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

He pointed the gun at Chu Jingrui's neck.

His finger was also on the trigger, his eyes fixed on Chu Jingrui.

He planned to knock Chu Jingrui unconscious first.

If Chu Jingrui faints, the others will panic and take the opportunity to signal Wang Zheng to run away.

Chu Jingrui brought a large number of people this time, with Chu Jinsheng behind him. The two teams together numbered several thousand, and he was not confident that he could kill them all.

Therefore, it is not convenient for me to show my face yet.

His hand was on the trigger, ready to pull it, when another cold voice came from the woods.

"Second Prince, I heard you ran into an old friend. It just so happens that the eldest prince is also nearby, so I've come to join in the fun."

It was Chu Jinsheng's voice.

Xie Moyao turned his head to look at the edge of the woods. Before Chu Jinsheng arrived, his voice came first. The next second, Chu Jinsheng led Xiao Wu, Xiao San and others out of the woods on horseback.

It stopped right opposite Chu Jingrui and Liu Zi.

Chu Jingrui looked at the newcomer, a flash of anger crossing his face, and said through gritted teeth:

"My eldest brother's arrival is quite timely. He's not an old acquaintance, just someone I know who I happened to run into here. I'll just have him come back with me."

If you have other matters to attend to, please leave now. I've heard that things have been quite unsettled in Liancheng these past two days. Perhaps you've also come out to catch thieves? If so, please hurry on your way.

I heard the thieves went straight ahead along the main road behind us. If we hurry back, we might still be able to catch them.

Chu Jinsheng was lying through his teeth, so Chu Jingrui went along with him and urged him to leave.

Chu Jingrui was a little annoyed. He had been so focused on chasing Wang Zheng that he forgot to check what was behind him. He hadn't even noticed when Chu Jinsheng had arrived with his men!

Damn it, he was careless.

Chu Jinsheng showed no intention of leaving; instead, he said with a hint of distress,

"Oh dear, it's all my fault for arriving too late. If I had come earlier, the thief wouldn't have been able to escape."

However, since my second brother isn't going to chase after us anymore, I'm not going to either. Anyway, this is Liancheng's territory, so someone will naturally take charge. You want to go back, right? Let's go, take your old acquaintance with us, and go back together.

I'd also like to hear what you and your old acquaintances talk about.

Chu Jinsheng had a faint smile on his lips. Now that things had come to this, it was impossible for Chu Jingrui to make him leave.

His gaze subtly drifted towards the edge of the cliff; so this was Wang Zheng.

After following Chu Jingrui so diligently for so long, it finally paid off; they finally found him and caught up with him.

As long as the people follow them back to Liancheng, he wouldn't mind cooperating with Chu Jingrui to use Wang Zheng to get rid of Xie Moyao.

Now that Chu Jinsheng hasn't broken ties with him, Chu Jingrui can't say too much in front of Wang Zheng. If he arouses Wang Zheng's suspicion and he finds out that they want to use him to deal with Xie Moyao, and Wang Zheng refuses to go back with them even at the cost of his life, then all their efforts will have been in vain.

Anyway, I had discussed it with Chu Jinsheng beforehand. They were in a cooperative relationship, so it wasn't too unexpected that things had developed to this point.

Chu Jingrui took a few deep breaths. Although he was dissatisfied, he did not show it.

"Eldest brother is right. This is Liancheng territory. After what happened, the city lord will naturally take care of it. So let's not say any more and get ready to go back to the city."

After Chu Jingrui finished speaking, his gaze fell on Wang Zheng, and he spoke in the same persuasive tone as before.

"Wang Zheng, right? Let's go. The First Prince and I just happened to meet here. Neither he nor I plan to pursue the thieves any further. Since we're going the same way, let's go into the city together."

I promised you before that once we entered the city, I would take you to find your prince.

"Hurry up and come quickly. I heard that your prince and his family aren't in good health. If you go early, you might still be able to see them. If you go late, you might not even get to see them."

Worried that Wang Zheng might not want to go with him, Chu Jingrui specifically mentioned that Xie Moyao's entire family was in poor health.

Little did he know that it was this very sentence that made Wang Zheng keenly aware of something amiss.

Wang Zheng's face showed a hint of surprise:

"You just said that the Prince and the Old Madam are very ill?"

Unaware of the unusual tone in Wang Zheng's words, Chu Jingrui spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"That's right. They were exiled from the capital. They were all used to being pampered. Your prince's leg is still injured. He almost died on the way here."

They finally arrived at the place of exile, but the weather was very cold and their living conditions were terrible. News came in the last two days that they were having a hard time and even had trouble getting food. If no one helped them, they probably wouldn't last more than a few days.

I remember you and Xie Moyao are old acquaintances. Given their identities, it's inconvenient for me, the prince, to intervene. You should go back and help them, at least to help them get through this winter.

Wang Zheng paused slightly, but didn't react immediately. Instead, he turned his gaze to Chu Jinsheng and asked again.

"You are the eldest prince. What the second prince just said, was it true or false? Are the princes really having a hard time? How is the prince's leg now?"

Chu Jinsheng and Chu Jingrui exchanged a glance. Chu Jinsheng looked at Wang Zheng expressionlessly and answered him in a tone full of regret.

"That's right, just as my second brother said. Prince Xie really won't last more than a few days, and the other members of the Xie family have also contracted severe colds."

This matter was decided by the Emperor himself, and my second brother and I could not interfere.

In times like these, if someone is there to take care of them, they might be able to get through this difficult time.

"There's no time to lose. You should come with us into the city as soon as possible so we can make arrangements for you to go to the Xie family and take care of them."

After Chu Jinsheng finished speaking, he waved to Wang Zheng, signaling him to come over and leave with them.

In the woods, Xie Moyao quietly watched Chu Jingrui and Chu Jinsheng, who were lying through their teeth!

He was grinding his teeth so hard they were almost ground to powder. If they hadn't brought so many people with them, he would have loved to kill Chu Jingrui and Chu Jinsheng on the spot.

They actually lied to Wang Zheng like that?!

Wang Zheng stood on the edge of the cliff the whole time, without moving an inch, but his expression was no longer as hesitant as before.

It was frighteningly cold. He wasn't stupid. He had been inside Liancheng when he had free time, and this morning, he had just come out of Liancheng.

In Liancheng, they had learned more or less about Xie Moyao and the others, but they had not yet found out their whereabouts.

Although he didn't know the specifics of their situation, he had heard his neighbors talk about it.

The group of exiled people were all doing alright, especially the Xie family. Although they weren't living particularly well, everyone was safe and sound.