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

Because he was basically in one of two states the whole way: either he kept his eyes down and remained silent, or his gaze was fixed on that red figure and he remained silent.

Xia He and the others were already up today. Seeing that their young mistress was still half asleep, Xia He thoughtfully reached out to help her up from the ground.

"Miss"

"Um"

Gu Nanzhi took advantage of Xia He's hand for support, got up from the ground, and casually dusted herself off.

I'm going to wash my face.

"Miss, please use the water in your water bag. I'll fetch more after you've used it."

As a servant, Xia He should have prepared these things for her mistress, but now that they were in the middle of nowhere and there were no utensils available, Xia He had no choice but to make do.

"Need not"

Gu Nanzhi walked towards the river with a sleepy face. The water in the water bag was the spiritual spring water that she had filled for her to drink last night. If she used it to wash her face, Xia He would not take it back. Besides, she was not used to bothering others for something as simple as washing her face.

Although Gu Nanzhi was a little out of sorts due to lack of sleep, she remained sharp. Sure enough, on her way to the stream, she encountered two or three women returning together from the stream.

Although the two sides didn't pass each other on the same road and were some distance apart, she still felt an unfriendly gaze coming from one of the three women.

Gu Nanzhi, her eyes still blurry, casually glanced at the three people—the Qi family members—but these glances held no interest for her.

It was malicious, arbitrary, and she didn't even know her. After all, her motto was, "I won't offend others unless they offend me; if they do..."

Then you can't blame her;

Gu Nanzhi walked further and further away until she reached a secluded spot and entered her spatial dimension. Since she didn't have much time today, she could only quickly brush her teeth and wash her face, then nibble on a piece of bread.

When she finally got back, all she could do was kindly bring some fruit for the other five. She had other food, but it wasn't the right time yet; she needed an excuse to buy some things so she could indulge herself.

Furthermore, she had already been very kind to them, even bringing them fruit, which could replenish their water and sugar. It was only because they were on the same team and their behavior was decent that she was willing to help them; otherwise, she would only have needed to take care of Xia He.

Back at the camp, the group looked at the familiar strawberries and cherries. Butler Li, who couldn't hide his emotions, and Zhou Cai's expression showed a hint of surprise.

Why is it that the lady always manages to find food whenever she goes out? She gets rabbits, pheasants, fish, and fruit—while they never seem to encounter anything like that.

Yesterday, the area was surrounded by mountains and forests, so it was understandable, but where did these fruits come from today?

With this in mind, the straightforward Zhou Cai blurted out the question.

"Madam, you picked all of these there; I didn't see them when I went down."

They knew they couldn't possibly feed themselves by relying on the escorts, and with their wives leading the way, they all knew they had to rely on themselves. But after searching around, they hadn't seen a single wild fruit, let alone pheasants or rabbits.

But the lady is different; she always manages to gain something.

Zhou Cai's question was shared by the others, though they hadn't asked it so directly. However, they were all looking at Gu Nanzhi, waiting for her answer.

Gu Nanzhi remained completely unperturbed. She had only brought them along because they were part of a group; if they didn't appreciate it, she could simply treat Xia He to a life of luxury. That little girl was so easy to fool, so naive!

"Oh, I'm lucky, upstream."

This half-hearted explanation actually won the approval of Zhou Cai and Butler Li. They also thought that the madam was lucky; otherwise, so many people went to the river, but no one else picked anything except the madam.

As for Jun Yanchen, Cang Ling and the other two felt that there was something strange about this talk of luck. However, they couldn't even imagine the miraculous things that happened to Gu Nanzhi, so they couldn't put their finger on what was strange about her. They just felt that Gu Nanzhi was very different.

Seeing that they were all quite sensible, Gu Nanzhi decided to leave them alone.

At this moment, she was thinking that she had come from the capital and had traveled nearly a hundred miles in the past two days. Was the area around the capital really this desolate?

Even though it's so far away, there's not a town, village, or post station or anything like that.

This can't go on; this kind of life is too unfair.

After thinking about it, she realized it was probably a problem with the route arranged by the escorts. She had to ask when they would have the chance to make the purchases.

They acted immediately, and just as the escorts were urging them to set off, the opportunity arose.

She went straight to Qian Laosi, and even after a night, Qian Laosi was still shaken by her presence. Her approach felt like insects gnawing at his very being.

He never wanted to experience that feeling again; it was too agonizing. In that short time, he had already scratched himself, leaving bloody welts on his wrists and neck.

This morning, the guards saw him and teased him about when he secretly played with that woman last night, saying he got scratched by her. Hearing these words, Qian Laosi felt incredibly bitter.

If only a woman had scratched him, but he didn't dare tell the truth. He could only lie and say that he had been bitten by an insect and scratched himself, trying to get away with it.

The fact that there were women in the exile procession was an open secret. The other guards, seeing that he was unwilling to say it openly, did not force him. They would have their own fun with them anyway. They would wait until the prisoners couldn't take it anymore after walking for a couple more days and then they would beg for mercy.

"Your Highness...Your Highness"

Qian Laosi was filled with trepidation, but with so many people watching, he couldn't show it on his face. He wondered what they wanted from him so early in the morning.

Gu Nanzhi was speechless at the woman's subtle actions. Was she really that scary? Besides, she hadn't even done anything yet.

What a useless person, bullying the weak and fearing the strong.

"Lord Qian, don't be nervous. I just wanted to ask you, according to your route, when will you have the opportunity to make purchases? You also need to replenish your supplies, right?"

Hearing Gu Nanzhi's question, Qian Laosi's anxious heart actually relaxed. Fortunately, she was only asking about the route and wanted to buy some things, which was something he could give her in general terms, and it wasn't a difficult matter.

"Your Highness...Your Highness, if you wish to make purchases, you will likely have to wait two more days. If today's journey proceeds without delay, we may be able to reach a post station. Tomorrow, after another day's travel, we may arrive at a town where we can make our purchases."

The escorts would discuss the general route plan in advance. Barring unforeseen circumstances, they had a clear idea of ​​where they could reach each day during their journey.

Normally, the prisoners wouldn't be informed of these routes beforehand. However, Qian Laosi dared not hide anything from Gu Nanzhi and had to tell her the truth.

"Yes, thank you."

Having gotten the answer she wanted, Gu Nanzhi rejoined the group. Two more days? That's fine. It seems she won't have to sleep in the wild tonight, and she can eat at the inn. Anyway, she has money.