Transmigrated Into A Novel As A Scumbag Princess’ Consort - Chapter 33

33:

Seeing this, Yun Chi’s eyes flashed with a hint of surprise, but more so with understanding.

In fact, two days ago, when they encountered the heavy rain, she had already considered this issue.

At that time, everyone was in poor condition. If pursuers had caught up, they would have been sitting ducks, helpless to resist.

She knew back then that helping more people was inevitable, but the timing wasn’t right.

Later, Yu Lu offered his horse, and the pursuers did indeed catch up with them.

Everyone was exhausted from the constant running, and Yun Chi barely had time to eat or drink, let alone find a suitable opportunity to act. So, she temporarily set the matter aside.

That was until Shi Song took the initiative to suggest staying behind with Shiniang.

Yun Chi had a strong impression of Shi Song, and in that moment, she felt the opportunity had come.

If handled properly, things could become much easier in the future, perhaps even allowing her to act less cautiously.

With this in mind, Yun Chi decided to test the waters by tossing a bottle of mineral water into Shi Song’s arms, wanting to gauge everyone’s reactions.

What happened next, however, was completely beyond her expectations. She hadn’t anticipated that with Ye Xuejin’s involvement, things would unfold in this direction.

This made it more than just convenient for her to distribute supplies in the future, it was practically seamless.

Especially Ye Xuejin. After this incident, she became a pivotal figure in the group, subtly emerging as the backbone for most of them.

Before, Ye Xuejin was merely a disgraced princess. Now, she was the princess who could communicate with an immortal.

Moreover, this immortal could grant them water when they were in dire need.

Take this moment, for example: with just a tilt of her head, Ye Xuejin drew everyone’s attention, their gazes tinged with faint awe.

Yun Chi watched as everyone looked up at the sky in unison, her lips curling silently. As expected of the princess, she had everything under control.

Ye Xuejin raised her head to stare at the clouds in the sky, focusing intently on a single point. After a moment, feeling the timing was right, she lowered her gaze and looked at Yu Lu.

Yu Lu’s heart leapt to his throat, and he couldn’t help but ask, “Your Highness, does the immortal have any instructions?”

The title “Your Highness” rolled off his tongue smoothly, as if he’d never had any reservations.

Ye Xuejin calmly replied, “The voice said these water bottles are not of this world. Once everyone has finished drinking, gather them together, and the immortal will take them away.”

Hearing this, Yu Lu instinctively tightened his grip on the empty bottle in his hand. He had been examining it closely, not yet having tucked it away.

He had even been thinking of keeping it as a family heirloom…

“Lord Yu?”

“Understand, I’ll do it right away.” Feeling a pang of guilt, Yu Lu quickly instructed everyone to hand over their bottles.

The group exchanged glances. They were reluctant, but since the immortal had spoken, who would dare refuse?

At that moment, Zhou Qishan shuffled his feet, hiding behind Old Censor Zhou. Leaning close to his ear, he whispered, “Father, what should we do? Should we hand it over?”

“Haven’t we already turned them in? Stay back!” Old Censor Zhou dug at his ear, exasperated. This troublesome son was acting like a child, whispering in his ear like that.

Their family had received two bottles of water, and upon hearing Ye Xuejin’s words, he was the first to comply, handing them over.

Zhou Qishan, seeing his father hadn’t caught on, grew anxious. “The other one, the one from before.”

He patted his stomach, blinking rapidly.

Old Censor Zhou paused, tugging at his beard. “Her Highness only mentioned these water bottles, got it?”

Since Her Highness only specified these, the ones from before naturally didn’t count.

Zhou Qishan understood. “Got it.”

“Keep it safe,” Old Censor Zhou added, still uneasy. That bottle was a gift from an immortal, a treasure to be passed down through the Zhou family for generations.

“I’ll keep it safe,” Zhou Qishan assured.

Soon, all fifteen bottles were gathered and placed in front of Ye Xuejin.

“Your Highness, they’re all here,” Yu Lu called out, his address growing ever smoother. After all, if everyone was calling her that, he couldn’t be blamed.

Ye Xuejin gave a slight nod, then looked up at the sky again, simultaneously grasping Yun Chi’s hand.

Yun Chi glanced at the empty bottles on the ground. While focusing, she gently squeezed Ye Xuejin’s palm.

Ye Xuejin then lowered her gaze just in time. The spot where the bottles had been placed was now completely empty.

The crowd: !!!

This time, they were calm and saw it clearly.

So many bottles had vanished in the blink of an eye, between the princess’ glance up and down.

In that moment, the awe in everyone’s eyes grew even deeper.

Ye Xuejin’s expression remained unchanged, calm as ever. She said lightly, “Lord Yu, it’s getting late. Let’s move.”

Yu Lu nodded instinctively. “Yes, we should get going.”

“Everyone, listen up! Move out, quickly, quickly!”

Yun Chi’s heart raced with excitement. How could she have ever thought Ye Xuejin wasn’t good at acting? She was clearly a natural, and their coordination was flawless.

As they set off, Yun Chi couldn’t help but whisper, “I’ve noticed you’re getting really good at acting.”

Ye Xuejin’s eyes flickered, her red lips parting slightly. “I’m not acting.”

She wasn’t putting on a performance. Remaining calm in the face of events and keeping her emotions in check was a requirement her mother had instilled in her.

