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

The following morning, Wen gongzi received Ruan Xi’s letter. Once he was done reading the letter, his mood became happier and his eyes were brimming with laughter.

And here he was wondering why si niang hadn’t asked about the surprise at all; had she forgotten all about it, or was the surprise never on her heart in the first place?

“As it turns out she didn’t forget; that xiao yatou is really patient.”

Unfortunately, the surprise he wanted to give her was not completed yet, or he would have sent it today.

Wen gongzi felt regretful for a moment. As for the circumstances surrounding that Mama Yang who once waited upon Mu taifei, he was privy to some secrets, like how it was related to the Mu Family for instance. If that hadn’t been the case, the Emperor would not be worrying about the possibility of Mama Yang harming Mu taifei, hence why he had searched for a reason to get her out of the imperial palace.

He did not expect that after a series of twists and turns, the Mama that Earl Chengyi found for si niang would be her.

When Wen gongzi thought about si niang’s opinion of Mama Yang, his lips curled into a proud smile.

He was starting to look forward to meeting si niang in three days.

Meanwhile, Zhang Qing was looking at his gongzi. Every time he received a letter from Ruan si xiaojie, his smile would become gentler. He was afraid that the Fourth Young Lady had truly entered his gongzi’s heart, and this fact made Zhang Qing secretly happy.

……

The next time Ruan Xi received Wen gongzi’s reply letter, there was a formal invitation card attached.

Truth to be told, if Wen gongzi personally brought her along, it would not matter if she had the invitation card or not. It was similar to how some banquets would only offer invitations to the noble daughters of legitimate descent, but under the request of their elders, those noble daughters would bring their concubine-born sisters along to attend the banquet.

Since the legitimate daughter of Duke An was hosting a flower banquet in Wen lao-furen’s Junzhu Residence, her invitees were naturally the legitimate daughters of prominent families and the sons of governmental and illustrious families.

安国公 (pinyin: an guo gong) – An means ‘peace’. Wen Ting Zhou’s paternal uncle, also name of the Residence for the Wen Clan’s main branch.

The female protagonist was the concubine-born daughter of the Mu Residence, so it goes without saying that she did not receive an invitation card. Rather, she had tagged along with the Young Ladies of legitimate descent from the Mu Residence.

Whereas Wen gongzi, for the sake of expressing how much he valued and honoured Ruan Xi, had asked his tang mei to send her an invitation.

堂妹 (pinyin: tang mei) – younger female paternal cousin. Anything with the ‘tang’ prefix implies paternal relations.

After Ruan Xi read the letter, she looked at the exquisite and pretty invitation card in her hand again. Her heart was warm from the respect and regard she deeply felt from Wen gongzi.

“Young Lady, yõu will be attending the flower banquet the day after tomorrow, what should be done about the jewellery and clothes?”

After the happiness from learning that her Young Lady had been invited to the flower banquet had passed, Su Yu started to worry if her Young Lady would be disparaged because she did not wear the appropriate jewellery and clothes.

Ruan Xi glanced at the worry-filled Su Yu before she smiled calmly and said: “There is Mother and Lao Taitai, they will not allow me to throw my face.”

Su Yu heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing that. “Nubi will spread the news of yõu receiving the invitation.” Having said that, Su Yu left the room.

Ruan Xi looked at Su Yu’s back figure as she departed hastily, shaking her head and laughing. Su Yu was being a little too anxious.

Once the news of Ruan Xi receiving an invitation to the flower banquet that Duke An’s legitimate daughter was hosting travelled outwards, the Earl Chengyi Residence shook.

The smile on Lao Taitai’s face never dissipated as she sent precious stones and magnificent clothing to Limpid Heard Garden in an endless stream, while Zhang shi’s mood turned for the worse.

Whenever Zhang shi was in a bad mood, she would think about tormenting her counterfeit daughter. Wasn’t that counterfeit jealous of si niang? Well, she would add more fuel to the fire.

“What, si mei, that concubine-born daughter, actually received the invitation to the flower banquet hosted by Duke An’s legitimate daughter?”

Ruan san niang shrieked as she struggled to accept the fact.

