Transmigrated Into A Novel As A Scumbag Princess’ Consort - Chapter 32

32:

After a moment of silence.

“Heavens, am I dreaming?” a Zhou family servant couldn’t help but exclaim.

“Are we already dead? Is this the underworld?” Xiao Gao also felt like he was dreaming, a dream after death.

“I must be seeing things. My eyes must be playing tricks…”

The crowd erupted, some rubbing their eyes, others pinching their arms or twisting their thighs. Even as they winced in pain, they still couldn’t believe it.

Shi Song’s hands, gripping the bottle, began to tremble. This time, it wasn’t from her arms—it had appeared right in her hands, before her very eyes.

Help! She didn’t know whether to be thrilled or terrified.

Amid the chaos, Ye Xuejin quietly took Yun Chi’s hand, her eyes questioning.

Yun Chi leaned in and whispered, “Actually, we don’t need to be that careful, do we?”

This was ancient times, where tales of ghosts and gods were commonplace.

She’d been overthinking it before. Holding a treasure could invite trouble, so caution was warranted—but what if it came through someone else’s hands?

Like now, using Shi Song as a conduit to naturally help everyone and get through this predicament together.

Ye Xuejin smiled faintly. “The Consort is right, but we still can’t skip the necessary steps.”

Yun Chi blinked, puzzled. “What steps?”

Instead of answering, Ye Xuejin asked, “Does the Consort plan to produce more?”

Yun Chi caught on, thought quickly, and replied, “We can take out twelve more bottles of water.”

Their group originally had twenty prisoners and seven guards.

With Old Man Ma and Zeng Laosan dead, they were down two, but Shiniang’s group of six had joined, making thirty-one people in total. Excluding five year old Ying’er, there were thirty adults.

After taking out three bottles from her storage space, fifteen remained.

One bottle per person wouldn’t be enough, but one bottle for every two people would leave three bottles to spare.

Ye Xuejin listened, then led Yun Chi forward by the hand.

No one in the crowd noticed her, except for the Zhou family members, who had realized something after seeing the water bottle.

They, too, had once received such a bottle.

The moment Ye Xuejin stepped forward, Old Censor Zhou abruptly tugged at his beard.

So, this was indeed the work of immortals, and the Grand Princess before them could commune with them.

He stared intently at Ye Xuejin, almost forgetting to breathe…

“Silence! We’re all very much alive,” Yu Lu said, forcibly regaining his composure and quieting the crowd’s clamor. He was about to suggest testing the water’s safety when he saw Ye Xuejin and Yun Chi approach Shi Song.

He froze, momentarily forgetting what he’d meant to say.

Shi Song was both shocked and elated. Experiencing something so bizarre firsthand had spooked her a bit.

As she stood there, at a loss, Ye Xuejin and Yun Chi came to her side.

Ye Xuejin let go of Yun Chi’s hand and gave Shi Song a gentle smile. “Let me hold that for you.”

A beautiful woman with bright, captivating eyes spoke to her so softly.

“Oh.” Shi Song dazedly let go.

But to her surprise, the weight in her hands didn’t lessen.

She looked at her hands, then at Ye Xuejin’s, and nearly screamed.

The water had been taken, yet two more bottles had appeared in her hands!

Help! There’s really a ghost!

“I…”

“Shh.” Ye Xuejin gently cut her off, her gaze deep. “Don’t disturb it.”

Shi Song blinked. Disturb what?

Ye Xuejin said no more. She handed the water to Yun Chi, then reached for more.

Shi Song, dazed, went along with it, the scene repeating until she lost the ability to think.

The crowd was dumbfounded, watching Ye Xuejin take water from Shi Song’s hands, pass it to Yun Chi, who placed it on the ground, and then Ye Xuejin take more from Shi Song…

Especially Old Censor Zhou and the others who knew some of the truth, their eyes nearly popped out, fixed on Ye Xuejin.

Soon, twelve bottles of water were neatly lined up at Yun Chi’s feet.

Only then did Ye Xuejin lower her hands. Shi Song, still mechanically offering bottles, looked confused when Ye Xuejin didn’t take them.

Why stop?

Ye Xuejin shook her head. “That’s enough for today.”

Shi Song’s pupils shrank. Enough for today, did that mean no more bottles would appear in her hands?

With that thought, she hurriedly shoved the water at Ye Xuejin, then stared at her palms, flipping them over and over.

Phew. She was so relieved, she’d been terrified, thinking she’d turned into some monster that sprouted water bottles.

Ye Xuejin handed the last two bottles to Yun Chi and looked at Shi Song. “This water is yours to distribute as you see who deserves it.”

Shi Song instinctively looked to Shiniang.

Shiniang, in turn, looked at Ye Xuejin. “Your Highness, can you tell us what’s going on? When you said ‘don’t disturb,’ what—or who—did you mean?”

She asked not just because of Ye Xuejin’s actions with the water but because of her final words.

That’s enough for today.

And it truly was.

Shi Song suddenly turned to Ye Xuejin. Yes, what was going on? What or who was not to be disturbed?

At that moment, everyone grasped the meaning behind Shiniang’s words and held their breath, staring at Ye Xuejin.

“I don’t know either,” Ye Xuejin said, her expression unchanged, still calm and composed.

