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

By the time Mu Residence’s horse carriage reached the main doors to the Junzhu Residence, Ruan Xi and Wen gongzi had already stepped inside the Junzhu Residence.

In Ruan Xi’s opinion, she would meet the similarly transmigrated female protagonist sooner or later, there was no need for her to wait at the door.

There was a huge garden with an elegant landscape inside the Junzhu Residence, which was also the location that the flower banquet was being hosted at.

Presently, the spring scenery was flourishing: all kinds of flowers were in full bloom, vying and fighting for splendour and beauty, which made it a perfect time to admire the flowers.

It was extremely lively inside the gardens. Maids and male servants weaved between the crowds, sounds of joyous laughter and chatter could be heard everywhere, and men and women gathered in twos and threes could be seen in the distance, either talking cheerily and wittily, comparing their talents, or whispering to each other.

When Ruan Xi and Wen gongzi appeared together in the large flower garden, it was immediately noticed, and numerous gazes from all directions gathered on their persons.

To be more accurate, most of the gazes fell on Ruan Xi’s person.

Towards the myriad of gazes – whether it was scrutiny, provocation, examining, jealous or stunned – Ruan Xi remained natural and poised. She was calm and unperturbed, showing naught a sign of cowardice as she walked to her assigned seat with Wen gongzi under the lead of the maidservants.

Their position was close to the sea of flowers and the flowery fragrance was pleasant to the nose. Men and women sat together around them, which made Ruan Xi vaguely feel like they were having a date in a park.

She surveyed the men and women in the large garden, glancing past the jealous and indignant Ruan san niang from afar. The more she observed, the odder she felt, because it felt like she had entered a large-scale blind dating scene.

“Wen gongzi, why do I get the sense that the motive of attending banquets like these is to look for prospective future husbands or wives? Is it appropriate for us to be here?” Ruan Xi could not resist leaning closer to Wen gongzi to ask him in a tactful and low voice.

After all, they were already engaged.

Upon hearing that, Wen gongzi gave Ruan Xi a meaningful gaze. He cough lightly, “Actually, plenty of engaged men and women like attending such banquets.”

In fact, he invited his fiancée because he wanted to interact with her more, not purely for the sake of attending the banquet.

Ruan Xi was perplexed when she first heard his explanation, but she immediately understood once she looked at the men and women who were having an intimate conversation with each other. Abruptly, her heart missed a beat and her countenance became slightly hot.

Wen gongzi tilted his head to look at his fiancée’s slightly red cheeks. His lips raised, and there was a hint of laughter in his sonorous and gentle voice as he asked: “Have you thought of the reason?”

Ruan Xi recomposed herself, turning her head to give Wen gongzi a radiant and charming smile. She raised an eyebrow as she teased him, “It has come to mind, yes. Is Wen gongzi suggesting what I have thought of?”

Unhurriedly, Wen gongzi nodded his head in admittance and his gaze was focused and deep. “Indeed. This is a way to arrange a meeting with you in an open and above-board manner. The exchange of letters is not as joyous as meeting the actual person, si niang, what do you say?”

Wen gongzi’s words were close to a confession.

Ruan Xi’s heat beat sped up again. All of a sudden, she did not dare to meet his eyes and she shifted her gaze away with some panic.

Wen gongzi laughed soundlessly upon seeing that, heart brimming with joy and amusement.

Their intimate actions and their manner of speaking in close proximity fell in the eyes of others, and the consequent reactions were varied.

In such high-end settings, there were always unspoken and customary conventions and rules. The purposes of the parties involved in an engagement attending the banquet together was self-evident; most people would usually refrain from disturbing them, unless they were relatives or very close friends.

If there was someone being tactless, they would leave a bad impression on others.

However, such things would still happen from time to time. After all, the people attending the banquet were men and women who were also separated by legitimate and illegitimate descent.

Daughters of legitimate descent rarely did such things because they were attending such banquets with the intentions of becoming a legitimate wife. If the other party was already engaged and yet they insisted on building affinity with the other party by persistently sticking a leg in, they would only damage their own reputation.

Hence, even though there were people from both genders who were curious about Ruan Xi, and ladies who were infatuated with Wen gongzi, they did not go up to bother the pair.

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In a three-storey building that was a short distance away from the large flower garden, Wen lao-furen, who was still hale and hearty in vigour even though her face was being framed by whitening hair on both sides, was being supported by the arm as she stood near the balustrade on the third floor, and she was peering at the men and women in the large flower garden below her.

“Mama Lin, the person beside Ting Zhou is Ruan si xiaojie, yes?”

Although Wen lao-furen was getting on with her years, her gaze was still clear and keen, and she managed to find Wen gongzi and Ruan Xi as they sat beside the sea of flowers.

“Precisely so, Wen lao-furen.” Mama Lin had been called over by Wen lao-furen once she reached the Junzhu Residence so she could inquire about Ruan Xi’s condition. Since Mama Lin was extremely fond of Ruan Xi and her intelligence, she only spoke praises of her.

Hence, Wen lao-furen already had a good impression of Ruan Xi before she even met her.

