Transmigrated into the Scum Female Consort - Chapter 119

Her Highness had allowed her to attend to the Princess Consort—this meant she still held her trust!

Zhou Qiyue could hardly conceal her joy; her spirit surged, and the trepidation that had clouded her face vanished. On the night they entered the city, she hadn’t reacted in time, standing foolishly by her father and eldest brother. It wasn’t until her father tried to push for a seat at the head table that she suddenly snapped out of her daze.

Though she had stopped her father in time, nipping a potential farce in the bud, Her Highness had not given her a single order since then. Privately, her mother had nearly scolded her senseless, repeatedly warning her to use her head and to never, under any circumstances, follow the example of her father or brother.

By yesterday morning, even her eldest brother had joined the Yangzhou City Defense Force, and the Zhou family servants had been dispersed among various military camps. Her brother had even managed to secure a minor post as a strategist. As for her father… well, the old gentleman had been “playing dead” in his room for the last two days.

Seeing herself as the only idle person left, Zhou Qiyue grew frantic. Every moment, she prayed for someone to find her and give her a task. Finally, her savior arrived at noon. Her sister-in-law was heading to Mozhou, and Shi Niang and the others were to follow. Her sister-in-law mentioned that the study was short-handed—someone was needed to run errands and attend to the occupants.

No one knew how thrilled Zhou Qiyue was to hear those words. Especially when Her Highness declared that she would henceforth serve the Princess Consort, she nearly wept with relief. Thinking of this, Zhou Qiyue tilted her head back to look at the misty sky. She no longer had to worry about being useless; she was still of value.

Inside the study, Ye Xuejin had returned to her desk and signaled for Wu Hu to sit and speak. Yun Chi sat nearby, looking at the pale-faced Wu Hu. The girl truly looked ill, her vitality drained.

“I took a nap this afternoon and had the same dream again. I was so terrified that I had to find Your Highness,” Wu Hu said uneasily. No matter how many times she saw those images, the shock never faded. To be haunted daily by such dreams—waking in terror and anxiety—would break even the healthiest person. Only in Ye Xuejin’s presence did she feel grounded. Perhaps it was because the Eldest Princess was the only variable in this grim fate.

Ye Xuejin instinctively glanced at Yun Chi, who gave a slight nod. Everything Wu Hu dreamt of was likely the original plot of the book. Seeing this, Ye Xuejin asked, “Tell me, what exactly did you see?”

Since these visions were true, they represented what would have happened after her death. Although her Consort had already helped her escape that fatal trap, it didn’t mean these events wouldn’t occur. Knowing more was simply a matter of “repairing the house before the rain.”

Wu Hu opened her mouth but hesitated. Her dreams were composed of broad scenes lacking detail—chaotic and disjointed. She knitted her brows, abandoned her tangled thoughts, and confessed, “It might be better if Your Highness asks specific questions. I don’t know where to begin.”

Ye Xuejin pondered for a moment before speaking softly. “First, tell me about the uprising in Caozhou. What was the situation?”

With a specific target, Wu Hu found her direction. “In the dream, it was the first ten days of the twelfth lunar month. News came from the southwest that Commandery Princess Yi had led the Caozhou Guard in a rebellion. Their banners claimed they were following the late Emperor’s secret edict to avenge the former master—to avenge Your Highness—and to execute the tyrant.”

She paused, stealing a cautious glance at Ye Xuejin.

Ye Xuejin did not deny it. “The Caozhou Guard was indeed left to me by my Imperial Father. Continue.”

That explains it, Wu Hu realized. The Eldest Princess truly was the master of the Caozhou Guard. Princess Yi must have decided to revolt only after hearing news of the Princess’s death.

Collecting her thoughts, she continued, “Once the southwest rose, Yangzhou followed suit about four or five days later. As soon as the war started in the Southern Border, Zhongzhou also rebelled. The world fell into total chaos.” Everywhere was a sea of fire and corpses; the common people suffered immensely.

Ye Xuejin asked, “What was the outcome for the three provinces of the Southern Border?”

As soon as the question left her lips, she froze. Wu Hu had already said it: Yangzhou had black gunpowder, the Inspector General’s manor in Mozhou was wiped out, and Qi Mingyan, who represented the alliance between Caozhou and Mozhou, had been sacrificed by Zhu Yan to his war banners. The answer was already clear.

