Transmigrated into the Scum Female Consort - Chapter 48

Seeing Yun Chi’s indifferent attitude, as if her saying or not saying was fine, Ye Xuejin felt inexplicably unsettled.

Without any reason, she desperately wanted to confirm one question.

“Royal Consort, are you not curious about my past?”

Yun Chi looked at her blankly: “Why should I be curious?”

Ye Xuejin opened her mouth. Yes, why should she be curious?

Then why was she constantly curious about this person’s past?

For a moment, Ye Xuejin’s heart felt confused. She raised her hand and stroked her chest.

“What’s wrong?” Yun Chi noticed her unusual expression and action and couldn’t help but ask.

Ye Xuejin suppressed the panic in her heart and slowly said, “It’s nothing. I just wanted to talk to the Royal Consort about Little Sister Yi. I’ve known her since childhood. Back then, she wasn’t a Princess Consort yet…”

Princess Consort Yi’s given name was Wen Yi, and at that time, her identity was the daughter of the Great General who Conquered the West.

Initially, Ye Xuejin hadn’t paid much attention to Wen Yi.

All officials knew that the Great General who Conquered the West cherished his daughter immensely, so Wen Yi became a tool to restrain him.

However, after the Great General pacified the southwestern frontier and was conferred the title of King of the Southwest, he showed no intention of bringing his daughter back.

Logically, the King of the Southwest was over fifty and only had Wen Yi as a daughter. Although he was granted a king’s title of a different surname, his military power was stripped, and he could have easily requested for his daughter to return. The Emperor likely wouldn’t have made things difficult.

But the King of the Southwest acted as if he had forgotten about the matter.

Soon after, news spread that the reason the King of the Southwest forgot he had a daughter was because he had a son in his old age. The son was already five years old, and he was afraid his strong-willed daughter would return and vie for the throne with her younger brother.

Once the news spread, Wen Yi knelt outside the palace gates, begging the Emperor to allow her to permanently reside in the Great General’s mansion in the capital, vowing never to return to the Southwest.

That year, on the start of winter, Ye Xuejin entered the palace to pay her respects to her Father and Mother. Upon entering the palace, she saw Wen Yi kneeling outside the gate since early morning.

The teenage girl knelt there motionless. Unlike the gentle and virtuous young ladies she usually saw, Wen Yi wore a riding outfit, her hair tied high, and her back view exuded an air of heroism.

As Ye Xuejin passed by, she unconsciously took a few glances.

How should she describe that feeling? It was like seeing a common blooming flower, but beneath the petals was hidden a sharp, fierce, and awe-inspiring blade.

At that moment, Ye Xuejin saw the unique dominance and spirit of a military general on Wen Yi’s face.

After leaving the palace, she, on a whim, ordered people to inquire about Wen Yi, and an immense feeling of regret arose in her heart.

Talented in both literary and martial arts, proficient in military strategy, and determined to become a female general…

If a woman like this had the opportunity to do what she wanted, she might not necessarily lose to men. No, Ye Xuejin even felt Wen Yi would surpass many men.

Later, Wen Yi proactively requested a meeting with her.

“Everyone says the Holy One regards the Grand Princess as his cherished pearl, and one word from Your Highness is worth three hundred words from officials. Is Your Highness willing to help this subject?”

It turned out Wen Yi had been using retreat as advancement all along. She didn’t want to remain a caged bird in the capital; she always wanted to return to the Southwest to soar.

After that, they frequently associated in private, analyzing the court situation, studying military strategies, and envisioning the future of the Great Shao Kingdom together.

Speaking of this, Ye Xuejin’s gaze became complicated: “As Father grew older, his nature became increasingly suspicious, and he was always worried about the Southwest. After consulting with the Grand Tutor, I offered a plan to Father, suggesting that Wen Yi was deeply resentful of the King of the Southwest and her unseen brother, and that she was single-mindedly determined to inherit the title…”

Ye Xuejin still remembered that her Father stared at her for a long time that day and then burst into bizarre laughter. After that, he not only conferred the title of Princess Consort upon Wen Yi but also issued an edict to establish the Caozhou Garrison, commanding Wen Yi to quickly consolidate all the former King of the Southwest’s troops and integrate them into the Caozhou Garrison, all to be used by the imperial court.

To avoid suspicion, Wen Yi could not meet her before leaving, but she entrusted the Grand Tutor with a message for the Grand Princess’s mansion.

“In the future, should Your Highness come to the Southwest, Wen Yi will receive you with open arms and answer any call.”

But Father passed away too quickly. The Caozhou Garrison only took root in the Southwest half a year after Father’s passing.

In the same year, Ye Xuejin’s mother became seriously ill and summoned her to the palace to attend to her.

She left Ye Xuejin with the phrase, “The latent dragon is not to be used” (潛龍勿用), hinting that she should conceal her talents and guard her heart.

