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

They paced anxiously back and forth, eager for Aunt Wang to finish using it so they could use it properly.

Time passed by, and Aunt Wang chose a spot, took the pickaxe that Ji Yunshu had given her, and began to strike the ice surface, one strike at a time.

She was old and not in good health; even though she struck the ice with great force, the ice didn't change much.

Xiao Lan, Chen Shi, and the others remained seated in their original places. Although Aunt Wang had left, they did not. Since Aunt Wang still had some fishing nets left, and they had nothing else to do, they decided to help her finish weaving the remaining nets.

Ji Yunshu and Xie Moyao stood there, watching as Aunt Wang stood alone, hammering away at the ice with a pickaxe. She had struck the ice several times, but it didn't budge. Ji Yunshu looked at Xie Moyao, preparing to ask him to go and help Aunt Wang.

Just then, a group of people slowly walked towards them from not far away.

Xie Moyao whispered in Ji Yunshu's ear, "It's Da Mao and Er Mao, they've returned with the workers."

As soon as Xie Moyao finished speaking, the others also noticed a group of people not far away. Many women were excited to see their husbands return and ran towards them before the men even got close, forming a huge crowd.

Ji Yunshu raised an eyebrow. Since Da Mao had returned with the workers, it meant that Wang Rong had also returned.

Now that Wang Rong is back, she and Xie Moyao no longer need to interfere in Aunt Wang's affairs.

This is for the best, so that others won't see them getting too close to Aunt Wang, which wouldn't be good for her.

Da Mao and Er Mao led a group of people slowly towards this side. From a distance, they could see a large group of people standing on the river.

Before they could find out what had happened, a large group of women came running towards them.

Da Mao and Er Mao immediately became alert, and their hands unconsciously reached for their waists.

The next second, a group of women also came to their side, ran straight past them, went to their respective husbands, grabbed their hands, and started running, all the while muttering:

"Master, master, hurry, hurry! Something terrible has happened! Something terrible has happened!"

"Honey, hurry up and come with me! If we're late, we don't know where we'll end up in line! Hurry up!"

The men were momentarily stunned, wondering what their wives wanted to do, so urgently pulling them along.

"What's wrong? What happened? Tell me first, did something happen at home?"

"Yes, honey, is something wrong at home? Why are you in such a hurry? Tell me first, don't keep me in suspense and make me worry."

The men asked this question, but they still followed their wives and ran ahead without thinking.

"Oh dear, everything's fine at home, it's just some other thing... it's a few words too much to explain. Come with me first, let's get in line! If we're late, it'll be too late!"

"Hey, slow down! I'm behind Aunt Wang in line. There's no point in you running past me; I already told her!"

"Me too, me too! I'm third in line, it's no use you running over there!"

In the crowd, all the men were pulled forward by their wives, and soon only Da Mao, Er Mao, Minister Ji, Aunt Zhu, and others remained.

Xie Lin stood beside them, observing the situation and then glancing at his family members chatting happily on the river not far away, showing no sign of panic. Xie Lin wasn't in a hurry either. He turned to Da Mao and Er Mao and said:

"My lords, I'll be taking my leave now."

Sherlin was also curious about what had happened and why everyone was in such a hurry to take their men back.

After Xie Lin left, only Da Mao, Er Mao, and Minister Ji remained.

Minister Ji and Aunt Zhu had been working all day and were exhausted when they got back. They wanted to go home early, lie down on their own beds, and get some rest.

They used to live a life of luxury in the capital, where everything was done for them. They had never suffered like this before!

Now, when I go to work with everyone, I feel like my bones are about to fall apart after just half a day.

But now, seeing a lively scene nearby, Aunt Zhu and Minister Ji perked up and were no longer in a hurry to go back.

Their intuition told them that so many people were in such a hurry, there must be something good going on. They absolutely couldn't go back to sleep at a time like this, or they wouldn't get any advantage.

Aunt Zhu's eyes darted around, and she quickly said to Da Mao,

"Sir, look! There's a huge crowd over there. Why is everyone running that way? I wonder what happened. Should we go check it out?"

As Aunt Zhu spoke, she observed Da Mao's expression. Seeing that he was getting impatient, and remembering what had happened that morning, she added:

"Is it someone else causing trouble for you, Lord Mao? You're already working hard enough managing this exile area."

"If anyone dares to cause trouble again, why doesn't Your Excellency take this opportunity to teach them a lesson, make an example of them, and establish your official authority!"

Having gone through countless trials and tribulations, Aunt Zhu had long since learned to read people's expressions and moods.

This morning, Da Mao's house was burgled. They searched everywhere but couldn't find any clues. Da Mao was furious all day and beat up a lot of people while he was working. He's still fuming.

When Aunt Zhu arrived, she vaguely saw Ji Yunshu and her group not far ahead.

Da Mao is furious and has nowhere to vent, so she deliberately wants to lure Da Mao over there!

At times like this, Da Mao gets very angry, and no matter what everyone is doing together, Da Mao will definitely throw a tantrum!

It would be best to teach Ji Yunshu a lesson. Don't think that just because their family is so powerful, they are under the jurisdiction of the exile area, which is still controlled by the Great Mao!

Moreover, why is it that both she and Minister Ji have to work, while Ji Yunshu's family only needs one person to go?!

Not only did they go to see one person, but they also took the opportunity to win over everyone around them!

She realized that Ji Yunshu had ulterior motives and was taking this opportunity to win people over!

Sure enough, upon hearing her words, Da Mao's expression turned even colder. He stared expressionlessly at the group of people working enthusiastically not far away and said coldly:

"I want to see what they're doing huddled together. They're all exiled prisoners; instead of staying at home, why are so many of them gathered together? Are they planning a rebellion?"

Da Mao spoke through gritted teeth. The thought of his house being burgled last night, with everything stolen, filled him with rage. And these people were gathered together, chatting and laughing. He was so angry he felt like his stomach was about to explode.

He even wondered if these guys were gathered together to laugh at him!

Seeing that Da Mao was about to be persuaded, Aunt Zhu quickly added:

"Lord Mao, let's hurry over and take a look. It's outrageous! Lord Mao has been working so hard to lead us to do our jobs, but they're all gathered here chatting and laughing."

I think we should call them in for work from now on, so they don't just sit at home doing nothing!

Before Aunt Zhu could finish speaking, Da Mao lifted his leg and walked towards the lively crowd not far away.