She had mastered it at a very young age.

Yun Chi raised an eyebrow. “So just now… oh, I get it.”

Halfway through her sentence, it clicked.

This was the real Ye Xuejin—calm, composed, and unruffled.

Playing herself was naturally convincing; she didn’t even need to act, just be herself.

Before, Ye Xuejin struggled to act because she was trying to portray a frail, delicate persona, which was completely foreign to her.

The real Ye Xuejin was never someone who passively accepted her fate.

Back then, all she could do was lower her head or stay silent.

“You understand me?” Ye Xuejin’s voice was soft, as if savoring the meaning of those words.

Yun Chi raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Yes.”

“Really?”

“Of course,” Yun Chi replied confidently.

Ye Xuejin’s lips curved slightly. “Let’s go.”

Her consort understood her. For some reason, she found herself quite fond of this realization.

By evening, the group was still in the mountains, with no signs of civilization ahead.

Though they had drunk water, their stomachs were empty, and their steps grew heavy again.

As the sky darkened, some stumbled from time to time.

Ever since Zeng Laosan’s death, Yu Lu had adopted a more reckless attitude. After witnessing Ye Xuejin’s ability to communicate with an immortal, he completely cast aside his reservations.

As night fell, he proactively approached Ye Xuejin. “Your Highness, should we travel through the night?”

Ye Xuejin glanced at the weary group and shook her head. “Everyone hasn’t rested properly these past few days. It’s better to recuperate.”

Yu Lu nodded and asked, “Then, in Your Highness’s opinion, can we light fires tonight?”

Ye Xuejin surveyed the terrain. “We’re in a valley. As long as they don’t figure out we’ve changed direction, we should be fine.”

So they could light fires! Yu Lu’s heart lightened, and he quickly ordered the officers to start fires on the spot.

Another cold, hungry night might have been more than he could bear.

Once the group stopped, they split into smaller groups, with five or six people gathering around each fire to warm up and rest.

In an unnoticed corner, Mu Da gave Mu Er a look, signaling him to act.

Mu Er hesitated, stammering, “Big Brother, Her Highness can communicate with an immortal…”

The thought of what he was about to say made his heart race. What if the immortal was watching from above?

Mu Da glared, lowering his voice. “If you don’t do this, you’ll never see your wife and children alive.”

Mu Er gritted his teeth, lay on the ground, and shouted, “Sir, please, give me something to eat! My stomach’s aching from hunger!”

His voice drew everyone’s attention, but not a single prisoner looked at the officers.

They all had eyes—anyone could see the officers had no food left.

Yu Lu sized up Mu Er and said gravely, “Bear with it for now.”

Mu Er sneaked a glance at him, then closed his eyes and continued shouting, “Princess, have mercy! Please ask the immortal to grant me some food!”

At those words, everyone’s gazes shifted, some lightly, some heavily, to Ye Xuejin.

Though it felt wrong to think this way, harsh conditions often brought out people’s baser instincts.

Some couldn’t help but wonder: since the princess could communicate with an immortal, why not ask for food to take pity on them?

In the firelight, some people’s expressions subtly changed.

Seeing this, Old Censor Zhou scowled. “Whether to grant something is up to the immortal’s will. It’s already a great blessing that Her Highness can hear the immortal’s voice. Don’t take advantage of your ignorance and anger the immortal.”

The Zhou family’s servants lowered their heads, not daring to look at Ye Xuejin anymore.

At this point, Yu Lu realized something was off with Mu Er.

“Sir, my brother’s delirious from hunger. Please don’t hold it against him,” Mu Da said quickly, kicking Mu Er as he saw Yu Lu’s expression change.

Mu Er quieted down, turning away silently.

Yun Chi, observing the whole scene, glanced thoughtfully at the Mu brothers and nudged Ye Xuejin with her elbow.

“Do you think they’re like Zeng Laosan?”

They were just more discreet, never showing their true colors. After seeing Zeng Laosan die without succeeding, they decided to stop hiding.

Ye Xuejin scanned the group. “Perhaps it’s not just the two of them.”

She wasn’t surprised by the Mu brothers.

Besides Zeng Laosan, the emperor surely had other contingencies. The question was how many.

Yun Chi was taken aback. Not just them?

Could there be others among the officers or the Zhou family with ulterior motives?

Ye Xuejin frowned slightly, took Yun Chi’s hand, and said softly, “Consort, is it still convenient?”

Yun Chi paused, then realized what Ye Xuejin meant. “It’s convenient enough.”

She was starving too, and she had food.

“Is it troublesome?”

Yun Chi shook her head. “Let me think.”

The issue was that the food in her storage space was varied, and with thirty-one people, it was tricky to distribute.

She had six self-heating rice boxes, twenty compressed biscuits, half a pound of beef jerky, and ten pieces of bread.

No matter how she divided it, she couldn’t give everyone the same thing.

If she mixed them, it might ruin her “immortal” persona.

Food from an immortal shouldn’t come in such a variety, especially with such stark differences—like self-heating rice versus compressed biscuits.

Plus, giving out all the food at once would mean fewer chances to earn rewards later.

Wait a second…

Yun Chi’s eyes lit up. She leaned close to Ye Xuejin’s ear. “I have an idea, but I’ll need your cooperation. Want to hear it?”

Ye Xuejin turned to look at her and softly agreed, “Alright.”