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

After Qi Yue An paid Ruan san niang a visit, Ruan san niang did not start any other wicked ideas.

But the rumours concerning Ruan san niang did not stop, because the prompt-book she wrote called Getting Rich, Being Promoted, Marrying a Beauty became popular; exceedingly and particularly popular in fact.

All the readers in the city were discussing this prompt-book, and the boss behind the Learned Bookstore also opened a teahouse, and on the second day the book was officially published and sold, he had contractually agreed with Ruan san niang to invite a storyteller to narrate the story.

The teahouse was extremely popular right now.

Even the common people in the capital could say a few lines about the story casually.

Ruan san niang had become renowned by technicality.

When Ruan Xi heard the news from Su Yu’s mouth, she was not surprised at all.

While the other aspects of Ruan san niang were hard to describe in a few words, her ability to make money had been boosted by her golden fingers and raking in the profits was not an issue for her.

When that time came around, their Earl Father would definitely start attaching importance to Ruan san niang again.

However, she was afraid that Zhang shi was going to vomit blood.

“Young Lady, the number of people coming to the Earl Residence to visit the Third Young Lady has gradually increased. This is the first time nubi knew that the Third Lady had such good relations with people, but with people coming and going every day, there will always be some eye-less servants running over to Limpid Heart Garden to bother Young Lady.”

Su Yu could not help but complain as she was carrying over a plate of freshly cut spring peaches.

Ruan Xi ate one of the cut peaches. Upon hearing Su Yu’s complaint, she smiled, her heart akin to a mirror.

Most of the noble daughters visiting Ruan san niang actually wanted to know the continuation of the prompt-book, but there was a small minority that were like wine-lovers whose hearts were not in cup, since they were trying for her.

醉翁之意不在酒 (zui wen zi yi bu zai jiu) – fig. having ulterior motives; have other things in mind.

In all likelihood, those eye-less servants were probably acting under their directions.

“Now that san jie is renowned, it’s natural that she had good relations with others. Mother also wants to borrow this chance to find a good marriage for da ge. As for the people coming over to cause a disturbance, tell the gatekeepers to guard the entrance properly, and pay them no heed.”

Su Yu came to a sudden realisation. “That explains why the Oldest Young Master has been rushing back to the residence from the Academy for the past few afternoons.”

Ruan Xi smiled slightly. Ruan Yu Wen only had a few tongfang in his back courtyard thus far because he wanted to marry a good noble daughter from a prominent family.

As the master and servant chatted idly, Mama Yang could no longer hold herself back from entering.

It could be considered as her falling headfirst right now. The Fourth Young Lady was intelligent and elegant. With Mama Lin’s wholehearted guidance, it was highly likely that she would not be greatly valued by the Fourth Young Lady as the Mama who came after, and yet she was still being raised up.

It had to be said that the Mamas coming out from Mu taifei’s palace were in extremely great demand, and if she were to become a Mama in some other prominent and illustrious family, perhaps she would be valued greatly. However, who could have expected that she would be met with rebuff in front of a young lady from an Earl’s Residence?

Mama Yang felt unreconciled and wronged in her heart. After observing the Fourth Young Lady for a few days, she finally decided to confess to the Fourth Young Lady, and fight for her trust.

“Young Lady, I have some private words to tell yõu.”

Ruan Xi smiled inwardly. Was Mama Yang going to be honest at last? She was rather interested in Mama Yang’s past. After all, she was the person that the Fourth Prince had spared in spite of her betraying the female protagonist.

In the original novel, it had vaguely stated that Mama Yang was bribed by someone else and she had wicked intentions towards Mu taifei’s secret formula, but it did not explain the specific reasons, which was also why Ruan Xi wanted to chase her away.

“Su Yu, withdraw first. I would like to speak with Mama Yang for a while.”

Glancing at Mama Yang, Su Yu faltered briefly before she retreated.

Hence, only Ruan Xi and Mama Yang remained in the room. Neither of them opened their mouths to speak.

Ruan Xi sipped on her tea quietly. Mama Yang remained silent, as if she was organising her words.

