Exile Army rested overnight, and as dawn barely broke, the soldiers were already cracking their whips, urging everyone to move on.
The weather was too hot, and the little ones were gradually losing their appetites.
Xiang Ying had them each eat two eggs and drink half a bowl of watery porridge.
The fierce sun scorched the earth, making not only the prisoners suffer but also the soldiers in charge of the escort could hardly bear it.
Along the way, complaints could be heard from the two soldiers responsible for pulling the wooden carts.
"Damn this weather, it's killing me. Xizhou is truly a cursed land!"
"It's just the start of summer, why is it so hot? It's not like this in Nanyue, which is much better!"
Perhaps because of the extreme heat, the fields in the nearby mountains and wilds could be seen cracked and dry.
Moreover, with the recent battles, the people were too rushed to escape for their lives, let alone have time to plow and irrigate the fields.
Looking around, everything was desolate.
The three little ones were as listless as wilted eggplants.
Xiang Xiuxiu could no longer walk, so Xiang Ying directly carried her on her back.
The little girl, feeling sorry for her mother, saw Xiang Ying sweating profusely and reached out her little hand to wipe it.
She then said, "Mother, put me down. I'll walk with my brothers."
At this moment, Xiang Yuanshuo also tugged at Xiang Ying's sleeve with his little hand: "I want to drink some cool water."
"You just drank a pot not long ago, be careful or you'll upset your stomach."
Just now, she had made a pot of ice water with crushed ice, lychees, and sweet osmanthus honey.
The three little ones and Tao Xue took turns drinking it, and it was quickly finished.
Now they wanted more, and Xiang Ying was also worried that too much cold might be bad for their health.
Looking at Xiang Yuanshuo's pitiful little face, Xiang Ying thought for a moment, glanced around with her phoenix eyes, and pulled three chilled pears from her sleeve.
These were originally intended to be made into a pear dessert for them, but seeing the little ones suffering from the heat, she had to bring them out earlier.
They hadn't been in the fridge for long, only cool to the touch.
Xiang Yuanshuo's eyes lit up at the sight of the pears, and without needing a reminder from Xiang Ying, he took them and, acting like a little adult, he urged his siblings: "Let's eat these hidden away."
Biting into the pear, its juice filled their mouths, icy and sweet.
Tao Xue watched Xiang Ying eagerly, not coveting the pear, but instead wondering just how much the elder princess had hidden on her person.
How come that little mountain on her chest didn't seem to shrink at all?
The road became more desolate as they walked, until not far ahead, a mountain temple appeared.
Beside it was a circle of wild lakes.
This was the closest water source, and the military supervisors immediately ordered the soldiers to lead the horses to drink and rest here for a while.
The temple was very small, and since the war began, few people came.
Following the Exile Team into the temple, Xiang Ying saw the incense burner box had been knocked over and trampled into the dirt.
The only valuable item, the bronze statue of the mountain god, had its head cut off by someone unknown.
In the small temple, anything worth taking had long been taken.
While soldiers led horses to drink by the lake, Xiang Ying also brought the children and Xiang Li over.
She first washed the hands and faces of the three little ones, untied their knotted hair, and scrubbed it clean.
Lin Lingxiang voluntarily came to Xiang Li's side, took out a handkerchief, rinsed it in the lake, and with her frail white hands offered to wipe down Xiang Li's body.
Xiang Li quickly raised his hand to stop her: "Miss Lin! There's no need."
Lin Lingxiang's clear eyes looked at him: "The elder princess said that your wound needs to be wiped and treated with medicine every day to prevent infection."
Xiang Li's handsome face appeared calm, but his ears had already turned red.
"You… you are a woman, and we are neither relatives nor close, it should not trouble you like this."
Lin Lingxiang paused, smiled faintly: "If I don't help, soon the elder princess will come to wipe your body, and she is also a woman."
Xiang Li looked towards Xiang Ying not far off, busy taking care of the three children.
He couldn't bear to let his sister toil so, and said, "I'll do it myself, just hand me the handkerchief."
Lin Lingxiang handed it to him, and Xiang Li wiped himself down, both body and legs.
Suddenly, Lin Lingxiang said, "The wound on your back needs to be wiped too."
