Transmigrating into the Female Supporting Character with a Good Life in a Laid-Back Novel

A pair of engaged but unwedded man and woman staying together in a meditation room was basically fodder for people to have wild and fanciful thoughts.

Hence, when Wen furen arrived with a surprise attack after she heard the news, Ruan Xi’s expression was subtle.

Whereas Wen gongzi was unperturbed in expression, as if he was not surprised in the least.

“Wen gongzi, you should look for a meditation room with windows.” When she saw Wen gongzi being composed and nonchalant, Ruan Xi’s entire person relaxed as well, and she even had the mood to tease Wen gongzi.

“Are you intending to jump out of the window to flee?” Wen gongzi raised an eyebrow.

Ruan Xi glanced at Wen gongzi, “No, you’ll be jumping out of the window and leaving, I’ll be staying behind.”

Wen gongzi: “……”

As the pair were chatting mindlessly and calmly, a series of footsteps travelled over from outside the door.

Ruan Xi rose to her feet, straightening out her appearance slightly. Wen gongzi also stood up and stretched his hand towards her face naturally to tuck the stray tendril of hair that had fallen on her forehead behind her ear.

The intimate action from Wen gongzi made Ruan Xi’s breathing become slightly erratic.

“Alright, we should go and greet Mother together.” Wen gongzi said, self-possessed in bearing as he retracted his hand.

Ruan Xi: “……”

The footsteps outside the door stopped. Evidently, Wen furen had already reached the entrance of the meditation room.

Apart from Zhang Qing’s report, Wen furen neither knocked on the door nor made any other movement, as if she was waiting for the people inside the meditation room to come out by themselves.

Ruan Xi raised her eyes to look at Wen gongzi. That would explain why he could remain calm the entire time.

Wen furen was truly considerate in that sense.

An elegant smile hung on Wen gongzi’s lips as he went forward to open the door with unhurried steps.

The splendidly dressed Wen furen stood at the meditation room’s door and there were two strict-looking Mamas flanking her.

Zhang Qing, Mama Lin, and Su Yu were standing a distance away.

Once the door opened, Wen furen’s gaze swept across the simple and empty meditation room. There was a set of tea-making essentials on the table that was the centrepiece to the meditation room, and there were two tea bowls that were steaming hot.

Additionally, the pair’s clothes were tidy, their expressions were natural, and there was not a single strand of hair out of place. Evidently, nothing exceeding social courtesies had occurred behind the locked doors.

Wen furen settled her heart.

She trusted her son, but she did not necessarily trust her son’s fiancée Ruan si xiaojie.

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“Mother, yõu are here.” Wen gongzi seemed oblivious to his mother’s subconscious reaction as he harboured a visible smile, natural and affectionate in his conduct.

Unhurriedly, Ruan Xi took a step forward and bowed, showing the obeisance owed to an older woman.

“Ruan Xi has seen Wen furen.”

Her movements were like floating clouds and flowing water, her bearing and ceremonial propriety was perfect.

Wen furen nodded her head inwardly. She had observed from afar prior to this, and now she could look at her up close.

Her scrutiny could be more detailed.

Sure enough, Ruan si xiaojie was born a natural beauty with her snow-white and smooth skin and muscle, and her facial features were likened to jade. Her mien was sweet-tempered, gentle and refined, she was serene, natural and poised.

Her gaze landed on the suet jade hairpin on Ruan Xi’s head, then she turned her head to glance at the fish and lotus sachet tied to her son’s waist. She went silent for a moment before she revealed a gentle smiling expression.

“Ruan si xiaojie need not be overly courteous.”

“Mother, we should go inside the meditation room to talk.” Wen gongzi could see the blur of human figures in the distance. Smiling, he went forward to support Wen furen’s arm.

Wen furen smiled as she nodded her head. She did not want to stand at the entrance of the meditation room to talk either.

The three of them walked into the meditation room and sat down while the two Mamas that Wen furen brought stood outside to guard the entrance.