From the incense burner, sandalwood smoke rose in spirals.

Shortly after, Ruan Xi put down the teacup in her hand and gazed at Mama Yang, her gaze serene.

“Mama Yang, didn’t you have private words to tell me?”

Mama Yang did not go into the main topic directly. She first asked: “Fourth Young Lady, there are no issues with my manner, standards, and moral character, why am I failing to earn yõur trust and valuation?”

Ruan Xi laughed softly as she answered evasively. “Mama Yang, are you aware of what I was like before I was engaged to Wen gongzi?”

Mama Yang nodded. She had been secretly gathering information about the Fourth Young Lady ever since she arrived by her side.

The Fourth Young Lady had always hidden her inadequacies by keeping quiet, and was prudent in her conduct, up until she was engaged to Wen gongzi because she had no choice but to reveal her cutting edges then. Furthermore, she even managed to obtain Wen furen’s recognition when she was offering incense at Yunhua Temple.

Even if a person like her was still young, she was not someone she could control.

Mama Yang: “……”

Ruan Xi observed Mama Yang’s complexion as she pursed a mouthful of tea. She continued to say:

“For the same reasons, I have never given my trust to others easily. Mama Lin is an exception because she’s the training Mama that was sent by Wen lao-furen.

“Mama Yang, you are not the same. Since you came out from the imperial palace, I dare to trust you even less.”

As Mama Yang looked deeply at the Fourth Young Lady who had spoken with reservations, a small smile appeared at the corners of her mouth. “Fourth Young Lady, yõu are really hard to get close to.”

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Ruan Xi smiled.

“Fourth Young Lady, I stepped in here today, intending to be honest about my past. Of course, before my confession, I will give yõu a sizable gift to express my sincerity.”

Mama Yang’s tone of voice became serious all of a sudden.

Raising an eyebrow, Ruan Xi asked with visible interest: “And what would be that sizable gift?”

“It concerns the truth behind the death of your wetnurse Mama Xu,” Mama Yang stated.

Ruan Xi’s expression stiffened, shreds of fierceness flickering past her eyes as she looked at Mama Yang.

“Was it my Mother?”

She had suspected that Mama Xu’s death was not an accident. However, it was just a suspicion; she did not trouble Wen Ting Zhou to help her investigate.

Mama Yang revealed an admiring smile. “Fourth Young Lady is intelligent as one has expected, being correct on the first guess. I came to learn of this secret incidentally as well.”

Considering how Mama Yang had climbed up the ranks in the imperial palace, and managed to mix into Mu taifei’s palace, which was notoriously difficult to get into, it goes without saying that her tactics were nothing to scoff at.

She and Mama Lin were different. Mama Lin was only staying in the Earl Residence temporarily to teach the Fourth Lady, and she would not casually move around in the Earl Residence. Whereas she was the Mama that Earl Chengyi specifically sourced for the Fourth Young Lady, which meant that she belonged to the Earl Chengyi Residence. Hence, she could leave the Limpid Heart Garden to wander around intermittently.

And inadvertently, she discovered this secret.

Mama Yang explained how she managed to discover this secret before she finally said: “If si xiaojie does not believe it, you can ask Wen gongzi to check it. If Earl Chengyi Furen truly dispatched someone to kill Mama Xu, there’s bound to be a thread of a spider and a trail of a horse.”

Ruan Xi closed her eyes. Truth to be told, she already believed Mama Yang’s words. When she thought of the young boy who was around her age, she felt a burst of pain in her heart.

Sure enough, Zhang shi was a vicious one. Not only did she act against the original owner, she did not even spare Mama Xu, of whom the original owner was closest to, and dearly trusted.

But the hateful part was that she could not confront Zhang shi, and she could only devise plans in the dark.

Mama Yang clearly felt Ruan Xi’s subtle changes and she sighed in relief secretly.

Wanting to gain the trust of this Fourth Young Lady was truly difficult.

Following that, Mama Yang confessed that she had taken another identity for the sake of concealing her true family background.

