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“The minister believes that to eliminate weeds, one must uproot them. To prevent their resurgence, we should…” He drew a finger across his throat.
“Hah, the people of the Dingguo Prince Residence—old, crippled, and the only ones left alive are women. What trouble could they possibly stir?”
“But He Jingheng is still alive!”
“Alive?” The man sneered. “I imagine that once he regains consciousness, he’d rather be dead!”
“Your meaning is…”
The man glanced at the figure slumped over He Qinian’s back. “He Jingheng was always so proud. Now that he’s a cripple, surviving in exile will be nearly impossible. Soon enough, I’ll make sure he experiences the agony of being unable to live or die.”
“Your Highness is truly wise! This humble minister could never match even a tenth of Your Highness’s brilliance.”
The man in the purple robe was none other than the Crown Prince, He Lingsheng.
As he watched the departing procession, his eyes narrowed. *He Jingheng, you always had to outshine me at every turn. Serves you right for ending up like this.*
He had already arranged with the escorting officers to “take good care” of the Dingguo Prince Residence’s people along the journey.
The exiled group marched for an entire day, their throats parched, but the officers showed no intention of stopping for rest.
Shang Ruoyi wasn’t particularly bothered—in her past life, she had endured far worse, even going without rest for two days straight.
But the others weren’t as resilient.
Especially the Old Princess, who had lived a life of luxury. How could she endure such a grueling journey?
The rest weren’t faring much better. The Princess Consort and Zhang Yiniang were both deathly pale.
Just then, an officer cracked his whip sharply. “Halt! Rest here!”
The group collapsed to the ground as if granted amnesty.
The officer produced a cloth bag filled with dried-out flatbread, handing each person half a piece.
The He family stared at the bread in their hands, exchanging glances. *Is this even edible?*
It was as hard as a brick. One bite would surely shatter their teeth.
And without water to wash it down, wouldn’t they choke to death?
At that moment, Shang Ruoyi noticed another exiled prisoner approach an officer, discreetly handing over a few copper coins. In return, the officer pulled out a waterskin from a chest. Another prisoner traded a silver earring for two steamed buns.
*So that’s how it works.*
The other prisoners didn’t seem the least bit surprised by this exchange.
Clearly, it was an unspoken rule.
After all, many exiled prisoners were former officials or their relatives, most with some remaining connections. The officers might talk tough, but they knew exactly who could be abused and who still had influential families behind them—those who deserved a little leniency.
Exiled officials who managed to hide money on them usually had people still looking out for them.
Such individuals were untouchable.
But those without money or connections suffered terribly—most never even made it to the exile destination, dying along the way.
The He family had witnessed the exchange as well. The Princess Consort tugged at Shang Ruoyi’s sleeve and pulled out a gold bracelet from her robes. “I hid this secretly,” she whispered. “Take it and trade for some water and food. How can we swallow this dry, hard stuff?”
Shang Ruoyi shook her head. “Mother…”
“Forget it, why still call me ‘Princess Consort’? The Royal Mansion is no more. From now on, just call me mother.”
“That’s right,” the Old Princess said softly. “From now on, address me as grandmother.”
Shang Ruoyi nodded. “Understood.”
“Mother, once we reach the exile location, our days might get slightly better. I remember one of my father’s former students is an official there. No matter what, they’ll still give some face to my Qin family,” Princess Consort Madam Qin whispered.
The Old Princess nodded and closed her eyes to rest.
Shang Ruoyi returned the bracelet to Madam Qin, saying softly, “Mother, you should keep this bracelet for yourself. Your daughter-in-law still has some silver saved up. If we’re frugal, it should be enough for our family’s food and necessities along the way. You must hide your belongings well—they might prove very useful when we reach the exile location.”
With these words, she took out some broken silver from her robe and approached the guards. “Officer, may I ask how many water bags and wheat buns this silver can buy?”
The lead guard sneered when he saw it was her bringing the money. “This much silver? One water bag and one bun.”
Shang Ruoyi understood he was discriminating against them, simply trying to extort more silver.
She smiled. “So expensive? Could my father have been mistaken? Before leaving the city, he gave me some silver, saying I could exchange it with officers for provisions along the way. Apparently, just a few copper coins could buy a water bag. If prices are this high, I fear I might starve before even leaving the capital.”
“Your father?”
“Yes. My father—the Left Chancellor of the court, Shang Nian.” Shang Ruoyi met his gaze steadily without flinching.
Shang Nian?
Prime Minister Shang!
“You’re saying Prime Minister Shang visited you before leaving the city?”
Shang Ruoyi nodded without batting an eye. “Naturally.”
The guard’s heart sank. Prime Minister Shang had indeed accompanied the Crown Prince to the city gates that day.
Shang Ruoyi hadn’t expected her casual lie to coincidentally match reality.
The guard studied her for a moment, weighing the silver in his hand. The Crown Prince had only ordered him to “deal properly” with the people from Dingguo Prince Residence—he hadn’t mentioned anything about Prime Minister Shang’s daughter. It seemed this young woman before him wasn’t someone to offend lightly.
He produced four water bags and several wheat buns. “Even if you are Prime Minister Shang’s daughter, you’re now a prisoner. Do you understand the difference?”
“Thank you, officer. When my father brings me back to the capital, I’ll make sure he promotes you.” Shang Ruoyi smiled, then turned to distribute the water and buns among her family.
“Ruoyi, what did you say to that guard? They actually gave us so much.” Madam Qin handed a bun to the Old Princess, smiling. “Though these wheat buns are far inferior to what we had at the mansion, they’re much better than those dry cakes.”
“It’s nothing, Mother. Let’s try to have wheat buns for the entire journey.” She passed the water bags around. “Mother, Grandmother, drink more water.”
After drinking, both women immediately felt much better. Madam Qin said cheerfully, “Perhaps it’s because we haven’t had water for so long—who knew water could taste this sweet?”
Shang Ruoyi simply smiled without explaining.
Of course the water was sweet!
She had secretly added Spirit Spring Water to the bags.
“Yes! The taste of this water is indeed excellent, and I feel my body isn’t as exhausted as before,” the Old Princess said, putting away the water pouch. “We’ll need to conserve it since we’ll have to drink along the way.”
Shang Ruoyi picked up the water pouch and walked over to where He Jingheng lay unconscious. She poured some Spirit Spring Water into his mouth, and moments later, he slowly regained consciousness.
“Where… where is this?”