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

Zhou Yanran's face was flushed, her hair was disheveled, and her clothes were torn and messy, revealing a large expanse of her fair skin.

She tugged at her collar, looking at Ji Yunshu with an impatient expression.

"Did you need something from me?"

Ji Yunshu didn't want to waste time with pleasantries and went straight to the point, "Zhou Yanran, don't play dumb with me. Do you know why I'm here with you? Hand over the antidote now!"

Zhou Yanran blinked, seemingly not understanding what Ji Yunshu meant. "What antidote? Ji Yunshu, you've asked the wrong person. I don't understand what you're saying."

"Zhou Yanran, don't push your luck! I poured out the water from that water pouch you took and checked it; it's different from regular drinking water! My mother and sister drank that water and are now poisoned, their lives hanging by a thread. Don't tell me you didn't do it. I'm warning you, hand over the antidote right now, or don't blame me for being impolite!"

Seeing Zhou Yanran's nonchalant attitude, Ji Yunshu felt a surge of anger rising within her, and her fists clenched unconsciously.

Zhou Yanran straightened her clothes and looked at Ji Yunshu with an indifferent expression.

"I told you, I really don't know what you mean. The official ordered me to deliver that water. How could I possibly know if there was anything wrong with the water? If you want to find someone, you should find the official, not me."

"Furthermore, I advise you to think before you speak. How could there be a problem with the water delivered by the officials? Your own people got poisoned, probably because they ate something greedy. They deserve it!"

She spoke with a gloating tone and looked at Ji Yunshu with a provocative expression.

She refused to believe that even if Ji Yunshu was powerful, he would dare to kill her in front of so many officials!

She's a criminal, and even the emperor hasn't issued an order to execute her. How dare a mere Ji Yunshu defy the imperial decree and kill her in broad daylight!

Ji Yunshu laughed in her extreme anger.

OK OK.

it is good!

This week, Yanran's state of mind changed so much in just one night that even she was surprised.

Since we're all going to go crazy, let's all go crazy together!

She slightly curled her lips, but her face held no trace of a smile.

"Fine, since you say you don't know anything, then we can't keep the water you sent over to ourselves. It's not this hot, your parents are almost dying of thirst. You're willing to give us that water instead of letting them take it. It's really pitiful to see. Since you don't have this filial piety, then I'll send it over for you."

After saying that, she turned around and went back to her resting place without waiting for Zhou Yanran to speak. She picked up the water bag from before and quickly went to Zhou's parents' side.

Mr. and Mrs. Zhou hadn't slept well last night and were catching up on sleep. They were completely unaware of what had just happened and were fast asleep on the floor.

Ji Yunshu squatted down, pinched Zhou's mother's mouth with her left hand, picked up the water bag with her right hand, and poured the water from the water bag directly into Zhou's mother's mouth.

Zhou's mother was completely unprepared while she was asleep. When she came to her senses, she hurriedly pushed the water bag away, but most of the water still ended up in her mouth.

Zhou's father, who was standing nearby, was also awakened. He was about to start cursing when Ji Yunshu quickly grabbed his mouth, pried it open, and poured all the remaining water from the water bag into his mouth.

"ah!!"

"Mmm..."

"Cough cough cough...!"

Ji Yunshu moved extremely quickly, completing the task in one smooth motion without pausing at all. Zhou's parents were still somewhat stunned, staring at Ji Yunshu in disbelief.

"What did you just give us to drink?!"

Ji Yunshu looked at the two of them with a half-smile, "Don't you know what I gave you to drink? It's water brought by your good daughter. We drank some, but we couldn't finish the rest, so naturally we couldn't keep it all to ourselves. How is it? The water tastes alright, doesn't it?"

"You, you, you, how could you do this!" Hearing that it was Zhou Yanran who brought the water, Zhou's mother was so frightened that her lips trembled and she stammered.

Zhou's father seemed to realize something as well, and quickly reached down to try and scoop out all the water he had just drunk.

Zhou's mother didn't have time to say anything to Ji Yunshu. She imitated Zhou's father's actions, opening her mouth and repeatedly digging her hand down her throat, as if she wanted to shove her entire hand down her throat.

"Ugh...ugh..."

"Ugh, ugh..."

The two kept gagging, but no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't vomit up the water they had drunk. Instead, their mouths, which were already severely cracked, started bleeding from the cracks after all the commotion. Their mouths were a bloody mess, with blood mixed with saliva and tears constantly flowing down their chins, dripping onto their clothes and the floor.

The two men were disheveled and covered in mud. After scratching at the ground, they scratched at their faces and mouths, their faces smeared with mud. They looked like two madmen.

Others who witnessed this acted as if they hadn't seen anything. Over the past few days, everyone had reached a tacit understanding: mind your own business.

The officials also witnessed this scene. They were quite far away and didn't know what Ji Yunshu and Zhou's parents had said. After some consideration, they all remained seated and did not move, showing no intention of going forward to inquire or stop them.

Zhou Yanran had been keeping an eye on the situation. When she saw Ji Yunshu pour water from the water bag into her parents' mouths, she rushed over like a madwoman.

"Ah, Ji Yunshu, I'm going to kill you! I'm going to kill you! What have you done to my parents? You'll kill them, do you even know that?!"

Zhou Yanran screamed as she rushed to her parents' side, patting their backs.

"Dad, Mom, vomit it out! Vomit it out! Please, I beg you, vomit it out! This water is undrinkable! You can't drink it!"

As Zhou Yanran spoke, she burst into tears. She felt some resentment when her mother handed her that package yesterday.

But seeing this scene with her own eyes today still made her very sad. After all, Zhou's parents were her closest relatives in this world. If something happened to them, she would really be all alone on this journey.

At this moment, she could no longer hold back her grievances and burst into tears.

Seeing the situation escalating, the officials could no longer stand idly by. One of them walked over, frowning and looking impatiently at the person lying on the ground.

"What's going on! Why are you shouting like that? What if you attract other disaster victims? Don't you want to live? Those disaster victims are starving, they'll eat anything!"

With the intervention of the officials, Zhou Yanran felt as if she had seen a savior. She crawled towards the officials on her knees, grabbed their clothes, and her sobs subsided slightly.

"Sir, help! Help! That vile woman Ji Yunshu has the audacity to poison my parents!"