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

On the same night, Earl Chengyi stepped into Limpid Heart Garden.

Ruan Xi sighed in dark about how quickly he had come.

Once Earl Chengyi arrived, he told the servants inside the room to withdraw before he asked Ruan Xi about the secret recipe in a straightforward manner.

“Si niang, [I] heard that you have a secret braised marinade recipe?”

While Earl Chengyi Residence had a huge family and business, its expenditure was large too. Majority of its wealth was generated from ancestral property, fields, lands, and shops. Now that a new financial resource had been discovered, especially since it was a secret braised duck recipe that could be passed down from one generation to another, Earl Chengyi felt extremely rattled in his heart.

The braised duck he had eaten today was far too delicious, to the extent where Earl Chengyi was still reminiscing about the taste endlessly. If the restaurants under Earl Chengyi Residence could add this delicious braised duck to its menu, guests would definitely flow in like clouds.

“That is the case, Father.” Ruan Xi revealed a faint smile, pouring some tea for Earl Chengyi as he sat down.

“Si niang, where did you find the secret braised marinade recipe?” Earl Chengyi asked quizzically, not drinking the tea as he rapped his fingers on the table. His daughter had never left the Earl Residence alone, and the number of times she had left the residence could be counted with two hands.

Earl Chengyi genuinely wanted to know if the origins of the secret braised marinade in Ruan Xi’s hands had anything to do with the Wen Family.

“Father, do yõu still remember the matter of zu mu bringing this daughter to Yunhua Temple to offer incense two years ago?” Ruan Xi evaded the question.

When Earl Chengyi heard si niang mentioning the visit to Yunhua Temple two years ago, his gaze congealed slightly.

“Si niang, your secret braised marinade was obtained from Yunhua Temple?”

“Precisely so. Father, the truth is that this daughter had a chance encounter with Wen gongzi back then. The secret braised duck recipe was given to Wen gongzi by a mysterious daoren, it doesn’t belong to the Wen Family.

道人 (pinyin: dao ren) — Taoist devotee (honorific).

“A few days ago, Wen gongzi covertly copied the recipe and gave it to this daughter as her marriage dowry.”

Ruan Xi nodded and lied without changing her expression. She was pulling on a tiger’s skin, but with Wen Ting Zhou helping her complete the lie, Ruan Xi was not afraid of the tiger skin being torn apart.

Although she did not have that portion of the original owner’s memories, she could fabricate one. During that meeting in the small meditation room, Ruan Xi had ascertained the fact that the original owner had met Wen Ting Zhou alone once, which signified that the original owner had disappeared from under the servants’ eyes for a period of time. This was an excellent reason.

Otherwise, how could a young lady in the depths of her boudoir get her hands on a secret braised duck recipe? Could she say that it was left behind by her birth mother? No, that would be too far-fetched; the original owner’s mother had died right after her birth, where was the secret recipe supposed to come from?

Moreover, her Earl Father was not stupid.

This was the solution that Ruan Xi conceived after a whole afternoon of thinking. She did not want to abandon her plan of selling the braised ducks, and she could only solve the issue of the secret recipe first.

Earl Chengyi knitted his eyebrows together tightly, a glint of disappointment flashing past his eyes. He did not expect that the secret braised duck recipe would belong to Wen gongzi, and that he had a connection to some mysterious daoren. The calculations on his abacus were bound to be empty.

What surprised him even more was the fact that si niang had met Wen gongzi as early as two years ago, but that would explain why Wen gongzi would agree to this marriage, despite rejecting so many noble daughters from prominent families.

And now, he had even given her a unique and unmatched secret braised duck recipe to become her dowry unbeknownst to everyone. It seems like the feelings that Wen gongzi had for si niang were deeper than he had originally imagined.

Earl Chengyi swept away his latest disappointment. It did not matter if he did not obtain the secret braised duck recipe, since it was Wen gongzi’s property after all. While Earl Chengyi felt slightly regretful for the fact that he had lost a gold mountain that could produce gold, when compared to his official career, Earl Chengyi chose his official career. Hence, he instructed her with a strict expression.

“Since Wen gongzi covertly gave it to you as your dowry, you should keep it within your grasp properly. You will be passing it down to your future generations, make sure it never gets exposed.

“I’ll discuss this with Wen gongzi later, and see if we can spread the word that the secret recipe was given to you by a mysterious daoren.”

Wen gongzi did not hand over the secret braised duck recipe to the Wen Family but secretly gave it to my daughter instead, Earl Chengyi could not help but have this thought in his mind.

Ruan Xi: “…..”

“Would Wen gongzi agree to it? What if the mysterious daoren learns of it and becomes enraged…” Ruan Xi deliberately revealed a worried expression, reminding her Earl Father who the ‘real owner’ of the secret braised duck recipe was, just in case.

That reminded Earl Chengyi of the mysterious ways that these daoren had, and he immediately abandoned any thoughts he should not be having. “It should be fine as long as Wen gongzi agrees.”

