Transmigrated into the Scum Female Consort - Chapter 50

Even though the Emperor believed the private treasury should hold many treasures, he never imagined there would be so much.

Before entering, when he saw the account books, he felt dizzy. There were countless gold, silver, and precious jade artifacts. Even the ledger recording them filled a whole chest.

Originally, his Father had died suddenly without saying anything, and his Mother had been ill for those days and rarely spoke. Neither of them mentioned the private treasury.

He had thought his Father’s private treasury was empty. After all, although the Emperor’s allowance was considerable, the spending was also large. A few casual rewards could exhaust a month’s allowance.

He never expected his Father to leave him such a huge surprise. The gold accumulated by successive Emperors alone amounted to three million liang, which was equivalent to three years of revenue for the national treasury.

As the vault door opened, the Emperor eagerly walked in.

“All of you wait outside.”

The Emperor planned to go in first by himself, lest showing excessive joy would make him seem less composed.

His mood was simply too complex, sitting on so much treasure without knowing it. Now, he just wanted to see his gold immediately.

The walls of the private treasury were inlaid with luminous pearls, and further inside were countless wooden chests, all unlocked.

A flash of dissatisfaction crossed the Emperor’s mind. Father was too careless, not ensuring they were properly kept for him.

He lifted the lid of the first chest and froze.

Immediately followed by the second, the third, the fourth…

“Ah—”

A piercing scream echoed from the private treasury.

Outside, everyone exchanged nervous glances. The Chief Eunuch said uncertainly, “Is His Majesty overly delighted?”

The Empress remained silent. The sound, to her, sounded like a cry of misery. It was the same pitch as when Consort Shu was dragged to the Cold Palace two days ago.

Before long, the Emperor rushed out like a madman, seizing the guards standing watch and roaring: “Where is the gold in the private treasury? Where are the jewels? Did you line your own pockets and steal everything from my private treasury? Speak! Speak!”

The private treasury was emptied!

The Chief Eunuch and the Empress exchanged glances, their eyes filled with shock. Did they hear right? Who would dare steal from the Emperor’s private treasury?

The Emperor was nearly insane. All those chests were empty! They were all empty!

“Your Majesty, calm your anger! Your Majesty only looked at the deposits just now, not the withdrawals, Your Majesty…” The court official who managed the accounts knelt down, trembling as he held up a ledger over his head.

He was terrified. He had thought the new Emperor was aware of the situation. Now, it seemed the new Emperor had been kept in the dark by the late Emperor.

The Emperor took the ledger and looked. His mind nearly exploded.

His Father had actually instructed the Ministry of Rites long ago to have all the jewels and jade artifacts in the private treasury buried with him as funeral objects!

And he had left all the gold to his Mother!

His Mother, in turn, also instructed the Ministry of Rites to have all the gold buried with her as funeral objects!

Are they insane?!

A deathly silence pervaded the air. The Emperor felt that he was truly going mad.

Because he actually considered digging up the Imperial Mausoleum…

While there was a deadly silence outside the private treasury, the exile party on the other side was becoming lively.

This was because everyone saw the third person to be bestowed a divine artifact by the immortal, and that was Shi Niang.

Shi Niang still walked at the back of the line, but she no longer reached for Zeng Laosan’s official sword at her waist.

She gripped the electric baton. After holding it for a while, she slowly became less nervous and occasionally spun it in her hand.

This divine artifact is truly a good thing, especially suitable for women. Since it wasn’t a sharp weapon, it looked non-threatening and wouldn’t raise suspicion.

If only she could acquire some for Mei, Lan, Zhu, and Ju as well.

With a thought, she called Mei, Lan, Zhu, and Ju over: “Do you want to be like Shi Song?”

Shi Niang held up the electric baton in her hand.

The four immediately understood what she meant and nodded profusely.

Of course they did, but they didn’t have Shi Song’s skill.

Shi Niang smiled: “As long as you want it. From now on, whenever you are free, go to Shi Song and ask her for guidance. I will also teach you some self-defense techniques.”

