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

As the days passed, one after another, the weather became hotter and hotter. The Best Braised Duck Under The Heaven was still explosively popular, and bizarrely enough, the explosively popular braised duck store would only stay open for one double-hour every day before it closed, which made the shopkeepers in the surrounding stores endlessly envious and jealous.

With a unique and unmatched secret braised duck recipe, Ruan Xi became the most well-received and popular figure within the capital in one move. Some people joked with Wen gongzi – no, they should be calling him Wen daren now – saying that Wen daren had great fortune, since he was going to marry a Goddess of Wealth back.

大人 (pinyin: da ren) – title of respect towards superiors.

Wen Ting Zhou smiled and agreed, looking like he was honoured by association, which made people’s teeth ache in response.

With the growing popularity of the The Best Braised Duck Under the Heaven store, there was no one in the capital who was unaware of its name. There would be wealthy merchants from other parts of the country frequently coming over, whereas others who were embarrassingly short on money or could not bear to spend so many silvers, would pool together the money with a few other people, just for the sake of eating the rumoured, superb quality braised duck. 

And against all reason, the braised duck store would only sell one hundred braised ducks per day, and being able to buy it was also dependent on luck, but despite the growing protests for an increase in the quantity, Ruan Xi ignored all of them.

The explosive popularity and high profits that the braised duck store was raking in was already making many eyes green with envy and jealousy. If it were not for the inscribed plaque that had been bestowed by the Emperor, clearly declaring that the owner of the secret braised duck recipe was Ruan Xi, it was unknown how many demons and monsters would be rubbing their fingers as they schemed how they would steal the secret braised duck recipe from Ruan Xi. 

If she increased the quantity, wouldn’t she be instigating people to take the risk out of desperation? 

If someone went insane and killed her…

Ruan Xi did not feel like she was overreacting; the secret braised duck recipe could not be stolen, but the owner could be killed, no?

Beyond that, the Earl Chengyi Residence would receive guests daily, with relatives that bore some relation to them paying them a visit. Zhang shi had been bewildered by the immense profits that the braised duck store was bringing in for a long time, and she would ask Ruan Xi to make a few more cauldrons of marinade to give it to her maternal family covertly and overtly. Ruan Xi rejected her without the slightest hesitation, and she proceeded to divulge her requests to her Earl Father. It was unknown what her Earl Father said, but Zhang shi stopped asking about the braised marinade, though she would always have an ugly complexion whenever she saw Ruan Xi.

Ruan Xi did not mind at all. 

Who didn’t know that the quintessence of the delicious braised duck was in the braised marinade? Zhang shi had her own schemes. 

Which was to take her marinade to make other braised dishes. 

After Ruan Xi paid her respects to Lao Taitai and returned from the Tranquil Longevity Hall, she saw Mama Yang looking at her directly and smiling. 

A strange feeling emerged in Ruan Xi’s heart and she could not help but ask: “Mama Yang, why do you keep looking at me and smiling?”

Coughing lightly, Mama Yang was unable to suppress her smile as she replied: “Young Lady, do you know about the moniker that the people outside have given you?”

Now Ruan Xi was curious; someone actually gave her a moniker. 

“What moniker?”

“Cough cough, a lot of people outside are calling you Braised Duck Xi Shi.” Mama Yang could not stop herself from chuckling as she said that, and then she proceeded to explain how it came out. 

There was an absolute beauty called Xi Shi in the history here.

Ruan Xi’s beauty was an irrefutable fact, everyone knew that Ruan si xiaojie’s appearance was breath-taking, and the braised duck she made was also the peak of delicacies. 

Someone had jokingly called Ruan Xi ‘Braised Duck Xi Shi’, and for some unknown reason, the name that was made in jest suddenly spread like wildfire, and thus Ruan si xiaojie inexplicably became Braised Duck Xi Shi.

As long as the name ‘Braised Duck Xi Shi’ was said, everyone would know that they were referring to Ruan si xiaojie, and it could be said that Braised Duck Xi Shi had become Ruan Xi’s code name.

Ruan Xi was visibly dumbstruck.

What on earth was Braised Duck Xi Shi?