It was only then that Ruan Xi understood why she betrayed the female protagonist. It turns out she had a feud with the Mu Family.

For the sake of obtaining a health-preserving formula that had been handed down from generation to generation within the Yang Family, the third branch of the Mu Family had ruined and orphaned the Yang Family.

Once Ruan Xi learned about the effects of the health-preserving formula, her entire person could no longer stay calm.

That health-preserving formula was the secret recipe for maintaining a youthful appearance with the greatest effects, of which Mu taifei had originally given the female protagonist. Since it could cultivate her health and maintain a youthful appearance, the female protagonist Mu Qing Ci had cherished it dearly. Later, Mama Yang had betrayed the female protagonist for the sake of obtaining that secret recipe.

As it turns out, the aforementioned formula was a secret family recipe that had been handed down from generation to generation, which belonged to someone else.

It was no wonder why the Fourth Prince did not seek justice for the female protagonist and kill Mama Yang even though she had harmed the female protagonist. Instead, he only sent her away.

“Fourth Young Lady, our Yang Family was made destitute and homeless by the Mu Family because of this secret recipe that had been passed down for generations. Despite being the weaker sex, I seek vengeance and have no home, and I only want to take back the secret recipe that has been passed down in the Yang Family for generations. Hence, I gritted my teeth, taking another person’s identity to enter the imperial palace to become a servant, and just when I finally had the chance to be in close proximity with Mu taifei after much difficulty, I was let out of the imperial palace instead. I am not resigned.”

“Mama Yang, if Yang Family’s heirloom secret recipe is so important, why isn’t it passed down orally?”

While Ruan Xi felt sympathy for Mama Yang, she could not help but ask that question. The Yang Family was the typical case of begetting trouble on the account of a cherished item.

怀璧其罪 (pinyin: huai bi qi zui) – lit. treasuring a jade ring becomes a crime.

Mama Yang laughed bitterly. “Fourth Young Lady, not only does this extremely effective health-preserving secret recipe require an extensive number of medicinal herbs, it also has requirements for the mass of each medicinal herb, the order and parts that should be used, the age of the medicinal herbs, and the method of allocation. If we had passed down the secret recipe orally, I’m afraid that it would have been lost a long time ago.

“When the Yang Family perished, my oldest brother and I managed to escape this calamity because we weren’t in the residence then, and we concealed our surname and buried our identities from that moment onwards. Back then, I had already seen that secret formula, but owing to my young age, I didn’t manage to remember everything. I refuse to allow the Yang Family’s heirloom secret recipe land in the hands our enemies, which was why I faked my death and left.”

Ruan Xi: “……”

“Mama Yang, do you really place that much faith in me?”

Mama Yang smiled faintly, “Apart from this life of mine, I have nothing left. What is there to be afraid of?”

Although she had an older brother who was living incognito, they did not have the heirloom secret recipe in their hands any longer, and they did not have anything worth coveting.

As for telling on her to the Mu Family, she trusted that the Fourth Young Lady was a smart person, she would never do that.

“I will ask Wen gongzi to investigate this matter.”

The fact that Ruan Xi did not immediately trust her was within Mama Yang’s predictions. Mama Yang smiled, “Of course.”

When Su Yu eventually saw Mama Yang wearing a smile on her face as she left, she had a suspicion in her heart that perhaps Mama Yang might take the place of the deceased Mama Xu.

Ruan Xi was a person of her word; just as she was preparing to write a letter to Wen Ting Zhou, Su Yu came in and reported that Zhang shi was asking her to make a trip to the main courtyard for something.

Ruan san niang’s courtyard was not far from the main courtyard, hence anyone who was visiting Ruan san niang had to go through the bluestone boarded pathway in the main courtyard.

Ruan Xi straightened out her appearance before she brought Su Yu and Su Zhu, as well as Mama Yang, to depart from Limpid Heart Garden for the Main Courtyard. As they traversed down the quiet path, they only met some servants and patrolling guards, which increased the sense of safety.

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Upon reaching the Main Courtyard, Ruan Xi saw two young ladies in resplendent clothing the moment she stepped in.

