Transmigrated Into A Novel As A Scumbag Princess’ Consort - Chapter 10

10:

The group was forced to stop because there were only twenty prisoners escorted to Southern Xinjiang this time, and sixteen of them were from the Zhou family.

The Zhou family hadn’t committed a crime warranting clan extermination, but Old Censor Zhou’s defiance of imperial authority in court had enraged the emperor, implicating nearly his entire household.

Among these sixteen people of the Zhou family was; Old Censor Zhou, Old Madam Zhou, their children, and their young granddaughter were the ones from the main family. The rest were indentured servants of the Zhou household, so when Old Madam Zhou and Zhou Qishan fell, they all stopped.

Their halt brought the entire group to a standstill.

Worse, both Old Madam Zhou and Zhou Qishan had fainted.

Fortunately, though Old Censor Zhou was a scholar-official, he had studied a bit of medicine in his youth, beyond the six arts of a gentleman.

After checking his wife’s and son’s pulses, he breathed a sigh of relief.

“Father, are Mother and Big Brother okay?” Zhou Qiyue asked worriedly.

Old Censor Zhou exhaled. “Nothing serious, just weak from hunger and thirst.”

In plain terms, they were starving and dehydrated.

Combined with days of relentless marching, no rest tonight, and running this stretch before falling, both had collapsed.

Hearing this, Xiao Gao glanced back, still able to see Yu Lu on horseback, blocking the road.

He decided, “Since we can’t move, rest here until dawn.”

Zeng Laosan immediately objected. “How can we not move?”

Even with Yu Lu absent, it wasn’t this kid’s place to give orders.

Xiao Gao glanced at the unconscious mother and son. “What do we do with them? What if more of them faint? Who’s gonna carry them?”

Everyone was exhausted, pushing forward on sheer willpower. Carrying someone, as Zhou Qishan’s example showed, would only lead to more collapses.

The Zhou family wouldn’t agree to leave Old Madam Zhou and Zhou Qishan behind. Rather than cause a scene, it was better to conserve energy.

Zeng Laosan choked, snapping, “If we don’t move, what if those women are evil spirits and come for our lives?”

Xiao Gao ignored him, talking to this guy was a waste of words.

If they were evil spirits, no one could outrun them.

Besides, Yu Lu had stopped the women without incident or fighting, suggesting it wasn’t that dire.

The sudden appearance of the women in the dead of night had made them overreact. Now, calmer and at a distance, there was less need to panic.

Seeing Xiao Gao dismiss him, Zeng Laosan snorted and sat down. He was exhausted, his throat parched, with not a drop of water left—what a miserable trip.

Meanwhile, the group’s only child, five-year-old Zhou Ciying, Old Censor Zhou’s granddaughter, saw her father lying motionless and burst into tears.

Zhou Qiyue hurriedly soothed her. “Ying’er, be good. Your grandmother and father are fine…”

As she spoke, Zhou Qishan woke up first.

“Father, Xiao Yue, Ying’er—where’s Mother?” Seeing Old Madam Zhou lying still on Old Censor Zhou’s lap, he cried out, “Mother…”

“Stop wailing—your mother is fine,” Old Censor Zhou snapped, though his expression was grave.

His son was young and recovered quickly.

But his wife was old, never having endured such hardship. Even if she pulled through this time, she might not survive the next.

Old Censor Zhou suddenly felt a surge of regret. He shouldn’t have called the emperor incompetent, but as a censor, how could he fear death? Dying for remonstrance was a censor’s honor.

Yet it had dragged his entire family down…

At that moment, Old Madam Zhou’s lips moved. Though her eyes remained closed, she could speak.

“Water… water…”

Hearing her murmur, Old Censor Zhou urgently told his children, “Quick, find water.”

Then he froze, lost in thought.

Where would they find water? They hadn’t seen a river all day. The prisoners had no containers to hold water, and the escorts’ pouches were likely empty after a day’s march.

Zhou Qishan immediately thought to ask the escorts.

