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

Seeing that he couldn't get anything out of the eldest prince, Xiao Wu had no choice but to turn his attention to Xiao San.

During the time he was away, Xiao San knew the most about the eldest prince's situation.

"Mistress, what exactly happened? What happened between you two while I was away? Why does the First Prince keep saying he's encountered a ghost?"

"And why are the Crown Prince and his carriage so dirty? Why are you all covered in mud? Only your eyes are shining; did you roll out of a mud pit?"

Xiao San was stunned. He now also felt that there were ghosts in this forest. When he heard Xiao Wu's question, he was completely stunned and told the whole story of what happened in the group after Xiao Wu left.

"That's how it happened, and you know what happened afterward. The eldest prince was right, there are ghosts, we've encountered a ghost, there's definitely something strange in this forest."

"Xiao Wu, you'd better think of a way to get out of here quickly! I don't want to stay in this forest any longer. For the safety of the First Prince, we must get out of here as soon as possible!"

Xiao Wu pursed his lips and lowered his head slightly. He keenly sensed that since entering this forest, all the bad luck they had encountered seemed to be related to the people of the Prince's Mansion.

The durian tree disappeared without a trace before, and it was the princess who found that durian tree.

Although there is no concrete evidence to prove that the disappearance of the durian tree is related to the princess, for some reason, Xiao Wu felt uneasy and always felt that this matter was inseparable from Ji Yunshu.

And this time, the eldest prince said that they were inexplicably caught in the rain while running around in the woods. The rain didn't get on anyone else, but it only rained on the eldest prince and his group. This was too strange. Even he didn't believe it was a coincidence. There must be something fishy about it.

Xiao Wu became increasingly alarmed and frightened as he thought about it.

He glared at the mistress with annoyance.

"I've already told you, all you need to do is take good care of the eldest prince and protect him. Don't provoke anyone else or cause any trouble. Why can't you take my words to heart!"

The mistress looked at him with a puzzled expression, her eyes filled with confusion.

"Xiao Wu, what do you mean by that? Are you saying I'm meddling? How am I meddling? What does this strange thing that happened to the team have to do with me?!"

Although he felt panicked, it didn't mean he could let Xiao Wu teach him a lesson.

Xiao Wu rolled her eyes at him and didn't even bother to acknowledge him.

That idiot mistress is only good at leading troops in battle. As for other things, her brain is as rigid as a stick, she can't think outside the box, and she has absolutely no sense of judgment.

He had warned her countless times not to provoke the princess, but the mistress seemed deaf to his words, insisting on professing her loyalty to the eldest prince and going against the princess.

"Don't you know in your heart whether it has anything to do with you or not? You idiot, how many times have I told you..."

"Enough!" Chu Jinsheng, sitting in the carriage, was annoyed by the two arguing. He shouted angrily, "What time is it? You're still arguing!"

"I've said it before, I want to leave this forest immediately! You find a map, and we'll ride as fast as we can to get out of this hellhole as soon as possible! If you continue arguing, I'll make sure you stay here forever!"

Seeing that the eldest prince was angry, Xiao Wu and Xiao San dared not speak anymore. Just as they were about to ask Chu Jinsheng where to find the route map, a guard hurriedly ran over.

"Your Highness! Your Highness, something terrible has happened! Something terrible has happened!"

Chu Jinsheng was already extremely annoyed, and seeing the guard's flustered appearance, he felt like killing him.

"Idiot, what time is it? What's wrong? How is it wrong! You're acting recklessly over such a small matter, are you looking for trouble?!"

Things have already come to this point, what bad things could possibly happen?

The guard flinched and quickly replied, "Your Highness, the Second Prince and his entourage are catching up. They're not far behind us and will be there soon!"

"What?!" Chu Jinsheng strode to the front of the carriage, stood on it and looked back at the back of the procession. Sure enough, he saw a large group of people approaching from not far behind their group.

The man in the lead sat on a tall horse, and judging from his figure, he was indeed his good second brother, Chu Jingrui.

Chu Jinsheng's chest heaved. He hadn't expected that Chu Jingrui would catch up with his men so soon after Xiao Wu returned. Their speed was truly astounding.

"You're here, so what's the rush?"

"I am the eldest prince, he is the second prince. He's here, am I supposed to greet him? Get out!"

The guard shrank back, not daring to say anything more, and respectfully withdrew.

Only Chu Jinsheng, Xiao Wu, and Xiao San remained in the same spot; even Ji Yunyao had been sent away by Chu Jinsheng.

The thought that Chu Jingrui might be targeting him this time made Chu Jinsheng feel annoyed.

Without Chu Jingrui around, the eldest prince had no restrictions on what he could do.

With Chu Jingrui around, it's like there's a pair of eyes watching him all the time. No matter what he does, Chu Jingrui will definitely report it to his father.

Thinking this, he said calmly, "You two will protect me during this time, and you must stay by my side at all times. Then, send your men to investigate the Second Prince's purpose in coming here, and also, what the situation is like at the border after he left. Have the people in the capital quickly gather information about the border situation and send it back to me!"

"I didn't go to the border to cause trouble for him, but he actually came here to cause trouble for me! Since that's the case, then don't blame me for giving him trouble to do."

"If he doesn't want the border post, I, the prince, will take it over. Send someone to contact the border generals, and if there's any news from the border, report it to me immediately!"

The Emperor wanted his second brother to be able to manage both sides, but he refused.

Chu Jingrui should either stay at the border or stay out of these things. He wants military power at the border, but he also wants to interfere in things here. He can't possibly reap all the benefits.

Xiao San and Xiao Wu exchanged a glance, nodded, and silently relayed the First Prince's instructions to their subordinates.

Remembering that a few people were still at the site of the missing durian tree, Xiao Wu spoke up: "Your Highness, the guard just said that they went to look for the durian tree but couldn't find it, and a few guards are still there to continue searching. What do you think? Should we let those people continue searching for the durian tree, or call them back?"

They are in dire need of manpower right now. Along the way, the guards have either died, been wounded, or gone missing. There are not many left, and many of them are injured.

Chu Jinsheng paused for a moment, then sighed, "Call everyone back. Although the durian tree is precious, it's gone now that it's lost. I'll send others to search for it when I have time later."

Right now, let's focus on getting our own business done. The second brother's men have arrived, and we'll inevitably have to deal with them a lot in the future. They've brought a large group this time, so we can't have too few people on our side, or they'll look down on us.