Transmigrated into the Scum Female Consort - Chapter 45

Yu Lu’s expression stiffened, and he stepped back to the side.

Commandant Hu then looked at Ye Xuejin. At first glance, he knew that the beautiful woman who had just spoken was the Grand Princess He’an, known as the peerless beauty of the mortal world.

He only stared for two moments before withdrawing his gaze. With a sweep of his large hand, he commanded: “Listen up! Everyone line up in two rows, stand in order, and place everything you have on the ground.” With that, he signaled his subordinates to untie the criminals’ ropes.

The crowd had initially been afraid upon seeing so many soldiers, but when they heard the purpose was a search for items, they felt relieved.

This was because, apart from their prison clothes, they had nothing. There had been a head earlier, but it had been disposed of.

It was at this moment that they belatedly realized the meaning behind Ye Xuejin’s recent actions.

The Grand Princess is too formidable; she could even predict this.

Many people thought as much.

Soon, everyone was lined up outside the stable. On the ground, besides a few waterskins, there was the sword Shi Niang carried, which had originally belonged to Zeng Laosan, and the electric baton Shi Song had carefully set down.

Commandant Hu’s gaze fell on the ground. He first kicked the sword with his foot: “Why is this an official sword?”

“Commandant Hu, you may not know…”

“Did I ask you?” Commandant Hu sharply interrupted Yu Lu’s words, looking at Shi Niang: “Speak! Why do you have an official sword?”

Shi Niang responded calmly: “We were ambushed on the mountain, and a constable died. Lord Yu, seeing that I have some fighting skills, asked me to temporarily hold this sword to protect the women.”

Commandant Hu scrutinized Shi Niang, then looked at Shi Song: “And what is this?”

He lifted his foot and stepped on the stick on the ground, unable to discern what it was made of.

Seeing him step on the electric baton, Shi Song’s face flushed with panic. She felt an urge to rush forward and fight, blurting out, “Take your foot off!”

This is a divine artifact bestowed by the immortal!

Everyone’s expression was solemn, staring at the artifact being trampled underfoot, mentally chanting repeatedly: Immortal, please do not blame us! It is this scoundrel who desecrated the artifact. If you must blame someone, blame only this scoundrel.

Seeing Shi Song so agitated, Commandant Hu sneered and ground his foot on it again: “Answer me, what is this object?”

Shi Song slowly clenched her fists, ready to charge forward, but Yun Chi grabbed her arm in time.

“Officer, that is my property. The young girl is ignorant; please don’t take offense,” Yun Chi bowed and stepped forward.

Thank goodness she was quick, or something bad would have happened.

The young girl was too impulsive. People are alive, but objects are dead. Even if the electric baton was truly bestowed by the immortal, it was meant to protect people. To risk one’s life for this object would be putting the cart before the horse.

Commandant Hu looked at Yun Chi: “State your name, identity, and background clearly.”

“Officer, please observe. My name is Yun Chi. I was originally a beggar in the capital, born without a name or surname. These are my sisters. As women, we often suffered bullying while begging, so we formed a Beggar’s Gang for self-protection, and I was the chief. I found this stick and treated it as the sacred object of the Beggar’s Gang, which is why my sister is so distressed.”

Yun Chi paused, deliberately glanced at Ye Xuejin, and frowned: “Later, I was fortunate enough to catch the Grand Princess’s embroidered ball and became her Royal Consort. Who knew I would be so unlucky? I didn’t get to enjoy the good life and even brought trouble upon myself. These sisters of mine are loyal and still call me their chief, so they followed me into exile. If you must blame someone, blame me.”

The crowd was dumbfounded by this speech, thinking that the Royal Consort was incredibly skilled at fabricating stories.

However, the first time they had witnessed Yun Chi, she was exactly like this—not only considering the Grand Princess unlucky but also constantly criticizing and humiliating her.

They never thought it was all a pretense. An immortal is indeed an immortal! She had better foresight than they did, seeing that the Royal Consort was the person most sincerely devoted to the Grand Princess.