She naturally took the handkerchief and went behind him to wipe.
Xiang Li felt it wasn't appropriate, but saying more would seem pretentious.
After thinking, he still pursed his lips and said, "Thank you."
"I should be the one thanking Your Highness, for allowing me to help the elder princess, and to obtain full meals for my family."
On the other side, Xiang Ying was rubbing Xiang Xiuxiu's arms when the little girl suddenly cried out in pain.
Xiang Ying carefully inspected and found that the arms and back of her neck that were exposed had turned red.
This was the pace at which one would peel from sunburn!
She touched her own skin, which was also slightly painful.
All skin exposed to the sun had turned red.
Xiang Ying frowned, feeling that this couldn't go on, otherwise before they even reached Nanyue, they might die of sunburn.
There were only herbal medicines in the space to apply, but as long as it was daytime, the sun was directly overhead, they couldn't always be applying medicine.
She looked up and saw several clusters of wild lotuses in the center of the lake, with broad and vibrant leaves.
"Tao Xue, you take these three and wait for me on the shore," Xiang Ying said, and without hesitation, jumped into the water.
"Ah! elder princess!"
With a splash, the surrounding people were alerted.
The prisoners were shocked, crowded around the lakeside, chattering—
"Why did she jump into the water? This is a wild lake, there might be a lot of aquatic plants underneath, it could be deadly!"
"Maybe she is trying to escape? If she swims to the other side, she can run into the mountains."
Xiang Qianqian secretly pushed Consort Yang.
Understanding her cue, Consort Yang shouted towards the direction of scar face, "Team leader, come and see, someone is jumping into the lake to escape!"
Scar face was drinking water, and upon hearing this, he immediately rushed over.
His eagle-like eyes scanned the lake and indeed saw Xiang Ying swiftly making her way across the surface.
With a husky voice, scar face yelled, "Come back! Prisoner Xiang Ying, come back immediately, I warn you, or bear the consequences!"
However, Xiang Ying swam further away and when she was near the lotus flowers, she suddenly dived under the water.
Only ripples were left on the water surface.
"Damn it!" Scar face spat out in rage and stormed toward the three children.
"What are you trying to do!" Tao Xue protected the three children behind her.
However, scar face forcefully grabbed Tao Xue by the collar and placed the knife blade against her neck.
Tao Xue screamed, and the three children shoved, "Let go of Tao Xue!"
Xiang Li scolded, "Don't touch them!"
He tried to come over to intervene, but forgot that his knee was still injured, and instantly fell from the wooden cart.
Lin Lingxiang exclaimed, "Crown Prince!"
She and the rest of the Lin Family helped Xiang Li up, while Yu Pin and the Seventh Princess all came over, blocking scar face.
Yu Pin knelt down and pleaded, "Team leader, let's talk this over, no need to take it out on the children!"
With a fierce look, scar face said, "Blame prisoner Xiang Ying, I have made the rules clear, she wants to escape with the current, then I will start with her children, I will kill one by one, let's see if she doesn't come back!"
Not far away, Xiang Qianqian and Consort Yang exchanged glances, revealing a schadenfreude smile.
Just as scar face was about to act, a cold voice inquired from behind, "What's the ruckus?"
The spectating soldiers and prisoners parted ways, Jie Chen, wearing a mask, arrived with his troops.
Scar face's demeanor changed, and he immediately let go, "Greetings to Military Supervisor Jie, prisoner Xiang Ying is diving, suspected of escaping, I was about to punish her family according to military rules."
Jie Chen's cold thin eyes glanced at the water surface.
The lotuses in the center of the lake were gently swaying as if someone was pulling them from beneath.
With a stern face, Jie Chen directly raised his boot, kicking two soldiers beside scar face into the water.
"She ran and you didn't know to chase? If you can't outswim a woman, you might as well not come back alive."
After speaking, he turned to scar face, "Thinking of strategies is productive, what use is throwing a tantrum, is this all you're capable of?"
Scar face, though grudgingly accepting the scolding, could only salute, "The Military Supervisor is right."
He fiercely commanded the soldiers in the water, "Capture prisoner Xiang Ying, dead or alive, drag her back!"