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

Jixiang Restaurant was a business owned by the Wen Family which sat in the most bustling district within the capital.

吉祥 (pinyin: ji xiang) – lucky; auspicious.

Ruan Xi brought two braised ducks to the meeting.

Since they had to wait for the public roll of successful candidates after the imperial civil service examination, Wen Ting Zhou no longer had to go to Qingshan Academy to attend classes.

The sunlight in the afternoon was glittering. Ruan Xi noticed that the tearooms and teahouses on both sides of the street were packed with customers, and most people coming and going were either influential officials, nobility, or the candidates participating in the metropolitan examination.

Perhaps because the peak hour had already passed, there were only sporadic and few customers inside the Jixiang Restaurant. When Ruan Xi’s horse carriage stopped in front of the restaurant’s door, the shopkeeper of Jixiang Restaurant came out to welcome Ruan Xi before pointing her towards the booked private room.

Inside the tasteful and comfortable private room, Wen Ting Zhou was savouring the taste of the young tea leaves elegantly when a series of knocks rang out on the door. Following closely was the restaurant shopkeeper’s voice.

“Gongzi, Ruan si xiaojie has arrived.”

Wen Ting Zhou’s handsome face which was likened to jade revealed a gentle smile.

“Zhang Qing, open the door.”

“Yes, gongzi.”

Zhang Qing strode over quickly to open the door. Ruan si xiaojie’s exquisite countenance entered their view, and Zhang Qing smiled respectfully as he invited Ruan Xi into the private room.

“Ruan si xiaojie, gongzi is already inside, this way please.”

Smile apparent on her facial features, Ruan Xi gave Zhang Qing a small pouch filled with silvers as she was passing, then she brought Su Yu and Su Zhu into the private room.

The restaurant shopkeeper withdrew in a sensible manner.

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When Wen Ting Zhou saw Ruan Xi’s wondrously slender figure and the refined food box in her hands, the edges of lips curled, warmth staining the tips of his brows.

“Ruan Ruan, you brought the braised duck?” His deep and sonorous voice was tinged with delight.

“Yes. I specially made two braised ducks this morning, your taste buds are blessed today.”

Ruan Xi curled her lips into a faint smile, holding the food box as she sat down in front of Wen Ting Zhou in a natural and unrestrained manner. Then, she took out the plate of glossy red braised duck that had been cut into thick pieces from the food box, which was complemented with the secretly manufactured thick marinade. The entire private room was thus suffused with the fragrance of the braised duck.

Zhang Qing secretly swallowed his saliva at the side, whereas Su Yu and Su Zhu were faring better since they had eaten a few pieces before coming.

“Mn, because of Ruan Ruan’s blessings, I can eat my fill today.”

A glint flashed past Wen Ting Zhou’s eyes as he picked up his chopsticks quickly to clip up a piece of fresh, tender, and densely fragrant duck meat to place it in his mouth.

“After eating the braised duck made by Ruan Ruan, the other red braised dishes are not as appealing any more.”

Upon hearing his comment, Ruan Xi was over the moon and her smile became brilliant. She clipped up a piece of duck meat to savour it. Wen Ting Zhou would definitely give her culinary skills the highest praise.

“Ting Zhou da ge, I’m not planning to sell the fried dry noodles any more, I’m planning to change the pre-existing store into a store that specialises in selling braised ducks. When that time comes around, I’ll be troubling Ting Zhou da ge to find two reliable chefs to be responsible for the duck braising and the sales.”

“Will opening a braised duck store be hard on you?” Wen Ting Zhou stopped clipping up the braised duck meat mid-action, his sharp eyebrows knitting together tightly.

“It won’t. In fact, the deliciousness of the duck hinges on the braised marinade. For the sake of safeguarding the secret, I will be making the braised marinade on my own, and it will be more than enough if I make one cauldron once every seven days.” Ruan Xi said smilingly, before she explained the unique properties of the stewed marinade inside the secret braised duck recipe.

The undisclosed marinade will only gradually lose its fragrance after half a month, unlike other brining marinades that would become more saturated and savoury and could be used repeatedly. But if it was stored properly, the flavour would become richer and mellower the longer it was stored, and the flavour that came from the brining and braising would become brighter, the tactile flavour would improve, and it could be called a master sauce.

“That’s good. Ruan Ruan, I have a few large farmsteads that raise ducks in the capital suburbs, the fully domesticated ducks can be supplied to your braised duck store.”

Wen Ting Zhou’s brows relaxed.

Visible surprise spread across Ruan Xi’s face. She did not expect the supply of goods would be solved so quickly.

“Ting Zhou da ge, the ducks raised in your farmsteads are supposed to provide for Jixiang Restaurant, right? But the braised duck store I’m opening will only sell sixty-six braised ducks everyday, I don’t need too many ducks.”

“Ruan Ruan, isn’t sixty-six too little? Why don’t you round it off to a hundred?” Wen Ting Zhou coughed softly.