Commandant Hu raised an eyebrow. This is the beggar Royal Consort…

He pondered for a moment, then raised his hand again: “Continue the search! Do not miss a single person.”

To “continue the search” meant to conduct a body search.

“Commandant Hu!” Yu Lu couldn’t help but try to intervene again: “Surely the women don’t need to be searched?”

There was a difference between men and women. How could the Grand Princess be intimately approached by these men?

Commandant Hu casually touched the saber at his waist. Without another word, he drew it and pointed it directly at Yu Lu: “If I say search, we search. Whoever dares to interfere may try me.”

Yu Lu gritted his teeth and stood firm: “This subordinate would not dare, but I implore Commandant Hu to be accommodating and find a woman to conduct the search.”

“Are you instructing me on how to do my job?” He wanted to search the Grand Princess He’an himself.

“I beg you, Sir, find a woman to conduct the search.” Yu Lu knelt, refusing to back down.

Seeing this, Old Imperial Censor Zhou followed suit and knelt: “I beg you, Sir, find a woman to conduct the search.”

“I beg you, Sir, find a woman to conduct the search.” The crowd quickly followed.

As the two sides faced off, the air seemed to solidify.

“You are truly audacious!” Commandant Hu’s voice sank: “Not only will I search, but I will search personally.”

“Who is being so audacious? Which person does Lord Hu plan to search personally?”

Just then, a lazy woman’s voice drifted over from the top of the wall.

Commandant Hu recognized the person and quickly led his men to kneel: “Greetings to Your Royal Highness the Princess Consort.”

The person who arrived was the eldest daughter of the King of the Southwest, bearing the title ‘Yi.’

Why was she here? It seemed she had planted quite a few spies in the Prefectural Governor’s residence, or she wouldn’t have arrived so quickly.

Princess Consort Yi smiled: “Commandant Hu, stay kneeling for now. You, go call Madam Hu here.”

The soldier who was pointed to looked troubled and subtly glanced at Commandant Hu.

Commandant Hu was about to shake his head when he heard Princess Consort Yi say, “Either let Madam Hu conduct the search, or no one searches at all. Commandant Hu, surely you trust your own wife.”

Commandant Hu said helplessly, “Princess Consort, this subordinate is merely following orders. Please don’t make things difficult for us.”

Princess Consort Yi acted as if she hadn’t heard him. She jumped directly off the wall and said leisurely, “It seems Commandant Hu does not want to search. Then continue kneeling.”

Commandant Hu was silent for a moment, then waved his hand at his subordinates.

In the crowd, Yu Lu looked like he had stumbled upon a shocking secret, quickly glancing at Princess Consort Yi, who was dressed in a dark blue riding outfit.

How could he forget? Although the King of the Southwest was constantly fighting on the southwestern frontier during his time as the Great General who Conquered the West, and his family was with him, Princess Consort Yi, as the General’s only child, remained in the capital.

Later, the Great General who Conquered the West became the King of the Southwest, and the Princess Consort gave birth to a son, only then was Princess Consort Yi allowed to return to the Southwest.

Princess Consort Yi’s return to the Southwest seemed to have happened only a few years ago.

Yu Lu suddenly had a strong intuition: the Grand Princess’s detour to the Southwest was very likely for Princess Consort Yi, not the King of the Southwest.

Old Imperial Censor Zhou, who was familiar with the past affairs of imperial officials, also had his eyes shining. That’s right. Princess Consort Yi had a relatively smooth life in the capital back then, but after word spread that the King of the Southwest had a son late in life, Princess Consort Yi’s situation became difficult.

Who was it that suggested sending Princess Consort Yi back to the Southwest to reunite with her family? It seemed to be the former Grand Tutor.

The Grand Tutor! That man had served as the tutor for two emperors before retiring, first teaching the late Emperor and later instructing both the Grand Princess and the current Crown Prince.

