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

Their bundles were full of strange items that the princess had given them, which the prince had told them not to give to anyone else.

But now, they could only watch helplessly as those items fell into other people's hands. If Chu Jingrui found any clues and followed them to Ji Yunshu...

Xie Mohuan and Xie Mu dared not imagine what would happen next.

"Stop! Those are ours, give them back!"

"That's right, Second Prince! You arrested us, fine, but you even stole our things! Give our things back!"

Chu Jingrui ignored them, took the bundle, and opened it to check the contents one by one.

The guards beside them grew impatient and turned to glare at the two men.

"Shut up! You two are nothing but exiled prisoners. What do you mean by 'your things' and 'my things'? These things all belong to the Second Prince!"

When you left the capital, I remember His Majesty said that you couldn't take anything with you. Where did you get all these things? Tell the truth! Did you steal them from somewhere?

"You're already prisoners, yet you still dare to steal! You're asking for death! If you don't shut up, believe me, the Second Prince will kill you!"

"you……!"

Xie Mu wanted to say something, but Xie Mohuan, who was beside him, stopped him and shook his head.

My third sister-in-law said that no matter what happens or who you meet, your own personal safety is the most important thing. As for these things, you can find a way to get them back later.

Alternatively, they could stubbornly deny where these things came from, and the Second Prince would definitely not be able to find out the origin of these items.

Xie Mu understood Xie Mohuan's meaning. Although he was unwilling, he gritted his teeth and didn't say anything more. However, he felt a little annoyed and regretted not taking good care of the things given by the princess.

Chu Jingrui kept taking things out of the bundle and looking at them over and over. Every single item was something he had never seen before, and he found them all very novel.

His eyes were sparkling as he picked up a drone's control handle, wanting to ask Xie Mu and Xie Mohuan how to use it.

Suddenly, his gaze fell on the bottom of the bundle, where there was a long object with colorful patterns on it, much like the thing he had just seen explode in the air.

"Could this be what exploded in mid-air just now?"

He held the firework in his hand and examined it closely; the more he looked, the more it resembled a real firework.

His guards also noticed.

"Hey, Second Prince, it really does look like it! You know what, the pattern on it is exactly the same as the one that exploded in mid-air just now. Second Prince, why don't you give it a try?"

Chu Jingrui nodded in satisfaction, then quickly beckoned to a guard beside him and handed him the item in his hand.

"Find a place and try this thing out, see if you can blast it out!"

The guard was also very curious, as it was rare to obtain such a peculiar item. The Second Prince actually allowed him to try it out, so he eagerly took the item and examined it in his hands.

After a moment, he blinked and asked seriously,

"Second Prince, how do you use this thing? I tried to pull it, and it seems different from our usual signal flares. No matter how hard I try, I can't pull it. I'm worried I'll break it. Could you tell me how to use it so I can find a place to test it out?"

These words startled everyone.

How do I use it?

Chu Jingrui picked up another signal flare and tried to use their own method to fire it, but no matter how he twisted it, the signal flare in his hand still didn't react at all.

He immediately lost his patience and his gaze fell on Xie Mu and Xie Mohuan, who were not far away.

"You two, tell me honestly how to use this thing! Don't try anything funny with me, or I'll kill you!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a guard standing to the side drew his knife in a flash, the tip of the sword pressed against Xie Mohuan's neck.

Xie Mu's heart tightened, and he had no choice but to explain how to use the signal flare.

"This signal flare doesn't need to be pulled; it has a fuse. Just light the fuse, and the flare will launch. However..."

"Alright, I understand. Someone, take it and try it!"

Xie Mu was interrupted by Chu Jingrui before he could finish speaking, so Xie Mu didn't get to say anything more.

Seeing this, Xie Mu simply stopped talking and his gaze fell on the guard who was holding a sword to Xie Mohuan's neck.

"I've already said what I said, can you please put your knife away now?!"

Seeing that Xie Mu had confessed honestly, the guards also consciously put away their swords.

Xie Mohuan was a little anxious and glared disapprovingly at Xie Mu.

"What did you tell him? That signal flare is how we contact Third Sister and the others. You told him that he was going to fire the signal flare. If Third Sister sees it, she will definitely come looking for us!"

If my third sister-in-law comes looking for us, she'll be discovered and arrested like we were. Wouldn't that be harming her?

Even if it kills me, I don't want anything to happen to my third sister-in-law and the others. I'd rather you never tell them how to use a signal flare!

Xie Mohuan was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, and even wanted to rush out to stop the guards' actions.

"Miss! Don't worry, I only told them how to use the signal flares, not how many to fire."

"Wait a moment. The ones they put out are definitely different from the ones we put out. The princess is so smart, she'll be able to tell at a glance. Don't worry, everything should be fine."

Xie Mu whispered in Xie Mohuan's ear, tugging at her sleeve to prevent her from acting impulsively.

Sure enough, as soon as he said that, Xie Mohuan immediately realized what he meant—

Yes, they didn't know how to use this signal flare when they first started using it, so Third Sister-in-law taught them how to use it step by step.

Moreover, the number of signal flares released each time is fixed; only when a certain number are released can it represent a communication signal.

Chu Jingrui was unaware of their agreement, and the number released was definitely different from what they had agreed upon. Now he could only hope that his third sister-in-law would notice the anomaly and stop coming towards them.

Just as Xie Mohuan was thinking this, the guards who had previously fired the signal flares had found the way and lit the fuse.

White smoke began to emerge from the signal flare, but there was no movement for a while.

The guard was somewhat confused. When he couldn't hear anything, he took the signal flare down to check it. Just as he put it to his eye, he heard a "bang" and something shot out of the flare, hitting the guard's eye precisely and exploding on his face.

Instantly, flesh and blood were mangled.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

Before the guards could react, several more signals were fired from the signal flares.

In his panic, he fell to the ground with a thud, and the signal flare in his hand landed right in front of him.

He didn't have time to run, but the signal flares on the ground kept shooting out, each one hitting him precisely and exploding.

"Aaaaaah! Help! Help me!"

"Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang!"