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

Gu Nanzhi's outburst immediately silenced Commander Wang, mainly because this was something that was truly unexpected.

Is this all the wealth the formidable Prince Yan's mansion possesses?

With the protagonist, Yan Wang, absent, only Gu Nanzhi and Steward Li were in charge among this group, so they could only question the two of them.

Butler Li, standing nearby, was less fearless. Afraid that the Princess might offend someone and suffer the consequences, he quickly stood up to explain, "Commander Wang, our manor truly has only this much. All the savings have been used for the Prince's medical treatment. The Prince's health is poor; his monthly salary isn't even enough for medical expenses, and we also have to support so many servants. We can only keep replenishing it from the treasury."

"I presume you have found the account books of your Prince's residence. You can see that the expenses of the Prince's residence are all recorded. How could this old servant dare to hide them? Besides, this old servant did not know that today's events would occur, so how could I have hidden them in advance?"

Such genuine sorrow for autumn is indeed undeniable, mainly because one point is correct: today's events involved the Emperor summoning Prince Yan to the palace and then directly issuing an edict to confiscate his property, without any prior warning.

How could the Prince Yan's residence have made preparations in advance? This left everyone speechless.

Steward Li knew, of course, that the Prince's mansion hadn't always been this poor. However, the Prince had gradually used the supplies in the storeroom to subsidize military expenses, which had led to the mansion's current financial difficulties.

But there's no need to mention that; the Prince's mansion is just that poor right now.

Commander Wang and Gu Honglang were helpless. Just as Gu Nanzhi had said, the entire Wang mansion had been ransacked, down to the smallest rat hole. But that was all they had. No matter how unwilling they were, they could only give up.

"Guards, take everyone from the Prince's residence to the dungeon to await their fate."

"Xia He, Steward Li, let's go take a walk around the prison that Commander Wang mentioned."

Gu Nanzhi got up and called the other two along, her relaxed and carefree demeanor suggesting they were going shopping.

The soldiers escorting them were rendered somewhat powerless by their cooperative and proactive attitude, and could only try to exert their authority over the other people who looked terrified.

"Get up now, or don't blame me for being impolite."

"Get up quickly!"

For those who are slow to react and huddle together for mutual security, I just push and kick them.

"Be honest"

"Look, look, it's out, it's out!"

"Oh dear, is he going to be taken away to be beheaded? Treason is punishable by death!"

"How pitiful, she was accused of treason the moment she married into the royal household."

"What's so pitiful about that? Even her own father doesn't care. Look, the daughter barely entered the Prince's mansion before Lord Gu led the way in confiscating her property. After all, he's the Prince's father-in-law. Minister Gu is truly putting righteousness before family."

"Ah, this King Yan is rumored to be cruel, but I've never actually seen him. However, his title of War God King is well-deserved. Back when the Northern Wilds invaded the Great Zhou, no one could rival the mighty Northern Wilds. In the end, it was under King Yan's leadership that the Northern Wilds were defeated and dared not easily invade our Great Zhou again."

Even though the prince has been away from the border for the past two years, his name still strikes fear into the hearts of the Northern Yan people. How glorious his triumphant return was back then! What a pity.”

"Yes, yes, how did things suddenly turn into a rebellion?"

"From now on, there will probably be no more Prince Yan's Mansion. Prince Yan is so talented and brilliant, proficient in both literature and military strategy. I heard that the current emperor can no longer tolerate Prince Yan, especially since Prince Yan also holds military power. The emperor has probably been wary of him for a long time. I never expected that Prince Yan would actually rebel now. At this time, Prince Yan will probably not be able to escape his fate."

"Hey...hey...brother, you mustn't talk nonsense like that, lest someone overhears and gets you into trouble."

"To be honest, this Prince Yan is only about the same age as those other princes, but his talent is something that none of them can compare to."

"It's best to say this in private, don't go around telling everyone, or you might lose your life."

"Alas... how pitiful, these servants of the Prince's mansion will probably suffer as well,"

As the people from the Prince's residence were escorted out by soldiers, the crowd of onlookers who had been waiting outside the residence immediately erupted in discussion again.

Gu Nanzhi walked confidently to the forefront, her head held high. Her exceptional bearing and striking red dress made her dazzling. She paid no heed to the whispers and pointing fingers around her, making the soldiers on either side appear as her personal guards.

Gu Nanzhi's inner monologue: Since I'm already here, I might as well make the best of it. I've never seen an ancient prison before, and this is a rare opportunity, so I might as well take a look. Anyway, it's impossible for them to kill me; I can escape in a flash. No worries.

Of course, if possible, she should try not to use this skill in front of so many people, so as not to frighten everyone and cause rumors to spread, and also to avoid making it inconvenient for her to appear in the capital in the future.

Xia He was terrified, but no matter what, her young mistress was the most important person. Even if she had to die, she would die with her young mistress.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Upon entering the prison, the escorting officers chose a large cell and locked everyone up together.

"Go in, go in!"

"Get in there, all of you!"

Entering the prison, Gu Nanzhi regretted it immediately. Why did she have to tour the cells? They were dark, damp, and reeked of mold and decay—the stench was unbearable! It was awful!

Besides, the prison food was actually quite low-defense for Gu Nanzhi. The cells holding their group of people had their backs against a wall, the other three sides were wooden stakes instead of iron bars, and the two sides were empty cells. The cell doors were locked with a large iron chain, and there was nothing in the cells except some dry grass on the floor.

Gu Nanzhi couldn't help but sigh that modern prisons were much better—clean, tidy, and with eight people per cell...

Everyone was driven into cells, each one terrified, unsure of what awaited them. They huddled together in small groups, seeking a sense of security.

Having chosen this path, Gu Nanzhi could only walk it to its end. With a hint of disdain, she walked to the far right of the wall and sat down, Xia He following closely behind.

Seeing this, Emperor Li also chose to sit down near the two of them.

"Miss, what should we do? Are we going to be beheaded?"

Gu Nanzhi casually uttered the two words, "Let's just leave it," then realized that this little girl was different from her; she was probably terrified. So she comforted her again.

"It's alright, don't worry, you won't get your head chopped off, just wait!"

After comforting the man, Gu Nanzhi turned to Steward Li and said, "Steward Li, you said your prince was framed, but how long has he been in the palace? Could it be that the emperor has already taken him down?"

Butler Li's face froze instantly upon hearing this. How could a servant like him possibly know about the prince's affairs?

He was extremely worried. The prince's health was already poor, and now this had happened. He wondered what was going on with him in the palace. Could it be... no... impossible, the prince will be alright.

Based on what Gu Nanzhi learned from Steward Li at the Prince's residence, she concluded that the rebellion was most likely a setup. Who would be so foolish as to want to rebel and then willingly hand themselves over to someone else?

However, it remains unknown who framed them, since, according to Steward Li, none of those people wished for the Prince's good fortune.