“Yangzhou won,” Wu Hu confirmed. “Zhu Yan quickly unified the Southern Border and declared himself the King of Yangzhou. The chaos happened so fast that the Imperial Noble Consort, who had come to avenge Your Highness, didn’t even have time to leave.”

Ye Xuejin’s eyes sharpened. “Is the Imperial Noble Consort’s name Tao Qianhua?”

“I do not know,” Wu Hu shook her head.

“Then what happened to her afterward?”

“Afterward?” Wu Hu’s voice was uncertain. “It seemed… she stayed by Zhu Yan’s side.”

At this, Yun Chi suddenly bolted upright. “Seemed? You aren’t certain?”

Ye Xuejin pursed her lips but remained silent, equally concerned by the answer.

Wu Hu frowned, trying to recall. “I don’t know the details. I only saw the Noble Consort and Zhu Yan drinking and laughing together, leading a vast army to attack Zhongzhou. I didn’t dream of anything after that.” Because, on the day Zhu Yan led his troops out of the Southern Border, the “Wu Hu” in the dream had died.

Yun Chi’s expression shifted. If she wasn’t mistaken, the Noble Consort was the female lead of the original novel—Ye Xuejin’s childhood friend, Tao Qianhua. The “Dog Emperor” was clearly the villain, which meant the male lead was… Zhu Yan!

If that were the case, the plot had veered wildly off course. Seeing Yun Chi’s shaken state, Ye Xuejin dismissed Wu Hu.

“Consort, what is wrong?”

Yun Chi organized the plot points her cousin had mentioned and compared them to reality. “Now that you are safe, the Noble Consort shouldn’t come to the Southern Border to avenge you. We control Zhu Yan’s gunpowder, so he won’t become the King of Yangzhou. But will the southwest still fall into chaos?”

Ye Xuejin nodded. “Most likely. If no accidents occur, Wen Yi (Princess Yi) will revolt in the twelfth month once she hears the news. However,” she paused, “I have faith in Mingyan. Mozhou will not be an obstacle.” In fact, it would likely be an ally. In Wu Hu’s dream, Qi Mingyan had sought out Wen Yi, meaning Caozhou had successfully persuaded the Mozhou Inspector to join them.

Ye Xuejin gripped her fingers, looking as if she wanted to say more. Yun Chi waited patiently.

“I simply feel that Qianhua would not travel thousands of miles to the Southern Border just to avenge me,” Ye Xuejin said, her eyes clouded with doubt. In the past, she was the Eldest Princess and Tao Qianhua was the daughter of the Prime Minister. They were friendly, but it was mostly social etiquette—not a bond deep enough for Tao to risk everything. Shi Niang’s arrival was already a surprise; what Wu Hu described was illogical.

Yun Chi’s eyes widened as the realization hit her. “It’s Tao Qianhua. Her appearance makes no sense.”

Tao Qianhua was the heroine. She entered the palace as the villainous Emperor’s consort, then supposedly brought an imperial decree to avenge Ye Xuejin, met the male lead in the Southern Border, and eventually conquered the world with him. It sounded like a standard plot, but the logistics were flawed.

Ye Xuejin’s gaze tightened. “Qianhua could not have come to the Southern Border, and the Emperor would never have given her an imperial decree.” An Imperial Noble Consort had to think twice before seeing an outside male; even a day trip outside the palace required imperial permission. To travel this far south? Knowing the Emperor, he would never grant her such freedom.

Yun Chi nodded vigorously. “Exactly. Even if he wanted to rehabilitate your name, he wouldn’t send a high-ranking consort to deliver the decree. And even if she came, she wouldn’t stay so long.”

According to Wu Hu, Tao Qianhua had followed the exile convoy to Mozhou and was there when the original Ye Xuejin died. At that time, the Southern Border wasn’t in revolt yet. There was a gap of over ten days between the southwest uprising and the fall of Mozhou. Why would she linger in the Southern Border for weeks?

The two women exchanged a look, their confusion deepening. Everything was too irregular.

After a moment of silence, Ye Xuejin sighed. “It is almost the twelfth month. We shall see.” She had a strong intuition that Tao Qianhua would appear regardless.

Yun Chi felt it too. Even though Ye Xuejin was alive, she felt the “heroine” would still come to find the “male lead.”

To find the male lead…

“Is she coming for Zhu Yan?!” Yun Chi blurted out.

At that exact moment, Zhou Qiyue’s voice rang out from outside. “Your Highness, Princess Consort—Chief Secretary Zhu Yan requests an audience.”