Transmigrated into the Scum Female Consort - Chapter 5

“Ye Xuejin!” Yun Chi cried out in alarm, rushing to support her. It can’t be, it can’t be, she thought, is this woman not even going to make it through today?

Not far away, Yu Lu noticed the commotion and strode over quickly.

“What’s going on?”

Yun Chi held Ye Xuejin tightly, panicking momentarily. Instinctively, she replied, “She suddenly collapsed. I don’t know if she… if she…”

Is this woman simply unconscious, or…

Yu Lu, greatly startled, disregarded any notion of propriety between the sexes, reaching out to check Ye Xuejin’s breathing. He quietly let out a sigh of relief.

“Your Highness… ahem, the prisoner has fainted from exhaustion. If the bleeding is stopped in time, and she rests, she will wake up. Follow me.”

Yun Chi took a deep breath, struggled to lift the person, and, with wobbling steps, followed.

The original owner was a beggar who hadn’t eaten enough before catching the embroidered ball. Her constitution was very poor; she was thin and weak, only marginally better than the injured Ye Xuejin.

Therefore, her journey was extremely difficult.

Yu Lu naturally noticed Yun Chi’s struggle, but Ye Xuejin was no ordinary person, and he dared not overstep.

Fortunately, the distance was short.

Yu Lu stopped outside a thatched shed, took a tinder from his pouch, lit a torch, and fixed the torch on the open ground inside the shed. Only then did he speak, “I will stand guard. Hurry up and apply the medicine.”

Yun Chi nodded, wasting no time. She carried Ye Xuejin into the shed and carefully set her down.

“Mother…” Ye Xuejin murmured again, opening her eyes.

Their eyes met. Yun Chi explained, “You just fainted. Officer Yu said we need to apply medicine immediately to stop the bleeding.”

In the torchlight, Ye Xuejin’s eyes flickered for a moment before she looked away. “There’s no need.”

Normally, a wound of this severity, once treated, would certainly pose no problem.

However, they had to travel every day now, with hardly any rest during the daytime. Her wounds would surely tear open. If that were the case, why bother with a futile effort?

Hearing Ye Xuejin speak such dispirited words again, Yun Chi frowned, and her tone became impolite. “If you want to die, wait half a month. Don’t die this early on the road and bring trouble to others.”

Having said that, she held out her hand, motioning for Ye Xuejin to take out the medicine.

Ye Xuejin pursed her lips. “Whom will my death trouble?”

Yun Chi stated earnestly, “It will trouble me, of course. Just trust me this once. We can discuss other matters later.”

This shed was clearly set up quickly by Yu Lu and his men. The other prisoners might arrive soon, and they might not have this convenience later.

Ye Xuejin gazed at her silently for a moment, then said flatly, “Alright. You go outside. I’ll do it myself.”

If one can live well, who would contemplate suicide?

“I’ll stand guard outside. Call me if you need help,” Yun Chi said, turning around. She retrieved the warm cotton shirt from her storage space, pretending to take it from her bosom. “After you’ve applied the medicine, wear this shirt underneath.”

The moment she placed the cotton shirt beside Ye Xuejin, the reward reappeared as expected.

[You have gifted one warm cotton shirt. Please choose a reward: A bottle of anti-inflammatory medicine or ten taels of gold]

Yun Chi silently thought: anti-inflammatory medicine.

The large text disappeared. Sensing a bottle of anti-inflammatory medicine in her storage space, she turned and walked out.

Ye Xuejin also knew it would be inconvenient to delay any further. After sitting up, she reached out to unbutton her shirt.

As the fabric, stuck with blood, was peeled away, a tearing sensation came. Her top was completely removed.

On her smooth, jade-like skin, several striking wounds—likely caused by an iron whip—extended from her shoulder down across her chest and onto her arm, still oozing blood.

Ye Xuejin tightly pressed her lips together, opened the medicine bottle, and used her fingers to gently smear the contents onto the wounds.

A more intense pain assaulted her senses. She shivered uncontrollably, gritting her teeth to suppress any sound.

Outside the shed, Yun Chi looked at Yu Lu, who was standing with his back to them.

“Thank you, Officer Yu.”

Yu Lu did not turn his head. “It is my duty.”

With that, he strode towards where the prisoners were gathered.

Yun Chi’s gaze followed his retreating figure, a thought flashing in her eyes. This Officer Yu should not be in league with Zeng Laosan. I even feel that Yu Lu is subtly protecting us—no, it should be protecting Ye Xuejin.

But this was only her guess.

Before long, Ye Xuejin, dressed in her clothes, walked out slowly. Yun Chi handed her an anti-inflammatory pill she had taken out beforehand. “Take this. Your wounds will heal faster.”

Ye Xuejin paused, then accepted and swallowed it. Since she had taken the first step toward trust, the steps that followed would be simpler.

At the same time, two more questions arose in her mind: the brand-new, clean shirt, and this single pill…

She unconsciously studied Yun Chi, who seemed to have thought of something joyful. A faint smile appeared on her slender face, like the rising sun, bringing hope.

