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

Immediately afterwards, Jun Yanchen took out another water pouch and handed it to Gu Nanzhi.

Gu Nanzhi met his gaze in surprise again. Was this guy stupid? Although she appreciated his kindness, she also had Butler Li, Cang Ling, and Zhou Cai who needed water. Why did he give him more than he gave her?

"Lunch is served. Everyone line up to get your food."

Now that they finally had a chance to rest, almost everyone was too tired to move. They quickly went to the shade of the trees on both sides of the road, not caring about manners, and plopped down on the ground to rest.

Upon hearing the escorts call for food, each family sent a representative to collect it; no one else wanted to move.

Butler Li, who had been enjoying the gossip about his master, decided to join the queue for his meal when he heard about it.

So, the only ones left to watch the drama unfold were Cang Ling, Zhou Cai, and Xia He. However, Xia He was more concerned about her young mistress.

"Thank you, one is enough, you need them too."

After making eye contact, Gu Nanzhi did not reach out to take it.

However, Jun Yanchen persisted and added two more words, "There's more."

After saying that, he proved it with his actions. He opened the bundle, revealing its contents to Gu Nanzhi. Inside were indeed three identical water pouches.

This time, Gu Nanzhi didn't refuse. Oh, there were more! Well, she wouldn't stand on ceremony then, since she really couldn't accept sharing a water pouch with someone else.

Gu Nanzhi forced a smile and thanked her again, "Thank you very much, then I won't be polite."

Now she has two water pouches; she and Xia He can each have one.

"Xiahe, drink some water, don't get heatstroke."

Xia He had just seen the water pouch, so when the young lady tossed it to her, she caught it. She still thanked Jun Yanchen afterward.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

After saying that, as if afraid that Jun Yanchen would take it back, she quickly moved closer to her young mistress.

"Miss, what is heatstroke?"

Gu Nanzhi saw Xia He's little actions and felt helpless. Why was this little girl so timid? Jun Yanchen was quite nice, wasn't he? He even took the initiative to give them two water pouches. What was there to be afraid of?

However, that was just what he thought in his mind. He then explained the meaning of heatstroke to Xia He.

"Heatstroke, also known as 'zhongye' or 'wanye,' is simply a condition caused by prolonged dehydration due to exposure to the sun in hot weather. Symptoms include headache, dizziness, and confusion; in severe cases, it can lead to convulsions and coma."

While explaining, the two walked to the shade of a tree not far away and sat down. Listening to Gu Nanzhi's voice, Jun Yanchen tossed a water pouch to Cang Ling and Zhou Cai respectively, but this time remained silent.

Cang Ling had always been by Jun Yanchen's side and was quite familiar with her master. She remained silent, opened her water pouch, and drank several mouthfuls of water.

Unlike Cang Ling, Zhou Cai, a mere guard in the Prince's mansion, didn't rush to open the water pouch and drink. Instead, he expressed his gratitude.

"Thank you, Master."

Unfortunately, his master did not answer him, but simply took a sip of water and remained silent.

Seeing this, Zhou Cai wasn't surprised. He then opened his water bag and drank a few mouthfuls of water, only then feeling himself come back to life.

Listening to the young lady's explanation, Xia He looked on with admiration.

"Miss, you know so much! Miss, you should drink some water quickly, lest you get heatstroke. The sun is so strong, and you've walked for so long."

"Yes, you should drink too."

Gu Nanzhi opened her water pouch and drank some water, but she was also distracted by Jun Yanchen, who could only utter two words.

A short while later, Butler Li returned with the food he had received, but instead of being happy, he looked worried.

Since dinner that day, they had only eaten a dark brown steamed bun, and now, after traveling such a long distance, the food the escorts had given them was just one dark brown flatbread per person.

The people queuing for food over there started complaining again when they saw that they were only given dark-colored flatbreads.

"Is this all the food they're giving us? Is it even edible?"

"How can you eat just one dark brown pancake..."

How dare they complain? The guard distributing the food immediately brandished his whip and lashed it across the ground.

"What's all the noise about? This is all we have. Eat it or go hungry. Don't think you're living in a grand mansion in the capital."

"If you want to eat, you'd better line up properly and get some. If you don't want to eat, then you'll go hungry. If you make another sound, I'll whip you."

With a scare from the two guards' whips, the previously noisy line of people collecting food fell silent again. Their faces grim, they took the black bread—which they would never have even glanced at before—and returned to their own lines.

Each family's representative took the food back to their respective homes. The food then had to be distributed within the family. When everyone saw what their assigned food was, some could only awkwardly swallow it.

But some people couldn't resist anymore.

Among them were members of the Zhao family who had recently been beaten up; they had barely gotten their hands on the goods when they threw a tantrum.

"What is this? Is this something for humans to eat?"

"Well, you lowly guards try to fool people with this stuff that even dogs wouldn't eat,"

"No, how can you eat this? Aren't there white flour steamed buns? I want to eat white flour steamed buns!"

"..."

Before they had learned their lesson, the escorts, who were not far away, rushed over viciously with whips, and without saying a word, lashed out at several of the shouting men.

"what"

"I see you want to eat whips, so I'll give you a good taste."

"Still dare to yell? Remember who you are. You're just an exile now. How dare you shout at me? I can't stand people like you who think you're so high and mighty. Today I'll teach you what an exile really is."

"I'll beat you to death!"

"Swish"

The cracking of the whip was accompanied by shouts from those who couldn't understand the change in status. As family members of several people, they couldn't bear to watch their children being beaten.

He could only beg for mercy repeatedly.

"My lord, my lord, we were wrong, please stop hitting us!"

"Sir, please stop hitting me! I understand, I understand!"

"Ah...ahhhh"

Please stop hitting me.

"My lord, please spare my son! Stop hitting him!"

After a long fight, the guards were exhausted. They had finally managed to rest and have a meal, but these fools were causing trouble at this crucial moment.

"Pah! If you dare cause trouble again, I'll beat you to death!"

"You want to eat white flour steamed buns, huh? Fine, pay up, twenty coins each. If you can't afford them, shut up."

Twenty coins each? That's highway robbery! A steamed bun usually only costs two coins, but they're charging ten times that!

"Twenty...twenty coins each, that's too expensive," someone had barely uttered a word when...

The guard's fierce voice was suppressed: "If you think it's too expensive, then give me some flatbread. If you cause trouble again, you'll get my whip."

Those who did this job had the lowest status, and the salary was not high. They could only hope to squeeze some extra money out of these exiled prisoners on each journey.