Transmigrated Into A Novel As A Scumbag Princess’ Consort - Chapter 35

35:

Ye Xuejin smiled gently. “I will always trust and value you. Hurry and take it.”

As she spoke, the second self-heating rice box appeared in her hands.

Yun Chi smiled without a word, continuing to pass the items along. She had succeeded as well.

When she handed the first self-heating rice box to Ye Xuejin, her golden finger ability gave her a big surprise, rewarding her with a whole case—six boxes of self-heating rice.

Of course, because she repeatedly provided self-heating rice, the rewards diminished over time.

By the time she handed Ye Xuejin the twentieth box, the reward had shifted to a single bottle of mineral water.

Fortunately, the earlier rewards of self-heating rice were sufficient.

After taking out thirty-one boxes of rice, her storage space still held ten boxes, along with seventeen bottles of mineral water.

Yun Chi didn’t stop there. Following the same pattern, she took out mineral water.

Having done this too many times, the mineral water followed a simple one-for-one exchange.

After distributing thirty-one bottles based on the group’s numbers, her storage space still had seventeen bottles, meaning no net loss.

With that, their supply team’s task was complete.

Shi Song and Zhou Qiyue were so shocked they couldn’t speak, their minds filled with one thought: they would forever be loyal to Her Highness, the Princess!

Yun Chi squeezed Ye Xuejin’s hand, and Ye Xuejin understood immediately.

“I and the consort will stay here. You two go call Lord Yu and Shiniang to bring people to collect the supplies.”

“Understand.”

Watching Shi Song and Zhou Qiyue walk a distance away, Yun Chi asked, “Will we always have to go through this much trouble?”

Ye Xuejin’s voice was soft as she asked, “Does the consort find it troublesome?”

Yun Chi shook her head. “Not really. It’s actually pretty good.”

Taking a few extra steps and adding some ceremony made the items seem less easily obtained, which was indeed more effective at winning people’s hearts than being straightforward.

“How is it good?” Ye Xuejin’s tone was light, her eyes smiling, her entire demeanor softer than her usual aloof and cool disposition.

Yun Chi grinned. “Isn’t the effect obvious?”

With Ye Xuejin’s subtle verbal cues, Shi Song and Zhou Qiyue were likely ready to worship and obey her completely.

Ye Xuejin’s eyes flickered, but she said nothing more.

Having decided to take this step, she needed people absolutely loyal to her.

Shi Song and Zhou Qiyue were just the beginning. Her goal was to have absolute authority over this group before they reached the southern border.

If she couldn’t even achieve that, there was no point in moving forward.

Seeing Ye Xuejin lost in thought, Yun Chi didn’t interrupt, deliberately waiting.

It wasn’t until Ye Xuejin looked at the self-heating rice boxes on the ground that Yun Chi took her hand, bent down, and said, “While they’re not here yet, let me teach you how to heat these.”

“Alright.” Ye Xuejin responded softly, watching Yun Chi’s movements intently.

Meanwhile, as Shi Song and Zhou Qiyue returned, before they even reached the group, Yu Lu and Shiniang hurriedly approached them.

The rest of the group followed closely, eager to know if there was food and whether they’d survive.

“How did it go?”

“Did you succeed?”

“Did the immortal grant food?”

“Where is Her Highness and the consort?”

The crowd surrounded them, asking questions all at once.

“Quiet, shut up!” Yu Lu barked, turning to Shi Song and Zhou Qiyue. “What’s the result?”

Shi Song and Zhou Qiyue glanced at each other, their eyes shining brightly.

Zhou Qiyue grabbed Shi Song’s hand in excitement, her lips trembling uncontrollably, unable to speak.

Shi Song’s face was taut, her lips pressed tightly, overwhelmed with emotion and struggling to find words.

The crowd watched them nervously, vaguely guessing from their expressions but not daring to voice it, fearing a false hope.

“Shi Song, you speak,” Shiniang said, seeing that Shi Song was in slightly better control.

Under everyone’s gazes, Shi Song finally opened her mouth, taking a deep breath.

The crowd collectively held their breath, hearts pounding.

“We did it! We succeeded! There’s so much food and water, lots of water! Her Highness told us to call Lord Yu and Shiniang to collect it,” Shi Song blurted out in one breath, no longer pressing her lips but breaking into a wide grin.

“Yes, yes, yes! We’re all completely loyal to Her Highness. We did it!” Zhou Qiyue, finally calming down a bit, added excitedly.

“It really worked!”

“That’s amazing! There’s food!”

“Thank you, immortal!”

“Her Highness’ merits are boundless!” Amid the cheers, Old Censor Zhou shouted loudly.

Overjoyed, Yu Lu hurriedly led the officers towards the supplies. After a few steps, he remembered something and turned back to the trailing crowd. “Shiniang, bring your people to collect the food. Everyone else, stay put.”

The others reluctantly stopped, though they desperately wanted to go too…

Zhou Qiyue, bubbling with excitement, was about to leave when Old Censor Zhou grabbed her arm.

