Transmigrated into the Scum Female Consort - Chapter 4

“Thank you.” Ye Xuejin was not pretentious; she took it. The water was clear upon entry…

Is river water this good?

She slightly frowned, her eyes deepening. How can this person be so certain that my grievances will be cleared in half a month, and how exactly will she help me?

Yun Chi was currently stunned, ecstatic internally, because the familiar large text appeared before her eyes again.

【Sent out purified water. Please select a reward: Storage Space or Ten Thousand Taels of Gold】

Good heavens, ask and you shall receive.

No need to hesitate—she immediately chose Storage Space.

Invisibly, a space seemed to have opened up in her mind. She couldn’t see or touch it, and it didn’t cause any obstruction, yet she could genuinely sense its existence.

Yun Chi focused her mind. The warm cotton shirt in her bosom disappeared, and she could clearly sense that the shirt was now in that invisible space.

Wonderful! It’s absolutely wonderful. This Storage Space is incredible. She felt terrifyingly powerful now…

“Yun Chi?” Ye Xuejin held the water skin out in front of Yun Chi, but the person in front of her was completely unresponsive, as if stunned.

“Oh.” Yun Chi snapped back to reality, suppressing her excitement. “What’s wrong?”

Ye Xuejin offered the water skin closer. This person, like her, hadn’t drunk water all day.

This meant they would have to share one water skin. For some inexplicable reason, she felt the water skin in her hand was a little hot.

Ye Xuejin’s thoughts seemed to drift away, but before they could stray too far, they were yanked back in the blink of an eye.

The momentary look of confusion in her eyes quickly reverted to calm, and her expression even seemed a little colder.

She put away the bottle of trauma medicine, placed the water skin on the ground beside her, and began to eat the corn bun in small bites, ignoring Yun Chi.

The night wind blew, bringing a chill.

Yun Chi shivered involuntarily. She glanced at the water skin on the ground and realized the sharing situation, but she didn’t care at all.

Now, even surviving was difficult, and being full was a mere fantasy. Who had the mental energy to think about other things?

In the face of survival, etiquette, inconvenience, and modesty were all disregarded.

So, without a second thought, she picked up the water skin and drank a few gulps.

She was nearly dying of thirst all day.

Afterward, Yun Chi sensed the existence of the Storage Space again, her heart stirring.

It would be best to find an opportunity tonight to give Ye Xuejin the warm cotton shirt to wear. She thought her ‘golden finger’ should give her a reward then as well.

While she was thinking, there was a new commotion from the officers’ side.

“Men follow this official. The elderly, children, and women stay put.”

Yu Lu shouted. He waved to the three officers who had been walking in the front today and walked toward the forest. It was unclear what they were going to do.

Zeng Laosan and the other two officers were left to guard the remaining people.

Because of this small interlude, Yun Chi patiently gnawed on the coarse flatbread, in no rush to do anything.

Her intuition told her that this Zeng Laosan was very dangerous.

As if to confirm her intuition was correct, as soon as Yu Lu and the others were a little further away, Zeng Laosan walked toward their area.

Yun Chi’s heart instantly tensed, and she couldn’t eat the coarse flatbread anymore.

“I picked up something by the river just now. It looks like something the Princess Consort Yun lost. Does the Princess Consort want to go identify it?” Zeng Laosan stopped a few steps away, speaking unhurriedly.

“I didn’t… I’ll go.” Yun Chi was about to say she hadn’t lost anything when she saw Zeng Laosan raise his whip. She gritted her teeth and was forced to change her words.

Go then. She wanted to see what this person intended to do.

If these officers were in cahoots and wanted to harm her, she would be completely helpless, a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

Conversely, if the officers were not all colluding, it wouldn’t be dangerous to go.

Judging by the way Officer Yu had stopped Zeng Laosan from whipping her just now, Yun Chi felt it shouldn’t be dangerous to go, but mainly, she had no choice.

Yun Chi put down the water skin and followed reluctantly.

To the side, Ye Xuejin kept her head bowed, concentrating on eating the corn bun, seemingly having not heard Zeng Laosan’s voice.

She appeared aloof and indifferent, as if the matter had nothing to do with her.

It wasn’t until Yun Chi followed Zeng Laosan far away that she suddenly raised her head and looked over.

A struggle flashed in her eyes for a moment. She silently stood up, picked up the water skin Yun Chi had just put down, and walked toward the riverbank.

Not far away, two officers glanced at her, then withdrew their gaze. A starving camel is still bigger than a horse. This was the Emperor’s blood sister. She might rise again one day, so they didn’t intend to give her too much trouble.

In the dark night, the grey prison clothes were not conspicuous, especially far from the bonfire. If one didn’t stare intently, it was easy to overlook them.

And Ye Xuejin’s steps were light enough that she didn’t alarm the people standing by the river.

“Princess Consort Yun, do you understand now? If you want an easier time, you must show some sincerity tonight.” It was Zeng Laosan’s voice.