“Young Lady, yõu should calm down, the Fourth Young Lady’s invitation was sent by Wen gongzi.” Her maidservant Yao Hong tried to console her, but this only served to agitate Ruan san niang even further, like it was adding fuel to the fire.

Sure enough, Ruan san niang became angrier.

In the previous lifetime, the only reason why she did not manage to receive the invitation to the flower banquet, despite already possessing some fame, was because she had broken off her engagement once.

In this life, her fourth sister actually managed to receive it.

Jealousy was akin to an intense fire as it continued burning in Ruan san niang’s heart.

During this particular flower banquet that Duke An’s legitimate daughter was hosting, the future Empress Dowager Mu Qing Ci would be appearing as well. She had to go; it did not matter if she did not have an invitation because her younger sister had one.

She had specifically hosted a tea party to touch up on her social connections upon her rebirth because she knew that this day would come.

However, she was currently confined and there was a group of people guarding outside; wanting to go out was harder than ascending to the Heavens.

Ruan san niang was both angry and resentful.

If it were not for her fourth sister making mountains out of molehills, why would she be confined to pick Buddha beads after she was punished to kneel at the ancestral hall?

“Yao Hong, help me send a letter later.”

Ruan san niang decided to ask her fellow sisters for help.

Outside the door, Zhang shi laughed coldly in her heart. Create trouble, keep creating trouble, she would watch the counterfeit court her own death with cold eyes. If she did not viciously abuse her once, she would be disappointing her frail-fortuned daughter.

……

Owing to the fact that the legitimate daughter of Duke An was hosting her flower banquet in Wen lao-furen’s Junzhu Residence, it attracted a great deal of attention, and the news of Ruan Xi, a concubine-born daughter receiving an invitation, also travelled to the ears of many.

Everyone wanted to see the appearance of this Ruan si xiaojie, who had managed to enter Wen gongzi’s eyes and earn Wen furen’s recognition.

Separate discussions ensured in private. Some said that Ruan si xiaojie must be a woman with matchless beauty, which was why Wen gongzi was interested in her, and this conjecture proceeded to earn the agreement of the majority. Hence, more and more people started taking interest in this subject.

The noble daughters who had seen Ruan Xi silently waited to see a good show. Apart from Ruan si xiaojie’s beauty, she was just an extremely mediocre concubine-born daughter from an Earl Residence, what woman of matchless beauty…

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Two days later, the lovely spring sunshine shone down. It was another bright and sunny day.

Ruan Xi wore a light purple spring skirt, composed of top-notch, soft and gossamer fabrics, and it was paired with jewellery made out of precious stones, especially the high-quality suet jade hairpin that was slipped into her hair, which looked eye-catching.

Gentle, refined, and graceful; an incomparable beauty.

Mama Lin smiled as she nodded her head.

The Fourth Young Lady was appropriately dressed for the occasion, she did not take an original approach to make a show of being unconventional, nor did she dress in a plain and insipid fashion.

Instances where other ladies dressed up in those two ways frequently occurred, and those ladies were typically from an illegitimate descent, whereas the legitimate daughter scarcely used such tactics.

Mama Lin did not wish for the Fourth Young Lady to attend the flower banquet with a plain and tasteless appearance.

As she had expected, the Fourth Young Lady did not disappoint.

Mama Yang was also satisfied. She could perceive the temperament of a noble daughter from a prominent and illustrious family on the Fourth Young Lady. She was neither arrogant nor impatient; she was steady and measured, and she did not resemble a small illegitimate daughter from an Earl Residence at all.

Mama Lin truly deserved to be the trusted servant of Wen lao-furen; her ability to educate people was genuinely amazing.

Mama Yang sighed with emotion in her heart.

After leaving Limpid Heart Garden, Ruan Xi and her entourage went to the Main Courtyard to bid Zhang shi farewell, but to her surprise, she encountered the high-spirited Ruan san niang instead.

“Si mei, how coincidental, I am going to the Junzhu Residence to attend the flower banquet too.” Ruan san niang greeted her with an exuberant smile as her eyes roved to scrutinise Ruan Xi’s attire from head to toe.

