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

The imperial court hasn't paid salaries for a long time. If this continues, we won't be able to support our wives and children.

Bao Taiyan was already somewhat hesitant, and now that he heard Ji Yunshu was willing to give him five hundred taels, he suddenly became restless.

"She really said she was willing to give five hundred taels?!" Bao Taiyan felt as if he saw a mountain of silver swaying in front of him.

The officers and soldiers nodded earnestly and emphasized again.

"It's absolutely true! I heard it with my own ears. If you don't believe me, you can go and ask them yourself."

Bao Taiyan could no longer sit still; he suddenly stood up and hurriedly walked outside.

"Go, go, what are you standing there for? I want to see if she can really afford five hundred taels of silver. If she dares to lie to me, see how I deal with her!"

He said he didn't believe it, but he was walking very fast.

In the blink of an eye, Bao Taiyan had disappeared from the yamen gate, and he quickly followed after him.

City gate

After the soldiers left, no one spoke. Ling Yun looked at Ji Yunshu with suspicion.

"Your Highness, what did you say to the soldier guarding the city gate?"

Judging from the way the soldiers left in such a hurry, they must have gone to inform the prefect.

Ji Yunshu twitched the corners of her lips and spread her hands. "It's nothing. Just tell him that we were exiled by order of His Majesty. If something happens to us in their county, their prefect will probably have a hard time explaining himself."

The soldier probably thought what I said made sense, so he told us to wait while he went in to inform his family.

Ling Yun nodded suspiciously. Was that really what she was talking about? He had just said the same thing to the soldier, so why did it have no effect when he said it, but it worked so well when Ji Yunshu said it?

Ling Yun couldn't discern anything from Ji Yunshu's face, so he didn't ask any more questions and waited quietly with the others.

After a cup of tea

The soldier hurriedly opened the city gate and came out alone. As soon as he exited the gate, he went straight to Ji Yunshu, glanced left and right, and said in a voice only the two of them could hear…

"The prefect has agreed to let you enter the city, but the price of two hundred taels of silver will be increased to five hundred taels. Do you think that's acceptable? If so, you can pay the money and then enter the city."

Taking money to let people into the city is not a very honorable thing, and Judge Bao specifically instructed that no one else should know about it.

Ji Yunshu's lips twitched, and her eyes turned cold. The county magistrate of Dongyang County really had a big appetite. Two hundred taels of silver was not enough for just a few of them to come to the city, and he actually asked her for five hundred taels!

He really is one of the most corrupt officials in the world.

She nodded, showing no sign of displeasure.

"Alright, five hundred taels it is."

As she spoke, she reached into her sleeve and pulled out several silver notes from the third-floor storeroom of the small villa, each note worth one hundred taels of silver, five notes in total.

He handed the silver notes to the officers and soldiers, whose eyes widened in disbelief; they had never seen so much money in their lives.

This princess is so generous! She just pulled out a whole five hundred taels of silver notes like that!

He stared blankly at the silver note in his hand until Ji Yunshu coughed lightly. Only then did he come to his senses, quickly fold the silver note, stuff it into his sleeve, greet Ji Yunshu, and hurriedly return to the city gate.

The two were acting discreetly, and with their actions deliberately concealed, no one else knew what they were doing.

Others couldn't hear or see it, but Xie Moyao inside the carriage could.

Ever since he was injured and bedridden, his hearing has been exceptionally sharp. He heard every single word Ji Yunshu and the soldiers said.

Xie Moyao became more and more puzzled. He couldn't understand it at all. They were exiled on the same day. On the day they left the capital, Ji Yunshu didn't have a single penny on her. How could she suddenly have so much money and things on her body as they walked?

She took out five hundred taels of silver notes without even blinking. Where did she hide them?

They easily evaded the officials' search.

Moreover, if he hadn't misheard, Ji Yunshu said she wanted to buy their way into the city with five hundred taels of silver?!

My God, that's five hundred taels of silver!

Just buy them to go into the city?

That's way too extravagant!

The magistrate of Dongyang County was also a big corrupt official. When he was in the capital, how come he never heard that the magistrate of Dongyang County had such a big appetite?

Inside the city gate

The soldiers, with five hundred taels of silver notes tucked into their sleeves, scurried into the city. Bao Taiyan, who was hiding inside the city gate, eagerly stepped forward upon seeing the soldiers enter.

"Well? Did the princess really agree to give five hundred taels of silver?!"

The officer nodded and quickly pulled out five hundred taels of silver notes from his sleeve. "Yes, yes, sir, look, a full five hundred taels of silver notes, each one hundred taels in face value, absolutely genuine, there's no way they're fake!"

Bao Taiyan's eyes lit up as he snatched the silver notes from the soldiers' hands, his eyes crinkling with a smile.

Good heavens, in just a few words, he earned a full five hundred taels of silver. This money is too easy to earn.

This princess is such a sucker!

Ji Yunshu must have more money on him than he paid so readily. If he had known, he would have asked for a thousand taels!

He folded the banknotes and put them in his sleeve.

"My lord, shall we open the city gates now and let them in?"

Bao Taiyan was in a good mood, waved his hand, turned and left.

"Open up, open up, but keep a close eye on them. No one except those exiled people is allowed into the city! And if they do come in, keep a close watch on their movements. They're not allowed to cause trouble in the city. If you spot anything unusual, kick them out!"

Anyway, he already had the silver notes, and he had agreed to let them come into the city to rest. If they didn't behave themselves in the city, then he shouldn't blame him for turning his back on them.

The officers nodded, quickly turned around, and left the city gate. Before long, they led Ji Yunshu and her entourage into the city in a grand procession.

No one else knew about the deal between Ji Yunshu and Bao Taiyan except for themselves.

Everyone was surprised to be suddenly brought into the city, wondering why they were suddenly allowed to enter.

Ling Yun glanced at Ji Yunshu discreetly, thinking to himself:

What method did the princess use to make the magistrate of Dongyang County willingly let them into the city?

How could an exiled prisoner possess such great abilities?

He was extremely curious.

The others were also curious, but they weren't particularly interested in knowing the details. As long as they could get into the city to rest, they didn't care who had done it!

The refugees waiting outside the city had been watching the situation closely. Seeing that the group had been allowed into the city, the refugees were unhappy.

"Hey, guards at the city gate, why can they go in but we can't?"

"Exactly! Why? I just heard they're exiled prisoners, nothing more. They're not even considered ordinary citizens anymore. We're the ordinary citizens, we're disaster victims. Why don't you let us in to rest, but instead let these prisoners in? What kind of logic is that?!"