Exile at the start? The princess is no ordinary woman.

I said I was willing to go to Junlan, but not on foot. Therefore, I hope Lord Chen can do his job well. We will handle other troubles ourselves. After we arrive in Junlan in two months, we will go our separate ways.”

At this point, Gu Nanzhi regained her normal voice, making sure everyone could hear her, "If you disagree, I don't mind doing what you've all guessed before, dealing with you all and wandering the world alone. What do you say, Lord Chen?"

If reasoning didn't work, then she'd have to resort to force. Gu Nanzhi, skilled with knives and guns, knew that a knife was faster than a gun within seven steps, but even if these people were fast, she could handle them.

Guns are simply something these people are unfamiliar with; they're more effective for intimidation.

After Gu Nanzhi finished speaking, the scene fell silent for a moment, the atmosphere tense. The two escorts who had retreated had already drawn their swords.

Chen Qiang remained unmoved, his face cold as he stared at the seemingly harmless woman before him with a pair of fierce eyes.

Chen was initially startled, but he quickly recovered, looking tense and fearing they might start fighting. On one side was his older brother, his sworn brother; on the other was his savior.

"Miss Gu, please don't act impulsively."

"Brother... Miss Gu only wants to buy a horse. The journey is long, and it's the height of summer. Please agree, as long as we can arrive in Junlan on time."

Chen had just entered society and his thinking was simple; he didn't consider many things. As long as he arrived at his place of exile on time, no one would care about anything else.

Miss Gu was his savior, and she was a woman. Since she could afford a carriage, let her use it; it wouldn't delay their journey.

The main reason was that he had witnessed Miss Gu's formidable nature, and if his older brothers insisted on opposing it, he felt that they would be the ones to suffer in the end.

Therefore, it would be better to just agree;

The two sides were locked in a standoff, and the decision on which side to take over rested entirely with Chen Qiang, the leader.

"Pack your things and head back to camp."

Chen Qiang didn't directly agree, but instead sternly ordered them to return to camp, which was tantamount to tacitly approving Gu Nanzhi's use of horses.

Chen Gang breathed a sigh of relief, while the other two guards felt aggrieved; they, as guards, had been outmaneuvered by an exiled convict.

But they could only suffer in silence. After all, the scene of Gu Nanzhi killing people with the thing in her hand was still vivid in their minds. It was better to suffer in silence than to lose their lives. Besides, their boss was just as frustrated.

The tense situation dissipated with a simple sentence from Chen Qiang. Seeing that the escort had agreed and compromised so readily...

The one from the Zhao family couldn't stand it anymore and started stirring things up.

"Sir, how could you agree to this? She's an exiled convict, yet she dared to dream of using horses, of riding in a carriage, and even tried to escape, defying your arrangements. This is against the rules and the law! You should teach her a lesson..."

"I'm the one who makes all the decisions in this exile group. How dare you, an exile, question my decisions? Do you want a beating?"

Chen Qiang turned around and sternly reprimanded the person who had stirred up trouble.

But that man, oblivious to his own mortality, wouldn't stop arguing. "Sir, I'm doing this for your own good. She's an exiled convict, and a woman at that. She's broken the law. If the court finds out, you officials will be punished too."

Your Honor, you can't protect Gu Nanzhi just because she's rich and let her get special treatment...

"Snapped"

This time, along with Chen Qiang's words came a whip aimed at Zhao Pengyu, which landed firmly on his arm.

"Shut up! It's none of your business what decisions I make. You better behave yourself, or I won't hesitate to give you a few more lashes."

"what"

Zhao Pengyu's attempt to stir up trouble backfired, and he immediately exploded, launching into a tirade: "Cheng Qiang, you've abused your power and protected criminals! I'm going to report this to the imperial court so they can punish you!"

"You shameless slut, you must have used your seductive tricks to make the guards favor you like this. You whore, you shameless harlot, is it because Jun Yanchen is a useless wretch and can't give you a wedding night, so you're so eager to find a backer..."

Zhao Pengyu launched an indiscriminate attack, not only yelling at Chen Qiang but also insulting Gu Nanzhi's chastity. Gu Nanzhi was boredly enjoying this brainless, useless person's incompetent rant when she didn't expect his next words to turn on her. Her face darkened slightly.

Before she could even make a move, the other two escorts, already frustrated, had already lashed out with their whips at Zhao Pengyu.

"Useless trash! Abusing power and protecting criminals? I'll teach you to abuse your power and protect criminals!"

"I'll beat you to death! If I report this to the imperial court, I'll kill you first!"

The two vented all the frustration they had suffered from Gu Nanzhi on Zhao Pengyu, whipping him until he was rolling on the ground.

Qi Zeyi of the Qi family looked at the person who had been beaten as if he were an idiot. He was really stupid. What kind of situation could he be in to say such arrogant words? This beating was well worth it.

"idiot"

The two words Qi Zeyi uttered softly went unheard by others, but they reached Gu Nanzhi's ears: "He's really stupid, and his mouth is quite foul."

Gu Nanzhi also glanced at Qi Zeyi because of those two words;

"That's enough, Lao Zheng, let's go back to camp."

Finally, Chen Qiang spoke up, and the other two guards who were beating Hui Dong stopped whipping him, but they didn't forget to warn him, "Kid, behave yourself, or I won't mind reducing the number of men today."

Zhao Pengyu was so badly whipped that he couldn't get up. His whole body ached, and he kept wailing. This beating finally made him realize how inappropriate his words had been.

The lesson learned from the escort was over, but Gu Nanzhi hadn't settled her score yet. She handed the food box she was carrying to Chen Gang, saying, "Chen Gang, could you please help me carry this?"

"Ah, okay, Miss Gu," Chen Gang quickly took the food box, and then saw Gu Nanzhi take two steps toward Zhao Pengyu, who was still rolling on the ground.

Before they could even ask her what she was trying to do, Gu Nanzhi raised her right hand and flicked her wrist. Zhao Pengyu's wailing voice went hoarse for a moment, followed by muffled, hoarse "ah ah ah" sounds.

Everyone present was stunned by Gu Nanzhi's actions. Only Zhao Pengyu, after a moment of realizing something was wrong, found himself unable to make a sound, followed by panic and terror, screaming, "Ughhh!"

For a moment, he forgot the pain of being whipped, struggled to sit up, and pointed at his neck, trying to signal to the others that he couldn't speak.

Everyone else was astonished by what they saw. What had Gu Nanzhi done?

"Miss Gu, you...this..."

Immediately afterwards, Gu Nanzhi walked up to Zhao Pengyu with a cold and imposing expression in front of them.

Zhao Pengyu's gaze was somewhat frightening, and coupled with his sudden inability to speak, he was also startled by Gu Nanzhi and shrank back.

"Ahhh"

He was making hoarse sounds, as if he was saying, "What did you do?"

"Since you can't speak, then don't speak."

Gu Nanzhi's cold voice rang out as she reached out and removed a silver needle from Zhao Pengyu's neck.

The silver needle emitted a dazzling silver light under the illumination.

Flying needles and acupuncture points? ???