He couldn't hand over all the mushrooms to the guards. So, he picked out the most brightly - colored mushrooms from the basket and hid them inside his clothes.

Shang Ruoyi sensed a little tail behind her. Turning around, she saw it was He Jingxi.

"What's up?"

"I don't know these things. I thought I'd follow you and pick whatever you pick," He Jingxi said, looking a bit embarrassed. "I can't go back empty - handed."

Shang Ruoyi divided half of the mushrooms in her hand with him and then continued walking.

He looked at the mushrooms in his hand and then at her back. It seemed Shang Ruoyi was indeed different from her Prime - Minister father.

As Shang Ruoyi walked ahead, she held a few small stones in her hand. Observing that the woods and grass here were thick, there might be animals like rabbits.

Just then, a shadow flashed by. Shang Ruoyi was quick - eyed and threw a stone.

It was actually a rabbit.

She was very measured with her strike, merely knocking it unconscious.

Walking up to pick up the rabbit, she was stunned.

This rabbit seemed to be pregnant.

She touched her nose and, taking advantage of no one being around, put the rabbit directly into the space.

After walking a bit further, a pheasant came into view.

Shang Ruoyi threw a stone. This time, she used a bit more force, and the pheasant died instantly. It was perfect for stewing with the mushrooms. It must be extremely delicious.

By this time, it had gotten dark. Shang Ruoyi, carrying the pheasant, walked back and happened to meet He Jingxi. Besides the mushrooms he had earlier, he was holding two round objects.

Getting closer, she realized they were potatoes.

"Where did you find these potatoes?"

"I accidentally fell down just now and saw some plants over there," he pointed to a depression not far away. "I didn't know if they were edible, so I wanted to pick them and ask you. When I pulled them out, there were two 'fruits,' so I brought them all."

Upon hearing this, Shang Ruoyi quickly walked towards the depression.

Her eyes lit up.

She stepped forward quickly and dug out the potatoes. There were more than twenty of them.

The largest one was as big as a man's fist.

Taking advantage of the darkness, she put several potato - bearing seedlings into the space. If planted in the space's fields, they might grow even bigger.

When the two of them returned with the food they found, He Jinghe hadn't come back yet. The guard frowned when he saw only the two of them. "Where's He Jinghe?"

"We separated once we entered the forest."

Upon hearing this, Concubine Zhao was greatly alarmed. "Could that good - for - nothing have run away? Oh, that damned thing!"

Zhang, seeing her cursing her son like this, despite her painful feet, quickly stepped forward and slapped Concubine Zhao.

"You low - born concubine, how dare you curse my son? What do you think you are?"

Concubine Zhao was not one to take a beating lying down.

She was caught off - guard just now. Now that she reacted, she immediately stood up. "How dare you hit me?"

"Why wouldn't I dare? You're just a concubine. Why can't I hit you?" Zhang said coldly. "I'm the mistress of the house!"

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"So what if I'm a concubine? I'm the prince's concubine. Your family has nothing to do with me. Why should I let you hit me?" Concubine Zhao also got angry and raised her hand, slapping Zhang twice.

Since Zhang married into the He family, she had been the mistress. She had never been hit before. Now that she was slapped by a concubine, how could she swallow this humiliation? She rushed at Concubine Zhao like a madwoman, and the two women started fighting.

Concubine Zhao was originally taller than Zhang. She also had insoles when walking on the mountain road, and her food had been better than Zhang's and the others' in the past few days, so she had more physical strength.

When they were pulled apart, their hair was disheveled, and their faces were scratched to varying degrees.

Zhang was especially in a bad state. One side of her face was already swollen.

Fights were too common in the exile team. The guards just took a look. Seeing that no one was killed, they didn't intervene further.

Seeing the pheasant in He Jingxi's hand, the guards were overjoyed and patted He Jingxi on the shoulder. "I didn't expect you to have such skills. It seems we can count on you for food on the exile journey."

He Jingxi forced a smile. "Just lucky, lucky."

He Jingheng looked at the wound on the pheasant. It was clearly a fatal blow at first glance. How could this be something He Jingxi could do?

He usually had trouble even holding a knife.

His eyes fell on Shang Ruoyi. This pheasant must be the work of this woman. He moved his previously broken leg. It had only been a day, and he could move it slightly. Presumably, it wouldn't be long before he could move freely. However, he looked at his other leg. Shang Ruoyi said the tendon in this leg was cut, and it would be difficult to recover.

Thinking that he might have to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair, he couldn't help but feel irritable.

Just then, a delicate hand handed him a water bag. "Have a drink."

He Jingheng took the water bag. "Thank you."

"How's your leg? Any feeling?"

He Jingheng raised his eyebrows. "Your medical skills don't seem to be that good. I still have no feeling in my leg."

"What? How could that be?" Shang Ruoyi squatted down, put her hand on his knee, and gently tapped it a few times. "Still no sensation?"

Suppressing the tingling feeling, He Jingheng gritted his teeth and shook his head. "No."

"The connection seems fine to me," she murmured, pressing a few more times on his knee. "It seems fine when I touch it."

Just then, He Jingxi came over. "Sister - in - law, the pot you asked me to watch is smoking."

Shang Ruoyi looked at the pot and said, a bit speechlessly, "That's steam, not smoke. You scared me."

She stood up and walked towards the makeshift stove.

He Jingheng felt as if he had been granted amnesty. If she pressed a few more times, he wouldn't be able to hold on.

At the same time, an inexplicable sense of emptiness lingered in his heart.

He looked at He Jingxi with a cold gaze, thinking: What an incompetent fellow.

Yun Tian and Yun Qi, hiding in the shadows, watched this scene and swallowed hard.

"The Young Master actually let a woman get close to him!"

"I saw it. It's even the daughter of Shang Nian."

"The Young Master is really sacrificing a lot to seek the truth. He's even resorting to using his charm!" Yun Tian sighed. "Our high - and - mighty master has actually come to this. Tsk, tsk, tsk."

Yun Qi glanced at him. "Idiot. Didn't you see the Young Master swallow his saliva just now?"