Transmigrated Into A Novel As A Scumbag Princess’ Consort - Chapter 21

21:

With a wave of his hand, Yu Lu signaled the group to pause, then stepped forward alone. “Please, comrades, inspect our documents.”

After handing over the official papers for escorting the prisoners, his heart quietly tightened with unease.

You see, there were originally only twenty prisoners, but now the group had grown by six. Neither Shiniang nor the five young girls had identification papers. If they were subjected to a thorough inspection, it would take a lot of explaining, and there was no guarantee they could bluff their way through.

Unexpectedly, the older soldier merely glanced at the documents, noted the Ministry of Justice’s seal, and closed them without further scrutiny.

“It’s been a while since we’ve had visitors at Zhenshan County’s post station. Please, come in! I’ll guide you, sir,” the older soldier said with a cheerful smile, handing back the papers and leading the way.

Yu Lu felt a slight relief and nodded calmly. With another wave, he led the group into the city.

The soldiers took them to the official post station in Zhenshan County. It was fairly clean, though a bit cramped.

Yu Lu was given a room to himself, the escorts were paired two to a room, and that left only two rooms for the rest.

The station’s clerk clearly knew how to handle exiled prisoners. He assigned one room for the men and one for the women, packing them in tightly, with most having to sleep on the floor.

Yu Lu didn’t object to the arrangement and remained silent.

If he were to inconvenience the escorts by squeezing them together just to make the prisoners more comfortable, it would seem far too unreasonable.

Even the meals were divided into two types: the escorts got wine and meat, while the prisoners were given only coarse grain pancakes and plain water.

In the station’s main hall, everyone was so hungry they could barely stand it. The moment food appeared, no one bothered to talk—they all devoured their meals ravenously.

While everyone was eating, Yun Chi, nibbling on a steamed bun, tugged at Ye Xuejin’s sleeve and said in a harsh tone, “My stomach’s acting up. Come to the room and rub it for me.”

Ye Xuejin lowered her eyes and stood obediently, following along.

Most of the group was used to this by now, though some gave odd looks but didn’t say anything.

After all, it was a case of one willing to hit and the other willing to take it. After Ye Xuejin’s earlier intervention, anyone with sense wouldn’t meddle in their business.

Once inside the room, Yun Chi closed the door and pulled Ye Xuejin further in. “Something happened last night… For now, it seems Lord Yu and Shiniang are allies, not enemies. What do you think?” She recounted the events by the river from the previous night, sharing information with Ye Xuejin promptly.

Ye Xuejin thought for a moment before offering her opinion. “Yu Lu is from the Ministry of Justice. The Minister and several Vice Ministers there are all loyal pillars of the state, devoted to the people’s welfare.”

The implication was that Yu Lu was likely acting under orders from those high-ranking officials in the Ministry.

“As for Shiniang, I vaguely recall seeing her once. She’s likely from Qianhua’s household.” After a pause, she explained, “Qianhua is the Prime Minister’s daughter, surnamed Tao, and my close friend.”

Upon hearing that Shiniang was someone arranged by the heroine, Yun Chi felt half-relieved. Why only half? Because even though Shiniang was trustworthy, she couldn’t fully protect Ye Xuejin. After all, in the original story, Ye Xuejin didn’t survive long enough to see her name cleared.

After some thought, Yun Chi lowered her voice. “For now, we can only trust Shiniang. We need to stay cautious with everyone else, including Lord Yu.”

Since Ye Xuejin had seen Shiniang at the female lead’s residence, there shouldn’t be any issues with her.

As for Yu Lu, they couldn’t afford to trust him blindly.

Ye Xuejin nodded. “Alright.”

“Earlier, I noticed the water didn’t look clean, and you didn’t drink any. Thirsty?” Yun Chi said, pulling out a bottle of mineral water. Just as she was about to hand it over, she paused. “What do you think we need most right now?”

Since her “golden finger” allowed her to make wishes in advance and likely receive the desired rewards, she wanted to make the most of every opportunity.

Ye Xuejin looked at her and said softly, “Money.”

“Money?”

“Exactly. We can’t leave the group without permission, but Shiniang can. The group will likely stay in the city for a day, so she can help us buy things.” Ye Xuejin gave Yun Chi a meaningful look after finishing.

Yun Chi understood. While she could rely on her golden finger to obtain supplies, many of those items couldn’t be openly used.

Silently wishing for money a few times, she handed the water to Ye Xuejin. “Here… drink up.”

Ye Xuejin seemed thoughtful but only drank half the bottle.

[Gifted half a bottle of mineral water. Please choose your reward: five taels of silver or five taels of silver.]

Yun Chi: “…” The golden finger was as stubborn as ever, offering choices that were essentially the same.

And this water was getting less valuable by the day. It used to be worth ten taels of silver ingots; now it was down to five taels of loose silver.

“I’ve only saved up twenty-five taels so far. I’ll give it all to Shiniang and let her act as she sees fit.”

Yun Chi took out all the silver she had accumulated along the way and handed it to Ye Xuejin.

Ye Xuejin shook her head slightly. “It’s better if you give it to her. More people are watching me.”

Yun Chi realized she was right and put the silver away.

At that moment, everyone had finished eating and returned to their rooms.

As Ye Xuejin predicted, the moment Shiniang entered the room, she said to the young girls, “Come with me to look around the city and buy some things we’ll need for the journey.”

The girls obediently followed her instructions, standing by her side.

Shiniang subtly glanced at Yun Chi and raised her voice deliberately. “Since we’ve crossed paths, it’s fate. If any of you need help getting something, come talk to me privately. I’ll be waiting outside.”

With that, she left the room, instructing the girls to wait at the station’s main gate.

Yun Chi caught on immediately. Shiniang was worried they didn’t have money and was trying to be discreet to avoid attention.

In the room, Yun Chi gave Ye Xuejin a knowing look and was the first to step outside.

Behind her, Zhou Qiyue looked at Old Madam Zhou. “Mother, should I go ask Big Brother and Father?”

To have someone buy things, they’d naturally need to provide money.

Their family had been raided suddenly, and the soldiers showed no mercy, even taking their earrings and hairpins. Zhou Qiyue was penniless.

Old Madam Zhou shook her head and pulled out a delicate, small gold locket from her bosom. “They have nothing left. It’s all with me. Take this to trade for some food and water.”

The gold locket had been intended as a birthday gift for her little granddaughter. It had just been delivered by the goldsmith when the soldiers arrived to raid their home, and she hadn’t had time to put it away.

Zhou Qiyue was surprised. “Mother, how did you hide this?”

On the day of the raid, hadn’t the soldiers searched them all?

Old Madam Zhou glanced at Ye Xuejin without much subtlety and said bluntly, “I hid it in my mouth.”

Zhou Qiyue suddenly understood. No wonder her mother had been so calm that day, barely speaking.

“What about Big Brother’s banknote…” Her brother had used a banknote to buy medicine for wounds from an escort just two days ago.

Old Madam Zhou gave a rare smile. “Your brother’s clever. He hid it under his foot.”

Zhou Qiyue’s eyes lit up. “And Father? What did he hide?” Knowing her family still had some assets gave her a bit of relief.

Old Madam Zhou’s smile faded. “Your father’s a fool. Always going on about a scholar’s noble integrity. When disaster struck, all he had left was that ‘nobility.’ Not a single copper to his name. At a critical moment, he’s less useful than a child. Ying’er still has a jade pendant hidden on her.”

Now, the Zhou family’s entire fortune consisted of their little granddaughter’s jade pendant and this gold locket.

Zhou Qiyue was speechless. Fine, she was also less useful than a child, and apparently just as foolish.