Those exiled this time were mostly relatives of the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince. The Emperor could not restrain his desire to exterminate them all, but he did not want to be known as a cruel person, so he compromised and exiled them all.

He actually felt that exile was more torturous than killing them outright, since these people were born into wealth and had servants to wait on them whenever they came and went, and had never suffered any hardship.

Wearing shackles and chains, they traveled for two months to a harsh and cold place. It was unknown how many of them would survive.

But even if they all die, it can't be blamed on him.

He not only eliminated a thorn in his side but also gained a reputation for benevolence—killing two birds with one stone.

The emperor was initially quite pleased with this decision.

However, this feeling was before the palace theft; after that, he never had a single day of peace. No matter how many times his men searched, they couldn't find even the slightest trace of the stolen treasure.

The situation was the same at the princess's residence; they had all disappeared without a trace. Even the homes of those officials who were used to flattering him had experienced the same thing.

Rumors are circulating that he suffered such divine retribution due to his immoral behavior, which infuriated him.

Enraged, the emperor ordered the arrest of many people, who were then taken to the execution ground and beheaded as a public spectacle.

Blood was spilled all over the ground, and the onlookers were quite frightened. After that, the rumors did stop spreading, but it was only a temporary solution.

This action only superficially intimidated people, but it couldn't silence the gossip. People couldn't say it out loud, but when the royal family was mentioned, their eyes held an indescribable, profound meaning.

Later, even the atmosphere at the morning court session became increasingly strange. The emperor grew more and more irritable, causing his ministers to become increasingly silent, afraid to say anything for fear that the flames of war would spread to them if they were not careful.

But all of this in the capital had nothing to do with the Shen family, who had already traveled twenty miles.

*

On the first day, everyone's physical strength was barely enough to keep up, the team was fairly complete, and no one fell behind.

The Shen family members slowly moved to the front so they could react immediately if anything happened.

Shen Xingmian finally saw the former eldest grandson of the emperor. He was very thin, and no one knew what he had been through. He was curled up in a ball in the prison cart, his eyes staring blankly.

Just as she was about to look away, she saw those eyes, which had been as dry as a well, suddenly move, quickly lock onto her direction, and stare intently.

At that moment, Shen Xingmian couldn't quite describe how she felt.

The apocalypse numbed her, and she rarely empathized with the fate of others anymore, because it did her no good except to add to her own suffering.

But she sensed endless pain and hatred in the child's eyes, a feeling that even made her heart pound.

She lowered her head slightly, pretending that she did not feel anything was wrong, and continued to talk to her father beside her about how to solve the problem of dinner.

Even in late summer, the weather is still very hot. The sun scorches the earth, and it's not cold even if you sleep on the ground at night. In this kind of weather, the food in the package will spoil easily, so it's best to eat it as soon as possible tonight.

She can occasionally take some things out of her space, but she can't do it too much.

Fortunately, three people in her family knew her secret and could help cover it up; otherwise, it would have been a real problem.

When the procession finally stopped, many people were so exhausted that they lay down on the spot. The heavy shackles made their shoulders and backs ache, and once they stopped, they felt like they could never get up again.

Thinking about the two more months ahead, I felt nothing but despair and pessimism.

Just as the emperor thought, most of these people had never suffered any hardship and were born into privilege. This was probably the first hurdle they encountered on their life's journey.

But it is deadly enough.

For these people who are usually pampered and privileged, walking even a few extra steps can be exhausting, let alone carrying heavy loads all day long.

Many people were so tired that they closed their eyes, and apart from the occasional unconscious groan of "ouch, ouch," they couldn't even utter a single complaint.

Like the Shen family, those who can gradually climb from the back of the line to the front are extremely rare.

Shen Xingmian didn't want to get too close to the head of the officials. She didn't even need to look at people; she could tell at a glance that the person was no good.

Before leaving the city, he was obsequious and spineless to a eunuch, but the moment he turned around, he attacked the exiled prisoners with a heavy punch and threatened them with his whip at the drop of a hat.

When the opportunity arises, Shen Xingmian will definitely teach him a lesson.

Even though he looks fairly decent, when he does something dishonest, his face becomes much more ferocious and hateful.

She's really not a fan of anyone.

The poor young imperial grandson was nearby, under close surveillance the whole way. Even if the crown prince's followers wanted to rescue him, they probably wouldn't succeed.

Just as Shen Xingmian was observing her surroundings, Shen Yunting came over and said, "Daughter, there's a stream over there, shall we go and get some water?"

After saying that, he turned to the other family members and said, "Quickly, drink all the water out of the water bags, and we'll go refill them."

The maid quickly said, "Miss, please rest. Let us go instead."

Shen Yun paused and waved his hand: "I'll take Mian'er to wash up. You all rest. You've had the hardest journey."

I'll go wash up in a bit; if I miss the water source, I don't know when I'll find it again.

Seeing that she couldn't persuade her, the maid stopped talking and obediently sat down to rest.

Finding a secluded spot by the stream, Shen Xingmian filled all the water bags she had collected with low-level supernatural water. This way, no one would notice anything amiss, and they could also recover some of their strength.

It can even help cure some minor ailments.

As for the water used for her maternal grandfather and the others, it was of course the highest-grade supernatural water she had, which was worlds apart from what she had. Otherwise, her maternal grandfather would not have recovered so quickly.

"Mom, Grandpa is clearly better, but he has to keep pretending and stay in bed. Doesn't that hurt a lot?"

Shen Xingmian was a very restless sleeper. When she was a child, she would even turn over in bed. Although she got better as she grew up, her body was still oddly shaped.

So when she thought of her grandfather, who was unable to move and could only move quietly with the bumps of the donkey cart, she felt a little sorry for him.

Shen Yunting was also a little sad, but she still comforted her, saying, "Your grandfather is a resilient man. He can definitely overcome this difficulty. At worst, he can sleep during the day and get up to move around at night when everyone else is asleep."

Well, it's not impossible...

"Then I can keep Grandpa company at night and see if we can find some prey to put into our space to keep as pets, so that we'll have meat to eat no matter where we go!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Xingmian became very excited and quickly looked into the stream, trying to find any small fish.

Even the smallest fish is still meat!

Add a little salt, coat it with flour, and fry it until crispy and fragrant. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water.