Even Tofu Xi Shi sounded better than Braised Duck (Lu Ya) Xi Shi by a hundred times. 

Ruan Xi felt very dispirited. It was unfortunate that she had no way of blocking the innumerable mouths of the public, and despicably enough, someone must have pushed the waves and added to billows, just to see her a joke being made out of her.

As long as she continued selling braised ducks, she was afraid that she could never be rid of the moniker ‘Braised Duck Xi Shi’.

And if she were to give up selling the braised ducks and scorn the silvers she earned, it probably suited the intentions of those people.

It goes without saying that Ruan Xi would never do that. She was not a pure noble daughter born and bred in an ancient-era prominent family, she was just being called Braised Duck Xi Shi, wasn’t she?

It did not affect her much, silvers were the true tangible benefits. 

Ruan Xi silently comforted herself. 

It was just that the moniker of Braised Duck Xi Shi was very unsophisticated; it was extremely crude. 

Su Yu and Su Zhu laughed until they were unlike themselves. 

“Mama Yang, Su Yu, Su Zhu, do you think I should spread the word that if they call me Braised Duck XI Shi again, I will close the shop and stop selling braised ducks?”

Ruan Xi said deliberately and indignantly.

Mama Yang shook her head quickly and advised her, “Young Lady, please do not do that. Xi Shi is a renowned beauty in history, you can just treat this moniker as the recognition of your beauty.”

Mama Yang was well-aware that ‘Braised Duck Xi Shi’ was merely the work of some people who were trying to repulse her Young Lady, and wouldn’t they be falling for their schemes if they closed the braised duck store?

“Yes, yes, it’s just a jocular appellation, Young Lady please don’t close the store, it’s best if yõu constantly keep the store open until the basins and earthenware are full, so they might die of jealousy.” Su Yu also joined the ranks to persuade her.

Ruan Xi giggled out loud.

“That’s enough, I was just joking. Certainly, Braised Duck Xi Shi doesn’t compliment my identity, but I won’t give up on the silvers just because of it. I still want to strive for my dowry.”

A dowry was a woman’s insurance, this was applicable regardless of the times.

Even if the Earl Chengyi Residence was giving her a generous dowry, she had more confidence in the silver that she could earn on her own.

Especially when it was a secret recipe that could be passed down.

Mama Yang: “……”

Su Yu and Su Zhu heaved a sigh of relief. 

Ruan Xi smiled, and thus the topic of Braised Duck Xi Shi was skipped over like this, without making a single ripple or wave. 

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After taking an afternoon nap, she went to Ruan Yu Wen’s courtyard to visit him. A few days ago, Ruan Yu Wen was met with an accident and he sprained his ankle so he had been nursing his injury in the residence since then.

What surprised Ruan Xi was the fact that the Emperor actually dispatched two imperial physicians to treat Ruan Yu Wen, and they would diagnose him every single day.

Ruan Xi found it strange, but she could not tell where the oddity was, hence she could only ask Wen Ting Zhou to send two braised ducks into the imperial palace. 

That same night, Wen Ting Zhou heard about the Braised Duck Xi Shi moniker that the others gave Ruan Ruan, and he could resist laughing out loud, and he specifically wrote a letter to tease Ruan Xi.

Mutually teasing each other back and forth was also a type of amusement.

Consequently, the ill-feelings that  Ruan Xi once harboured towards the moniker Braised Duck Xi Shi diminished completely.

Counting the time, a month was about to pass. The female protagonist Mu Qing Ci entered the Fourth Prince’s Residence two days ago, and Ruan san niang was going to leave the imperial prison in the next few days.

The Residence was bound to become unpeaceful again.

Ruan san niang was worse off in this lifetime compared to her last. She had lived wilfully and impressively in her previous lifetime at the very least, and everyone knew that she ‘invented’ numerous and very practical things. In this lifetime, not only did she toss and turn herself into the imperial palace, but even the new farming tools that the Ministry of Works was promoting was under the name of the court.

Ruan Xi felt slightly complicated in her heart. She gazed at the clear weather outside, before she decided to go to the wing-room next door to learn from Mama Lin.

At this time, Su Yu ran in, panting.

“Young Lady, this is bad, there’s news outside that The Best Braised Duck Under The Heavens Store has been smashed!”