The braised ducks made by Ruan Ruan were not only stunning in outward appearance, its taste was also on a grade of its own in terms of peak delicacies. The two imperial physicians in his paternal grandmother’s residence had studied the braised marinade and the braised duck, and they had exclaimed in astonishment ceaselessly. Even a long-lived elderly like his paternal grandmother could eat it frequently.

Allegedly, his paternal grandmother had eaten two consecutive bowls of rice last night.

When this information reached Minister Wen’s residence, everyone was shocked. Most elderly getting on with their years had dental issues and their sense of taste was not as sharp, and in consideration of her own health, Wen lao-furen would usually stick to blander foods which would ruin her appetite for the most part.

Wen Ting Zhou could imagine how explosively popular the braised duck would be in the future, and obtaining one duck would be extraordinarily difficult.

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Ruan Xi’s eyes curved. “Ting Zhou da ge, I’m selling braised ducks at astronomical prices. However, you speak correctly, sixty-six is certainly too little. I will braise one hundred and twenty-four ducks every day then; one hundred will be sold outside, and every person can only buy one at most, while the other twenty-four will be kept.”

Ruan Xi had every aspect considered. She was only selling braised ducks with this unique braised flavour but the quantity would be capped at hundred so it would not cause a negative impact on the red braised dishes in the market.

Wen Ting Zhou understood Ruan Ruan’s intention at a glance and he said in admiration: “Ruan Ruan’s considerations are truly comprehensive.”

Ruan Xi smiled. After they were done talking about the braised duck selling, they changed the topic to the metropolitan examination. Judging from how idle and leisurely Wen Ting Zhou was, the exams were not difficult for him.

Wen Ting Zhou’s movements were elegant as he dipped the braised duck inside the sauce at a pace that was neither fast nor slow. When he heard Ruan Ruan asking about his examinations, his thoughts moved. Lips hooking up, a glint of laughter flitted past his eyes.

“Ruan Ruan, why don’t you guess if I can get into the top three of the successful candidates?”

Ruan Xi studied Wen Ting Zhou’s expression carefully. Tomorrow was the release of the public roll of successful candidates. The Wen Family’s background was illustrious, and they would surely know the rankings by now. Ruan Xi chuckled internally. As she looked at his handsome countenance, she said confidently:

“Ting Zhou da ge is definitely capable of becoming top three among the successful candidates, and it’s even possible that he will rank first.”

Wen Ting Zhou laughed softly, raising his eyes to meet Ruan Xi’s confident gaze. His gaze glanced past her rosy lips carelessly as his lips curved.

“Ruan Ruan truly has a lot of faith in me. If I rank first among the successful candidates, can I ask for one request?”

At that moment, Ruan Xi ascertained the fact that Wen Ting Zhou was ranked first in the imperial civil service examination this time around. At most, she would just be sending a gift and she had experience. Hence, in an extraordinarily generous manner, she nodded.

“Sure, if you’re appointed as the Zhuangyuan after the palace imperial examination by the Emperor himself, I will grant another request.”

状元 (pinyin: zhuang yuan) – top scorer in the palace imperial civil service examination.

Wen Ting Zhou smiled joyously from the bottom of his heart. He looked at Ruan Xi deeply, the smile in his eyes deepening even further. With an unfathomable taste, he said:

“It’s settled then. Ruan Ruan isn’t allowed to back out then.”

Ruan Xi would never back out, of course. It was just two requests, Ting Zhou da ge would never make things difficult for her.

“I won’t back out.”

Wen Ting Zhou was in a delighted mood, like he was a big bad wolf that just lured a small white rabbit onto his road.

The overlooked Su Yu and Su Zhu: “……”

Why were they having the illusion that their Young Lady was akin to a lamb entering a tiger’s mouth?

Afterwards, Wen Ting Zhou and Ruan Xi continued to converse as they ate the braised duck, and they finished the duck not long after. As for the remaining duck, Wen Ting Zhou called for a guard to send the food box to the Junzhu Residence.

Ruan Xi then learned the reason why the Fourth Prince had suddenly loosened his mouth and admitted Mu Qing Ci into his back courtyard from Wen Ting Zhou.

It turns out, the Fourth Prince had been paying constant attention to the Mu Family’s movements for the past few days, and the Fourth Prince was equally aware of Mu Qing Ci’s current predicament. Hence, after learning that the Mu Family would be sending Mu Qing Ci to their family temple today, the Fourth Prince decided to admit Mu Qing Ci into his back courtyard.

Ruan Xi: “……”

The poor female protagonist, she did not expect that the female protagonist had been living so miserably for the past few days.

If the matter of Ruan san niang being chased down and killed hadn’t occurred, and with the Mu Family and Mu taifei applying pressure, all it would result in was an imperial son admitting a small concubine. It was inevitable that the Emperor would not contradict Mu taifei over that, and the Fourth Prince would be forced to admit Mu Qing Ci into his back courtyard like in the novel, and proceed to neglect her.

