Transmigrated into the Scum Female Consort - Chapter 76

At the same moment, Ye Xuejin calmly squeezed Yun Chi’s hand and gave a slight, imperceptible nod.

Yun Chi understood immediately. She quickly sensed the items within her storage space and focused her mind. In the next instant, everyone’s eyes widened in unison.

Lord Zhang rubbed his eyes in disbelief. Was he hallucinating? Otherwise, how could an object appear out of thin air at that woman’s feet in broad daylight? Once he regained his senses, he looked around and saw that everyone else looked like they had seen a ghost.

Zhou Qiyue was also a bit stunned. What is this?

It looked like a cucumber, but it was much larger and rounder. She leaned over and tapped it; the sound it made did indeed resemble a cucumber.

An immortal is truly an immortal, she thought. Even the cucumbers they eat are extraordinary.

“It looks like a cucumber,” someone whispered.

Lord Zhang suddenly snapped out of it. “Impossible! This must be an illusion!”

Hearing this, Zhou Qiyue stood up immediately. “You don’t believe it? Fine, let me open your eyes.” She pointed to the young bailiff who had spoken earlier. “You, use your blade to cut this immortal melon and see if it’s real or fake.”

The young bailiff looked instinctively at Lord Zhang. With a darkened expression, Lord Zhang tilted his chin toward the melon. Only then did the bailiff step forward. He drew the saber from his waist and, with a mix of caution and curiosity, sliced into the watermelon.

The crowd watched his every move. The moment the blade touched the skin, a crisp crack echoed. The rind split into two halves, revealing bright red flesh. Those standing nearby could already smell the sweet, enticing aroma of the fruit.

Being the closest, the young bailiff and Zhou Qiyue couldn’t help but swallow their saliva.

Lord Zhang took two steps forward then stopped. Frowning, he ordered the bailiff, “Cut a piece and taste it first.”

The bailiff nodded eagerly, but Zhou Qiyue was unwilling. “By what right does he get to eat it? This was bestowed upon me by the Immortal!”

As she spoke, the bailiff had already impatiently sliced a piece and taken a large bite.

Whoa! It was so sweet and delicious. He had never tasted such a wonderful “cucumber” in his entire life. This truly was a divine fruit! He thought that eating it might even prolong his life. With that in mind, he silently quickened his pace, finishing the piece in his hand and reaching to cut a second one.

“You! How can you keep eating? This is mine!” Zhou Qiyue grew anxious. This was a gift from the Immortal; she hadn’t even presented it to the Princess yet, nor had she tasted it herself.

The bailiff ignored her entirely, only pausing to say to Lord Zhang, “My Lord, I couldn’t quite catch the full flavor. Let me try another piece to see if it’s safe to eat.”

Lord Zhang’s lip twitched. The boy was already scrambling for a second piece and yet claimed he didn’t know if it was edible? Did he look like a fool?

“Enough. Step aside. This official shall taste it personally.”

Now Zhou Qiyue was not only anxious but furious. She reached out to stop him.

“Qiyue, come to Mother.” Old Madam Zhou had been watching Ye Xuejin’s expression. Seeing that the Princess had no intention of stopping Lord Zhang, she quickly called her daughter back. Her Highness surely had other considerations for asking the Immortal to reveal their power in this situation.

Lord Zhang only needed one bite to know this was a cucumber—or rather, a supreme variety many times better than any tribute fruit. At this time, cucumbers had only been introduced to the Kingdom of Dashao for a few years; they were usually only the size of two palms, flat in shape, and filled with seeds. But the melon in his hand was large, round, seedless, and several times sweeter.

“You say the Immortal gave this to you? And those other items too?” Thinking of something, Lord Zhang’s eyes lit up as he looked at Zhou Qiyue.

Zhou Qiyue raised her brows proudly. “That’s right.”

Lord Zhang stared at her. “If you can make the Immortal bestow another melon, I will appoint you as the overseer of the female prisoners. How about that?”

Zhou Qiyue instinctively looked at Ye Xuejin again, who gave a small nod. Lord Zhang noticed the small interaction between them. His eyes darted around as he suppressed his excitement, not rushing to act just yet.

Zhou Qiyue immediately looked to the sky and shouted again, “O Immortal, I pray you bestow another melon!”

As the words fell, another large watermelon appeared out of thin air by her feet.

The crowd gasped: “The Immortal has manifested! There really is an Immortal!”

Lord Zhang’s eyes grew brighter and brighter. “Bestow two more, and I will make you second-in-command at this mine—above ten thousand people!”

Hearing this, Zhou Qiyue immediately looked up at the sky again.

Yun Chi: “…” This is getting out of hand.

“O Immortal, I pray you—gah!”

With a clatter, a plastic basin dropped onto Zhou Qiyue’s head.

Yun Chi looked down, trying hard to stifle a laugh. The girl was getting too greedy. Most importantly, how could she bypass Ye Xuejin? If Ye Xuejin didn’t nod, Yun Chi wouldn’t cooperate.

Zhou Qiyue rubbed her head and looked sheepishly at Ye Xuejin. Fine, she had gotten carried away and forgotten to consult the Eldest Princess.

“O Immortal, I was wrong. I repent. I won’t be greedy anymore.”

Lord Zhang stared at Zhou Qiyue for a moment before suddenly barking an order: “Seize this witch at once!”

He wanted to report this discovery to the Chief Secretary and offer this whole “immortal melon” to him as a gift. Perhaps then he could leave this gods-forsaken place and be promoted back to the city.

“Let go of me! You dog official! You went back on your word—” Zhou Qiyue cried out in shock, cursing as she struggled.

Ye Xuejin swept a cold glance over Lord Zhang and lightly squeezed Yun Chi’s hand. Yun Chi understood; this was a signal to stop them. But her “Golden Finger” wasn’t that powerful.

