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

Gu Honglang had three concubines in total. The other two were brought into the manor after Gu Nanzhi went to the estate. As for the concubine and her daughter who escaped Gu Nanzhi's clutches...

Because she learned from Xia He that during the few days Gu Nanzhi returned to the manor, that branch of the family had not shown any ill will towards the original owner, she did not take any action against them.

The rest were punished, some lightly and some severely, after all, Gu Nanzhi was a very reasonable person!

As a result of this turn of events, many of the servants in the household became lethargic and uneasy. They wondered if their master had offended someone he shouldn't have and was being retaliated against, and whether they would be implicated...

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.

In June, the sun shines brightly and blazes during the day, but as night falls, the shade provided by the trees at the foot of the mountain makes the temperature feel slightly cool.

At Jun Yanchen's suggestion, the only quilt they had was also used to cover Gu Nanzhi and Xia He.

Gu Nanzhi was also surprised. This person didn't seem like the rumors at all. He was quite loyal and considerate. Because of their childhood friendship, he knew how to be considerate of girls. He wasn't as cruel as people said!

As night fell, the rustling of leaves in the breeze added to the sense of dread in the darkness. Those who had never experienced hardship felt their fear amplified, and could only huddle together, seeking security from their loved ones.

Such a change was hard to accept, and I dared not fall asleep easily, but in the end I could not withstand a whole day of running around and fell into a deep sleep after a short while.

Once asleep, one loses all awareness and fear, leaving only the instinctive urge to curl up for warmth;

After a long while, when almost all of the nearly two hundred people in the group had fallen asleep, a few low chirps of birds broke the silence of the night.

"Cuckoo"

"Cuckoo"

As the bird's call rang out, the two people who had been sitting with their eyes closed suddenly opened them. Cang Ling's movements were gentle yet agile; she had been sitting against the mound of earth, but in an instant, she straightened her back and knelt on one knee beside the masked man.

"master"

"Um"

Jun Yanchen simply uttered a sound of response from his throat, and Cang Ling had already received the order. Two copper wire-like objects appeared out of nowhere in his hands, and after fiddling with the shackles for a few moments, he easily opened them.

With the shackles on his feet removed, making walking easier, he stood up, gripping the chains in his hands to avoid making a sound, and left their resting camp, heading into the woods.

Jun Yanchen didn't move at all, glancing at Gu Nanzhi who was a little distance away to his right before closing his eyes again;

Gu Nanzhi had her eyes closed, but she was actually awake. She had only fallen into a light sleep, but the sudden bird call woke her up completely. She had intended to open her eyes to look, but then she heard a very, very faint sound coming from her left.

Therefore, she could only continue to remain silent.

So Jun Yanchen isn't as simple as he seems. He's already making moves on the very first day? Was that his man who made the sound?

What does he want to do? Does he want to leave the exile group?

That shouldn't be the case. If that's the case, then his statement about waiting for Junlan is unbelievable.

It seems I'll have to be more careful around this person in the future; someone who can spread such rumors can't be simple.

Not long after, the person who had left returned and went back to Jun Yanchen's side.

"My lord, Bai Zang and Xuan Ying bring news that mysterious people appeared in the capital last night and emptied the national treasury, the emperor's private treasury, the Eastern Palace, the Prime Minister's residence outside the palace, and Minister Gu Honglang's residence—none of them were spared; they were all emptied."

The mysterious person, using unknown methods, caused such a commotion without leaving any trace or alerting anyone. The method was identical to others, as if they had vanished into thin air. The only difference was that the mysterious person injured everyone inside the Minister's residence.

Cang Ling lowered her voice and told her master everything she had just learned. She was inwardly astonished; any one piece of information she had received was enough to shock everyone. What kind of person could accomplish so much in a single night?

"Furthermore, the rumors circulating among the people when they left the city were also spread by a mysterious person. This mysterious person wrote on papers they had never seen before, filled with information about the emperor embezzling public funds, extorting money from the people, and increasing taxes... and scattered them throughout the city, which have already spread to all the people of the capital."

Jun Yanchen listened silently to the news Cang Ling spoke, recalling the few words the people had uttered when he left the city. He stared silently at the bonfire ahead, which still had a faint glow.

Even in such silence, one can exert a powerful sense of pressure.

All the information raced through his mind, enabling him to move freely within the heavily guarded palace, stealing treasures both inside and outside the palace walls...

Why were only the people from the Minister's residence injured?

After a moment, he seemed to be pondering to himself, "A mysterious person?"

Then his gaze seemed to shift almost imperceptibly to Gu Nanzhi. Interesting!

"Has Bai Zang seen it?"

Then a low, inexplicable question rang out, but Cang Ling knew what her master meant and still responded in a low voice.

"I've checked, it's poison."

It turned out that during the day, Cang Ling had already found an opportunity to tell Jun Yanchen about her inability to condense her inner energy. The two of them also suspected that something had been done in the palace.

As expected, they still prefer to use underhanded tactics.

"Master, Bai Zang says it can be cured, but it requires a certain medicine and will take some time. I cannot use my internal energy and may encounter unforeseen circumstances. I need Xuan Ying to dispatch secret guards to protect me in advance."

Even though his master has been exiled, how could those people let him go so easily? The journey will be fraught with danger. He cannot use his internal energy at the moment, and if they encounter danger, he may not be able to protect his master. He himself does not care, but his master must not suffer any harm.

To ensure the master's safety, more people need to be deployed in secret to prevent any unforeseen events;

"No need. We're still too close to the capital. Just have Bai Zang detoxify you as soon as possible."

However, Jun Yanchen seemed indifferent to this, not caring about his own safety, and asked again, "How is He Mobai doing?"

"Dr. He has already set off."

"Um"

At this point, Jun Yanchen fell silent and slowly closed his eyes. His extremely low voice throughout went unnoticed.

Cang Ling finally put the shackles back on her feet and closed her eyes to rest.

Gu Nanzhi, the only one who noticed their movements, increasingly felt that Jun Yanchen was no ordinary person, although she couldn't hear what they were saying.

It's not simple, that's good. Maybe the Path of Exile will be more interesting and entertaining from now on.

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.

As dawn broke, Gu Nanzhi opened her eyes early. A night's rest had been exhausting; Xia He beside her was still asleep.

She gently got up and stretched her limbs. Jun Yanchen, Cang Ling, and the others also woke up.

Seeing that they were awake, Gu Nanzhi acted as if nothing had happened the night before, calmly greeting the two of them.

Good morning.

Jun Yanchen remained silent, offering only a simple "Mm".

Cang Ling bowed respectfully, saying, "Madam..."