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

Uh, before she could even explain, the whole family burst into tears. How is she supposed to explain now?

With so many outsiders in the carriage, it's not really possible to say that Madam Li and the little one were hidden in a very safe place. Saying that could be fatal.

"Ji Yunshu, I can't wait any longer. Those are my sister-in-law and nephew. I'll have Xie Mu go out and look for them. If they're safe, then there's nothing to worry about. I'll have Xie Mu take them to a safe place and wait for them to meet up with us. Don't worry, I'll have Xie Mu be very careful and not alert them."

He knew that exposing Xie Mu at this moment would be very disadvantageous for him, but right now, he really couldn't care less about that. His sister-in-law and nephew were his family, and he would protect them at all costs.

Ji Yunshu opened her mouth, but seeing how worried they were, she couldn't bear it.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "To tell you the truth, my sister-in-law and the little one were not with us. When those bandits were carrying us onto the car, my sister-in-law and the little one woke up halfway through, so I told my sister-in-law to quickly take the little one to hide in the inner room."

Later, when the bandits left, they must have forgotten about them, as they didn't search the inner room and therefore didn't bring them along.

I've already spoken to my sister-in-law. She should head northwest and leave some light markings along the way. We'll look for her later, so don't worry, they're safe now.

She couldn't think of any other reason besides this one.

In short, the Li family is safe now.

They should worry more about themselves.

"Third brother's wife, are you telling the truth? Is your eldest sister-in-law really safe? But, she's a woman traveling alone with a baby, it's still a bit worrying... Sigh."

"Yes, you don't need to worry. I guarantee they are safe. In fact, when you see them again, they will be completely unharmed, and in better spirits than you are. Right now, we need to prioritize our own safety and stay alive so we can see our sister-in-law again."

Her voice wasn't quiet, and everyone else in the carriage could hear what they were discussing. Ji Yunshu wasn't worried that anyone else would tell the bandits about it; even if they did, it wouldn't make a difference.

No matter how hard the bandits searched, they couldn't find Li and the little guy.

With Ji Yunshu's repeated assurances, everyone in the Prince's Mansion finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Since Ji Yunshu said that Li Shi and the little one are safe, then they must be safe. Ji Yunshu wouldn't joke about these things with them.

Just as the group composed themselves, the carriage curtain was opened again, and a thin, small bandit stood at the carriage door.

"Oh ho, they're all awake!"

"Now that you're all awake, save your grandpa some energy and get down here!"

As he spoke, he cracked the carriage a few times with his whip, the sound sending shivers down everyone's spines.

Ji Yunshu stepped forward and picked Xie Moyao up in her arms, while Xie Moyao got off the carriage first.

"Hey, what are you doing? What time is it? Still hugging and cuddling like that? Let him get down and walk on his own!"

"Brother, my husband has difficulty walking and I have been taking care of him. I will put him down after I carry him inside. Otherwise, you would have to go through the trouble of carrying him. I feel really bad about it."

The bandit sized up Ji Yunshu and Xie Moyao, cracked his whip, and looked impatient.

"Ha, you're about to die, and you're still surprisingly kind. Since you want to hug me, then go ahead!"

"Hurry up and go inside. Once you get to the woodshed, throw him on the ground. Anyway, he won't have to leave once he's locked up."

Ji Yunshu didn't say much. With bandits leading the way, she followed them, carrying Xie Moyao, and walked into the village.

The entire bandit stronghold was quite large.

Upon entering, there is a tall watchtower where bandits patrol. The village is also surrounded by high stone walls. To the left is a large training ground with many weapons on display.

On the other side were some dilapidated huts.

If you keep walking straight in from the middle, that should be the bandits' hideout, where they usually rest.

Ji Yunshu turned her gaze to the dilapidated huts on the right.

Sure enough, the bandit at the front turned around and led her to the right.

Holy crap, the woodshed that bandit leader mentioned, could it be one of those dilapidated houses?

That's not a woodshed at all!

It's just a place that's been haphazardly fenced off with wood.

The enclosure is a bit too high; there's no roof over it!

Where can this be called a house?

Even from a distance, Ji Yunshu could vaguely see figures moving around in the enclosed area.

The closer you get, the more you can smell an unpleasant odor in the air.

"Alright, alright, this is it, let's go in!"

The bandit opened a door in front of him and gestured for Ji Yunshu to carry Xie Moyao inside. They, along with the others behind them, all rushed inside.

The place they were in seemed to have been hastily built that morning; it was relatively clean, with only a faint smell of wood.

The entire area was surrounded by wood, with small gaps between the pieces that a person couldn't squeeze through. The enclosure was also quite high, and the very top of the outermost layer of wood was all sharpened, presumably to prevent them from escaping.

This isn't a woodshed, it's just a cage.

In modern times, she wandered around and saw that in some places, these simple cages were built to raise pigs...

As she carried Xie Moyao over from the other cages, she noticed that those cages contained many people, both men and women.

And there was a smell of feces and urine that constantly filled the tip of my nose.

The people in those cages must have been captured by these bandits and brought here. They eat, drink, and relieve themselves in the cages every day, which is why they smell so bad.

Before long, they were all herded in and locked in a cage.

"Ah!" In the crowd, Zhou Yanran tripped over something, fell to the ground, and screamed.

"Who is it? What the hell did they throw here? It made me fall... Ouch!!!"

She got up, cursing, and picked up the thing that had tripped her up. To her surprise, it was a human skull!

Terrified, she immediately threw what she was holding away, her whole body trembling.

Although she usually has a sharp tongue, she has never been this close to a person's skull!

"What's all the noise about? Behave yourselves! If you annoy Grandpa, he'll make an example of you when he cooks tomorrow!"

The word "operation" is used quite cryptically.

Zhou Yanran trembled, as if she had thought of something. She looked at the skull on the ground and covered her mouth in disbelief.

Everyone else was terrified. They weren't quite sure before, but now they were almost certain that these bandits had captured them not to do hard labor or anything else, but to fill their stomachs!

"Ugh... ugh..."

"Waaaaah..."

In the crowd, some people couldn't help but gag. Even though the officers and soldiers were used to life and death, they were also feeling physically unwell. Even Ling Yun turned around and gagged.