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

Chen Qiang got up and prepared to go find Gu Nanzhi and the others.

"Big brother, I want to go too!"

Chen Gang naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity to thank his savior, so he quickly struggled to his feet, intending to go with him.

But he had only just recovered from the poisoning, and although the exposure hadn't been long, he was still somewhat weak. Chen Qiang and Qian Laosi immediately helped him up from the ground, and then they walked together towards Gu Nanzhi and the others.

The other interrogators followed suit.

To the other three families, these escorts all looked menacing as they marched towards the group from the Prince Yan's residence. They all temporarily forgot their fatigue, craning their necks and staring intently.

They watched the commotion that had nothing to do with them, wondering if those who disliked the Prince's Mansion would be punished or beaten.

Gu Nanzhi was still sitting beside Jun Yanchen, calmly and composedly watching the escorts approach with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

She was about to be able to take off this burden, and she really had to thank Chen Gang for the unexpected turn of events; he had practically handed her the opportunity. Suddenly, she felt that Chen Gang was a little more pleasing to the eye.

Jun Yanche glanced indifferently at the approaching escorts, but even this seemingly indifferent look carried a certain pressure, making others hesitant to meet his gaze.

Seeing this, Cang Ling, Zhou Cai, Steward Li, and Xia He all stopped sitting far away and got up to come over, standing behind their respective masters.

It's like two armies facing off.

As the guards approached, Gu Nanzhi raised her shackled hands and gestured to Chen Qiang.

"Lord Chen truly keeps his word, thank you very much."

His words were plain, but the smile that didn't reach his eyes seemed to say, "Hurry up, we're just waiting for you to come and remove your shackles."

Chen Gang looked at Gu Nanzhi now; the arrogant attitude she had displayed before, the one that seemed intent on causing trouble, was completely gone. He had previously thought, "How dare she, an exiled convict, be so arrogant? Well, well..."

But now, looking at the young woman before him, he found her exceptionally pleasing to the eye and felt a surge of admiration. He truly hadn't expected a woman of such age to possess such medical skills; she was truly remarkable. It was such a pity that she was being exiled like this.

Before Chen Qiang or the others could speak, Chen Gang clasped his hands in a fist and palm salute to Gu Nanzhi and spoke first.

"Your Highness, thank you so much for saving my life. If you need anything on your journey in the future, please feel free to tell me, and I will do my best to repay your kindness."

Gu Nanzhi had naturally observed Chen Gang, who appeared to be the youngest among the escorts and was the one protecting and guarding them. Furthermore, during her earlier conversation with Qian Laosi, this guy couldn't stand her arrogance and wanted to use his whip.

She could tell that this person was probably doing this kind of job for the first time; he acted like a child imitating an adult. And this was likely one of the methods the escorts used to suppress exiled prisoners.

Gu Nanzhi didn't care about this guy's previous behavior. Plus, he'd given her another chance, and now he was so sensible—he wanted to repay her life-saving grace.

Gu Nanzhi found him even more pleasing to the eye, and this time the smile on her lips deepened a little.

"I wouldn't call it a life-saving grace, as you probably already know that there were conditions to saving you. However, I appreciate your kindness, Lord Chen, and hope to cooperate with you smoothly on your journey to exile, so that we may reach Junlan safely."

After exchanging pleasantries, Gu Nanzhi added, "By the way, I'm no longer a princess. From now on, just call me Miss Gu. Otherwise, calling me princess might give those with ulterior motives trouble, since we're just commoners now, on our way to exile."

Gu Nanzhi was so easy to talk to, even smiling, which made Qian Laosi feel uneasy. Why was she so easy to talk to Chen Gang?

The result from him was both the use of hidden weapons and poisoning.

Ugh......

How could he not have resisted the temptation to have bad intentions towards such a two-faced woman?

“Alright, Miss Gu, regardless of whether you made any conditions, you are my savior. In the future, on the road, if you need anything, I will do my best. Miss Gu, you don’t need to call me Lord Yu, just call me by my name.”

The debt of saving a life is greater than the heavens. The journey to Junlan will take at least two months. As long as it is within Chen Gang's power, he will do his best to help and make things convenient for his savior.

After saying that, he urged his elder brother, Chen Qiang, to fulfill the conditions he had agreed to.

"Brother, now that we've agreed to Miss Gu's conditions, we should keep our word. Let's quickly remove the shackles from Miss Gu and the others."

Chen Gang's behavior was a truly unexpected surprise. Gu Nanzhi's original intention was simply to openly and honestly remove her shackles, but she never expected that Chen Gang would be so concerned about the debt of saving her life.

Driven by a desire to repay a debt of gratitude, he was so eager to fulfill the conditions she set for him.

The person in charge of watching over their small group, Qian Laosi, was controlled by her with poison. He wouldn't dare cause them any trouble if he wanted to live.

Chen Gang had once again saved his life, and he was thus won over, making his journey into exile much easier from now on.

Excellent, excellent, she was very satisfied with this result;

"Then thank you very much, Lord Chen Gang." Gu Nanzhi nodded to Chen Gang, then looked at Chen Qiang.

"Lord Chen, may we remove these shackles now?"

Chen Qiang hated his younger brother's worthless attitude. Knowing how to repay kindness was a good thing, but the other party was, after all, an exiled prisoner, and they were the escorts responsible for transporting him. Moreover, the other party had made such difficult demands. He didn't need to rush to repay the life-saving grace.

But since he had already agreed, he wouldn't go back on his word at the last minute. In fact, he agreed with the plan. However, as the leader of this escort mission, he couldn't be too obvious about it, so he needed to give a few warnings beforehand.

"I can remove your shackles, but let me make this clear: if you show any sign of wanting to escape on the way, then we'll have no choice but to be ruthless. Escaping is a capital offense for exiles, and they can be executed on the spot."

As long as I know I'm fulfilling the treaty and haven't gone back on my word, that's fine. As for running away, I haven't even considered it.

Gu Nanzhi raised the corners of her mouth, "Lord Chen, please rest assured, we understand the rules. The journey to exile is also a chance to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Why would we be so foolish as to try to escape?"

As she spoke, she tilted her head, winked at Jun Yanchen, and asked, "Jun Yanchen, do you think what I said is right? Will you run away?"

Seeing her so lively and spirited, my heart softened involuntarily, and I nodded slightly. "Yes, no."

Having received his answer, Gu Nanzhi turned back to Chen Qiang, shaking the shackles in her hand. "Lord Chen, see? None of us will run away. Hurry up and unlock them; they're quite heavy."