Once Ruan Xi sat down, she immediately steeped the tea for Wen furen and Wen gongzi in a respectful manner. Before Wen furen arrived, Wen gongzi had made the tea for her, and after Wen furen arrived, she made tea for both of them.

This treatment…

Wen gongzi shifted away from Wen furen to blink his eyes at Ruan Xi, the corners of his mouth rising with amusement.

Ruan Xi: “……”

Wen furen accepted the tea naturally and took a sip. Even if she was still dissatisfied or even offended by Ruan Xi’s illegitimate status, she would not express it in front of her son.

“Mother, didn’t you go to Great Master Hui Jue for fortune-telling just now? Why did you come here all of a sudden, is it because Great Master Hui Hue is not practicing divination today?”

Wen gongzi sipped on his tea before he asked smilingly.

Great Master Hui Jue and Great Master Hui Yuan were the most renowned Great Masters in Yunhua Temple. Great Master Hui Jue was proficient in divining by means of the Eight Trigrams and he would not divine more than nine fortunes in one day. Apart from the three arbitrary divinations every day, the other six required appointments.

Wen furen came to offer incense in Yunhua Temple today because she had an appointment with Great Master Hui Jue to have her fortune told.

Wen furen glanced at the composed Ruan Xi. In a good mood, she said smilingly, “I asked Great Master Hui Jue to divine the Eight Trigrams for you, your divinatory diagram was excellent to the highest degree.”

In reality, the divination that Wen furen asked for was the marriage affinity between her son and Ruan si xiaojie.

The divination result was that it was a marriage determined and predestined by the Heavens.

Wen furen had been extremely shocked back then. Years ago, she had looked for Great Master Hui Jue to divine her son’s marriage affinity, but he had always lacked a marriage affinity without exception. In addition to the same dream she had experienced for a few consecutive nights a few years ago, Wen furen‘s heart had already gone cold.

And yet, it was a marriage determined and predestined by the Heavens this time around.

With her happiness and surprise occurring simultaneously, Wen furen felt complicated about Ruan Xi.

“Thanking Mother for taking so much trouble.” Wen gongzi’s eyes were tinted with a smile and his tone was gentle.

Wen furen laughed as she gave her son a look, “It’s good that you are aware. Right, when I was leaving Great Master Hui Jue’s meditation room, I encountered Earl Chengyi Residence’s Ruan san xiaojie and her maidservant along the road.”

When Wen furen spoke to this point, she stopped, raising her tea bowl to sip on her tea gracefully before she directed her gaze towards Ruan Xi.

“Does Ruan si xiaojie know what they spoke of?”

Wen gongzi: “……”

Ruan Xi had some understanding of Ruan san niang and she could surmise that Wen furen’s  surprise attack was probably associated with Ruan san niang. Hence, she replied in a composed manner: “She probably spoke of the liaison between Wen gongzi and I.”

Wen furen revealed an admiring smile.

“Rightly spoken, I heard them saying that you covertly invited Ting Zhou to a small meditation room for a liaison in flustered and loud voices.”

Ruan Xi: “……”

It was apparent that Wen gongzi took the initiative to arrange this meeting and Zhang Qing came over to invite her, but when it came out from Ruan san niang’s mouth, she became the active party.

Given those circumstances, the arranged meeting would then change in flavour, to the extent where she could be labelled as frivolous and restless by Wen furen.

The wing-rooms that she and Ruan san niang were resting in were adjoined. When she was leaving, she even saw Ruan san niang standing beside the window of her own wing-room.

Ruan Xi believed that not only did Ruan san niang see Zhang Qing, she also dispatched someone to follow her secretly. Or else, how could she possibly know that she and Wen gongzi were meeting in the meditation room, and purposefully confound the black and white as she divulged the information and ensured it reached Wen furen’s ears?

Judging from Wen furen’s attitude, Ruan san niang’s clumsy and small trick did not succeed.

However, Ruan san niang’s action still made Ruan Xi feel revolted.

