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

Ji Yunshu's heart sank. She pulled herself out of her thoughts, looked up, and met Xie Moyao's eyes on the bed.

What was bound to happen eventually did happen.

She got up and opened the door, revealing a large crowd of people standing outside.

Seeing Ji Yunshu open the door, and remembering what happened last night, an unnatural look flashed across everyone's faces.

Ji Yunshu pretended not to see their expressions and asked in a cold voice:

"What on earth happened up there? What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and tell us."

Her expression was cold and her tone was serious, which gave everyone an invisible sense of pressure.

The maids looked at each other, then quickly lowered their heads, not daring to make a sound.

Just as rumored, the princess had a rather bad temper.

Xie Lin originally intended to go inside to find Xie Moyao, but seeing Ji Yunshu's calm and collected demeanor, he inexplicably said:

"Your Highness, just now, the commander of the Imperial Guards, with several hundred men, surrounded our palace, accusing our prince of treason and embezzling military funds. He said he was ordered to search our palace! Your Highness, what should we do now?"

"Everyone else in the palace is already waiting ahead. Right now, only you and the Prince haven't gone over yet. Princess, why don't we take the Prince and run away?! This is clearly a slander! Our Prince is upright and honorable. He has been on the battlefield countless times for the people of Dongling, and he has almost lost his life! How could our Prince possibly collude with the enemy and betray the country!" Xie Lin became more and more anxious as she spoke, and by the end, she could hardly speak clearly.

Ji Yunshu glanced at him, her tone neither hurried nor slow.

"Why are you in such a hurry? You've been by your prince's side for so many years, and you panic over such a small thing? Even if the sky falls, there are tall people to hold it up."

After speaking, she paused, then continued, "A few of you go in and help the prince wash up. Since an imperial decree has arrived, you should naturally go and receive it."

If they don't accept the imperial decree, none of them will be able to leave the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion today.

Her tone was calm and unhurried, which reassured everyone somewhat.

Xie Lin was still very anxious, but he had calmed down a lot and entered the room with two maids.

Apart from the two people Xie Lin brought into the house, Ji Yunshu asked everyone else outside to leave and go to the front yard.

There's no point in having too many people here. The Zhenbei Prince's Mansion has been ransacked. As long as these maids and servants behave themselves, the Emperor shouldn't go so far as to exterminate them all. After all, the Emperor's target is only Xie Moyao and his group.

Once the maids left, Ji Yunshu was left alone in the corridor. She glanced around and then disappeared without a sound.

When Xie Moyao and the others came out, they did not see Ji Yunshu and assumed that Ji Yunshu had already gone ahead with the others.

Xie Moyao was carried by others. When they arrived at the front yard, it was packed with people, and occasionally someone would sob.

The commander of the Imperial Guards stood to one side, head held high and chest puffed out. Seeing Xie Moyao being carried over, a mocking glint flashed in his eyes. He picked up the imperial edict and loudly read it aloud:

"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: It has been verified that Prince Xie Moyao of Zhenbei has colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country, embezzling military funds. The evidence is conclusive, and his crimes are heinous! However, in consideration of the sacrifices his father and brothers made for the country, he is spared the death penalty, but cannot escape punishment. The Prince of Zhenbei's mansion is hereby confiscated, and his property shall be confiscated and deposited into the national treasury in accordance with the law. All other family members of the Prince shall be exiled! So be it!"

After the commander finished reading, he put away the imperial edict in his hand, handed it to Xie Moyao, and said in a mocking tone:

"Prince Zhenbei—oh no, you're no longer the Prince Zhenbei; you're just a commoner now. Accept the decree!"

Although Xie Moyao was being carried, the fierce and ruthless aura he had acquired over many years of battles remained undiminished. He coldly stared at the commander of the guards.

"You accuse me of treason and collusion with the enemy, and the evidence is irrefutable. Then I ask you to present the evidence! If you have no evidence and insist on accusing me of treason, I'm afraid you can't silence the public's criticism!"

How could he possibly be a traitor? As long as there's no evidence, there's always a chance for him to turn things around!

Ji Yunshu remained hidden in the shadows, quietly observing the situation in the courtyard. She also wanted to know where these people could find so-called "evidence" now that she had almost completely moved the entire mansion, leaving only an empty shell.

The old princess stepped out of the crowd, her tone calm and composed, showing no sign of panic.

"My son is right. Unless you produce evidence today, you can't find a reason to frame us. We will never plead guilty!"

An ordinary woman would have been terrified by the scene, but the old princess had served the old Prince of Zhenbei for many years and possessed an imposing aura.

Xie Mohuan and the other two women behind her also stepped forward and stood firmly beside Princess Xie.

Ji Yunshu recognized that the woman accompanying the old princess was Xie Moyao's younger sister, and the other two women were Xie Moyao's eldest and second sister-in-law. The eldest sister-in-law was heavily pregnant and had difficulty moving around, so she should be giving birth soon.

The Imperial Guard commander glanced at the crowd, his eyes full of disdain. "Fine, you really won't admit defeat until you're faced with reality. You want evidence, right? I'll give you the evidence, and you'll be convinced!"

With that, he roared into the crowd, "Guards! Bring out the evidence of the Prince of Zhenbei's treason!"

As soon as the commander of the Imperial Guards finished speaking, several men carried out a large box from the side, placed it in front of everyone, and opened it. Inside, there was a box full of neatly arranged gold and silver, with a letter on top of it.

The letter cover reads:

"Written personally by Xie Moyao, Prince of Zhenbei."

The moment the box was opened, everyone was stunned.

They had all seen the seal on the box; it was clear that the contents had indeed come from the national treasury and were still unopened.

Xie Moyao narrowed his eyes coldly. This box of things definitely did not belong to their Zhenbei Prince's Mansion!

Since his injury, he had repeatedly instructed the people in the Prince's Mansion not to allow anything of unknown origin to enter the mansion, for fear that someone might frame him. In the past year, the Prince's Mansion in Zhenbei had indeed kept a close watch on things and there had never been any mistakes.

Until last night, when he got married, the only people who entered the palace were Ji Yunshu and the people and things she brought.

Could it be...?

Suddenly, he turned his head sharply and stared intently at the dark corridor not far away.

Ji Yunshu was still standing there, completely stunned and a little confused, because she had seen the box that the Imperial Guard Commander had just opened.

No, to be precise, it should be that the original owner saw it.

In her memory, the night before her wedding, Aunt Zhu from the Minister's mansion and her scoundrel father took her to the storeroom to see her dowry. Among the pile of dowry, she clearly saw this box.