ji Yunshu was still staring at him. Xiao San frowned inwardly.

The princess kept staring at him, and the way she looked at him made him feel a little scared.

It's really unbelievable. He has been by the side of the First Prince since he was a child, and he has killed countless people. He has also been through the wringer. How could he be afraid of a woman's eyes?

Thinking that his master was the eldest prince, he straightened his chest and forced himself to meet Ji Yunshu's gaze.

Xiao Wu, who was walking behind Chu Jinsheng, suddenly sneezed a few times.

He rubbed his nose, wondering if he had caught a cold. It seemed he would have to ask Doctor Wu for some medicine later.

Chu Jinsheng turned his head and saw his absent-minded appearance.

"What are you doing? You're dawdling. Hurry up and keep up. I heard this road is difficult to travel. Send someone ahead to scout the way."

Xiao Wu nodded, called a few guards from behind, and led them to scout ahead of the First Prince.

Chu Jinsheng saw the person standing in front of Ji Yunshu and shouted impatiently.

"Hey mistress, what are you trying to do over there? Get your ass over here right now!"

The woman called "mistress" no longer cared about Ji Yunshu in front of her, and hurriedly nodded, following behind the eldest prince.

For a fleeting moment, Ji Yunshu even thought she was hallucinating—

Xiao Wu, Xiao San'er?

This Chu Jinsheng really knows how to name people quickly and easily, especially that "mistress" name. Just hearing it makes me want to laugh; it sounds almost like a lover's name.

This mistress seems to harbor deep hostility towards her. It seems she should try to find a way to get rid of her if she gets the chance, as keeping her around is a menace.

She shook her head, putting those things aside, and picked up the map in her hand to continue studying it with Zhang Lizheng and the others.

Before long, Xiao Ergou returned from the woods with the others, each carrying a large bundle of vines with thick and strong ropes.

With these vines, Ji Yunshu didn't plan to take out ropes from her spatial storage. The effect would be about the same anyway, and these vines would be very sturdy when tied together.

"Xiao Ergou, Zhang Lizheng, and Zhao Laobo, quickly distribute these vines to everyone so they can tie them around their waists."

Next, pick out the largest vine. Tie one end to this side, then have someone go to the other side and tie the other end to a thick tree trunk. Everyone will then hold onto this vine and slowly move forward.

Upon hearing this, the group immediately distributed the vines that Xiao Er Gou and his companions had retrieved to the villagers.

Ling Yun and the officials stood aside. Seeing this scene, Ling Yun quickly ordered his men to find some vines in the woods.

Although he didn't know if it would work, his intuition told him that following the princess was probably the right thing to do.

Before long, the officials returned with some vines, and Ah Cai carried some with him.

As he passed by Minister Ji and Consort Zhu, Consort Zhu gave him a gentle look.

Aunt Zhu still retained her charm, and that one glance immediately reminded Ah Cai of the scene from last night, stirring his heart.

As he passed by the three people, he kindly tossed a few small vines in front of them.

Ji Yunyao glanced at the vines on the ground with disdain.

The vine was dirty and constricting; she wasn't going to wear it.

Thinking of this, she got up and quickly followed behind Chu Jinsheng and the others.

Brother Jinsheng won't abandon her. As long as she goes with Brother Jinsheng and the others, Brother Jinsheng will definitely have his men protect her as they get through this place.

Minister Ji glanced at Ji Yunyao's retreating figure and couldn't help but curse under his breath:

White-eyed wolf.

They really don't care about their lives at all.

He glanced in Chu Jinsheng's direction, then at the vines on the ground. After thinking it over, he decided not to follow Ji Yunyao any further.

His intuition told him that the cliff was too dangerous and he needed to take some precautions.

Just then, Aunt Zhu, who was standing beside her, spoke up at the opportune moment.

"Master, quickly tie this vine around yourself. Don't worry about Yao'er; she's with the First Prince, who has so many guards. They'll surely protect her. The most important thing for us right now is to take care of ourselves."

As she spoke, she picked up a vine from the ground and, imitating the villagers, tied it tightly around her waist.

Minister Ji took the vine from Aunt Zhu's hand, his gaze subtly falling on her.

"Hmph, that guy named Ah Cai, I didn't expect him to be a decent person. He gave us some food this morning, and now he's given us some vines. I think he's the only human being among these officials."

His tone was indifferent, but his eyes were fixed on Aunt Zhu without blinking. He had been suspicious when Ah Cai gave them food that morning.

They had never had any dealings with this guy named Ah Cai before, but now, out of the blue, Ah Cai had brought them some food and was now giving them the vines he had painstakingly found.

Aunt Zhu paused in tying the vines, her body stiffened slightly, and a fleeting look of panic crossed her face. She quickly composed herself, forced a smile, and said...

"Who says otherwise? Of all these officials, only Ah Cai takes care of us a little. He's a good person."

However, I suppose it's because he has some connection with Yao'er that I've often seen him talking to Yao'er these past few days.

It must have been Yao'er who told him to take good care of us. Master, you see, I told you Yao'er is our daughter whom we raised ourselves, she wouldn't abandon us.

Even if he can't take care of us himself, she's already secretly arranged for others to look after us. After all, she's the daughter you raised yourself; she's incomparable to those ungrateful wretches.

As she spoke, her gaze seemed to fall, almost imperceptibly, on Ji Yunshu at the front of the line.

Following her gaze, Minister Ji saw Ji Yunshu walking ahead on her own and was immediately filled with anger.

If he had known Ji Yunshu was this kind of monster, he should have killed her back in the Minister's mansion and never let her marry Xie Moyao!

"At least she still has some conscience. I thought she was really as hard-hearted as a rock and would ignore us completely."

Next time, have Yao'er tell Ah Cai that the food I received this morning wasn't enough for me, and ask him to send more next time.

Since he has something to ask of Yao'er, he'll be Yao'er's dog from now on. You need to make this dog obedient.

After saying that, he picked up a vine and tied it around his waist. To prevent himself from falling off the cliff, he wrapped it around his waist several times.

Naturally, no one noticed Aunt Zhu's flustered expression.