“Mother, I was the one who told Zhang Qing to invite Ruan si xiaojie over for a chat. Other people must have seen them as they were walking over, any doubts can be clarified upon asking.”

Wen gongzi could see that his Mother did not believe the words she had heard from their side conversation, but he still spoke up to explain.

In front of his Mother, Wen gongzi did not call her si niang, lest it made his Mother unhappy with si niang.

The corners of Ruan Xi’s lips curled unconsciously when she heard that.

When Wen furen saw her son siding with Ruan si xiaojie even though he had yet to marry her across her door, she could not resist furrowing her brows together.

“Of course, Mother is perceptive of even the finest detail, how could their small trick conceal past yõu?”

Wen gongzi flattered Wen furen again at the turn of his head.

Wen furen’s brows smoothed out and a smile appeared on her face. As a mother, she always wanted to give her son the best, and she was unwilling to see her son forget his mother after he gained a wife, but what could she do when her son had decided to fix his eyes on Ruan si xiaojie?

Then, remembering the divination diagram from Great Master Hui Jue, Wen furen sighed with emotion. Suddenly, she stretched out her hand to take down her paternal grandmother’s jade bracelet that was on her wrist.

“This is the jade bracelet that I am most fond of, I will be giving it to you today.”

Wen furen’s tone of voice harboured some reluctance.

Once this first meeting gift was given, it symbolised that Wen furen recognised Ruan Xi as her future daughter-in-law.

Upon hearing that this was Wen furen’s favourite jade bracelet, she rejected it hastily, “This jade bracelet is too precious, Ruan Xi does not deserve it.”

“This is a first meeting gift.” Wen furen stated, not allowing any protests as she slipped the jade bracelet onto Ruan Xi’s fair and tender wrist directly.

Her paternal grandmother’s jade bracelet was high-end and atmospheric and Ruan Xi had a good temperament; when she was fashioned with the jade bracelet, she appeared more refined and luxurious.

Wen furen nodded her head in satisfaction. Ruan si xiaojie was decent in every aspect, it was just that her concubine descent was a reason for denouncement.

 Forget it, there was no perfect person in the world.

Once Wen furen’s state of mind changed, she found Ruan Xi more pleasing to the eye.

“Many thanks Wen furen.” Ruan Xi thanked her with due haste.

“No need for such courtesies. You are Ting Zhou’s fiancée, and since he values you, I will also love the house and its crow.”

爱屋及乌 (pinyin: ai wu ji wu) – fig. love for a person extends even to the crows under their roof; love everything about somebody.

Wen gongzi smiled as he watched the entire scene unfold. Although he was internally happy about the change in his Mother’s attitude, he felt slightly apologetic as well.

“This son thanks Mother for her indulgence and tolerance.”

“You are the child I painstakingly harboured for ten months and gave birth to, if I don’t love you dearly, who am I supposed to love?” Wen furen gave her son a sidelong glance.

“Mn, this son knows that Mother cherishes me the most.” Wen gongzi stood up to walk to Wen furen’s side to hold her arm.

“It is good that you are aware.” The smile on Wen furen’s visage became even wider.

This was the first time Ruan Xi had seen Wen gongzi and Wen furen interacting with each other, and it was obvious at a glance that the mother and son shared deep feelings. Ruan Xi could not resist being a little envious.

As a matter of fact, Wen furen was quite easy to get along with.

Perhaps because they had Wen gongzi mediating in the middle, Ruan Xi started to flatter and pander deliberately, and they proceeded to converse rather joyously.

As Wen furen and Ruan Xi continued to talk, their topics eventually veered off course, and they started to talk about the maintenance of women’s health and appearance. For the most part, it was Wen furen talking while Ruan Xi listened respectfully and earnestly with frequent and shortly worded replies slipped in between. Each sentence would touch on the gist and exalt Wen furen, which served to raise Wen furen’s enthusiasm in the conversation.

The neglected Wen gongzi did not mind at all; he would refill their teacups frequently, and he even asked a servant to bring another pot of tea once it was emptied out.