“Father, why are you pulling me?” She still needed to help carry the food.

Old Censor Zhou glared at her. “Behave yourself. Tell us what happened. Did you see the immortal?”

Knowing his daughter’s lively nature, he simply asked what was on his mind.

Little did he know, Zhou Qiyue’s mind was now consumed with loyalty to Her Highness. Hearing this, she yanked her arm free and ran off, shouting, “I swore to the immortal to be forever loyal to Her Highness. Ask someone else!”

Watching his daughter run off, Old Censor Zhou’s heart sank, and he tugged at his beard, glaring.

He was just asking, when had he ever stopped her from being loyal?

Besides, who was he supposed to ask?

“Master, did Miss see the immortal?” the old steward couldn’t help but ask. She swore to the immortal, so she must have seen him, right? What a blessing for her and the Zhou family.

Old Censor Zhou tugged harder at his beard, uncertain. “Maybe.”

On the other side, as Yu Lu and Shiniang’s group approached Ye Xuejin and Yun Chi, they saw Ye Xuejin squatting on the ground, surrounded by rows of square boxes steaming with heat, and a large wooden bucket nearby.

“Your Highness! This humble officer apologizes for being late,” Yu Lu said, handing the torch to Shiniang and clasping his fists.

Ye Xuejin stood. “Wait a moment.”

Earlier, she noticed that heating the rice required half a bottle of water. Yun Chi had mentioned removing the heating layer afterward to prevent burns, so Ye Xuejin planned to heat all the boxes first before distributing them.

Otherwise, she’s worried people might not use enough water, leading to mistakes.

Yun Chi agreed with her reasoning and brought out the large wooden bucket used for hot water earlier.

The two worked quickly, waiting for the heating to finish.

Under the torchlight, Yu Lu and the others couldn’t clearly see what was in the boxes and didn’t dare ask, but their noses picked up the scent.

There was a hint of meat, several kinds of vegetables, and the fragrance of rice!

So fragrant! Too fragrant!

Already starving, the enticing aroma made them feel even hungrier.

Yu Lu couldn’t help but wipe his mouth, glancing awkwardly at the others. He saw everyone wiping their mouths too, and Xiao Gao was even smacking his lips.

His mouth twitched, but he relaxed, realizing he wasn’t the only one salivating.

As they stared at the rows of square boxes, Yun Chi squeezed Ye Xuejin’s hand, signaling the time was right.

Ye Xuejin understood and calmly instructed, “Consort, show everyone what to do next.”

“Alright.” Yun Chi naturally took over, guiding Yu Lu and the others to remove the heating layers from the self-heating rice boxes, stacking them for recycling. The heated rice boxes were placed in the wooden bucket.

After handling them, Yu Lu and the others wiped their mouths even more frequently.

Under the torchlight, they saw holes on the box lids for steam, and inside, there seemed to be rice, meat, and vegetables.

And they were warm, hot rice with meat and vegetables!

Truly the work of an immortal.

“Head back. One rice box per person, and one bottle of mineral water for every two people,” Ye Xuejin instructed calmly.

“Let’s go!” Yu Lu waved his hand, leading the way to lift the bucket, consciously walking behind Ye Xuejin and Yun Chi.

Zhou Qiyue’s eyes shone as she looked at Ye Xuejin, cautiously quickening her pace to walk beside her.

Seeing Ye Xuejin didn’t reprimand her, she immediately stood taller, striding confidently like a triumphant general.

Shi Song, noticing this, hurried to Yun Chi’s side, holding her head high and squaring her shoulders, vigilantly scanning their surroundings like a guardian deity.

Yun Chi, caught up in the moment, took Ye Xuejin’s hand, slightly lifting her chin with a proud expression.

Ye Xuejin’s lips curved silently, and she said with a smile, “If something like today happens again, I will rely on you three.”

“I swear to serve Your Highness to death!” Zhou Qiyue shouted loudly, dramatically waving her hand.

Shi Song followed suit, mustering all her strength and raising her voice. “I swear to serve Your Highness to death!”

Instantly, the crowd by the nearby fire heard the shouts and looked over.

“They’re back! They’re back!”

“Her Highness is back!”

The crowd erupted in cheers. When each person received their rice and water, their eyes nearly popped out.

“Dear ancestors, hot rice!”

“Braised pork! Mine has braised pork and radish!”

“My dish is chicken stewed with mushrooms!”

“Mine is…”

Exclamations rang out one after another. Some couldn’t help but cry as they ate, they wouldn’t starve to death.

Seeing the crowd weep with joy, Ye Xuejin was moved.

She pursed her lips, picked the chicken drumstick from her rice, and placed it in Yun Chi’s bowl. She opened her mouth but didn’t know what to say to express her feelings at that moment.

Yun Chi blinked, picking two pieces of ribs and putting them back in Ye Xuejin’s bowl.

“Consort.”

“Hm?”

“Thank you. On their behalf, I will thank you.”