Ruan Xi seemed to sigh in relief before she told Earl Chengyi about her plan to open a braised duck store.

Earl Chengyi nodded his head in agreement. With the Wen Family protecting the secret braised duck recipe, who would dare to forcefully take it away to seize the wealth? However, Earl Chengyi brought up that the restaurants under the Earl Residence’s name should be provided with a portion of the braised ducks.

He could not have full custody of the secret braised duck recipe, but he could bask in its light.

Ruan Xi did not oppose; as long as the secret braised duck recipe belonged to her, she was amenable to anything.

Earl Chengyi came over in high spirits and he left in a somewhat satisfied mood.

When the deeply worried and sick at heart Su Yu and Su Zhu saw the Earl leaving, they quickly entered the room to console their Young Lady. However, they did not expect that they would see their Young Lady drinking tea in a calm and composed manner.

“Young Lady, did the Earl take away yõur secret braised duck recipe?” Su Yu asked cautiously.

“Both of you should stop overthinking, Father isn’t that type of person.”

Su Yu and Su Zhu was visibly surprised.

Ruan Xi was rather satisfied with her Earl Father’s attitude. She trusted that the people who were interested in her secret braised duck recipe like Zhang shi and some others will retract their hands.

They should not assume that she was unaware of the fact that Zhang shi had asked someone to make inquiries about the ingredients her small kitchen used. Unfortunately for them, the ingredients to make the secret braised marinade recipe was virtually the same, but without the recipe, knowing the ingredients would still be of no use.

That night, Ruan Xi’s Limpid Heart Garden was very tranquil, whereas the people who were warned off by Earl Chengyi tossed and turned, unable to find sleep.

They could clearly see the gold and silver mountain in front of them, but they could only look without touching; no one would be reconciled to it.

Ruan san niang was surprisingly fine; she had a lot of ways for her to make silvers, but who wouldn’t like delicacies? She had eaten a lot of secretly made braised ducks in the imperial palace during her past lifetime, but when those braised ducks were compared to her fourth sister’s creation, they were forcibly pushed down.

The braised duck made by her fourth sister was essentially the peak of delicacies.

Ruan san niang had a special craving for her fourth sister’s braised duck, but their relationship were like fire and water, and she had even set down vicious words. It hadn’t been a few days but she had slapped her own face, and it goes without saying that Ruan san niang was unhappy.

In any case, her fourth sister would be opening a store; she would not have to worry about not being able to eat it when that time came around.

When that thought occurred to her, Ruan san niang stopped tangling over it. Instead, she lied down on her bed to think about other matters.

She had to flee for her life from a killer’s pursuit, not only was her fiancé Qi Yue An late in coming, he only sent a gift over without a single word of concern attached, and Ruan san niang became angrier the more she thought about it.

She was extremely doubtful right now; was this Qi Yue An really the Qi Yue An from her previous lifetime?

When she recalled the way Wen gongzi treated her fourth sister, all pampering, considerate, and concerned, Ruan san niang felt the jealousy and irreconciliation in her heart surge.

It would have been great if she was reborn into her fourth sister’s body; it was all the original owner’s fault for not having a good fate to begin with, such that it implicated her.

Ruan san niang threw the blame on the original owner for having a bad destiny once more.

In a rare feat, the disgruntled Ruan san niang actually thought of the predicament that her good fellow sister Mu Qing Ci was in. Although she pretended to care for her like fellow sufferers empathising with each other, the hint of happiness that arose in her heart was contrary.

But when she thought of the Mu Family who merely suffered negligible damage to flesh and bones in spite of her dredging out a number of their crimes, Ruan san niang felt exceedingly frustrated and hateful in her heart.

That damnable old Emperor, that damnable Mu taifei.

She needed to hug the Fourth Prince’s big thigh and let him ascend to that seat earlier. If she did not collapse the Mu Family, her surname would not be Ruan.

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As Ruan san niang was raising her fighting spirit, she did not know that the instant noodles she created had just reached Mu Qing Ci’s hands.

After being chased to a broken and dilapidated courtyard, Mu Qing Ci was only fed insipid and cold rice and dishes for all three meals in a day, and she did not know how long she had to stay here for.

Under the dim candlelight, Mu Qing Ci rubbed her empty stomach. She was going to sleep hungry again today.

At this moment, her close maidservant Mei Hua returned. After being chased to this broken and dilapidated courtyard, Mu Qing Ci only had Mei Hua, this loyal girl, who was willing to follow her to this place. The other servants had looked for another way to leave.

“Young Lady, nubi bought something delicious for you.” Mei Hua took out a small cloth bag in a mysterious manner.

“This is the instant noodles that Ruan san niang made, it has a vegetable and seasoning sachet. It can be eaten once boiling hot water is used to soften the noodles, and there has been hearsay that it’s particularly fragrant and delicious. It’s not expensive too, since thirty wen (coin) is enough to buy one packet. Nubi secretly went through the back door to buy five packets.” Mei Hua said excitedly.