When they reached the methods to maintain a youthful appearance, Wen furen could not stop herself from talking about Mu taifei who was still beautiful despite being above sixty years in age.

太妃 (pinyin: tai fei) – the imperial concubine of a deceased emperor.

Upon hearing Wen furen mention Mu taifei, Ruan Xi stilled. This Mu taifei was related to the original female protagonist by blood, and she was the female protagonist’s paternal grandaunt.

Allegedly, when Mu taifei entered the imperial palace at a tender age, the extensive favour she received had never waned, and even when the previous Emperor collapsed, he still issued an imperial decree to protect her.

In the book, Mu taifei could be considered as one of the golden fingers that the female protagonist possessed.

This Mu taifei had a morbid and extreme attachment towards beauty, and she possessed fantastic oddities of every description to maintain one’s youthful appearance, which made women scrabble madly for something unattainable.

Even the old Emperor Dowager had coveted the formula for youthful appearance while she was alive, and yet she could not attain it, to say nothing of other noble women.

It seems like Wen furen was one of them.

Only the female protagonist managed to enter Mu taifei’s eyes in an unexpected feat, and obtained Mu taifei’s formula to maintain a youthful appearance.

Furthermore, Mu taifei also played a part in the male protagonist being able to ascend to the throne in the end.

“It would be great if I could obtain one or two formulas to maintain a youthful appearance from Mu taifei’s hands.”

This sentence was told to Ruan Xi numerous times by Wen furen, and her tone was brimming with regrets.

Mu taifei was one of the female protagonist’s golden fingers; even the ladies in the Mu Family could not attain it, to say nothing of other people.

Ruan Xi did not know how to comfort Wen furen, so she changed the topic imperceptibly by bringing up another topic that Wen furen was interested in.

Time elapsed unwittingly, and while Wen furen still wished to continue, she restrained her enthusiasm for conversation. She was becoming more and more satisfied with Ruan Xi being her future daughter-in-law. Then, she looked towards her son, who had been pouring more tea for them the entire time.

“It is getting late, Ting Zhou, you should send si niang back later.”

After more than a double-hour of chatting and getting along, the relationship between this pair of mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had advanced by leaps and bounds.

Wen furen’s address for Ruan Xi had become more intimate as well.

Wen gongzi agreed with a smile. He had methods to allow his Mother and si niang to live in harmony, but he did not expect that si niang would achieve it on her own first, and she would accomplish it so spectacularly.

It was unknown if his Mother was aware, but he had witnessed everything clearly.

Wen gongzi secretly praised Ruan Xi for being intelligent and resourceful.

After the three of them exited the meditation room, Wen furen gave her son a few lines of instruction in an exuberant mood before she sent the pair away with smiling eyes.

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As they were travelling back to the wing-room, Mama Lin, Su Yu, and Zhang Qing trailed after them from a distance. 

Meanwhile, Wen gongzi and Ruan Xi walked shoulder-to-shoulder in front, conversing in low voices. The gentleman was handsome and the lady was beautiful; they were a couple likened to jade, extremely compatible in appearance. 

The womenfolk coming to Yunhua Temple to offer incense was an endless stream. When the noble daughters of government official’s families recognised Wen  gongzi and saw this scene, they were envious and jealous of Ruan Xi as she stood beside Wen gongzi. Despite that, no one went to disturb the pair, and they only ordered their servants to inquire about Ruan Xi’s identity discreetly.

The place where the womenfolk of the Earl Chengyi Residence were resting was the row of wing-rooms at the back mountain of Yunhua Temple.

From the distance, Wen gongzi and Ruan Xi saw Lao Taitai and the rest of the entourage standing under a large tree before the wing-rooms.

A slight and vague feeling emerged in Ruan Xi’s heart. It couldn’t be that they were waiting for her, right?

Once the pair came into view, everyone’s gaze landed on Ruan Xi and Wen gongzi in quick succession.

One of the gazes belonged to Ruan san niang, with scrutiny and bewilderment apparent in her eyes.