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

The group chased each other through the woods. Wang Zheng ran as fast as he could, but soon he stopped.

Just ahead of him as he fled, a group of men were flanking him from the front.

"Damn it!"

He gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath, then quickly turned around and fled in the other direction.

But these days he's been focused on how to sneak into Liancheng, and since he's not very familiar with the surrounding area, he just randomly chose a road.

Before long, they arrived at the edge of a cliff, and behind them, Chu Jingrui and his men followed one after another.

Wang Zheng paused, nearly losing his footing and plunging off the cliff. He regained his balance, turned to look at the person behind him, and narrowed his eyes when he saw Chu Jingrui's face clearly.

"Second Prince, what are you doing here? And why are you chasing me with your men?"

What's this second prince doing here in the northwest? Why isn't he staying at the border? And why is he chasing after him so openly?

Chu Jingrui smiled, pulled on the reins, raised his hand to signal the others not to move, and looked at Wang Zheng, saying in a slightly joking tone:

"Oh, it's Wang Zheng. I didn't know it was you. I've been in the Northwest on some business these past few days, investigating a group of thieves. I received word that the thieves were here, so I led my men here."

"As soon as we arrived, we saw you running nonstop. We initially thought you were a thief, but it turned out to be you. If you had stopped sooner, I would have known I was chasing the wrong person, causing me to waste so much time."

At this point, Chu Jingrui looked at Wang Zheng with slight surprise.

"By the way, what are you doing here? I remember you were at the border, how come you're in the Northwest?"

"Oh, look at that cliff behind you, it's so dangerous. Come over here quickly, come to my side."

As Chu Jingrui spoke, he beckoned to Wang Zheng, gently guiding him with a faint smile on his face.

Wang Zheng stood there and frowned. Chu Jingrui was acting as if he were very familiar with him!

If he remembered correctly, back at the border, it was Chu Jingrui who made things difficult for him, making it impossible for him to stay in the military camp, which forced him to leave!

Seeing him now, it felt strange to be catching up with an old friend, and I was even worried that there might be danger behind him, so I asked him to come over.

Wang Zheng wasn't stupid; he wouldn't be fooled by Chu Jingrui's few words. He looked at Chu Jingrui with a suspicious expression.

"Oh, I wonder what kind of thief the Second Prince is investigating? The Second Prince knew that I left from the border, and there was some grudge between us."

We're not that close, and whether I'm in danger here is none of your business.

"Second Prince, if you want to track down the thief, you should hurry. If you're too late, the thief will have already escaped. Don't blame me for wasting your time again."

"Hey, Wang Zheng, what are you saying? No matter what, we're old friends. I'm naturally happy to run into you here."

As for the thieves I'm investigating, I don't know if you've heard about the theft at the government office last night. This time, I led my men out of the city precisely to investigate this matter.

Did you see any suspicious people outside?

By the way, your location is really dangerous. Come over here and we can talk things over. What if you really have a clue?

There's something else you probably don't know: I came to the Northwest this time to see someone, your former master, Xie Moyao.

You don't know yet, do you? Xie Moyao and his family have also been exiled to Liancheng. Don't you want to know his whereabouts?

"Since we've known each other before, I'll put in a good word for you. If you want to see him, I can arrange it..."

Upon hearing Xie Moyao's name, Wang Zheng was visibly startled, his eyes revealing eagerness:

"Second Prince, do you really know where my lord is?"

He had heard occasionally before that Xie Moyao and his family had been exiled to the Northwest, but he did not know the specific location of their exile.

Unexpectedly, by a twist of fate, he actually encountered it!

But Chu Jingrui said he came to the Northwest to see Xie Moyao and his family, which made Chu Jingrui somewhat skeptical.

The relationship between Chu Jingrui and Xie Moyao was not good. Why would Chu Jingrui travel all the way to the Northwest just to see Xie Moyao? That doesn't make sense.

Why would I lie to you? Of course it's true. I can't be a prophet and know in advance that you'll be here, so I wouldn't be trying to trick you!

I only found out about it in the last few days. I also went to my father's side to plead for him, because I felt that Prince Xie was not that kind of person.

But my father said that while I can believe him, I still need to provide evidence. That's why I had no choice but to come to the Northwest to meet your prince and see if I could help him.

I've only been here for two days when the theft happened in Liancheng. That's why I brought people out to investigate, and that's when I ran into you. What's there to hide?

If you don't believe me, come back to Liancheng with me, and you'll find out soon enough.

Chu Jingrui looked troubled, as if the matter was difficult to handle and he even felt a little guilty.

Looking at Chu Jingrui's appearance, Wang Zheng really didn't know whether he should believe him or not.

He was eager to see Xie Moyao and wanted to know how they were doing.

When the prince left the border, his leg was injured and it was said that he would never be able to stand up again. How did they survive their exile?

The more Wang Zheng thought about it, the more his guarded expression gradually relaxed.

"You really didn't lie to me. You said you'd take me to find the prince. If you're lying to me, I won't let you get away with it."

"Of course, I told you, why would I lie to you? Hurry up and come here, my time is also very precious, I'm busy tracking down the thief!"

"Your lord is in exile. That place is guarded by officials. Without orders from above and from me, no one else can enter. Come back with me, and I can take you to see him."

Wang Zheng frowned, his mind racing, but his feet unconsciously took half a step forward.

Xie Moyao arrived in the woods and saw Wang Zheng standing on the edge of the cliff.

Looking at that familiar face, Xie Moyao's eyes reddened slightly. After so long, he and Wang Zheng finally met again!

Recalling the scenes of the two risking their lives at the border, Xie Moyao's nose tingled with emotion. He never expected that their reunion would be like this.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm his thoughts.

Now is not the time to think about these things. He just came over and overheard Chu Jingrui and Wang Zheng's last conversation.

Seeing that Wang Zheng was about to be fooled by Chu Jingrui, Xie Moyao became anxious and pulled out the tranquilizer gun that Ji Yunshu had given him from his bag.