In desperation, she resorted to an old trick. She directly moved the outer robes, sabers, and shoes of Lord Zhang and several bailiffs into her storage space—oh, and the watermelon Lord Zhang was cradling in his arms.

“A ghost!” The bailiffs were terrified. Forgetting about Zhou Qiyue, they turned and bolted.

“Halt!” Lord Zhang roared.

The bailiffs stopped, trembling, but dared not come closer. They huddled together in fear. “M-M-My Lord… there really is a ghost! No, there’s an Immortal! May the Immortal not take offense; we have sinned!”

Realizing the situation, the bailiffs fell to their knees, bowing to the sky and begging for mercy.

Seeing this, Zhou Qiyue was so moved she nearly cried. The Immortal had saved her; the Immortal was so good to her. Seeing the bailiffs scared out of their wits, she laughed loudly. “See that? This is the price of disrespecting the Immortal! This time it’s your clothes; who knows what will go missing next time? To covet the Immortal’s gifts without showing loyalty to the Eldest Princess… you’re just asking for trouble!”

Lord Zhang’s legs shook. “Come here… help me away.”

At this point, he had no choice but to believe. Thinking of the “dirty” things he had done in the past and the fact that an Immortal truly existed, he was so terrified his legs wouldn’t move. Help! Lord Chief Secretary, save me!

The clever young bailiff gritted his teeth, ran back, and helped Lord Zhang flee.

The women were left in a daze. The officials had just run away—did they still have to work today?

Deep in the woods, Zhu Yan flicked his sleeve. “Return to the city. Useless trash.” Sima Chen hurried to help him into the carriage, thinking that Old Man Zhang was in for it. He had moved but wasn’t decisive enough; with a heart the size of a sesame seed, he had been scared off. Truly useless.

Back with the women, Zhou Qiyue surveyed the crowd triumphantly. She picked up half of the sliced watermelon. “Your Highness, please taste it.”

“I will have the Immortal bestow more. You should share this with everyone,” Ye Xuejin said, looking down at the melon in Zhou Qiyue’s hand and lightly tapping the back of Yun Chi’s hand with her finger.

Receiving the hint, Yun Chi didn’t think twice and took out another watermelon, placing it on the ground in front of Ye Xuejin. Including their group, there were only about a dozen women; two large watermelons were enough for everyone to have two pieces.

Zhou Qiyue stood tall and announced loudly, “Everyone come here! Line up for the Immortal Melon!”

The women looked at each other, none of them daring to step forward at first.

Seeing this, Ye Xuejin took Yun Chi’s hand and walked slowly to the center. She said calmly, “I know you are the families of disgraced officials, but you are not necessarily evil-doers. Any of you who have not committed crimes, or are willing to turn over a new leaf, step forward if you believe in me.”

The crowd went silent. A middle-aged woman took a trembling step forward and murmured, “Are you truly Her Highness, the Eldest Princess Anhe?”

Ye Xuejin looked at her, her eyes reflecting confusion. “Have you seen me before?”

Upon hearing this, the woman’s expression shifted through several emotions. She pulled the young girl behind her down into a kneel and choked out, “This lowly sinner of the Lu clan and her daughter have never done evil. We are willing to believe in Your Highness and follow your command.”

It is Princess Anhe! It really is her! The Princess was known for loving the people like her own children. Perhaps she and her daughter truly had a chance to live!

Ye Xuejin’s tone softened. “Rise. Lead the others to get some food.”

“Yes, this servant obeys!” Madam Lu quickly agreed. She stood up and turned to the other women. “Everyone, do not be afraid! Princess Anhe is most merciful and will not harm us. Come, all of you!”

The others finally stepped forward timidly, lining up to receive their watermelon.

Zhou Qiyue felt like she had regained her position as the “Grand General of Provisions” from the exile trek, but she didn’t forget to hand a piece to Ye Xuejin and Yun Chi first.

Once finished, Zhou Qiyue stood by Ye Xuejin and whispered, “Your Highness, did the Immortal not bestow anything in your room last night?”

It made her nervous; she felt she didn’t deserve such favor if the Immortal had forgotten the Princess.

Ye Xuejin said flatly, “They did. They took it back at daybreak.” Her Prince Consort was considerate and meticulous; everything had been arranged perfectly.

Zhou Qiyue blinked and blurted out, “Then why didn’t they take the things from our room back?” Why would an Immortal show favoritism?

Ye Xuejin smiled without a word, glancing sideways at Yun Chi.

Yun Chi cleared her throat and said with a straight face, “The Immortal has a million matters to attend to; perhaps they were just too busy and forgot.”

In reality, she simply couldn’t do it. The Golden Finger was good, but it had its limits. For example, the storage space required her to be within a sixteen-meter range and she had to be able to see the items or visualize their exact location.

Zhou Qiyue went quiet. Fine, the Immortal clearly loves the Eldest Princess most. Even while ‘busy with a million matters,’ they didn’t forget to clean up the Princess’s room.

After eating the watermelon, the women gathered around Madam Lu to whisper about who this “Princess Anhe” was, occasionally glancing at Ye Xuejin. The atmosphere was relatively harmonious.

The men at the mine, however, were not having a pleasant time. No one was supervising them to start work today, and Lord Zhang and the bailiffs were nowhere to be found.

Some of the bolder ones, looking to slack off, began to hatch schemes. They huddled together, whispering while their eyes were fixed on the newly arrived Zhou men.

The brawny man leading them finished his discussion and strode toward the Zhou family. “You lot! Get to work immediately! Go split all the rocks in that area!”

The Zhou men instinctively looked toward the old Imperial Censor Zhou. Their eyes asked: Head of the family, what do you think?