*

Qingbai's meaning was clear: if they could really bring General Shi to their side, their plans would become much easier.

Qingbai didn't hear his master's voice, so he looked up at his master's profile and then followed his gaze to the direction of the Shi family.

It took him a while to realize that their master had been keeping a close eye on the young lady from the Shi family.

Could it be...?

Before he could think any further, an extremely cold voice rang in his ears.

"Don't let me hear those words again. If it happens again, you're no longer welcome by my side."

Upon hearing this, Qingbai's face turned deathly pale. He abruptly knelt down, his knees slamming heavily onto the gravel, and said in a trembling voice:

"Qingbai misspoke. Please punish me, Master. I will never do it again!"

Jun Beichen's expression remained unchanged, neither sad nor happy, his expression indifferent, but his eyes, which were fixed on Nan Qing, were incredibly intense.

He stroked the jade pendant at his waist with his fingertips, his voice still gentle and warm.

"Go find Qingfeng yourself and bring Qingying over."

"yes!"

Qingbai, his back soaked with cold sweat, staggered as he got up from the ground and turned to walk straight toward Qingfeng and Qingying.

Few people noticed this little incident, especially the group from the General's Mansion.

Nanqing was following behind her parents, declining the gifts that the people had brought.

There were steamed buns, water pouches, dried meat, snacks, and plenty of wheat flour and various grains.

Even the cart pulled by the little donkey, no matter what they said, the man insisted on giving it to them, saying it would make their journey easier.

An elderly man with white hair placed the things he was carrying in front of Nan Qing and the others. His voice trembled, and tears welled in his eyes as he spoke to General Shi:

"General Shi, please accept them all. They're not valuable, but they represent everyone's goodwill."

“My son is also in Shi’s army. When he came home to visit this year, he said, ‘General, you’ve been so good to them. We all know that General Shi, you are a good person. You were wronged. You were wronged by the court!’”

Shi Huaiyuan's throat tightened slightly, and he forced back tears, bowing deeply to the crowd: "I, Shi Huaiyuan, thank you all, my fellow villagers."

Then he turned to Nanqing and said:

"Nanqing, please accept all the gifts from the villagers."

As soon as General Shi gave the order, those men moved even faster.

Soon, Nanqing's hands and arms were stuffed with all sorts of things, including several patched cotton coats.

Although it's only the end of September and the weather is still hot, the journey to Lingnan is long and the exile procession is huge, so they can't travel fast. It's estimated that they'll reach the dead of winter when they're only halfway there.

By the time the people had finished giving their gifts and left, more than half an hour had passed. Not long after, the exile procession continued its journey.

Nan Qing turned her head to look at him again and again, puzzled. This chosen one of destiny, why would he insist on walking instead of riding in a carriage? Did he have some kind of peculiar preference?

Jun Beichen, who was keeping pace with her, naturally knew what Nan Qing meant by glancing at him so frequently.

But she had no idea what his enjoyment was...

Jun Beichen suppressed his faint smile, deliberately slipped, and stumbled, falling towards Nan Qing...

"Hey, are you alright?"

Nan Qing instinctively caught Jun Beichen as he fell towards her.

She was already tall, and when Jun Beichen fell, he almost fell into her arms, with his forehead resting slightly on her shoulder and his warm breath brushing against her neck.

Although it felt a little strange, Jun Beichen was almost entirely pressed against her, his breathing was rapid and shallow, and his face was very pale, so Nan Qing could only use her hands to firmly support his waist.

"Hey, uh... no, Jingyuan, where are your attendants?"

Nan Qing looked around but couldn't find any of his attendants. Even Ming Xia was nowhere to be found. There were only a few general's servants with her, but they all looked at her with a hesitant expression, as if they wanted to help her but didn't dare to.

"Perhaps...she had something to take care of..."

Jun Beichen's voice was very soft and faint, even sounding weak and feeble.

Nan Qing looked down and saw fine beads of sweat on his forehead.

"No, where's your carriage? Let me help you to the carriage, okay? Just sit quietly in your carriage..."

Just as Nan Qing was about to turn around and help Jun Beichen to the carriage behind, Jun Beichen, who had just been too weak to take care of himself, stood firmly in place.

"It's alright, I'm fine. Grand Tutor Xie is quite old and can't withstand such a long journey, so I gave him my carriage. Besides, the imperial physician also said that walking more is good for my health. You see, I'm fine, I can continue walking..."

Jun Beichen pretended to push away Nan Qing's hand that was supporting him, and continued to walk forward as if he was completely fine. However, he stumbled again and was pulled back by Nan Qing to prevent himself from falling.

Qingfeng, riding his horse along the edge of the exile procession, couldn't bear to watch his master's clumsy performance. He silently looked away, pretending he hadn't seen it.

Later, some of the exiled people passed by Nanqing and saw her standing with the deposed crown prince, and they all whispered among themselves.

Nan Qing glanced at the whispering people, then turned to look at Jun Beichen, who stubbornly refused to get into the carriage.

Helpless, she could only hold onto Jun Beichen's arm, using some force to support his body, and said helplessly:

"Let's go, my young master. I really don't know why you insist on suffering when you can't bear it."

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Jun Beichen grabbed Nan Qing's wrist and listened to her muttering. Where Nan Qing couldn't see, a small smile appeared on his handsome lips.

He loosened his grip on Nan Qing and whispered:

"Thank you for your help, Sister Nanqing. Just support me like this, I'm fine, I can walk."

Jun Beichen's voice was still the same as before, light and pleasant to listen to, with a hint of a smile in his tone.

Although he knew that he would eventually win the world, Nan Qing really didn't know how he could still laugh, with such a broken body and now crippled.

Despite her complaints, she didn't loosen her grip, letting the chosen one hold her wrist as they slowly walked forward together.

As the sun set, when the escorting soldiers finally said they would rest and camp on the spot, the Shi couple, who were walking together supporting each other, turned around and realized that their daughter was not following behind them.

"Where is Nan Qing?"

Madam Shi grabbed her husband's arm, but before General Shi could say anything, they saw their daughter helping the deposed crown prince slowly walk over.

The young man practically clung to his daughter as they walked, chatting and laughing as they went.

Madam Shi looked at General Shi and said with some concern:

"Huaiyuan, this..."

Shi Huaiyuan stopped Madam Shi from walking in that direction. He helped her sit on a blue stone and whispered:

"Madam, please calm down. This deposed crown prince is not as harmless as he appears."

"You should speak to Nanqing privately and tell her not to get too close to Prince Xian."

Regardless of whether Jun Beichen had other plans and deliberately approached Nan Qing, or whether he really had feelings for Nan Qing, he did not want his daughter to get too close to him.

This deposed crown prince is quite cunning...

This kind of man is not someone his single-minded daughter can handle.

Moreover, Prince Xian's health looks far too weak; he's hardly a suitable match!