Mei, Lan, Zhu, and Ju had no foundation in martial arts and lacked the ruthlessness to kill. Regular training methods wouldn’t work.

The only way was to find an alternative. As long as they understood the vulnerable points of the human body, like Shi Song did, and mastered some basic footwork, they could be highly effective when combined with this divine artifact.

As for ruthlessness, they would need opportunities to train that.

Shi Niang kept thinking about what to do next. They only had thirty people in total. Excluding the elderly and children, and removing Mu Er, there were only twenty people left.

Excluding Ye Xuejin and Yun Chi, there were only eighteen people. She and the young girls made up six people, one-third of the total.

One-third of the fighting force must be put to use.

Since Her Highness trusted her and bestowed the divine artifact, she couldn’t let Her Highness put her faith in the wrong person.

Thinking of this, Shi Niang immediately took action during the noon break.

“Your Highness.”

“Your Highness!”

Just as Shi Niang opened her mouth, a louder voice followed closely.

The person who came over was Old Imperial Censor Zhou.

He truly couldn’t maintain his composure any longer. Three divine artifacts had been bestowed! Three! Yu Lu, the head constable, had one, Shi Song among the young girls had one, and now even Shi Niang had one. Only his Zhou family was still staring blankly.

If he didn’t demonstrate something soon, he was truly afraid Her Highness would never see the Zhou family again.

Ye Xuejin looked at the two of them when she heard them: “What is the matter? Shi Niang, you speak first.”

Old Imperial Censor Zhou, who had opened his mouth but hadn’t yet spoken: “…”

He suddenly felt awful. Truly, one step behind in the beginning meant every step after was slower than others.

“Your Highness, this subordinate would like Shi Song to temporarily walk at the back to help me teach Mei, Lan, Zhu, and Ju some self-defense techniques.” Shi Niang looked deeply at Ye Xuejin, sincerity flashing in her eyes.

Ye Xuejin’s gaze paused, and she looked at Shi Song: “Shi Song, go ahead.”

“Yes.” Shi Song agreed without hesitation. Although she preferred to guard the Grand Princess’s side, since she was loyal to the Grand Princess, the Grand Princess’s words were law.

After Shi Song followed Shi Niang away, Ye Xuejin looked at Old Imperial Censor Zhou, nodding slightly to signal that he could speak.

Old Imperial Censor Zhou could no longer hold onto his reserve. Since Her Highness hadn’t noticed that he was a piece of ‘gold,’ he would simply shine brightly himself. It was the same if he proactively made Her Highness see him.

“Your Highness, your old subject had a sudden thought. The pastries bestowed by the immortal are not only easy to carry but also convenient to eat. If they could be used as rations for the army in the future…”

If the soldiers ate one small piece, they wouldn’t be hungry for most of the day. If they ate two pieces, it would last a whole day.

And since the pieces were so small, everyone could easily carry enough food for more than ten days just by stuffing them into their pockets.

If this were the case, there would be no need to worry about food supply and logistics. The speed of the army’s march would immediately outpace the enemy’s by a large margin. The soldiers wouldn’t worry about eating on the road, and their morale would be high.

Ye Xuejin looked at the excited Old Imperial Censor Zhou and nodded gently: “Lord Zhou is thoughtful. I will keep this matter in mind.”

After speaking, she subtly glanced at Yun Chi, who was sitting nearby.

She, of course, had thought of this point, but the key lay with the Royal Consort.

Especially after knowing that Yun Chi’s divine power was most likely based on exchange and not inexhaustible, she had almost given up on this idea.

It would be best if the Royal Consort could produce them, but she would not force her if she could not.

So, was the Royal Consort troubled by this?

Yun Chi heard Old Imperial Censor Zhou’s words and also looked at Ye Xuejin.

Using compressed biscuits as military rations would require an enormous amount of rewards!

Besides, there were only five days left until Ye Xuejin’s innocence was cleared. She just wanted to take the gold and leave. She had no intention of staying to continue helping Ye Xuejin walk that path.

Since she had a rare chance to transmigrate, this was her one life journey, and she should do what she wanted to do.

