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

Especially before the mistress gave something to her master, they observed the expressions of the two men. Cang Ling, who had been with her master for a long time, noticed the change in her master and felt a little nervous. But what they didn't expect was that the next second, the mistress would take out a black object and give it to her master.

And the master actually accepted it, and eventually ate it.

These scenes shocked and puzzled them, but none of the three dared to ask the two what they were talking about.

But at least they saw their master eat something, and that made them happy enough. Even though they didn't know what it was, it was edible nonetheless.

It's better than the master not eating anything at all;

Seeing that her mistress had finally returned, Xia He quickly moved aside.

"Miss, please have a seat and some more food."

Xia He presented the steamed buns and pastries she had been holding to Gu Nanzhi, saying, "Miss, please eat, have some more."

Gu Nanzhi looked at what was being held in front of her. This little girl had only eaten one bun; she hadn't touched the others.

"Xiahe, have another one. Don't save it; it'll spoil easily in this heat. Listen to me."

Gu Nanzhi took another steamed bun for herself and let Xia He eat the other one as well. After eating the buns, the two of them planned to try the osmanthus cake.

The steamed buns were gone, but Xiahe thought it best to save the osmanthus cake for her young mistress.

"Miss, I don't want any. You can have the osmanthus cake."

The little girl is still too naive. She wants to leave it for her mistress, but she can't hide the longing in her eyes. Gu Nanzhi couldn't bear it and gently patted her head.

"You're such a thoughtful little girl, so considerate of others at such a young age. Just eat what I'm offered and stop talking nonsense."

The young lady was still as kind to her as ever, but she was very different from the previous young lady. She couldn't quite put her finger on the difference, but she had a feeling that the current young lady was better.

"Miss, you're only a year older than me."

"Getting a year older is still getting older, and besides, you still call me 'Miss',"

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.

The brief rest period passed in a flash, and the escorts were already urging everyone to set off again. Everyone's faces were once more mournful, as if the guillotine awaited them.

Fearing the whips wielded by the guards around him, he dared not move, and could only miserably crawl up from the ground and move forward with difficulty like a walking corpse.

The exile caravan traveled under the scorching sun. Even on official roads, the ancient dirt roads were often riddled with potholes, loose stones, and fallen branches, making the journey quite difficult.

The sun was high overhead, making you feel like your skin was sweating; sweat dripped constantly from your cheeks, and the dust kicked up by the wind settled all over you.

Never having suffered like this before, many secretly sobbed, their sweat, tears, and dust leaving streaks on their faces.

The once clean and tidy embroidered shoes were now so dirty and torn that they were unrecognizable. The dusty and disheveled exiles walked from the blazing sun all the way down to sunset.

This left people who don't usually get much exercise so exhausted that they could barely lift their legs, constantly groaning in pain and fatigue.

What was particularly noticeable was that the wealthy young men and women in the group usually traveled by horse-drawn carriage.

The greasy lunch left them nearly exhausted, yet they dared not stop, for stopping meant certain death from the whip.

The most disciplined group along the way was the six-person group led by Jun Yanchen and Gu Nanzhi at the back of the procession. The other three groups, despite their large numbers and complex structures, remained the most orderly.

Among them were the elderly, children, and women, not to mention the women and children who found it difficult to persevere. Even those who were used to being pampered found it hard to endure and wailed in pain.

The six people at the very back were undoubtedly exhausted, but not one of them uttered a sound of complaint or groaning. Not one of them fell behind; they consistently kept pace with the group ahead.

Zhou Cai was too tired to pull the cart alone, so Butler Li took turns with him. Even the injured Cang Ling helped with the handcart.

Actually, the pace of the journey wasn't particularly fast. If Gu Nanzhi had ignored the fact that her legs were sore, she would have been enjoying the scenery along the way.

In this season, flowers, grasses and trees sprout new buds, a tender green expanse, and wildflowers bloom in the mountains and fields. What a wonderful season!

This prevented the escort who wanted to cause trouble at noon from finding an opportunity.

As the sun set and dusk approached, they found themselves in the middle of nowhere, far from any village or inn. Gu Nanzhi looked up at the sky, thinking that they would probably have to camp out in the open tonight. These escorts were really going too far, starting the day like this. Were they trying to intimidate them and dampen their spirits?

Gu Nanzhi didn't mind being out in the wild; it was great, and she could see a sky full of stars. The other families were probably going to make a scene again!

Sure enough, just as Gu Nanzhi finished thinking about it, the group stopped at the foot of a mountain.

Immediately afterward, the guards' voices rang out, "Rest here; spend the night here."

See? As soon as these words were spoken, an uproar broke out in the exile procession, followed by a chorus of complaints.

"What? Spend the night here? There's not even a place to stay, how are we supposed to spend the night? How are we supposed to sleep?"

"This place is in the middle of nowhere, near the mountains. I've heard there are wild animals in the mountains. What if the wild animals eat people?"

"Waaaaah, no! I don't want to spend the night here, this is too terrifying!"

"..."

"What's all the noise about? Do you think you're royalty, rich young ladies and gentlemen? Do I need to whip you to remind you of your place? You're just exiled prisoners, and you'll have to listen to me the whole way."

"I said I'd spend the night there, and that's where I'll spend the night. If you dare to cry or make a fuss, I don't mind giving you a good whipping. If you annoy me, I don't mind killing one or two of you to teach you a lesson."

While shouting at the top of their lungs, some of the guards even pulled out their swords and stuck them in the ground, and others cracked their whips.

These words silenced the noisy crowd, who cowered to the side, too terrified to resist. They clearly dared not doubt that the head constable was merely bluffing.

After all, the road to exile is long and arduous, and it is normal for people to suffer losses, which will not be investigated.

The commotion and noise among the large group at the front had no effect on the few people at the back. Gu Nanzhi quickly scanned the surroundings and soon chose a flat, high spot with a mound of earth behind her.

The place wasn't big, but it was more than enough to accommodate their small team of six.

"Uncle Li, let's go rest over there."

The lady's composure was so great that even Butler Li unconsciously followed her instructions. He also noticed that the location she had chosen was indeed very suitable.

This gave them a destination, shifting their focus from the road to the chosen place;

The Qi family, located directly in front of them, had many military officers and had been to the battlefield, so they were experienced in spending the night in the wild. They quickly chose a spot not far from Jun Yanchen and the others.

However, their family is large, so even if the men are more capable, there will still be a lot of voices.

After choosing a place and settling in, seeing that the sky was still bright and she had the green mountains behind her, how could she possibly sit still?