Shen Xingmian didn't impulsively distribute the rare strawberry fruit to everyone; instead, she continued to provide everyone with low-level supernatural water as usual.

After three days of exile, no one in the family suffered from heatstroke or fainted; everyone was in good spirits.

Grandpa was in the best condition, sitting in the donkey cart. He had someone to chat with, and he didn't have to pretend to be unconscious all the time. He was full of energy.

At this moment, Shen Zhiheng felt extremely bitter when he thought of what Xiao Yanyue had told him before, whether he had any skills that could injure people from a distance.

This child is so young, yet he has already learned to accept his inescapable fate and is facing it positively, which makes me want to teach him everything I have learned in my life.

Moreover, as the two talked more, he found that communication was completely unimpeded, and no matter how simple or complex his words were, the other person could quickly understand them.

This feeling is just wonderful.

Thinking back to the times he would occasionally fly into a rage when teaching his own three children, he couldn't help but feel immense satisfaction and affection for the child in front of him.

Regardless of the other person's identity or who their parents are, the focus is solely on whether the person is satisfactory or likable.

If such qualifications were used to govern a country, how could the country be unstable and treacherous officials in power!

The only thing that's troubling him now is the little prince's Achilles tendon. Those beasts are truly despicable for doing such a cruel thing to such a small child.

Fortunately, Mian'er has many amazing methods, otherwise...

Shen Zhiheng firmly believed his granddaughter's words that she could definitely cure the young prince, after all, even the incurable "March Poison" was just a matter of a few cups of water in her hands.

Although a severed Achilles tendon is difficult to treat, the injury hasn't been long, so there must be a way. However, he had examined the injury and knew that the skin and flesh would indeed need to be cut open again, causing him to suffer once more...

The thought of that treatment process made Shen Zhiheng, this tough veteran, feel extremely distressed.

He sighed silently in his heart, while Shen Xingmian, outside the donkey cart, had a strange thought in his mind.

Thanks to the fact that she only needed to travel these past few days without any other problems, and that she even made a lot of progress along the way, her mood and mental state were very stable.

I don't know if they were intimidated by the "fire burning their butts" incident, but no officials have come to cause trouble in the past two days, and that strange guy hasn't shown up either.

Yes, it's that guy who seems to have some masochistic tendencies, but also has a really foul mouth.

When Shen Xingmian had nothing to do, he would occasionally look forward to that person coming over to cause trouble, so that he would have a reason to deal with him again.

She rarely set her sights on anyone. Even when she had become a powerful figure in her previous life, she remained extremely low-key, avoiding contact with others and striving to avoid conflicts.

Knowing that he was all alone and had no one to rely on, he never thought of fighting or being violent with others.

If you get injured, you'll have to take care of yourself with the wound.

Now it's different. She has so many family members who love her, so even if she has a conflict with someone, there will be people to protect her.

This feeling is so wonderful.

She won't become a troublemaker because of this, but she still sometimes longs to be the little girl who can hide behind her family and watch the fun.

It's a very strange mentality.

Just then, a commotion broke out ahead, and Shen Xingmian excitedly looked up. She knew it; the road to exile couldn't always be peaceful, there had to be some unexpected trouble.

Good heavens, the gossip turned out to involve one of their own people, and the one who fell down was actually the rough-and-tumble Xu Ce!

Shen Xingmian was a little anxious and wanted to quickly push through the crowd to see what was wrong with him, but she immediately realized something was wrong. The man did not look weak, and the medicine she had given him was excellent. Logically, he should not have fainted.

Could it be... that he was faking it?

His purpose in pretending to faint was definitely to be picked up by his own family. No, I have to get there quickly.

This guy is really something, he didn't even give a warning. What if his own family didn't notice? Wouldn't he have fallen so hard for nothing?

Luckily, I'm smart and have eyes and ears everywhere, hehe.

Shen Xingmian was so caught up in her own smugness that she didn't even realize that Xu Ce was ahead of them and not far away. If her family members weren't blind, they would definitely be able to spot him.

Shen Xingmian greeted her parents and then slipped through the crowd to Xu Ce's side. Seeing the officials had arrived, she was trying to find an excuse to take him back, but then she looked down, and those thoughts flashed through her mind—

They couldn't bring themselves to say, "This person is pale; he's probably suffering from heatstroke!" or "This person's face is flushed; his wound must be infected and burning!"

Because this man's face was covered in stubble, you couldn't see any trace of his complexion at all...

Shen Xingmian had no choice but to bend down and pretend to take the pulse. After a while, he turned to the two officers and said seriously:

"Officer, this man has a pre-existing condition and has been whipped so hard. He's probably not going to make it much longer."

However, I have some medical knowledge, so I can try to save him. If he survives, with his height, he'd be a double threat when working in the North. That would be a great achievement for us officers!

Shen Xingmian launched into a tirade, giving the two officials no chance to refute him.

The two officers were completely taken aback by her words. Following her line of thought, they realized that it was indeed true.

The reason these people were exiled instead of being killed was twofold: first, to demonstrate His Majesty's benevolence, and second, to provide labor for the northern border.

That place is so cold that people have very short lifespans. I've never heard of anyone living past sixty. Most people either freeze to death or die from exhaustion in their forties.

The prisoners had trekked there a long and arduous journey, and were practically skinned alive; few of them were in good health.

It would be a real shame if someone with a good physique died halfway through their journey...

So the two of them actually agreed without even asking their boss for instructions, since it wasn't a big deal and they could handle it themselves.

Fearing that Shen Xingmian, a young girl, wouldn't be able to carry the person back, the two of them even helped Xu Ce up and dragged him to the donkey cart.

Shen Yunting, who had been prepared to pick up the child, complained unhappily, "Aren't there enough sick people at home? Why did you bring another one back? Don't you know how to manage your own household?! You really don't know the cost of living until you're in charge of the household."

Despite his complaints, he deftly lifted the curtain.

Shen Xingmian gave her mother a thumbs up in her heart. With such comprehension, it's a pity she didn't become an actress. Because of these words, the two officials helped carry the person even faster.

While they were busy, Shen Yunting quietly winked at Shen Xingmian, as if to say: See, your mother learns quickly!

Shen Xingmian immediately nodded in agreement, which amused Luo Qi'an, who had been watching all of this, so much that he couldn't help but turn his head and secretly laugh.