She had no desire to go to court, let alone become some consort in the inner palace.

So, even though Yun Chi saw the hidden meaning in Ye Xuejin’s eyes, she silently looked away and stared at the clouds.

A gentle refusal, then.

Seeing Yun Chi’s reaction, Ye Xuejin did not feel disappointed. She would not force her Royal Consort.

“Your Highness?”

“Does Lord Zhou have anything else?”

Old Imperial Censor Zhou tugged at his beard: “What does Your Highness think of my humble son?”

Zhou Qishan?

Ye Xuejin couldn’t help but look over. She saw Zhou Qishan chewing on a blade of grass, playing cat’s cradle with Little Ying’er using a piece of string he found somewhere. He had just won a game and flicked Little Ying’er’s forehead.

Little Ying’er immediately pouted and ran to Old Madam Zhou to complain.

Seeing this, Zhou Qishan turned and ran away faster than a rabbit.

Old Imperial Censor Zhou’s face darkened: “My unworthy son is uncouth. Please excuse him, Your Highness.”

This unfortunate son! Of all times to play, he chose now, making him look completely uncomposed and unwise.

Ye Xuejin smiled: “Your son is a good father and very filial.”

This was not what Old Imperial Censor Zhou wanted to hear. After a moment of hesitation, he couldn’t suppress his urgency: “Does Your Highness believe my unworthy son might also catch the immortal’s eye and be bestowed a divine artifact?”

The constable had one, Shi Niang and the young girls had one. Only the Zhou family and that Mu Er didn’t.

He was anxious! He was panicking!

Ye Xuejin looked thoughtful when she heard this: “If I remember correctly, your son is also a civil official.”

The Royal Consort said there were only seven electric batons in total. Now, Yu Lu, Shi Song, and Shi Niang had been given them, leaving only four.

Based on the principle of maximizing the use of the electric batons, she favored people with good combat skills first.

Old Imperial Censor Zhou quickly replied: “Your Highness, rest assured. My eldest son also has some fighting skills. Although he is a civil minister, he is proficient in the Six Arts of the Gentleman (Junzi Liuyi), lacking in none, especially skilled in archery.”

The Six Arts of the Gentleman were: Rites, Music, Archery, Charioteering, Calligraphy, and Mathematics.

Archery was the key skill he mentioned.

Ye Xuejin gave Zhou Qishan an unexpected glance but did not rush to agree. However, she currently had no bow or crossbow to test Zhou Qishan’s actual ability.

She thought for a moment and still did not promise: “Lord Zhou, please be patient. Allow me to consider this.”

She didn’t doubt Old Imperial Censor Zhou’s words, but a father viewing his son, especially when hoping for a divine artifact, would inevitably exaggerate.

The electric batons were truly limited, and she didn’t want to waste a single one.

Seeing Ye Xuejin remain non-committal, Old Imperial Censor Zhou’s heart sank. It was all his fault for being foolish and missing a great opportunity.

After Old Imperial Censor Zhou left, Yun Chi looked at Ye Xuejin, who was lost in thought, and couldn’t help but speak.

“I can try to acquire a bow and arrow.”

Acquiring a large batch of compressed biscuits to serve as military rations was difficult, but a single bow and arrow should not be a problem.

The main reason was that she was still counting on Ye Xuejin for more gold rewards. She naturally had to help with small favors when possible.

Ye Xuejin snapped back to attention and did not refuse: “Then I must trouble the Royal Consort.”

Since they had just passed through Caozhou City, Yu Lu had bought some dry rations and provided everyone with full waterskins, so Yun Chi didn’t have to worry about lunch.

Yun Chi sensed the items in her storage space and took out a piece of beef jerky.

She had tried it last time: exchanging weapon for weapon eventually depreciated the reward until only mineral water was available. By changing the approach, she could generate greater value.

For example, exchanging weapons for food worked. Similarly, exchanging food for a weapon should also be feasible.

“Give me your hand.” Yun Chi signaled Ye Xuejin to reach out. Using her sleeve as cover, she passed the beef jerky over.