Mu Qing Ci looked at the instant noodles that she could not be more familiar with in surprise.

“Mei Hua, did you just say this instant noodles was invented by Ruan san xiaojie?”

“Indeed. For the sake of allowing Wen gongzi to eat hot food during the metropolitan examination, Ruan si xiaojie made fragrant-smelling fried dry noodles, and Ruan san xiaojie followed by making this instant noodles that has various vegetable and seasoning sachets. It tastes a lot better than the fried dry noodles, and the most expensive beef instant noodles cost one or two taels for a packet.” Mei Hua nodded her head. Although she was angry at Ruan san xiaojie for pitting and harming her Young Lady time and time again, it did not mean that she would hate the food made by Ruan san xiaojie.

“It was san niang who made this food, huh. Mei Hua, help me simmer one packet of instant noodles.”

Mu Qing Ci said with pursed lips, her expression complicated. Truthfully speaking, she did not expect that there would be a fellow transmigrator by her side.

When she recalled how she had offended the Fourth Prince twice because of Ruan san niang, Mu Qing Ci was even less inclined to associate herself with Ruan san niang.

She could not tell if Ruan san niang had done it deliberately or unintentionally.

Even though they only interacted a few times, Mu Qing Ci still had some understanding of Ruan san niang. There was an inexplicable sense of superiority in her person, and when she did not know that she was a transmigrator, she had assumed that it was the prideful aura of a noble daughter.

However, it seems like the sense of superiority was derived from her identity as a transmigrator, and she was the type of personage who would bring trouble to those around her.

Mu Qing Ci thought, if Ruan san niang knew that she was also a fellow transmigrator, she was afraid that she would not be happy at all, in fact, she might… She secretly celebrated the fact that Ruan san niang had exposed herself early. It would only mean trouble if she accidentally leaked her identity someday.

Mu Qing CI decided to stay away from Ruan san niang, and she happened to have a ready-made reason right now.

However, when she thought of her own predicament… Mu Qing Ci curled her lips. It was highly likely that was going to be sent away to her family’s temple to become a constant companion to the altar lamps in the next few days. When that happened, Ruan san niang would be eager to stay far away from her.

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As Mu Qing Ci was having wild and fanciful thoughts, Mei Hua brought over the steaming hot instant noodles.

“Young Lady, the noodles are done cooking. Eat it quickly, it won’t taste good anymore when it goes cold.” Mei Hua said in a hurry as she swallowed her saliva.

Mu Qing Ci put those thoughts out of her head. She was extremely hungry right now, it was more important to fill her stomach first.

“Mei Hua, you should make one packet and try it.”

Mei Hua thought about how there were only four packets of instant noodles remaining. She shook her head furiously. “Young Lady, that won’t be necessary, nubi isn’t hungry.”

Mu Qing Ci managed to persuade Mei Hua in the end. She still had some silvers in her hands which was more than enough to eat a few months worth of instant noodles, she was not short of this one packet.

Mei Hua was a loyal servant; she would not mistreat her.

As Mei Hua ate the piping hot instant noodles, her heart felt incomparably touched.

After the master and servant finished their food, Mei Hua cleaned up the area before she looked at her satisfied-looking Young Lady. Biting her lips, she opened her mouth to say:

“Young Lady, Ruan san xiaojie has caused you such misery, please stop having dealings with Ruan san xiaojie once this opinion-filled wind passes.”

Mu Qing Ci knew that Mei Hua was speaking with good intentions. Unfortunately, Mei Hua did not understand Ruan san niang’s personality. Hence, she nodded seriously and said: “Mei Hua, you can rest assured. After falling into a moat, you will be wiser next time; I’ve been pitted by her twice, I’m never having dealings with her again.”

Presently, Mu Qing Ci was still unaware of the lengths that Ruan san niang would go to entangle with her and the thickness of her skin. As long as she enters the Fourth Prince’s residence, Ran san niang would be like a sticky candy that cannot be shaken off.

“Young Lady, it’s great that you’re thinking that way. Do you know that Ruan san xiaojie actually opened her instant noodles store opposite of Ruan si xiaojie’s fried dry noodles store. It’s evident that she’s trying to bankrupt Ruan si xiaojie’s store, and even nubi thinks she’s going overboard.” Mei Hua said happily.

Owing to the fact that she did not have a fast and abundant source of news, Mu Qing CI was shocked: “She actually did that?”

Mei Hua nodded her head several times. “She did, a myriad of rumours are circulating outside right now.”

Mu Qing Ci: “……”

That night, Mu Qing Ci did not go to sleep hungry at last.

The next day, the news of the Fourth Prince being willing to admit Mu Qing Ci as his concubine was announced.

When Ruan Xi heard the news, she was not surprised at all. However, Ruan san niang was going to bother Mu Qing Ci again precisely because of this.

After issuing an emotional sigh, Ruan Xi took some guards and left the residence to go to the large restaurant owned by the Wen Family to meet Wen Ting Zhou.