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

Just as Ruan Xi had predicted, Ruan san niang’s groundless and random suspicion on how there was a black screen in the imperial civil service examination was rapidly propagated. Under the encouragement of the people with ulterior motives, the matter was blown up to the point where it was storming in the capital, and the long-awaited palace examinations were forcibly derailed. 

推波助澜 (pinyin: tui bo zhu lan) – lit. pushing the waves and adding to the billows; fig. adding fuel to the fire.

In the midst of the disturbance, there were people who believed it, some who snorted disdainfully, and others who mixed into murky waters secretly, trying to attack the Wen Family, but the majority of the common masses were just watching the commotion. 

The business in the teahouses and wine ships were absolutely thriving.

The recently promoted Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Works, Earl Chengyi, who was supposed to be in high spirits right now, stalked over to the confined Ruan san niang’s courtyard in a fit of rage after he returned to the residence from the government office to severely reprimand Ruan san niang.

“Ruan Ning, you fool, you still don’t have any brains. Don’t you know that a loose tongue can cause a lot of trouble? Will you only be satisfied when you have ruined the Earl Residence?”

After being pelted by Earl Chengyi’s harsh reprimands for a period of time, Ruan san niang felt more incensed in her heart.

“I was just voicing my suspicions, I refuse to believe that other people didn’t have the same thoughts. Father, why are you making a fuss out of nothing?”

When Earl Chengyi saw that she had no intention to repent, like the matter did not concern her at all, his complexion darkened in an instant. He was so infuriated his lips were trembling, “You… You… You rebellious daughter!”

Just yesterday, he had occupied the position of the Assistant Minister in the Ministry of Works with the Wen Family’s help, and today his legitimate daughter had stabbed the huge basket. Bursts of black appeared in Earl Chengyi’s vision.

Even if there was someone who was not convinced, this rebellious daughter should not be the rafter that seized the initiative.

When Ruan san niang saw her scum father explode in anger, she felt incomparably carefree in her heart. Who told you to attach importance to si mei? Now Wen gongzi’s stinking reputation has reached far and wide, and it was highly likely that he would have no prospects in officialdom. In the previous lifetime, he had relied on his family background to become the Board of Punishment Minister, and in this lifetime, a vain and humdrum life awaited him.

Who told you to like si mei?

If the Wen Family dissolved the engagement between her fourth sister and Wen gongzi because of this matter, it would be even better.

These were the malice-filled thoughts that Ruan san niang had.

“Men come hither, escort the Third Young Lady to ancestral hall and make her kneel!”

The corners of Ruan san niang’s lips jerked. He was using this tactic again; it was just kneeling in the ancestral hall at worst. Ruan san niang did not resist, and she promptly followed two plump and thick-armed older woman-servants to depart from the room on her own accord, and she even turned her head back to instruct Yao Hong: “Remember to bring a thick blanket over.”

After that murderous pursuit that day, Yao Hong only suffered superficial injuries so she continued to serve by Ruan san niang’s side. But as she witnessed Ruan san niang create disasters, with each being more catastrophic than the last, Yao Hong was scared witless. Presently, she no longer had any intention to become Qi er gongzi’s concubine. In fact, she desperately wished that she could stay away from the Third Young Lady, for the fear that she might suddenly lose her life someday.  

Once Earl Chengyi saw how absolutely unconcerned and insouciant Ruan san niang was, he felt his heart aching. 

Unfilial daughter! Unfilial daughter!

“Do not send her blankets!”

With a dark countenance, Earl Chengyi threw down that line, flicked his sleeves, and left. 

The news of Ruan san niang being escorted to kneel in the ancestral hall spread through the residence very quickly, and the people within the Earl Residence heaved a sigh collectively. 

Meanwhile, Ruan Yu Wen had just returned to the residence from the Academy. When he thought about the strange looks that the other Academy students had given him, he could not stop himself from hating this counterfeit younger sister since she only knew how to cause trouble. At this moment, he only hoped that the Wen Family and Wen gongzi would not vent their anger on the Earl Residence. 