Yun Chi smiled because several lines of large text had appeared before her again.

[You have gifted one anti-inflammatory pill. Please choose a reward: One bowl of dried bamboo shoot and old duck soup or two bowls of pea and minced pork noodles]

Two bowls of pea and minced pork noodles, Yun Chi murmured silently, raising the corner of her mouth.

Giving Ye Xuejin only one pill was a small trick, and also a test of her golden finger.

If giving one pill each time could yield a reward, then naturally, she shouldn’t give the whole bottle at once.

At a time like this, the benefit must be maximized.

The two remained silent until Yu Lu and his men arrived.

“Men and women separate. Everyone inside.”

He had some knowledge of celestial phenomena and guessed it would likely rain in the latter half of the night.

At this point, Zeng Laosan’s eyes darted around, and he casually said, “Sir, why pity these prisoners?”

“Our duty is to escort the prisoners to the frontier, not to let them die on the road,” Yu Lu answered gravely, and then walked into the shed.

Zeng Laosan silently curled his lips, thinking, Is it necessary? This is only the first night. No one will die from sleeping outside.

Soon, the twenty prisoners were divided into two groups. Yun Chi and Ye Xuejin rested with the three female dependents of the Zhou family on the inner side of the shed.

The thirteen male members of the Zhou family, along with the two brothers, stayed on the outer side.

The seven officers were in the middle, where they built another fire, set up a pot, and continued to drink meat soup.

The prisoners, however, were still chewing on coarse biscuits, their eyes occasionally drifting toward the pot, which was steaming and fragrant.

In this atmosphere, Zeng Laosan secretly glared at Yun Chi and deliberately twirled the whip in his hand.

Yun Chi subtly nodded, signaling that she understood.

She had already communicated with Ye Xuejin; they just needed to cooperate and act out the scene.

While she was thinking, Zeng Laosan casually swung his whip in the air, seemingly urging her on.

Yun Chi had no choice but to stand up, turn her back to Zeng Laosan, give Ye Xuejin a look, and then pretend to say impatiently, “Where are the steamed buns you hid? Hurry up and hand them all over to me.”

Her moderate-volume voice echoed through the shed, attracting everyone’s attention.

For a moment, the expressions of the crowd varied.

Some were scornful, some numb, and some were watching the show…

Ye Xuejin said nothing, simply taking out the two halves of the steamed bun again.

Yun Chi was momentarily stunned. Will this woman even act? Shouldn’t she have refused to hand them over, allowing me a natural reason to hit her?

However, this did not stump her.

Yun Chi took all the steamed buns, quickly ate half of one, and put the remaining half into her bosom. Dissatisfied, she demanded, “What else do you have to eat? Hand it all over.”

“There’s nothing else,” Ye Xuejin said, lowering her gaze softly.

“What do you mean, nothing else? I think you’re asking for trouble,” Yun Chi raised her voice slightly.

Ye Xuejin bowed her head, acting as if she hadn’t heard.

Yun Chi had to continue the act herself. She reached out and smacked her on the back.

“Did you hear me? Hurry up and take it out.”

Ye Xuejin looked up, gazed at her indifferently, and then simply closed her eyes.

Yun Chi forced her acting, stating fiercely, “What kind of look is that? I’ll beat you to death.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she lifted her foot and, controlling the force, lightly kicked Ye Xuejin’s shoulder twice.

Ye Xuejin grimaced in pain, shrinking her body, her face growing paler, looking utterly distressed.

Yun Chi silently gave her a thumbs-up in her heart. Good acting. Very convincing.

Following that, she kicked her again, seemingly still unsatisfied.

“I really don’t have anything to eat. I’m sorry…” Ye Xuejin covered her shoulder, breathing heavily twice, as if she had finally bowed her back and surrendered.

She was not pretending, because her wound hurt intensely when touched. She had been enduring it, but this time she did not.

The officers exchanged glances, occasionally looking at Yu Lu, unsure if they should intervene.

Only Zeng Laosan’s eyes flashed with a look of success. It seemed this task would be completed soon.

Yu Lu hesitated in his heart. He couldn’t interfere too obviously, lest someone make an issue of it.

Yun Chi didn’t know if their act was convincing enough. To be safe, she clenched her fist, intending to strike a few more times.

Unexpectedly, before her fist could fall, her wrist was grabbed and stopped.

“Xiao Yue!” Several voices rang out simultaneously, and a few members of the Zhou family stood up.

The person who had intervened was Zhou Qiyue, the daughter of the Elder Minister Zhou.

Zhou Qiyue’s face flushed. She knew her parents and eldest brother were very worried about her, but she truly couldn’t stand to watch any longer.

Seeing that the officers did not stop her, she forcefully shook off Yun Chi’s arm. “Shameless.”

Yun Chi was already struggling with the lack of coordination between herself and Ye Xuejin and was worried that the scene wasn’t dramatic enough. Seeing someone offering to help her act for free, her eyes lit up.

“Who are you to interfere? How is it your business if I hit my own wife?”

She was about to give a stellar performance to completely deceive the malicious Zeng Laosan.