"Your Highness, I believe that when cutting grass, one should remove the roots. To prevent them from making a comeback, we should... " He made a slashing motion across his neck with his hand.

"Hmph, the people of the Dingguo Prince's Mansion are either old or disabled. The ones who are still alive are mostly female relatives. What kind of trouble could they possibly stir up?"

"But He Jingheng is still alive!"

"Alive?" The man sneered. "I think he'll wish he were dead when he regains consciousness. " The man glanced at the man on He Qinian's back. "He Jingheng is such a proud person. Now that he's become a cripple, it'll be extremely difficult for him to survive in the place of exile. Then, I'll also let him experience the torment of being unable to live or die."

"Your Highness is truly wise! I am far inferior to Your Highness."

The man in the purple robe was none other than the current Crown Prince, He Lingsheng.

He watched the departing group, his eyes narrowing slightly. He Jingheng, you always outshone this Crown Prince. You deserve this fate.

He had already made arrangements with the guards escorting the exiles to "entertain" the people of the Dingguo Prince's Mansion well along the way.

The exiled group walked for an entire day. Everyone was parched, but the guards showed no sign of stopping to rest. Shang Ruoyi didn't feel too bad. After all, in her previous life, she could go without rest for two days and nights.

However, the others didn't have her physical stamina.

Especially the old Consort of the Prince, who had lived a life of luxury and ease. How could she endure such a long - distance journey?

The others weren't much better either. The Consort of the Prince and Concubine Zhang also had pale faces.

Just then, the guard lashed his whip loudly. "Stop! Rest here!"

The group felt as if they had been pardoned. They plopped down on the ground.

The guard took a cloth bag filled with dried cakes and distributed half a piece to each person.

The He family members looked at the cakes in their hands and exchanged glances. Was this fit for human consumption?

It was as dry and hard as a brick.

Biting into it would probably break one's teeth!

And it was so dry, and there was no water to drink. Wouldn't they die of thirst?

Just then, Shang Ruoyi noticed an exiled prisoner approach the guard and secretly hand over a few copper coins. The guard then took out a water bag from a box. Another prisoner exchanged a silver earring for two white flour steamed buns. So, this was how it worked.

The other prisoners didn't seem surprised at all.

It seemed that this was an unspoken rule.

Come to think of it, many of the exiled prisoners were former court officials or their relatives. They all had some background to some extent. Although the guards talked about beating and killing, they knew very well which ones they could deal with harshly and which ones they couldn't touch because their families still had power.

Exiled officials who could hide some money on them were those whose families still had influence.

These were the ones who couldn't be touched.

And those who were penniless and had no background were much worse off. Most of them died on the way before reaching the place of exile.

The He family also saw this scene. The Consort of the Prince pulled Shang Ruoyi's sleeve and took out a gold bracelet from her bosom. She said softly, "I hid this secretly. Take it and exchange it for some water and food. How can we swallow this dry thing?"

Shang Ruoyi shook her head. "Mother - in - law..."

"Forget it. What mother - in - law? The Prince's Mansion is no more. Call me mother from now on."

"Yes!" The old Consort of the Prince said softly. "Call me grandmother from now on."

Shang Ruoyi nodded. "Yes. Mother, when we reach the place of exile, one of my father's former disciples is a steward there. Anyway, they'll still show some respect to our Qin family," Concubine Qin said in a low voice.

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The old Consort of the Prince nodded and then closed her eyes to rest.

Shang Ruoyi returned the bracelet to Concubine Qin and said softly, "Mother, keep this bracelet for yourself. I still have some silver on me. If we're thrifty, it'll be enough for our family's food and drink along the way. You must hide your things well. Maybe they'll be of great use when we reach the place of exile."

After saying that, she took out a few pieces of broken silver from her bosom and walked up to the guard, saying softly, "Sir Guard, I wonder how many water bags and white flour steamed buns I can exchange for with this silver?"

The leading guard, seeing that it was her who came to offer the silver, snorted. "With this silver, you can get one water bag and one steamed bun."

Shang Ruoyi understood that he was treating people differently according to their status, simply trying to extort more money.

She smiled. "So expensive? Could it be that my father got it wrong? Before leaving the city, my father gave me some silver and said I could exchange for some rations from you, Sir Guard. It seemed that a few copper coins could buy a water bag. If it's this expensive, I'm afraid I'll starve to death just after leaving the capital."

"Your father?"

"Yes! My father is Shang Nian, the current Left Prime Minister." Shang Ruoyi stared into his eyes without the slightest hesitation.

Shang Nian?

"Prime Minister Shang!" You mean Prime Minister Shang came to see you before leaving the city?"

Shang Ruoyi nodded without batting an eyelid. "Of course."

The guard's heart sank. Prime Minister Shang had indeed come to the city gate with the Crown Prince today.

Shang Ruoyi didn't expect that a casual lie she told would actually match the situation.

The guard looked at her several times and weighed the broken silver in his hand. The Crown Prince only said to make things difficult for the people of the Dingguo Prince's Mansion, not the daughter of Prime Minister Shang. It seemed that this young woman in front of him really couldn't be offended easily.

He took out four water bags and several white flour steamed buns. "Even if you're the daughter of Prime Minister Shang, you've now become a prisoner. Do you understand the difference?"

"Thank you, Sir Guard. When my father brings me back to the capital, I'll definitely ask him to promote you," Shang Ruoyi smiled.

She turned and walked back to the He family, distributing the water bags and steamed buns.

"Ruoyi, what did you say to that guard? They gave us so much," Concubine Qin said as she handed a steamed bun to the old Consort of the Prince. "This white flour steamed bun is much worse than those in the mansion, but it's far better than that dry cake."

"Nothing much, Mother. I'll try to ensure we have white flour steamed buns to eat along the way." She handed over the water bag. "Mother, Grandmother, drink more water."

After they drank, they immediately felt much more comfortable. Concubine Qin smiled and said, "Maybe it's because we haven't had water for so long. I didn't expect the water to be so sweet."

Shang Ruoyi just smiled and said nothing. Of course the water was sweet!

She had added spiritual spring water to the water bags!

"Yes! The taste of this water is really good, and I feel that my body isn't as tired as before," the old Consort of the Prince put away the water bag. "We'll need water along the way. We must be thrifty."

Shang Ruoyi picked up the water bag and walked to the still - unconscious He Jingheng. She poured some spiritual spring water into his mouth.

After a moment, he slowly regained consciousness.

"Where... Where am I?"