*
Jun Beichen, who was chatting with Nan Qing about some interesting things, was unaware that because of his "weak health," his future father-in-law said he was not a good match for him and was even thinking about how to cut off his contact with Nan Qing.
When Nanqing and Jun Beichen arrived at the small open space of the General's Mansion, the other people in the General's Mansion had already started a fire to cook something to eat, using the grain and earthenware pots that the people had given them.
Although the escort team distributed food, each person only received one multigrain steamed bun per meal, which was not enough to fill them up.
So it wasn't just them; the other people who were exiled with them were in the same situation.
Those who had the means would light a fire and cook something to eat; those who didn't would eat some dry rations bought from Shiliting with water.
Jun Beichen sat down in the space prepared for him at the General's Mansion, and said with a troubled expression:
"Aunt Hui, I wonder if Jingyuan would be so shameless as to mooch some food here? The servants who came with us are all terrible cooks; their food is practically inedible..."
"Besides, I happen to have some ingredients and dry rations on my carriage. How about I pay for your meal?"
He gave Madam Shi and General Shi no time to refuse. As soon as he finished speaking, Qingying placed a large food box in front of them.
Qingying also wore the same troubled expression as his master, and said:
"We apologize for troubling General Shi and Madam Shi. Our skills are indeed lacking, and we dare not let the Prince eat such unpalatable food with us. Madam Shi, please rest assured that we will send the Prince's food expenses every day."
After Qingying finished speaking, she quickly retreated, completely ignoring what Madam Shi, who was about to speak, wanted to say.
Looking at Jun Beichen's pale face, Madam Shi couldn't bring herself to refuse.
The royal family is complicated. Although she didn't want her daughter to have too much contact with him, he was, after all, Yu Shu's only son. Since the child had said so, what else could she say?
"What are you saying, Prince Xian? Although there's not much good food on the road to exile, the people around us are all very skilled cooks. Just eat here with Aunt Hui and don't feel guilty."
"And Aunt Hui hasn't thanked you yet. If it weren't for you, we would still have to tie them up with ropes, and Huaiyuan and the others would have to wear chains."
"Look, we finally managed to meet, and it's still like this..."
Seeing that Madam Shi was getting more and more carried away, from initially wanting to refuse, to later readily agreeing, and now even speaking to Jun Beichen with a somewhat self-reproachful expression and tone.
General Shi froze, trying to wink at his wife, but she wouldn't look at him.
His wife, didn't she agree that the Prince Xian shouldn't have too much contact with their daughter? Now...
Jun Beichen was very adept at understanding people's hearts. Seeing that Madam Shi was beginning to blame herself, he smiled and said:
“I’m already very grateful that Aunt Hui let me stay and have a meal. In the capital, many people don’t dare to get too close to me, let alone now that I’ve been crippled. They avoid me like the plague. I’m very happy that Aunt Hui still remembers me.”
"Although Jingyuan was still young at that time, he remembered that Aunt Hui would often come to the palace to visit the Empress Dowager and would bring him a lot of food from outside the palace and some novel things."
These words were a complaint, saying that everyone avoided him like the plague and dared not get too close to him, and he also talked about the past.
So Madam Shi's eyes reddened as she recalled the days when she and her mother, Yu Shu, were still young.
Madam Shi, already infatuated, no longer cared about General Shi, who was holding her and whispering comforting words to her.
She pushed the person away, then sat down next to Jun Beichen, took his pale, cold hand, and said:
"Good child, don't be afraid. Your Aunt Hui and everyone from our General's Mansion are with you on this journey. We will make sure you arrive in Lingnan safely!"
At this moment, Madam Shi had no recollection of her husband's words that Jun Beichen was not as harmless as he appeared.
In her eyes, this was just a pitiful child left behind by her deceased best friend!
Look at that pale face and that frail body. Although he wasn't exiled, he only had a few servants who didn't know the difference between hot and cold with him. How could they possibly take good care of him?
And so, Jun Beichen successfully stayed in the General's Mansion's ranks thanks to his own abilities.
He even had Qingying bring over all the cookware and other things they had brought with them.
Meanwhile, he sat openly next to Nan Qing, waiting for the meal to be served together.
Nan Qing had no objections; in her eyes, the chosen one of this world was indeed a bit weak.
And he brought so many good things with him; after all, she couldn't just pull a pot out of thin air...
Even if the people in the general's mansion don't ask, others will always notice.
Now that's great, with him as a shield, she can secretly have extra tutoring!
So Nanqing rummaged around in the little cart and pulled out a small bag of eggs. She quietly handed the eggs to Zhao Mama, who was in charge of cooking, and asked her to add them to the soup.
After scooping out the eggs, she sat back down in her original spot, silently watching the jokes that were happening in the other households.
Just as she was engrossed in reading, Jun Beichen whispered in her ear:
Do you know who's over there?
Nan Qing turned her head to look at Jun Beichen, who was suddenly very close to her. She immediately moved to the side to increase the distance between them.
She didn't reply to him, but simply turned her head to continue watching the commotion over there.
Nan Qing ignored him, but Jun Beichen wasn't annoyed. He chuckled and continued, "..."
"That's the Lin family's procession over there. Lin Qiang has a daughter in the palace, who was originally quite favored by the Emperor..."
Seeing Nan Qing turn her head to look at him curiously, Jun Beichen moved closer to her, leaned in her ear, and whispered:
"However, it is said that Consort Lin attempted to harm a prince, so she was executed, and the entire Lin household was exiled. The prince she tried to harm was the son of the Imperial Concubine..."
Jun Beichen paused for a moment, glanced at Nan Qing who was standing close by, and then turned to look at the noisy Lin family members.
"The one on the ground is Lin Qiang's recently acquired concubine, while the other one is his first wife."
"Lin Qiang has always been a womanizer. He has taken dozens of concubines in his household. He only managed to become a vice minister because of his daughter's favor in the palace. I bet he'll soon be standing up for his beautiful concubine."
Sure enough, as soon as Jun Beichen finished speaking, Nan Qing saw a thin, middle-aged man slap the woman to the ground.
The man even helped up the young woman who had deliberately caused trouble and fallen to the ground, looking quite distressed.
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