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

Ji Yunshu raised an eyebrow. No wonder she's a natural gossip lover!

She only said a few words, and the rest was all based on people's imaginations, which became more and more bizarre as the story spread.

Although those things appeared to be given to her by the Minister's Mansion, her idiot father shouldn't be that stupid. Openly using her to destroy the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion would easily give others leverage against her and could easily drag her down with him, like now!

But none of that matters now. She doesn't know who did it yet, but she's certain that Minister Ji knew about it. Moreover, this family is rotten to the core, and she's going to drag them down with her!

We will never let them have an easy life!

Thinking this, she pinched herself again. The pain in her thigh made Ji Yunshu cry even louder.

"Waaaaah! Daddy! Come out here right now!"

"You're coming with me to the palace. I need to explain this to His Majesty! I just got married yesterday. I'm just a weak woman, and I know nothing about these things. You can't send me to my death alone!"

"I'll be terribly lonely on my journey into exile. You'd better come with me, or I'll just die right here in the street, with all these people watching! Let's see if you'll ever have a good life then! If you don't want me to have a good time, I'll haunt you even as a ghost!"

Her voice grew louder and louder, and at the end she was about to raise her volume. Just then, the gate of the Minister's mansion opened a crack, and a servant hurriedly came out and anxiously approached Ji Yunshu.

"Master, Miss, the Master wants you to come in!"

Ji Yunshu tilted her head and said indifferently, "No, unless Minister Ji accompanies me to the palace to clarify this matter, I will not get up. Or, I will die here. I want to see if my good father still cares about the life or death of his daughter."

The servant looked troubled. Unable to persuade Ji Yunshu, he stamped his foot and turned back into the mansion.

In the main hall of the Minister's Mansion

Minister Ji paced back and forth anxiously, with Aunt Zhu beside him, her face full of worry and her eyes darting around, lost in thought.

"Master, please sit down. It shouldn't be anything serious. His Majesty is only exiling people from the Prince of Zhenbei's mansion. The eldest maid is already married! Even if she's exiled, what does it have to do with us? The Emperor isn't going to punish us."

Minister Ji was already annoyed, and hearing Aunt Zhu's words only fueled his anger. He turned and pointed at her, shouting, "You stupid woman! Do you have a pig's brain? Although Ji Yunshu is married, she's still insisting that those filthy things came from our Minister's residence! Do you know what that means?! Haven't you heard the rumors going around the streets that what happened at the Prince of Zhenbei's residence today is inextricably linked to us?!"

"More and more people are talking about it, and if it keeps spreading, the falsehoods will become the truth! If the rumors can't be suppressed, our Minister's Mansion will be buried with the Prince of Zhenbei's Mansion!"

He waved his hand dismissively, sat down angrily to the side, his chest heaving. Minister Ji felt dizzy and as if the sky was about to collapse.

He couldn't understand it. Shouldn't that brat Ji Yunshu be at the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion? Didn't the First Prince say that the mansion was already completely surrounded? How did Ji Yunshu get out? Could she fly?!

He frowned, his head throbbing so badly it felt like it was going to explode. The chatter from the street kept reaching his ears, and he wished he could just faint and never hear anything again.

Just as he was feeling troubled, a servant rushed in. Before the servant could speak, Minister Ji quickly asked:

"How is it? Has she come in yet?" he asked through gritted teeth, as if he wanted to kill that rebellious woman.

The servant was exhausted. He took a deep breath and said dejectedly, "Master, Miss... she won't come in! She insists that you accompany her to the palace to explain things to His Majesty in person, otherwise..."

Minister Ji's eyes widened suddenly. "Otherwise what?" This rebellious daughter of his, Ji Yunshu, dared to threaten him?

Servant: "The young lady said that otherwise, she... she'll die right in front of those people at the gate of our Minister's residence..."

"Thump!"

As soon as the servant finished speaking, Minister Ji felt his vision go black, and then he fell straight down, unconscious.

Aunt Zhu and the servant both exclaimed in surprise.

"master!"

"Sir, what's wrong? Quickly, call a doctor! Call a doctor!"

When Minister Ji fainted, he was somewhat relieved that he had finally passed out and would no longer have to hear these unpleasant things. He knew that when he woke up, Ji Yunshu would definitely have already been dealt with.

Chaos erupted within the Minister's residence.

Outside on the street, Ji Yunshu got tired of pretending and simply sat down on the ground, still wearing that extremely aggrieved expression on her face. Occasionally, when no one was paying attention, she would smear some saliva on her face, making her look truly pitiful.

As more and more people gathered around, the discussions became increasingly outrageous, with some even suggesting that the Prince of Zhenbei's affair with the enemy and the Minister's Mansion must also be related.

A sly glint flashed in Ji Yunshu's eyes. This was exactly the effect she wanted. The more people discussed it, the less likely the Ministry of Personnel would be able to remain unaffected!

Just then, a group of soldiers pushed through the crowd and came to Ji Yunshu's side.

"Ji Yunshu, the Prince of Zhenbei's residence has received the imperial decree and will depart immediately. Why aren't you coming back with us right away? Delaying our departure will be considered disobeying the imperial decree!"

Ji Yunshu pretended to wipe away her tears, her voice sounding aggrieved, "I understand, sir. I'm not trying to run away. I just came to say goodbye to my family before I leave. There are some things I don't understand, and I'd like my good father to help me clear up some doubts."

"I'll go back with you. As for the things I don't understand, everyone knows now. Whether I leave or not, I believe you'll all help me get to the bottom of this, right? The Prince of Zhenbei's family is full of loyal martyrs, how could they easily collude with the enemy and betray the country? There must be something hidden here!"

As soon as she finished speaking, a chorus of agreement arose from the crowd.

"Yes, Your Highness, don't worry. With so many of us here, we'll definitely get to the bottom of this for you!"

"Yes, yes, Your Highness, we're all keeping an eye on whether this matter has anything to do with the Minister's residence. With so many of us, we certainly won't let them get away with it. His Majesty will definitely find out the truth!"

The voices of the crowd continued to rise.

Ji Yunshu nodded "feeling wronged," and said, "In that case, I'll trouble everyone. I'll head back to the Prince's residence now. Now that I've married the Prince of Zhenbei, no matter what happens, I will stand with the people of the Prince's residence!"

After she finished speaking, she nodded to the officer beside her, "Let's go."

As they left, the murmurs behind them grew louder, and more and more people gathered outside the Minister's residence.

In the palace

The emperor sat on the dragon throne, listening coldly to his subordinates report on the events that had occurred on the streets that day.

"Your Majesty, the rumors circulating in the city are becoming increasingly difficult to suppress. If we wait any longer, the situation may change."