*

After the exile procession set off, Jun Beichen did not return to the carriage. Instead, he chatted casually with General Shi, walking in the middle of the group from the General's Mansion.

General Shi looked at his thin, paper-thin body and tried to persuade him to get back into the carriage several times, but Jun Beichen would make all sorts of excuses, saying that he also needed to walk around more.

Nan Qing followed behind them, and seeing that no one was paying attention to her, she would occasionally take out some snacks from her spatial storage to eat.

She even slipped several pieces to her mother, Mingxia, and Zhao's mother.

Fortunately, the people in the General's Mansion kept their mouths shut. When Mingxia and some others saw their young lady occasionally taking something out of her sleeve to sneak a bite, although they didn't know where she was taking it from, they still consciously formed a circle around her to cover her up completely.

Even Shi's mother only glanced at her with affection before silently eating the pastry that Nan Qing had placed in her hand.

Although she couldn't openly take those things out, Nan Qing had no intention of wronging herself or the people in the General's Mansion. She would just make up some supernatural or heretical stories when the time came.

After walking only three or four miles, Nanqing was already feeling the strain. Not only did her pace slow down considerably, but her breathing became increasingly labored, and her face turned rosy.

Although this body has practiced martial arts since childhood and has good physical fitness.

But... legs are legs, and the soul is the soul!

Let alone the small world where she had been pampered all along, even in the tens of thousands of years since she took human form, she had never walked this many roads in a row!

Helpless, she could only secretly slip herself a pill when no one was looking.

Nourished by divine power, she felt as if she had come back to life.

However, she thought no one noticed her, but Jun Beichen, who was two steps ahead of her, had been watching Nan Qing out of the corner of his eye.

When he saw Nan Qing feeding him all sorts of snacks like a little hamster, the once cold and indifferent Crown Prince's heart softened completely.

His little crown princess is so adorable!

Looking back now, I wonder why he was so disappointing as a child, only knowing how to study. When Aunt Hui brought his younger sister Nanqing to visit the Empress Dowager, why didn't he even glance at her?

Otherwise, he would have already brought her into his Crown Prince's residence; there would be no need for him to sneak around his Crown Princess like this.

Jun Beichen told General Shi to go first, while he himself slowly landed in front of and behind Nan Qing, getting closer and closer to her...

But Nanqing didn't notice at all that all her attention was on the road beneath her feet and the milk cake she was nibbling on.

Suddenly, a male voice with a faint laugh came from beside her, startling her as she was secretly eating a snack.

"Is it tasty?"

Nanqing quickly stuffed the remaining small piece of pastry into her mouth and turned to look.

It turned out to be that frail Crown Prince. He'd somehow gotten to her side. And wasn't that Mingxia next to her?

Nan Qing looked around and saw that Ming Xia was staring at the Crown Prince from behind, looking resentful. When she saw Nan Qing looking over, she immediately put on a wronged expression.

She was walking peacefully next to her young lady when she was suddenly pushed aside. What kind of nonsense is this?!

But the other party was the Crown Prince. Even though he had been deposed, he was still a prince of the Great Yan. She dared not complain, so she could only secretly glare at him.

Seeing Mingxia's expression, Nanqing roughly understood what was going on. She turned around, looked at Jun Beichen, and said:

"Why doesn't Your Highness get on the carriage? I've heard you're not in good health; you shouldn't suffer like us."

"Even if we wanted to ride in a horse-drawn carriage, we couldn't get one."

Jun Beichen didn't reply to Nan Qing's question. Instead, he said something completely unrelated:

"Didn't I say to call me Brother Jingyuan? We are about the same age, and my mother and your mother are good friends. If Sister Nanqing feels uncomfortable, you can just call me Jingyuan. I am no longer the Crown Prince. If Sister Nanqing continues to call me that, it may cause trouble."

Nan Qing thought about it and realized it made sense; constantly calling him "Crown Prince" wasn't quite appropriate. However, she really couldn't bring herself to call him "Brother," so she nodded and calmly said, "Alright then."

Since he himself didn't care, she stopped caring why the chosen one of destiny was walking like them instead of taking a carriage. After all, it wasn't like she was the one who was suffering.

The exiled procession moved slowly along the official road. Occasionally, some unsuspecting passersby would point and whisper, assuming they were all heinous criminals.

After traveling for nearly two hours, it was almost noon when the exiled caravan finally reached ten miles outside the capital.

The leader of the escorting soldiers cracked his whip and shouted, "Rest here for half an hour. Those with money can buy some food themselves."

Although the families of exiled officials had their homes confiscated, they would still keep some loose silver or other valuables hidden away to make their journey through exile easier. This became an unwritten rule.

Some family members' relatives or friends would also wait at the Shili Pavilion to bring money and food.

Upon hearing the words of the leading officer, the entire group stirred up. Many family members, who were already starving, dragged their heavy shackles and rushed toward the stalls around the pavilion.

Others walked toward familiar faces, people sent by the families of officials' wives.

Only Nan Qing and his group from the General's Mansion found a clean spot, sat down on the ground, and prepared to rest for a while.

Before Nanqing could even sit down, a commotion suddenly broke out in front of them.

"General Shi, General Shi is over there!"

"Quickly, move the things over there!"

Nanqing and the others looked up and saw dozens of people, young and old, rushing towards them, each carrying a basket, a bundle, and even a small cart pulled by a donkey.

"Qingfeng, those people..."

A guard standing nearby saw so many people rushing over and was about to ask if he should stop them, in case they bumped into their master. But before he could say anything, the leader next to him slapped him hard on the forehead.

"Are you stupid? That's a general who protects the nation!"

"They're probably just delivering some things. Besides, look over there..."

Qingying, disguised as an escort, looked in the direction he pointed. He looked closely, then a knowing look appeared on his face, and he silently gave Qingfeng a thumbs up.

As expected of their leader, his observation skills are truly impressive.

Their master, the dignified Crown Prince, is staring intently at the eldest daughter of the Shi family.

Tsk tsk, they really thought their master was a monk, turns out he has worldly desires too~

Indeed, Jun Beichen was standing under a tree, calmly watching the crowd of people delivering gifts to the General's Mansion.

At this moment, Qingbai, who was next to him, suddenly whispered:

"Master, the Shi family enjoys such a high reputation among the common people. If we..."