“Da lang, say, why didn’t those killers kill this scourge back then?” Her current regrets were so heavy that she could vomit blood, and she secretly hated the killers she had paid for their inability to kill a mere, weak girl. 

Her da lang was on the verge of borrowing the Wen Family’s influence to discuss a good marriage agreement, but with the appearance of this misdemeanour, she was afraid that the relationship between the Wen Family and Earl Chengyi Residence was done for. 

Ruan Yu Wen pursed his lips as he rubbed the space between his eyebrows. “Mother, yõu don’t need to worry, the problem isn’t that serious, and this crisis should be subsiding very soon.”

“Da lang, I’m worrying about the Earl Residence and your future prospects. Given the trouble caused by that counterfeit, what will the Wen Family think of our Earl Residence, and will there be any changes to si niang‘s and Wen gongzi‘s marriage arrangement?”  

Why would Zhang shi worry about an influential and powerful family like the Wen Family, she was worrying about their small and insignificant Earl Residence. 

If they lost the backing of the Wen Family, and with the extremely chilly relations between Marquis Huaiyang Residence and their Earl Residence, they wouldn’t be yielding much benefits overall. Even the other two concubine-born daughters could not redeem the loss despite having married into good families because their identity status was low. 

“Mother, put this problem down for the time being. We should send a sizable gift to Minister Wen’s residence first to apologise.” Ruan Yu Wen did not have any good solutions to resolve this issue either, and they could only see if they could appease the Wen Family’s anger first. 

“That’s right, da lang speaks correctly. The most important thing for us to do now is pay a visit and apologise. Zhang shi, go and prepare a generous gift, you and I will be making a trip to the Wen Family personally.” Earl Chengyi walked in with large strides, his expression exceedingly ugly. 

Once Zhang shi heard that, she calmed down in an instant. 

“Bo ye (Earl), should we bring san niang as well?”

“Don’t bring up that unrepentant and unfilial daughter ever again. If you bring her along, that wouldn’t be an apology, you would be starting a feud instead.” Earl Chengyi retorted coldly as his face sank. 

Zhang shi closed her mouth, not speaking another word. Then, she personally prepared a generous gift and went to the Wen Residence with the Earl. 

Once Ruan Xi was made aware of her Earl Father and Zhang shi‘s hurried departure from the residence, it did not require much thinking on her part to understand what they were doing. As she thought about the rumours that had spread like wildfire outside, she stroked the prayer beads on her wrist, her eyes darkening slightly. 

In this instance, her predicament shared some similarities to Mu Qing Ci’s predicament back then. 

She was supposed to marry someone with a high social position, but with Ruan san niang‘s unwanted interference, even if the marriage contract was not dissolved, the attitude and impression that the Wen Family had towards her would be ways worse than the past. 

“Young Lady, the Third Young Lady is speaking a bunch of nonsense. Wen gongzi is shockingly talented and unmatched in looks, why would he need to resort to tactics that are better kept under the table? Nubi gets the sense that the Third Young Lady has a sinister motive, and her final goal is to destroy the marriage arrangement between the Young Lady and Wen gongzi.” Su Yu said irately, and her small face was red with anger. 

“That’s right, the Third Young Lady is really going too far. The Earl only punished her to kneel at the ancestral hall, this punishment is frankly too light.” Su Zhu was indignant and aggrieved. 

“Su Yu, Su Zhu, both of you should take a moment to calm down. This is but a one-sided statement from san jie, I trust that Ting Zhou da ge will most certainly have a response planned, this rumour is bound to collapse in the face of facts.”

After Ruan Xi calmed down, her trust in Wen Ting Zhou heightened.

For people like Ruan san niang, it was useless no matter how many times her Earl Father punished her, and she hoped that the Emperor could thoroughly punish Ruan san niang this time around.

Ruan Xi pondered briefly before settling in front of her table to write a letter and sealed it before she handed it to Su Yu.

“Su Yu, dispatch someone to send this letter to the Wen Residence and hand it to Ting Zhou da ge.”