Old Imperial Censor Zhou forcefully gripped his beard, as if he glimpsed a massive net secretly spreading out in the dark.

No one saw Ye Xuejin lower her gaze, masking a fleeting smile in her eyes, her left index finger subtly moving twice.

The courtyard quieted. Commandant Hu twitched his mouth: “Princess Consort, may this subordinate search the other criminals first, so I can complete my duty sooner.”

How could he, a fifth-rank City Gate Commandant, remain kneeling? Furthermore, his wife was about to arrive, and the thought made him feel awkward.

Princess Consort Yi smiled: “You may search, but remember this: I absolutely cannot stand to see women bullied. If anyone dares to lay a hand on the female dependents, I will chop it off and feed it to the dogs.”

Thus, the soldiers began by searching the men. Predictably, they found nothing.

Commandant Hu then had them search the stable inside and out, again finding nothing.

Just then, Madam Hu arrived.

“Husband.” Madam Hu first called out to Commandant Hu, then curtsied toward Princess Consort Yi: “This humble subject greets Your Royal Highness the Princess Consort.”

Princess Consort Yi smiled brightly: “Madam Hu, please dispense with the courtesy. I trust you know what you must do. Hurry and get to it, lest you delay Commandant Hu in completing his duty.”

Commandant Hu cleared his throat, forcing out three words: “Be thorough.”

Madam Hu nodded, walked toward the row of female criminals, and searched each one meticulously, from head to toe.

After the search, she shook her head at Commandant Hu.

They found nothing but the clothes they were wearing.

Commandant Hu took a deep breath, forced a smile, and said to Princess Consort Yi: “This subordinate will not disturb the Princess Consort’s reunion.”

Princess Consort Yi walked right past him on her way out: “What reunion? I merely intervened when I saw injustice, unable to tolerate certain hypocrites bullying women under the guise of official business. I apologize, Lord Hu, that you could not conduct the search yourself. Farewell.”

With that, she left without looking back.

Hearing this, Madam Hu’s eye twitched uncontrollably: “Husband?”

Commandant Hu quickly smiled at her: “Wife, do not think too much. Your husband was merely conducting official business. This is not the place to talk. Go ask your father later, and you will know.”

His wife was the daughter of the Prefectural Governor of Caozhou. If it weren’t for this father-in-law, he wouldn’t have been promoted so quickly.

Madam Hu looked at him suspiciously but said nothing further.

The group then departed.

Outside the inn gate, Princess Consort Yi turned back after mounting her horse and instructed the inn’s servant: “I don’t care about the others, but the women are not to be tied up again.”

“Yes, yes, Your Royal Highness, safe travels.” The servant nodded repeatedly.

In the back stable, Old Imperial Censor Zhou couldn’t help but look at Ye Xuejin several times, wanting to confirm the conjecture in his heart.

After much hesitation, he finally couldn’t resist: “Does Your Highness have a previous acquaintance with that Princess Consort Yi?”

Ye Xuejin’s eyes paused. She first looked at Mu Er, her gaze lingering on him for a moment, seemingly confirming something. Then, she slowly said, “Since you all did not speak just now, I shall treat you with sincerity going forward. To be frank, the Princess Consort Yi and I are merely nodding acquaintances. Seeing her speak up to help, I wanted to strike up a conversation, but alas, she did not give me the chance to speak.”

After all, Princess Consort Yi had left swiftly.

“Is that so?” Old Imperial Censor Zhou’s first reaction was disbelief. However, that Princess Consort Yi truly hadn’t exchanged any words with the Grand Princess and left decisively. Could he have been overthinking it?

Or perhaps…

He subtly glanced in the direction of Mu Er.

Mu Er lowered his head and raised an eyebrow. It seems keeping quiet was the right move. However, even if he had spoken up, it likely wouldn’t have helped.

This was because he felt that Commandant Hu wasn’t looking for the head but seemed to be searching for something else.

This is excellent. As long as he could gain the trust of the Grand Princess, he would have his chance eventually.