First impressions were extremely important; when Wen lao-furen took a first look at Ruan Xi, and combined with Mama Lin’s evaluation and entreating, she was quite satisfied.

“Certainly, she is a good child, she is worthy of Ting Zhou.”

Mama Lin was exceedingly happy. She did not think that Ruan si xiaojie would enter Wen lao-furen’s sights so quickly.

“It is a rare occurrence that they can mutually promise their hearts to each other. Ting Zhou might appear to have a gentle temper and seem easy to get along with, but his emotional sentiments are cold and thin in actuality. With the unswerving determination in his heart, I have always been worried that he would remain alone in life.”

When Wen lao-furen spoke of her legitimate grandson whom she favoured, her tone was filled with a jumbled mix of worry and distress.

Mama Lin quickly consoled her: “Lao furen, Ting Zhou shaoye and Ruan si xiaojie have an affinity with each other, and they will have their own children in the future, with their own descendants filling their halls. He will not be on his lonesome, you can set your heart at ease.”

少爷 (pinyin: shao ye) – young master.

As Wen lao-furen watched her grandson interact with Ruan si xiaojie from afar, she truly felt like she could set her heart at ease.

Meanwhile, Ruan Xi did not know that after she had gained Wen furen’s recognition, she had entered Wen lao-furen’s eyes as well.

Additionally, she finally saw the female protagonist Mu Qing Ci. Although she had not met the actual person officially, the book did mention that one of the noble daughters attending this flower banquet was the female protagonist Mu Qing Ci, and she was dressed plainly like a light wind.

In essence, she was akin to a unique fresh breeze in the flower banquet.

Of course, it was different this time around, since there was Ruan san niang apart from Mu Qing Ci.

Truth to be told, both of them were rather eye-catching among the throng of noble daughters.

Mu Qing Ci’s skin was fair and tender, her pretty countenance was complemented with a pair of limpid almond-shaped eyes, and she looked lovable and cute.

People were most afraid of comparisons. With both of them dressed in an unadorned and light style, the female protagonist Mu Qing Ci gave people the impression that it suited her especially well, whereas Ruan san niang… It was better to leave her unsaid.

Honestly speaking, Ruan san niang looked better accoutred in a bright and amorous style.

“Si niang, are you familiar with that xiaojie from the Mu Family?”

Having noticed that Ruan Xi’s line of sight was constantly straying towards the young lady from the Mu Residence, Wen gongzi also looked over. When he saw a certain young lady that was dressed simply with the barest cosmetics applied, and constantly partaking in the fruits and light refreshments, his brows wrinkled slightly.

Ruan Xi shook her head lightly, “We’re not familiar. I merely think that xiaojie looks particularly eye-catching.”

The book mentioned that a few princes had attended this particular flower banquet and none of them were married to their legitimate consorts yet, but they barely showed up in this large garden.

While the Fourth Prince – the male protagonist – had yet to marry his legitimate consort, he did have a few concubines, and they were all bestowed to him by the Empress and his mufei.

母妃 (pinyin: mu fei) – mother imperial concubine.

The first intersection that the male and female protagonist had was in this flower banquet.

When the female protagonist eventually went to relieve herself, Ruan Xi felt that she could go and spectate the male and female protagonist’s hilarious first encounter.

Quite evidently, Wen gongzi knew who she was talking about. When he saw that her expression was invested with great interest, he quickly issued a cough: “The get-up that the Mu Residence’s xiaojie is wearing is only suitable for attending small gatherings, it isn’t suitable for high-end flower banquets like these. Si niang, do not learn from her.”

Ruan Xi gave Wen gongzi a strange look. She did not expect that Wen gongzi would have such an unremarkable first impression of the female protagonist.

However, when she recalled how Wen gongzi had only met the female protagonist a few times and he had never treated the female protagonist differently from other women, she felt that his impression was normal.

She remembered that there was a scene in the book where the female protagonist was gossiping about the unmarried Wen gongzi out of pure curiosity, and she had been discussing the topic with her trusted maidservant behind closed doors. The female protagonist had wondered if there were secret feelings between Wen gongzi and the Fourth Prince since they were extremely close in private, and then she was overheard by the male protagonist… The female protagonist felt guilty afterwards so she tried to cajole the male protagonist in various ways, thereby allowing their feelings to develop. All in all, it was incredibly sweet.

Ruan Xi also felt that it was very sweet, but the problem here was that she and the female protagonist were different types of people.

“Wen gongzi can rest assured, I have a sense of proportion.” It did not matter if she dressed simpler in private, but if she was attending a banquet, Ruan Xi would never do such a thing.

At that moment, Ruan Xi happened to see Mu Qing Ci’s cute appearance as she squinted her eyes in satisfaction. She could not help but sigh with emotion: “Disregarding her get-up, that Mu xiaojie is rather cute and artlessly innocent. Unfortunately, I can’t learn from it.”

Wen gongzi chuckled, a hint of seriousness and tenderness seeping into his gaze as he looked at Ruan Xi. “You don’t need to learn from her, you’re good enough as you are.”

She was being teased again…

Ruan Xi’s heart jolted, throbbing with an unfamiliar sweetness. Hastily, she raised her teacup to drink a few gulps to calm her emotions.