“Yes, Young Lady.” Just as Su Yu was about to leave, Ruan Xi called her to a stop again, “Hold on, I’ll go to the small kitchen to braise a few ducks to send it over with.” 

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Wen Residence.

With regards to the rumours about there being a black screen in the imperial civil service examination and Wen Ting Zhou cheating spreading like wildfire outside, the atmosphere in Wen Residence was no different from usual, and there was not a single trace of heaviness caused by the approaching storm clouds.

“Zi Run, what kind of feud do you have with Ruan san xiaojie exactly, such that she would slander and tarnish you? It couldn’t be that her love gave birth to hate, right?” Li Jing Cheng’s face – which was more garnish and beautiful than a woman – was brimming with schadenfreude. Without asking for permission, he sat in front of Wen Ting Zhou and picked up another teacup to take a sip of the tea, “In fact, with our family background, what’s the point of being the top scorer? It’s enough if we obtain a random ranking. Look at where you ended up now, being accused of stealing the prey from a tiger’s den.

“When you seized the first place position in the triennial provincial imperial examination, nasty rumours were also being circulated among the candidates in private, it’s just that the ruckus wasn’t as loud.”

Wen Ting Zhou looked unfazed as he read the letter in his hands. He let out an inaudible sigh. Fortunately, Ruan Ruan was not affected too badly, and he turned a deaf ear to Li Jing Cheng’s schadenfreude. 

“Zi Run, this fire has burned onto your person, could you give a reaction at least? Or else, wouldn’t those disturbance-causing brats be exerting themselves outside for nothing?” Li Jing Cheng said speechlessly. 

“It’s just empty and non-existent dirty water being splashed, it will suffice once I ask the great Confusician scholars to come up with the questions in front of everyone, while I answer in public to prove my innocence.”

Wen Ting Zhou smiled faintly as he kept the read letter properly. 

Shock spread across Li Jing Cheng’s visage, and he could not help but give Wen Ting Zhou a thumbs-up. “Only you would have the audacity. That explains why your Wen Family is indifferent to the rumours and slander, since you had a planned response early on.”

A glint of cold light flashed past the bottom of Wen Ting Zhou’s eyes. “As long as I enter the top three ranks, with or without Ruan san xiaojie, there will be someone who will jump out to kick up a fuss.”

Li Jing Cheng: “……”

“Why are you being so high profile then?” Li Jing Cheng’s mouth twitched.

Wen Ting Zhou laughed soundlessly. It was probably a common failing among men to want to display the best image of themselves in front of the person they like. 

He was not an exception to that rule.

Li Jing Cheng scrutinised him for a brief moment before he understood his thoughts. Like an epiphany was dawning on him, he suddenly revealed an ambiguous smirk, “Zi Run, I never thought that you would also have moments where you’d be impulsive because of a beautiful lady, haha!

“Zi Run, do you regret it now?”

Wen Ting Zhou’s eyes landed on the large food box on the table, his gaze tender, “She’s worth it, there are no regrets.” 

That sentence was an admittance in disguised form.

“A femme fatale ah!”

Li Jing Cheng teased Wen Ting Zhou again. Towards those rumours and slander, all of the students in Qingshan Academy had scoffed at it.

“Zi Run, say, how will the Emperor deal with this Ruan san xiaojie for cooking up a bull-and-cock story?”

Wen Ting Zhou pursed a mouthful of tea, his eyes sinking for an instant. He replied airily, “The Emperor is benevolent and magnanimous, he would never get worked up over a brainless young girl who has never stepped out of her boudoir, he will probably make her squat in a prison cell for a month to ensure that she will grow a long-term memory.”

In short, she would not be getting away lightly. 

Once he was done dealing with this disturbance, he would send this ‘great gift’ to Ruan san xiaojie.

Li Jing Cheng knew that as long as Zi Run casually mentioned this matter to Wen lao-furen, Ruan san xiaojie would have no chance of running away from this punishment, and he suppressed the urge to laugh out loud.

“Certainly, Ruan san niang needs to grow a long-term memory.”