But with Ruan san niang sticking a pole in horizontally, the general trajectory of the plot did not change but the details did. It was probably a good thing for Mu Qing Ci.

……

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After eating the braised duck, the pair left Zhang Qing, Su Yu, and Su Zhu inside the private room, then they departed from Jixiang Restaurant.

Wen Ting Zhou was wearing a large hat that shadowed his facial features and handsome countenance as he acted as a carriage driver for the day to bring Ruan Xi around the capital. The capital was flourishing and bustling with people coming and going, and this was the first time Ruan Xi explored the capital in such a relaxed state.

With her fiancé acting as the carriage driver, their rendezvous became much more romantic.

Taking advantage of the chance to interact alone, Ruan Xi leaned closer to Wen Ting Zhou’s side, pulling open a corner of the carriage’s curtain to secretly tell Wen Ting Zhou about the issues surrounding the secret braised duck recipe so that Wen Ting Zhou could construct a coherent excuse. And naturally, Wen Ting Zhou was willing to cooperate.

“Ruan Ruan, did you remember what happened two years ago?” Wen Ting Zhou casually asked with a smile lining his lips as he took the horse reins to urge the horse carriage to move at a leisurely pace.

Ruan Xi replied, “No, why are you asking?”

“Because a mysterious daoren did appear at Yunhua Temple back then.” Wen Ting Zhou quirked his lips.

Ruan Xi was astonished: “……” It couldn’t be that coincidental, right?

Truth to be told, Wen Ting Zhou did not care if Ruan Ruan remembered that incident two years ago. It was just that he liked Ruan Ruan now, and he did not want Ruan Ruan to remember that scene that he found too embarrassed to speak about.

The pair continued to wander around the capital. Since there was a man with an unusual temperament urging the horses for a subdued but refined carriage, and a group of guards following from afar, it attracted a few curious gazes. Some people even covertly guessed that the man urging the horses was some noble’s son, but Wen Ting Zhou did not mind. With the brim of his hat covering his face, those who were not particularly familiar with him would never recognise him.

When they were passing by a stall, Ruan Xi commented that pearl flowers were very pretty, and Wen Ting Zhou proceeded to stop the horse carriage to buy a few pearl flowers for Ruan Xi.

This scene was coincidentally witnessed by the Fourth Prince since he was in the teahouse at the side. A familiar side profile, a familiar figure, and a horse carriage he had a slight impression of. He pursed a mouthful of tea gently, a hint of mirth staining his indifferent demeanour.

Despite being acquainted for many years, this was the first time he had seen Zi Run — who was outwardly gentle and elegant but inwardly apathetic and unfeeling — being a carriage driver for his fiancée. It seems like Zi Run was extremely infatuated with Ruan si xiaojie.

Inside the Fourth Prince’s mind, Ruan si xiaojie’s delicate and breath-taking visage appeared, alongside her gentle and serene temperament and the undisguisable intelligence in her eyes. The corners of his mouth raised briefly.

He did not expect apart from having an abnormal Ruan san xiaojie, the Earl Chengyi Residence could also cultivate a daughter like Ruan si xiaojie.

There was a saying that even heroes have a weakness for the charms of a beautiful woman, Zi Run was not a hero but he was the same.

The list of successful candidates would be released tomorrow, and yet Zi Run had the leisure time and mood to bring his fiancée around the capital.

Wen Ting Zhou seemed to sense something, so he raised his head to look in the direction of the teahouse, and he happened to see that familiar and frigidly handsome face belonging to the Fourth Prince.

Wen Ting Zhou: “……”

“Ting Zhou da ge, what’s the matter?” Ruan Xi was playing with the pearl flowers happily inside the carriage, but when she noticed Wen Ting Zhou not moving for a brief moment, she asked him in concern.

“It’s nothing, just saw the Fourth Prince. He recognised me.” Wen Ting Zhou replied calmly as he withdrew his gaze like nothing had happened. Then, he picked up the horse reins to continue driving the horse carriage.

Ruan Xi’s heart missed a beat and she could not help but tighten her grip on the pearl flowers in her hand. Since the Fourth Prince could recognise Wen Ting Zhou, then he must have guessed that she was inside the horse carriage. Ruan Xi felt her cheeks heat up, and her face became red all of a sudden.

Outside the carriage, Wen Ting Zhou might not have seen the movements inside the horse carriage, but being a martial arts practitioner, he could easily sense that Ruan Xi’s breathing had become slightly erratic. Wen Ting Zhou laughed soundlessly.

Apart from the brief interlude that was the Fourth Prince, no one noticed the fact that the noble son driving the horse carriage was Wen Ting Zhou for the rest of the afternoon. Perhaps, someone did recognise him, but they chose not to say it.

Ruan Xi really liked getting along like this, not only was it relaxing and delightful, she could even view all the sceneries that the capital had to offer.

When it was approaching the evening, Ruan Xi went back to the Jixiang Restaurant with palpable reluctance, brought along Su Yu and Su Zhou before she returned to her residence under Wen Ting Zhou’s escort.