Although Ye Xuejin didn’t understand it at the time, she followed the advice. From then on, she no longer asked about or cared for court affairs.

Because she fundamentally had no desire for that position.

It wasn’t until the new Emperor, her younger brother by the same mother, suddenly insisted on arranging a marriage for her, and then, after her refusal, directly issued an edict for an embroidered ball marriage match at the Grand Princess’s mansion.

Only then did the retired Grand Tutor secretly seek out Ye Xuejin and inform her of two matters.

“Father left a secret edict: the Caozhou Garrison only obeys the person holding the secret seal, and Wen Yi is only managing it on their behalf.” Ye Xuejin’s eyes became even more complicated. The finger of the hand clutching Yun Chi’s hand unconsciously tightened. “Mother also secretly entrusted a batch of assets to Wen Yi for safekeeping.”

Her Father and Mother, in their final moments, had both, independently, found the Grand Tutor and made almost identical plans.

Plans made for her sake.

“If He’an ever finds herself in an inescapable situation, the Caozhou Garrison and the assets managed by Wen Yi in the Southwest are to be handed over to He’an.”

The new Emperor disregarding Ye Xuejin’s wishes and insisting on the embroidered ball edict, in the Grand Tutor’s view, meant that the time had come.

Finishing her story, Ye Xuejin clutched Yun Chi’s hand tightly, tears faintly welling up in her eyes: “Father and Mother exhausted themselves, worried about me until their deaths. Yet, I thought that as long as I didn’t compete or fight, I could live peacefully. I was too foolish, Royal Consort. I realized it too late.”

As her voice fell, she tilted her head back, forcing the tears away. When she looked back at Yun Chi, her expression was desolate and cold.

“Royal Consort, I will not be foolish again.”

After hearing all this, Yun Chi didn’t know what to say. She sighed in her heart and held Ye Xuejin in her arms.

“None of this is your fault. Your Father and Mother were merely preparing for the unexpected. They weren’t sure if a day like this would ever come. Furthermore, you can’t see the future, so you couldn’t have anticipated it.”

But perhaps the former Emperor and Empress Dowager understood their two children well enough to prepare in such a comprehensive manner.

What a pity…

What a pity that the Ye Xuejin in the original text died early on the road before she could take over the Caozhou Garrison or retrieve those assets.

Sometimes, Yun Chi even felt that this was not merely a fictional novel world, and the author had not necessarily laid out all these foreshadowing elements.

This was a fully existing parallel universe, with plot points even the writer hadn’t considered. The people who genuinely existed in this world all had their own souls and spiritual core.

Take the former Emperor and Empress Dowager, for example. The various hidden lines they laid out were unknown to the writer and unseen by the readers.

Just like her cousin’s critique of the original content, it only showed the superficial evil of the Scumbag Consort, without knowing the cause and effect, unaware that the original host was also desperately trying to survive under duress.

Yun Chi dared not imagine that without her system, without those repeated rewards, she and Ye Xuejin might not have survived until today.

Ye Xuejin shook her head, leaning into Yun Chi’s embrace, and closed her eyes wearily.

Although she hadn’t anticipated it, she was indeed not decisive enough.

If she had awakened immediately upon receiving the edict, if she had been ruthless enough to abandon all her close relatives and flee to the Southwest…

There would have been no need for the subsequent exile…

She could almost see that without Yun Chi, and without Yun Chi’s divine power, she would never have survived to reach the Southwest.

If she could do it over, perhaps she would be more ruthless, just as she was now.

Perhaps…

The carriage slowly came to a halt.

“Your Highness, we have arrived at the Princess Consort’s residence.”

Ye Xuejin sat upright, quickly composed herself, and got out of the carriage with Yun Chi.

Princess Consort Yi led the way, heading straight for the Princess Consort’s residence treasury.

“Your Highness, these are the things the Empress Dowager instructed me to keep safe back then. Her Majesty only said they were assets left for Your Highness. I have not opened them.”

A row of fine iron chests was neatly arranged on stone shelves. They were black and shiny, without a trace of rust, and the seals were intact, showing they had been stored with great care.

Ye Xuejin was moved and looked at Princess Consort Yi gratefully: “Little Sister Yi, you are so thoughtful. I thank you.”

Princess Consort Yi quickly waved her hand: “Your Highness, please don’t humble me. If it weren’t for your and the Grand Tutor’s assistance, I might have been trapped and died in the capital.”

How could she have the prestige she enjoyed today?

Because she held the late Emperor’s secret edict, the Caozhou Garrison, which she temporarily managed, only recognized the secret seal and not any person. The new Emperor couldn’t touch it in the short term, let alone these local officials.

In Caozhou City, no one dared to offend her, including her aging and useless father, who only cared about his son.