It was as though her previous contempt did not exist.

“Certainly, it is rather coincidental. It’s just that, isn’t san jie’s get-up a little unduly simple and neat?” Ruan Xi smiled.

“I’m cadging a fellow’s invitation in order to attend the flower banquet, I shouldn’t be snatching someone else’s thunder.” Ruan san niang would never vocalise her true intentions of course.

In fact, she had specifically dressed herself in a simple yet elegant fashion, forgoing precious stones and jewellery, just like a faint Chinese flowering apple.

She looked simple but elegant. 

When her soul had been pacing back and forth in the imperial palace, she once heard the palace maids say that Empress Dowager Mu had always been fond of simple and elegant appearance, which is why Ruan san niang decided to pander to the tastes of Mu Qing Ci, who was still a maiden right now.

Perhaps they might even become good friends.

“San jie has a virtuous heart.”

Raising her eyebrows slightly, Ruan Xi pulled her lips into a faint smile that was deep with meaning, since she did not believe Ruan san niang’s excuse at all. Ruan san niang’s appearance only made Ruan Xi feel like Ruan san niang was preparing to prove her relative superiority to the female protagonist.

If you had to know, only the female protagonist was attending the flower banquet in a simple yet elegant get-up this time around, and how could Ruan san niang possibly be ignorant to that fact when she had experienced a rebirth?

In reality, Ruan san niang was indeed aware.

When Ruan san niang heard her fourth sister say that she had a virtuous heart, she felt that her fourth sister was mocking her. Displeasure flooded her visage as she released a cold snort, then she brought her maidservants to walk past Ruan Xi.

Ruan Xi smiled leisurely and she started to walk towards the main courtyard, neither fast nor slow.

When Zhang shi saw both of them arriving, she said a few sentences, but she had to conceal the hatred swimming in the bottom of her eyes when her gaze landed on Ruan san niang’s person as she proceeded to instruct her in gentle tones, carrying the attitude of a caring mother.

As Ruan Xi listened to Zhang shi with lowered eyes, she silently lit a candle for the oblivious and extremely touched Ruan san niang.

At this time, an older woman-servant came in to report that the horse carriage belonging to Shen xiaojie of Jian’an Earl Residence had arrived.

建安 (pinyin: jian an) – constructing peace.

Ruan san niang unveiled a joyous smile, bidding farewell to Zhang shi swiftly before she departed on her own accord. Similarly, Ruan Xi did not linger more than necessary.

The residence had prepared horse carriages for her and Ruan san niang, it was just that Ruan Xi had to wait for Wen gongzi to arrive.

When Ruan Xi eventually reached the entrance of the residence, she noted that Ruan san niang and Shen xiaojie had yet to depart first. The corners of Ruan Xi’s lips curled slowly as her gaze landed on Shen xiaojie.

That gentle and delicately pretty young lady by the name of Shen xiaojie should be the close friend of the female protagonist during her maiden days.

Shen xiaojie, who was specifically lingering around to see Ruan si xiaojie, became completely rigid when she saw Ruan Xi come out of her residence.

Her eyes were teeming with shock.

Didn’t they say that Ruan si xiaojie was extremely mediocre in all respects apart from her beauty?

Sure enough, the rumours could not be trusted. Upon seeing the calm and impressive mien that Ruan si xiaojie possessed, Shen xiaojie no longer found it surprising that she managed to enter Wen gongzi’s eyes. While she felt sour in her heart at first, she came to an understanding once the acridness had passed.

Shen xiaojie leashed her thoughts, smiling at Ruan Xi as she offered her a respectful greeting before she stepped into her horse carriage. Ruan san niang glared at Ruan Xi before she entered the horse carriage, turning and leaving abruptly.

Ruan Xi: “……”

Not long after their horse carriage left, another wave of horse clopping rang out, and Wen gongzi’s handsome figure appeared in the distance shortly after, with a retinue of guards behind him.

Su Yu called out happily: “Young Lady, Wen gongzi has arrived.”

Ruan Xi gazed at the handsome man on horseback with reins in hand from afar, lips drawing out into a smile.