If a tender and frail eldest young lady was locked inside a prison cell, no one could endure it, to say nothing of her reputation.

Zi Run was incredibly vicious.

But Ruan san niang was asking for it.

When Li Jing Cheng departed, he brought away half of the braised duck that Wen Ting Zhou gave him.

On the other end, when Mu Qing Ci heard of the ruckus that Ruan san niang caused, she felt a burst of fear and trepidation in the face of a coming disaster. Inwardly, she thought that this fellow transmigrator’s brain seems to be wrought with issues. 

When Ruan san niang came over yesterday, Mu Qing Ci did try to draw a clear dividing line, but Ruan san niang did not agree to it. Now that she was witnessing the trouble she was stirring, Mu Qing Ci deeply regretted her decision to become friends with Ruan san niang, since she could not shake her off at all.

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Ruan san niang, of whom Mu Qing Ci was vexed over, was currently being smashed with a gigantic ‘grievous news’.

People from the Marquis Huaiyang Residence had arrived to break off the engagement. 

Earl Chengyi and Zhang shi did not expect that they would receive this piece of bad news when they returned to the residence after apologising to the Wen Family.

Zhang shi was inwardly happy that the counterfeit had her engagement broken off, but she did not show it on the surface. 

“Qi Yue An actually dared to break off the engagement. I didn’t even resent him for being without the learning or the skill, on what basis does he get to break off the engagement? Even if we’re breaking off the engagement, I should be the one breaking it.” 

When Ruan san niang saw the representatives of Marquis Huaiyang Residence come over to break off the engagement once she came out of the ancestral hall, she acted out in a violent manner immediately. 

Did they really think that Qi Yue An was in high demand? If it weren’t for the fact that he would have a high position in the future, how was his appearance as a silk clothes worthy of her?

From what she could see, the Qi Yue An of her previous lifetime was not this disgusting guy at all, hence she did not care for this marriage any longer.

“Father, Mother, and all of the people present, listen to this well, it was not Qi Yue An who broke off the engagement today, but it is me, Ruan Ning, who does not need this marriage.” 

Qi Yue An’s personal male servant exploded in anger. With Run san xiaojie’s restless and troublemaking personality, how was she worthy of his Young Master?

“Qian Gui, do not be rash.” Marquis Huaiyang Residence’s main steward glowered at Qian Gui before he turned his head back to look at Earl Chengyi. He cupped his hands respectfully and spoke:

“Bo ye, since Ruan san xiaojie has also agreed to breaking off the engagement, may bo ye return the trust token, and destroy the marriage letter.”

Ruan san niang laughed coldly. 

Earl Chengyi glanced at the unbridled and enraged Ruan san niang, going silent for a while before he allowed Zhang shi to fetch the trust token and marriage letter. 

The group went to the government office to destroy the marriage letter. Henceforth, the marriage contract between Ruan san niang and Qi Yue An was dissolved.

Once the information was disseminated, Ruan san niang became famous again, and when her valiant opinion was also publicised, some people admired her, while others sneered. All in all, her reputation was half-praised and half-ruined. 

It was also around this time where the bailiffs posted Wen Ting Zhou’s exam papers outside the gongyuan’s large door, while simultaneously exposing a shock-inducing, heavyweight piece of news.

Wen gongzi would be allowing the great Confucian scholars to openly draw up questions and test him in the gongyuan tomorrow to prove his own innocence. 

Once the announcement was made, everyone was astonished. The candidates of the metropolitan examination had a moment of silence before their blood started boiling.

No one could have expected that Wen gongzi – who had always been mild like jade – would choose such an extreme method to prove himself. 

No matter what the final results were, the candidates participating in the metropolitan examination felt faint admiration for Wen gongzi’s heroic undertaking. In an instant, most of the rumours regarding a black screen in the metropolitan examination and Wen gongzi cheating disappeared, which made the enemies of the Wen Family so angry they spat out blood. 

Ruan Xi was stunned after she heard the news. Originally, the matter of Ruan san niang breaking off her engagement had already surprised her, but she did not expect that Wen Ting Zhou would make such a decision.