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

"Nanzhi, take good care of yourself. Come home anytime you want. The Lin family will always be your family."

"Grandmother, grandfather, uncle, aunt, cousin...take care."

"Take care, Namzhi, you must be well."

A gentle breeze blows, and the morning light shines brightly. Countless emotions well up in everyone's hearts, yet no flowery words can express them. They can only convey their reluctance to part in the simplest and most sincere language.

Finally, they exchanged vows and bid each other a reluctant farewell.

"Lord Chen, Lord Zheng, I hope you will take good care of me on the journey ahead. Thank you for your help."

The Lin family also made some arrangements with Chen Qiang and Lao Zheng, so that Gu Nanzhi and Jun Yanchen could receive their care on their future journey.

"Mr. Lin, you're too kind. Thank you for your hospitality these past two days. I'm sorry to have troubled you."

The two men treated the Lin family with utmost respect and courtesy. They felt deeply honored that their unremarkable status was warranted by being addressed as "sir" by the Lin family.

Even disregarding the Lin family's lavish hospitality and numerous benefits, they were already being treated with utmost deference by Gu Nanzhi and Jun Yanchen.

Since Gu Nanzhi's strength is undeniable, they naturally dare not utter a word now;

Parting is inevitable after a thousand miles of farewell. Though reluctant to part, it was time to say goodbye. At the Lin family's farewell ceremony, the group boarded the carriages that had been prepared beforehand.

"Take care of yourself"

"Take care of yourself"

"drive"

With a shout, the sound of horses' hooves rang out, and the carriage slowly drove away from the Lin residence, passing through the bustling streets once again, and leaving Nanzhou City.

The Lin family members stood at the gate until the carriage disappeared from sight. Old Madam Lin, Yun Jingshu, and the others couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.

"This parting, I don't know when we'll meet again."

"My poor little girl, such a good child, having to endure this hardship."

"It will be alright, it will definitely be alright, Nanzhi is special."

"Mother, don't be too sad. With Xiao'er by your side, I will definitely protect Nanzhi."

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.

After leaving the city, the group proceeded towards Yunshui Town as planned. Lin Chuxiao was the most excited along the way; her already lively nature became even more talkative, with endless topics to discuss. It was unclear where she found so many things to talk about.

Gu Nanzhi felt a headache coming on and regretted it. She should have firmly refused and not let him make the trip. It was too noisy and gave her a headache. In the end, she couldn't stand it anymore and sent him to another carriage, which finally gave her some peace and quiet.

Lin Chuxiao finally had the opportunity to travel far away, and since he wasn't bound by any elders along the way, he was completely free to roam.

They weren't at all pretentious about sleeping outdoors at night; on the contrary, they found it novel.

Gu Nanzhi looked at him with the eyes of someone looking at a child.

"Fourth Brother, isn't this your real purpose?"

"Ok?"

Lin Chuxiao, who was diligently flipping the roast chicken, was taken aback by these words. Meeting Gu Nanzhi's gaze, she realized what they meant and quickly explained.

"Who said that, Nanzhi? Sister, I was genuinely worried about you, that's why I offered to escort you, really."

Lin Chuxiao offered a stammering explanation, but seeing Gu Nanzhi's clearly disbelieving expression, he had no choice but to admit it.

"Alright, Nanzhi, Fourth Brother, Fourth Brother does have some selfish motives. He yearns for the martial world and spends all his time at home reading, never giving me a chance to go out. Just a few days ago, when I encountered your escort mission, I wanted to go with my eldest uncle and elder brother, but I was refused..."

Lin Chuxiao truthfully confessed his motives, but these motives only accounted for a small part; his main motivation was his sister.

"But Nanzhi, you mustn't misunderstand your brother. My biggest concern is still protecting you."

Looking at the innocent and naive Lin Chuxiao, Gu Nanzhi felt a pang of helplessness. This young master still yearned for the martial world; he was far too naive.

However, with him on the team, the rest of the journey won't be boring, as long as you don't mind the noise.

"Yes, yes, I don't misunderstand Fourth Brother. Then I'll trouble you to protect me."

Gu Nanzhi's obviously perfunctory remark was enough to bring a bright smile to Lin Chuxiao's face;

The original small team of six people has now become a small team of several people, because Lin Chuxiao also brought an attendant. This person is not an ordinary attendant; he is also skilled in martial arts and was specially selected by Lin Yuchen for Lin Chuxiao.

That night, because of Lin Chuxiao's unexpected turn of events, Jun Yanchen changed another seemingly insignificant decision he had made previously.

"Cang Ling, inform Huai Xu that the Flowing Cloud Sword has been delivered to Jun Lan."

"Yes"

Cang Ling understood that the master intended to give the Flowing Cloud Sword to Young Master Lin Chuxiao, and he was not surprised that Young Master Lin was traveling with him and that his master had given him such an instruction.

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.

Just as Gu Nanzhi had expected, Lin Chuxiao's arrival had indeed brought a lot of joy to their small group. Lin Chuxiao also didn't have the airs of a rich young master and was very approachable to his other subordinates.

The journey was filled with laughter. After two days of travel, they finally arrived at the agreed-upon Yunshui Town. When the group reunited, the main force had already been waiting for them there for a day.

A grand procession of carriages came into view, drawing envious glances from everyone. If they hadn't recognized the familiar faces, they wouldn't have believed these were the people they'd been waiting for.

"The boss is back."

"Big brother and the others have arrived."

"Five horse-drawn carriages? Where did these five horse-drawn carriages come from?"

"How can Gu Nanzhi, a discarded pawn, be so lucky?"

"Hmph, you bitch, what right does she have?"

Everyone cast inquiring glances, some good and some bad, but what did it matter? Let them be jealous or envious, it wouldn't affect Gu Nanzhi and her group at all. As long as they didn't cause trouble in front of her, everything was negotiable.

"Big Brother"

The escorts also gathered around, filled with questions about the suddenly large carriage caravan.

"Hmm, have the others behaved themselves these past few days?"

Chen Qiang dismounted, first scanning his men before asking a question.

"Brother, don't worry, these exiled prisoners won't dare to cause trouble. A good whipping will make them all behave."

"Um"

"Brother, what's this carriage?"

"Thanks to Miss Gu, the carriage and everything inside were prepared for us by the Lin family."

Chen Qiang did not hide the benefits they had received and told his brothers the truth.

Seeing so many extra items, the other escorts also began to speculate about the strength of Gu Nanzhi's maternal family, and they all pestered Chen Qiang, while Old Zheng started gossiping.

On the other side, Gu Nanzhi and her group chose a flat spot and began to set up camp, prepare to start a fire and cook. The team reunited, rested for a night, and then began their journey of traveling every day.

The subordinates busied themselves with their tasks, while Jun Yanchen, Gu Nanzhi, and Lin Chuxiao were greeted with concern from the Qi family.

"Maternal grandfather, maternal grandmother, maternal uncle"

"Hey, Huaiqing, Nanzhi, did your trip go smoothly?"

Actually, there was no need to ask; one could tell how their trip went, judging from their large and imposing entourage. However, Qi Zhou still inquired.

Although I don't know much about the Lin family, it's clear that they must be a wealthy family, and they dote on their niece, Gu Nanzhi.

"This carriage and everything else were prepared for you by Nan Nan's maternal grandmother and uncles."