In a short moment’s work, Wen gongzi reached Ruan Xi and flashed her a smile, flipping off his horse in a nimble manner. He strode up to Ruan Xi in large steps, smile ever-present on his face and his tone of voice was gentle.

“Si niang, you have waited long.”

The Wen gongzi of today was wearing a brocade robe with dark embroidered patterns, which reduced some of his gentleness and exchanged it for imposing manner, making him extraordinarily handsome.

“It was not a long wait in truth, though it is getting late. We should leave,” said Ruan Xi as she returned a smile. When she saw Wen gongzi meeting her like he had promised, a strange and foreign emotion swelled in her heart.

Wen gongzi smiled and nodded his head. His gaze was gentle as he watched Ruan Xi get on her horse carriage, and only then did he flip back onto his horse nimbly, urging his horse to stay beside the carriage to protect it as they travelled onwards.

Ruan Xi’s chest warmed up imperceptibly when she saw Wen gongzi urging his horse to stay beside the carriage through the carriage curtains.

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An hour later, the carriage traversed through a few streets and reached the Junzhu Residence.

After getting off his horse first, Wen gongzi ignored all the stares around him and walked to the front of the horse carriage in large strides to wait for Ruan Xi.

Ruan Xi lifted the carriage’s hanging screen and stepped off the horse carriage with Su Yu’s aid. All of a sudden, she could sense the gazes that were falling on her person from all directions, but she was not panicked or nervous in the slightest. With a calm expression, she scanned her surroundings. She only saw Ruan san niang and Shen xiaojie’s horse carriage but not the persons themselves, which probably meant that they went in first.

Ruan Xi retracted her gaze and looked towards Wen gongzi.

Wen gongzi took a step forward to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Ruan Xi. He slanted his head to observe his fiancé’s beautiful countenance, a trace of happiness surging in his heart as he spoke in a warm voice.

“Si niang, let’s go in together.”

“Alright.” Ruan Xi smiled and nodded, heedless of the various gazes around her.

Wen gongzi was her fiancée, there was no need for her to avoid arousing suspicion.

Since this was the first time visiting the Junzhu Residence, Ruan Xi had already done the appropriate mental preparation. She knew that there would be people observing her performance in the dark for certain.

In spite of her circumstances, Ruan Xi became more serene and unperturbed.

Suddenly, another wave of anxious horse clopping sounded out, and not long after, the galloping steed reached the main entrance of the Junzhu Residence.

The newly arrived person was clad in a black brocade robe, his facial features were indifferent and handsome, and each gesture he made was suffused with a dignified temperament that was natural to a prince from the Heaven’s family.

“It’s the Fourth Prince!”

Someone shouted out in excitement.

Ruan Xi: “……”

She did not expect that she would actually meet the book’s male protagonist at the entrance of the Junzhu Residence.

With the simultaneous appearance of Wen gongzi and the Fourth Prince – giants among men – at the entrance of the Junzhu Residence, the noble daughters who had just arrived were elated and excited, and they looked at them bashfully or daringly.

Ruan Xi realised that most of the ladies’ gaze was centred on the Fourth Prince.

Secretly, she thought, He truly deserves to be called the male protagonist; he is really well-received.

When Wen gongzi saw the Fourth Prince walking over in large strides, he smiled slightly, “One has seen the Fourth Prince.”

With a calm expression and a limpid gaze, Ruan Xi executed a feminine bow of obeisance. “One has seen the Fourth Prince.”

The Fourth Prince nodded his head slightly, gaze lingering on Ruan Xi’s visage briefly before it moved away. His expression was apathetic and estranging. “No need for such courtesies.”

Against his reply, Ruan Xi silently criticised in her heart: It was clear that both of them were incomparably familiar friends in private, and yet he was choosing to put on an apathetic and estranging façade, thinking that she had not noticed the obscured exchange of looks between them.

Since the Fourth Prince’s identity was honourable, Wen gongzi and Ruan Xi allowed him to enter the residence first. Just as the Fourth Prince stepped into the Junzhu Residence, Ruan Xi saw the Mu Residence’s carriage slowly approaching from the distance.

Ruan Xi: “……”

The female protagonist seemed to be a step late.