“There is none left.”

“Drank it all long ago.”

Seeing Zhou Qishan return dejected and empty-handed, Zhou Qiyue’s eyes reddened.

Suddenly, she remembered something and stood up abruptly.

“Xiao Yue?” Zhou Qishan called.

Zhou Qiyue murmured, “Besides the escorts, someone else has a water pouch.”

The Zhou family’s gazes landed on Yun Chi.

Yesterday, Yun Chi had excitedly told Ye Xuejin she had found a water pouch by the river.

Many had overheard.

The prisoners were gathered close, and Yun Chi and Ye Xuejin, only two meters from the Zhou family, hadn’t missed the commotion.

As Zhou Qiyue approached, Yun Chi spoke first. “We drank ours long ago.”

The pouch had only a bit of milk left, which she absolutely couldn’t let others know about—it could bring endless trouble.

Zhou Qiyue froze, looking at Ye Xuejin. She didn’t trust this shameless scumbag but believed the rumors of the noble Princess.

Ye Xuejin pursed her lips, shaking her head slowly.

She didn’t want to lie, but she also didn’t want to implicate Yun Chi. The milk’s origin was too mysterious—she didn’t understand it herself, let alone explain it to others.

Zhou Qiyue’s hopes crumbled, and she turned away, dejected.

In the distance, Yu Lu was still on horseback, seemingly confronting the women, suggesting no major issue.

Otherwise, he’d have noticed the group had stopped and given instructions if something was wrong.

Knowing they didn’t need to worry too much, the escorts found flat ground and slept.

They were utterly exhausted.

They at least ate their fill, unlike the prisoners, who were in worse shape.

Too tired to speak, as if every word drained energy, everyone lay down silently.

Old Censor Zhou told the servants to sleep, keeping watch himself.

Zhou Qishan and Zhou Qiyue, unable to rest, stayed by Old Madam Zhou’s side.

The Mu brothers lay down to rest as soon as the group stopped.

Yun Chi nudged Ye Xuejin’s arm, tilting her head toward the Zhou family.

Ye Xuejin vaguely understood but didn’t know how to respond.

She didn’t want Yun Chi to risk helping, but she also didn’t want Old Madam Zhou to come to harm.

Seeing her silence, Yun Chi understood. Though reluctant, she held back.

Soon, the sprawled-out escorts and prisoners began snoring, clearly exhausted.

Thankfully, Old Madam Zhou was fine, though weak, and had woken up.

The night wind was chilly, making people shiver. Yun Chi looked at Ye Xuejin’s back, silently reaching out.

Feeling a gentle hand on her shoulder, Ye Xuejin’s eyes snapped open, then quietly closed again.

Yun Chi didn’t hold her tightly but turned her shoulder, trying to get her to face her.

Ye Xuejin’s eyes, just closed, opened again. After a moment’s hesitation, she turned, lying face-to-face with Yun Chi.

Yun Chi scanned their surroundings, carefully unhooked the water pouch, and held it to Ye Xuejin’s lips.

Ye Xuejin tilted her head to dodge. She knew little milk remained, and though thirsty, she could endure.

Seeing her refuse, Yun Chi didn’t hesitate, tilting her head to drink a few sips before offering the pouch again.

When Ye Xuejin still didn’t take it, Yun Chi leaned closer, whispering, “There’s more.”

There was still a cup of watermelon juice in the storage space.

Ye Xuejin finally took the pouch, finishing the last few sips before handing the empty pouch back.

Yun Chi, lost in thought, didn’t take it.

She was looking at the text before her, as expected: repeatedly giving the same item yielded lesser rewards.

[Gave one bag of milk. Please choose a reward: one tea egg or two pieces of milk candy.]

She chose the tea egg, better for hunger than candy.

She needed to find chances to give Ye Xuejin more items from the storage space to trigger rewards faster.

Seeing Yun Chi’s delay, Ye Xuejin didn’t disturb her, quietly watching her bright, star-like eyes in the dark.