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

Outside the space,

After Ji Yunshu disappeared, apart from the eldest prince and his entourage, the rest of the group continued their leisurely journey.

They weren't very wet, just a little drizzle. After being dried in the sun, their clothes were almost dry, so they didn't need to stop and rest.

But as we went higher, the temperature dropped, and even though our clothes weren't wet, we felt colder and colder.

Xie Moyao touched the water sac on his stomach; the contents of the sac were still warm.

This was the second time Ji Yunshu had sent him something; the first time it was pork rib soup, and he didn't know what it was this time.

He picked up a water pouch, opened the lid, took a sip of its contents, and his eyes immediately lit up—

It turned out to be porridge, mixed with some lean meat and something else he couldn't recognize—salty with a faint sweet aftertaste.

Xie Moyao took another big gulp of water from the water pouch. After a few mouthfuls of porridge, he felt warmer all over.

He closed the lid of the water bladder, then opened another one. The aroma of chicken soup that wafted out made Xie Moyao smile broadly.

It must have been really tough on his wife; she made so much delicious food for them and even went to the trouble of delivering it to them.

After drinking two sips of chicken soup, he put aside the water pouch he had used and distributed the remaining water from his stomach to Madam Chen, Madam Li, and the old princess.

Xie Moyao's sudden action caused Li Shi, Chen Shi, and the old princess to exchange a tacit glance.

Having witnessed what had happened before, they naturally knew that there must be something mysterious about the water pouch Xie Moyao had given them.

The three of them quietly held the water pouches to their chests, and when no one was looking, they would open them every now and then and take a few sips.

After drinking chicken soup and rice porridge, everyone else looked exhausted, but these few seemed to be full of energy and didn't feel tired at all.

Ling Yun and the others were dumbfounded. In terms of physical strength, they were much better than the women of the Prince's Mansion. How come after all this, they looked like people who hadn't eaten for ten or fifteen days, while the people of the Prince's Mansion looked energetic? It was really strange.

As darkness fell and the temperature dropped sharply, the sun had already set, and a cold wind was blowing.

During the day, they could still determine their route based on the sunlight and environment, but as it got darker, even with maps in their hands, it became increasingly difficult for Zhang Lizheng and his men to move forward.

Most importantly, the wind was howling, and they felt their bodies were numb from the cold.

The eldest prince and his entourage had never been through such deep mountains and forests before, and they had no maps. Worried that they would be trapped here and unable to get out, they kept urging their men to speed up and catch up with the people ahead.

Finally, before it got completely dark, they caught up with the group.

They had just met up with the villagers, and Xiao Wu and the others also returned to the group.

After Xiao Wu and his men discovered traces of the Second Prince's entourage in the woods, he quickly led his men back to report to the First Prince that the Second Prince had arrived.

Having just rejoined the group, seeing the guards' disheveled state, Xiao Wu's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly—

He's only been gone for half a day, how did he get into this state?

Without time to think, he hurriedly walked to the First Prince's carriage and saw the First Prince sitting irritably in the grass. Remembering what he had seen, Xiao Wu had no choice but to bite the bullet and whisper, "Your Highness, the men I brought have returned."

Chu Jinsheng didn't even lift his eyelids, giving a curt "Hmm": "How's the matter going? What about all the personnel who brought that thing back? Did they bring it back? Have they found out exactly what that thing is?"

He slowly raised his head, his gaze falling behind Xiao Wu. Noticing that there was nothing around him, Chu Jinsheng's expression unconsciously turned even colder.

Xiao Wu lowered his head and, noticing the cold gaze from above, stiffened slightly.

"Reporting to Your Highness, I led my men in that direction as instructed, without any delay. However, when we arrived, we searched for a long time but found no trace of anyone else. Finally..."

Finally, the Second Prince and his entourage were spotted in the vicinity. The Second Prince had brought quite a few people with him, numbering one or two hundred.

I don't know if the Second Prince released that thing, and since there are many of them, I'm afraid of alerting them, so I don't dare to make any rash moves.

After waiting for a while without finding any other clues, he had no choice but to return with his men.

"What did you say? Chu Jingrui?! How is that possible?!" Chu Jinsheng sat up abruptly from the carriage, his eyes filled with disbelief.

How is that possible?

How could his second brother possibly be in this deep mountain forest?

His second brother should be at the border right now, he shouldn't be here!

"Your Highness, I dare not lie. That man is indeed the Second Prince. Although he was far away, I recognize the Second Prince and can tell from his build. In addition, the Second Prince's personal bodyguard, Liu Zi, was also in the group."

Liu Zi always stays by the side of the Second Prince. If he appears here, then that person must be the Second Prince!

Knowing that this matter was of great importance, the subordinate dared not attract their attention and did not linger there, so he returned first.

But judging by the timeline, they should be catching up soon.

The traces in the woods weren't just from them; so many people had walked through them that the traces were easy to find. Following the traces would be very quick.

Chu Jinsheng slumped into the carriage, his head buzzing. He couldn't understand how Chu Jingrui, who should have been at the border, had suddenly appeared in this deep mountain forest. What had happened?

"What about the capital? Has any news come in? What exactly happened in the capital? Why is Chu Jingrui here instead of staying at the border? Does Father know about this?!"

Xiao Wu shook his head: "There's no news from the capital yet, but Doctor Wu and Xiao San also came from the capital this time."

If they knew about the Second Prince, they would definitely have reported it to the First Prince. Since they haven't said anything, it seems that the Second Prince's arrival in the capital either happened after them, or it happened after…”

Xiao Wu stopped speaking before he finished. Chu Jinsheng was a smart man, and even if Xiao Wu didn't finish, he knew what Xiao Wu meant by what he was about to say.

Yes, Chu Jingrui is far away at the border, and in just a few days he has arrived in this godforsaken place. He must have been acting in secret.

Most likely, it was secretly instructed by his father, the emperor. No one but his father could keep the news so tightly under wraps.

He and Chu Jingrui had never gotten along, and the two rarely worked together in the same place.

Chu Jingrui's trip from the border must have been at the behest of his father, the Emperor!

Chu Jinsheng gritted his teeth so hard they almost broke. He clenched his fist and slammed it hard against the carriage wall.

He had been away from the capital for a long time and had lost most of his contact with the capital. Even if there was news, it would not reach him for a while!

Does his father really not trust him? The task assigned to him is instead given to his second brother.

What exactly does Father mean by this?!