Ruan Xi recognised the two ladies: one of them was Ruan san niang’s fellow sister Shen xiaojie, who should be here to visit Ruan san niang.

The other noble daughter was the concubine-born daughter of the Mu Family’s main branch. Standing beside her was the female protagonist Mu Qing Ci, of whom Ruan Xi was exceedingly familiar with. It was just that her get-up made her look inharmonious, and she resembled the maidservants serving the Mu Family’s maidservants slightly.

Mu Qing Ci should be here to visit Ruan san niang too.

As for the Mu Family’s concubine-born daughter who looked slightly prideful, Ruan Xi could not make sense of her purpose for visiting.

After learning about Mama Yang’s family background, Ruan Xi did not have any good feelings for the Mu Family. She reckoned the female protagonist must have felt the same. In the original novel, the female basically stopped associating herself with the Mu Family after she entered the Fourth Prince’s back courtyard.

When the Mu Family was exposed and criticised later, and entreated for her help, she did not ask the male protagonist to spare them either.

All in all, Ruan Xi had a fairly good impression of Mu Qing Ci.

“Si niang, you’re here. Mu xiaojie wanted to meet you.” Zhang shi immediately plastered an affectionate smile once she saw Ruan Xi entering.

“Si xiaojie, we meet again.” Shen xiaojie was the first to speak. Her smile was beautiful and gentle.

Inadvertently, Ruan Xi caught a glimpse of Zhang shi’s satisfied gaze. Her heart moved. Could it be that Zhang shi had her eyes on Shen xiaojie?

And here she was thinking that Zhang shi was looking for a noble daughter with a high family pedigree and background to become her daughter-in-law.

As that thought flitted across Ruan Xi’s mind, she greeted them with a smile. Her conduct was calm and magnanimous, and she also acknowledged Mu Qing Ci who had been neglected by Zhang shi. In her heart, she was slightly curious as to why the Mu Family’s illegitimate daughter Mu Qing Ling had called for her name specifically to meet her.

She did not have any intersections with Mu Qing Ling.

Although Mu Qing Ling was smiling with her eyes, there was also a trace of scrutiny and hostility.

“Si xiaojie, I am Mu Qing Ling. I was just engaged to Wen Ting Yi two days ago. As for whether I will become a family with si xiaojie in the future is still hard to say.”

Upon hearing that, a glint of laughter flashed past Zhang shi’s eyes.

Shen xiaojie: “……”

Ruan Xi: “……”

Wen Ting Yi, Wen Ting Zhou’s illegitimate younger brother. She finally understood where Mu Qing Ling’s hostility came from.

While they were both illegitimate daughters, her family background was not in the same grade as this favoured illegitimate daughter from the Mu Family’s main branch.

The Mu Family was a Marquis Residence, they had Mu taifei above them, and Mu Qing Ci and Mu Qing Ling’s father was the Assistant Minister in the Ministry of War with real power.

Whereas she, the fiancée of Wen Ting Zhou, was only an illegitimate daughter from an Earl Residence. Her Father was only a stand-in Assistant Minister in the Ministry of Work. Despite their circumstances, she had viciously suppressed this illegitimate daughter from the Mu Family in terms of their marriage. It was no wonder that Mu Qing Ling would be disgruntled.

Ruan Xi smiled slightly. “Mu xiaojie speaks correctly, no one can predict what will happen in the future.”

Mu Qing Ling raised her chin arrogantly. “Consider yourself self-aware.”

From her point of view, Ruan si xiaojie would mostly definitely fail to obtain Wen lao-furen’s recognition. It was highly likely that after Wen lao-furen’s longevity feast, the Wen Family would break off this marriage matter that had a huge status disparity.

Ruan Xi smiled.

Shen xiaojie looked at Mu Qing Ling with some strangeness in her gaze.

At this moment, an older woman-servant swiftly came in to report.

“Furen, Wen gongzi has arrived, he said that he’s here to give the Fourth Young Lady a surprise.”

Mu Qing Ling’s complexion distorted slightly.