Wen gongzi’s lips curved up silently.

Beauty was in the eyes of the beholder; and in his eyes, si niang was the cutest among them all.

When Duke An’s legitimate daughter Wen Jing Ru saw her tang ge and Ruan si xiaojie talking harmoniously, she contemplated her options for a while before she eventually decided to become acquainted with her.

堂哥 (pinyin: tang ge) – paternal older male cousin.

“Xiang Xiang, I’m going to meet tang ge briefly.”

“Hold on, Jing Ru, I will go with you.” The breath-takingly beautiful lady with a gentle temperament beside Wen Jing Ru quickly said.

“Sure.” Wen Jing Ru still nodded her head and agreed with her good friend despite hesitating for a moment.

At this moment, an outstanding young man with garnish and beautiful features stepped into the large flower garden. Once he caught sight of Wen gongzi idly chatting with the young lady next to him, his eyes brightened, and without caring if he was disturbing Wen gongzi as he was cultivating feelings with his fiancée, he walked over directly.

“Zi Run, this must be your fiancée Ruan si xiaojie?”

The young man might have inquired with a crinkly-eyed smile but his tone of voice was affirmative and he was looking at Ruan Xi with an interested and probing gaze.

At first glance, it was apparent to him that apart from her family status, Ruan si xiaojie was rather outstanding in terms of her appearance, manners, and deportment.

The young man raised her eyebrows slightly. It had to be said that Zi Run’s vision had always been great.

Smiling, Wen gongzi nodded and did an introduction: “Si niang. This individual is Senior Official Li’s legitimate grandson Li Jing Cheng.”

Like she had expected, the pretty young man with a feminine face in front of her was Li Jing Cheng, the rumoured cutsleeve partner of Wen gongzi in the novel.

She had to admit that his excessively pretty visage was capable of causing misunderstandings easily.

Ruan Xi revealed a smiling expression as she gave him a humble greeting: “One has seen Li gongzi.”

With an ever-present crinkly-eyed smile, Li Jing Cheng uttered, “Ruan si xiaojie, I have been looking forward to meeting you for a long time.”

Ruan Xi: “……” Those words seemed wrong when it was complemented with Li Jing Cheng’s smiling expression.

“Older brother, why didn’t you tell me that you had arrived.” At this moment, a gentle and pleasant-sounding voice sounded.

“Xiang Xiang, your older brother happened to see Zi Run and Ruan si xiaojie first, which was why he greeted them first, alright?” Li Jing Cheng turned his head back to blink smilingly at his younger sister.

The beautiful young lady Li Xiang Xiang, who was accompanying Wen Jing Ru, glanced at her older brother Li Jing Cheng before she turned her head to look at Wen gongzi. A blush rose up her pretty cheeks as she called out to him with some shyness.

“Wen da ge.”

大哥 (pinyin: da ge) – it means older brother in this context. On the other hand, Li Xiang Xiang typically addresses her biological older brother Li Jing Cheng as just ‘哥’.

All of a sudden, Li Jing Cheng twisted his head to look at Ruan Xi.

Ruan Xi: “……”

What was he looking at her for?

Ruan Xi returned his gaze calmly. Li Jing Cheng’s mouth twitched. Was Ruan si xiaojie that confident or did she have a big heart?

Was she blind to the fact that Xiang Xiang liked Zi Run?

Wen gongzi glowered at Li Jing Cheng, warning apparent in his gaze. Then, wearing a faint smile, he nodded at Li Xiang Xiang. “Li xiaojie.”

Polite and alienating.

Li Xiang Xiang felt disappointed internally, and the erratic pulses of her heart calmed down slightly.

Wen gongzi never had any feelings for her.

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Ruan Xi shot Li Xiang Xiang an imperceptible look. Senior Official Li’s legitimate granddaughter, and the legitimate wife of the Fourth Prince of a male protagonist.

Ruan Xi only felt like there was dog blood everywhere in her life.

“Ruan si xiaojie, I am Wen Jing Ru, you may call me Jing Ru.” Wen Jing Ru observed the situation briefly with much curiosity, and she felt that Ruan si xiaojie was quite interesting as a person.

Although the thought of Li Xiang Xiang being her tang sao had occurred to her before, her tang ge did not have any feelings towards Xiang Xiang  and she did not want to play the matchmaker either, so she had placed her close childhood friend outside of such considerations.

堂嫂 (pinyin: tang sao) – the wife of a older male paternal cousin.

“Then if I may be so bold, I will call you Jing Ru. I am Ruan Xi, I am very happy to become acquainted with you.”

Hearing the sincerity in Wen Jing Ru’s voice, Ruan Xi gave her a natural and unrestrained smile.

“And now we’re considered acquainted. Since we’ll be part of the same family in the future, can I call you si niang?” Wen Jing Ru held onto Ruan Xi’s hand affectionately.

Ruan Xi nodded smilingly, “Sure.”

When Wen gongzi heard the conversation between his tang mei and Ruan Xi, he secretly wondered if he should change to an appellation that belonged to him alone.