Yun Chi didn’t make a sound, seemingly resisting silently.

Zeng Laosan’s voice carried unconcealed mockery. “I’m elevating you by calling you Princess Consort. If you don’t know what’s good for you, I’ll let you know what it means to be worse than a beggar.”

The air was quiet for a moment. Yun Chi spoke up. “What counts as sincerity?”

Zeng Laosan laughed. “That’s better. You don’t have to overdo it; cutting the flesh with a dull knife is more interesting. Let’s start with a round of scolding and beating. If Officer Yu intervenes, you know what to say, right?”

“Understood. It’ll be that I’m personally upset and want to teach my own wife a lesson. How can outsiders meddle in my family affairs?”

“Princess Consort Yun is truly a smart person. Hahahaha.”

Footsteps sounded, and the riverbank became silent.

Ye Xuejin stood up in a daze. Her already fair complexion, illuminated by the moonlight, was even paler, like snow.

She looked at the dark, deep river water, gazing for a long time, her feet subconsciously moving forward.

“Ye Xuejin.” Yun Chi grabbed Ye Xuejin’s arm and pulled her back. Even after getting away from the riverbank, she still felt lingering fear.

She hadn’t seen Ye Xuejin when she returned to their spot. The water skin was also gone, and the officers seemed normal. She thought this woman might have gone to fetch water.

Instead, she saw Ye Xuejin stepping into the water. It scared her to death.

This woman is really…

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but seeing Ye Xuejin’s wooden, lost look, she suddenly couldn’t utter a word.

“Is the water filled? Let’s go back.”

Ye Xuejin stood still, unmoving.

In the darkness, Yun Chi couldn’t clearly see the expression on her face, but she miraculously sensed the other party’s emotions: stubbornness and despair.

A thought struck Yun Chi. She lowered her voice and asked, “Did you hear everything?”

Ye Xuejin forcefully pulled her arm away. She didn’t say anything, but her action revealed everything.

She heard it. She heard this person, under the threat of the officers, agree to harm her.

This person wants to teach his own wife a lesson, to scold and beat her… To the former her, how alien those words were. She was the Grand Princess of the Great Shao Kingdom. She would rather die than be subjected to such humiliation.

Yun Chi saw her silently admit it but quietly breathed a sigh of relief. “Then I’ll keep it brief. That officer named Zeng is probably targeting us. Survival is paramount; forget about integrity for now. Just pretend along when the time comes. I won’t actually hit you hard.”

I knew it. Even though Ye Xuejin was demoted, she was once a Grand Princess. Where did the original host, a timid beggar, get the courage to bully Ye Xuejin to death?

It turned out that everything stemmed from an unavoidable situation.

That Zeng Laosan must be acting under orders. The mastermind behind the scenes didn’t want Ye Xuejin to have an easy time…

Ye Xuejin was stunned, alertness flashing in her eyes. “What exactly do you want?”

They were originally no different from strangers. Why would this person protect her? She would not trust anyone now.

In the darkness, Yun Chi couldn’t see the vigilance on Ye Xuejin’s face, but she understood the subtext of her words. She still used the same phrase to evade the question. “I am a person of my word. Since I promised to never abandon you on this journey, I will share hardships and never harm you.”

Once the half-month mark arrives, this woman will be able to regain her former glory, and this journey will be over.

She hoped they could part on good terms then. This woman should remember her kindness a little. Ideally, she’d reward her with tens of thousands of taels of silver, and she could just lie down and relax for the rest of her life.

Yun Chi was happily fantasizing, but Ye Xuejin had no hope for the road ahead. “I won’t live much longer. Don’t waste your effort.”

No matter what this person wanted, she couldn’t give it to her. She had nothing left.

“Why won’t you live?”

Yun Chi was about to continue when she saw Yu Lu leading people back. She immediately took Ye Xuejin’s hand and walked back, reminding her in a low voice, “Trust me. Just put on a show tonight to get by. In half a month at most, you will surely return to the capital.”

After tonight, only fourteen days would remain.

In fourteen days, the female lead, who was Ye Xuejin’s good sister, would help overturn Ye Xuejin’s case.

So, how could it be a waste of effort?

As long as they didn’t give up, as long as they were careful, they just needed to hold on for these dozen-plus days.

Ye Xuejin pursed her lips and said nothing more, but her eyes remained completely dead.

She didn’t understand where Yun Chi’s confidence came from, just as she didn’t know why Yun Chi was showing kindness to her, and she couldn’t discern if this kindness was real or fake.

But it didn’t matter anymore.

She longed to live, but she couldn’t live much longer. Her injuries were too severe. Not only was she unable to receive treatment, but she also had to be exiled seven hundred li. She couldn’t see any hope of survival…

In a daze, she seemed to see the Empress Dowager.

“Mother…”

“What did you say?” Yun Chi heard her murmuring but didn’t catch the content. Just as she turned her head to ask, the person next to her fell backward.