She paused, and before anyone could react, she glanced lightly at the clouds in the sky, then looked away and said softly, “I only vaguely heard someone whisper in my ear, ‘You don’t need to be too careful.’”

Her Consort had said, We don’t need to be that careful.

Not too careful? The crowd was baffled. What did that mean?

As they puzzled over it, Ye Xuejin reached out and patted Shi Song’s shoulder, sincerely praising, “That voice also said that the one who bravely slew the villain deserves commendation for their courage. This water is your reward.”

Shi Song was stunned. A reward for her? Who was rewarding her?

“It’s the immortals! Her Highness can communicate with immortals!” Zhou Qiyue clenched her fists and blurted out.

After speaking, she let out an exaggerated sigh of relief. She’d held back for so long it nearly killed her.

She felt relieved, but the crowd gasped in shock.

Immortals!

What in the world?

“We might really be dead,” Xiao Gao said, looking skyward. How else could immortals be involved?

Yu Lu slapped him on the head. “You’re not dead.”

“Ow!” Xiao Gao clutched his head, and the bundle he’d been holding slipped, revealing Zeng Laosan’s head as it rolled out.

The crowd: “…”

The scene turned eerie, almost comical.

Ye Xuejin didn’t deny anything. She glanced skyward again, saying nothing, yet it felt like she’d said everything.

The crowd: !!!

Something incredible seemed to dawn on them.

Almost simultaneously, everyone except Yun Chi and Ye Xuejin looked up at the sky.

Their exhausted faces lit up with inexplicable excitement.

There are immortals!

In the heavens!

“Immortal blessings!” Xiao Gao couldn’t help but kneel. As soon as he spoke, Yu Lu covered his mouth.

“Quiet! Didn’t you hear? Do not disturb, the immortals prefer silence.”

Those with sharp ears froze mid-kneel, quickly standing up. Thank heavens, they’d nearly disturbed the immortals.

Xiao Gao blinked, on the verge of tears. Could the immortals pretend not to have heard? He hadn’t meant to shout; he was sincere—no, wait…

Seeing her goal achieved, Ye Xuejin reminded them, “Divide the water and let’s move out soon.”

Divide the water!

The crowd stopped staring at the sky. They were dying of thirst.

“Shiniang,” Shi Song said, looking to her for help. She didn’t know how to distribute it.

Shiniang nodded to her and turned to Yu Lu. “Please, Lord Yu, help us divide the water.”

In truth, she didn’t want to think too hard—her mind was consumed with the words Her Highness can commune with immortals.

The Princess could commune with immortals! She suddenly wanted to cry. The Young Lady’s persistence wasn’t wrong, the Princess was worth saving.

Who in this world could hear the whispers of immortals or commune with them?

Yu Lu quickly instructed Xiao Gao to count the water and distribute one bottle per two people.

During this, he couldn’t help but sneak a glance at Ye Xuejin.

Another person quietly watching her was Old Censor Zhou.

As a veteran of two reigns with a sterling reputation, he was no fool.

The one time he’d miscalculated in his life was on that day in court…

A few months after the new emperor’s ascension, the Censorate had become a hollow shell.

Unwilling to be a puppet in court, he’d taken a desperate gamble to awaken the emperor and leave his mark in history.

Instead, he failed to rouse the emperor and ended up imprisoned, exiled to the southern border.

He’d overestimated the new emperor, a miscalculation.

Now, he’d been the first to suspect the Princess had taken that step, and the first to learn she could commune with immortals.

He’d even had the opportunity in his grasp, yet he didn’t dare make another bold move.

Old Censor Zhou sighed inwardly. Another miscalculation.

It’s fate…

Meanwhile, Yu Lu handed a bottle of water to Ye Xuejin.

As she reached for it, someone stopped her arm.

Yun Chi smiled at her. “I’ll take it for you.”

If Ye Xuejin took the water directly, Yun Chi would miss a chance for a reward.

Having produced so many bottles at once, she couldn’t pass up another opportunity.

Seeing Ye Xuejin still defer to Yun Chi, Yu Lu’s eyes flickered. He handed over the bottle and continued distributing water.

Yun Chi passed the bottle to Ye Xuejin. “Drink up.”

At the same time, she silently repeated in her mind: Water, come on, water, come…

[Sent out half a bottle of mineral water. Please choose your reward: two bottles of mineral water or two bottles of mineral water.]

Used to her system’s formalities, Yun Chi promptly claimed the reward. Ye Xuejin handed her the bottle.

Yun Chi finished the remaining half, staring thoughtfully at the empty bottle. It wasn’t a product of this era, and with a dozen empty bottles lying around, amidst so many people, it wasn’t exactly eco-friendly.

She focused, sensing her storage space. No response.

Yun Chi realized she could send items remotely but couldn’t retrieve them unless they were close by.

After a moment’s thought, she took Ye Xuejin’s hand.

Ye Xuejin naturally squeezed back. “Consort?”

Yun Chi leaned in, whispering, “I’m thinking we should take back the bottles.”

“Good.” Ye Xuejin nodded slightly and glanced skyward again.

Because of her ability to commune with immortals, everyone was already paying close attention. Seeing her look up again, they tensed, following her gaze.

Was she communicating with the immortals?!