Ruan Xi furrowed her brows slightly.

“When was the braised duck store smashed?”

They clearly knew that she had the Emperor as her backing and yet they dared to smash her store. Needless to say, they were specifically trying to cause trouble. 

“It was said that shortly after the store closed in the morning, someone looked for people to smash the store in a moment of anger because they kept failing to buy the braised duck.” Su Yu said in between gasps as she used her sleeve to wipe the sweat on her face .

The store could be rebuilt if it was smashed, and Ruan Xi was only concerned if anyone was injured. She wanted to ask Su Yu, but it was highly probable that she was not clear about the details, so it was better for her to personally make a trip there. “Su Zhu, ask someone to prepare the horse carriage.”

Hurriedly, Su Zhu nodded and went out.

Half an hour later, Ruan Xi hastily brought along her guards and went out of the Earl Chengyi Residence.

A black-lacquered dome roof horse carriage travelled towards the braised duck store. Just as it entered the bustling district, a loud shout came from the leading guard outside. 

“There is an enemy attack, protect the Young Lady!”

Inside the horse carriage, Ruan Xi was startled, but before she could react, a sad and shrill neigh came from the horse before the carriage abruptly swayed, and the carriage driver was thrown off in a moment of carelessness.

The shocked horses were running frantically, shaking and jolting the horse carriage terribly as they dragged it along. The guards were tussling with men in black, screams rose from her surroundings as the stalls were being knocked over, causing countless objects to fly.

Ruan Xi and Su Zhu were holding onto the rigid pieces of the carriage interior tightly. With a ghastly pale face, Su Yu shouted in a panic: “Young Lady, what should we do?”

The carriage rocked violently, shaking left and right.

Ruan Xi’s pretty face was also pale as her body stiffened, not uttering a word. 

The people on the two sides of the streets fled in succession, whereas Wen Ting Zhou and a disguised Qi Yue An happened to be walking out of a restaurant since they were done with their discussion. 

Upon witnessing the commotion at the front, Wen Ting Zhou scrunched his eyebrows slightly. At this moment, someone in the flustered crowd shouted: “The horse was startled, the horse was startled, hurry up and scatter, move aside!”

Just as those words landed, a low-profile black lacquered dome roof horse carriage charged over madly.

When Wen Ting Zhou saw that familiar-looking horse carriage, his pupils shrank abruptly. With one movement, a dagger that was glinting cold light appeared in his hand and shot out swiftly. 

With wet pop, the dagger impaled the crazed horse’s eye, followed by another two cold lights entering the horse’s front legs.

One of the daggers belonged to Qi Yue An.

The crazed and startled horse issued a miserable noise. Amidst the frenzy and ruckus of movement, the huge horse crashed to the ground with a loud bang.  

The swaying and shaking horse carriage continued to rush forward despite the inertia, and the carriage then overturned…

Screams rang out as two slender figures were thrown out of the horse carriage. 

“Young Lady!”

The guards behind finally chased up to them, but who could have anticipated that they would see this hair-raising scene.

The surrounding crowd dispersed in panic.

“Ruan Ruan!”

Wen Ting Zhou’s heart abruptly jolted. His body sprang forward, swiftly heading towards Ruan Xi regardless of the obstruction. 

When the dizzy Ruan Xi caught a glimpse of the small eatery stall that she was being thrown towards in mid-air, her face lost colour instantaneously. 

At this moment, she suddenly heard Wen Ting Zhou’s voice, and then she promptly landed in a familiar and warm embrace as a pair of sturdy and robust arms hugged her tightly.

“Ruan Ruan, don’t be afraid, everything is fine now.” His low and familiar voice brought her a smear of comfort.

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It was Wen Ting Zhou, it was really him.

As Ruan Xi gazed at Wen Ting Zhou’s handsome visage which was well within reach, her entire body went slack and fell into his embrace. The current Ruan Xi was cutting a sorry figure: she did know when her pearl hairpins had fallen off or where they landed, which caused her fine black hair to fall wherever it wished. With her pitiful and frail appearance, it invoked a great deal of sympathy in people.

When Wen Ting Zhou noted that the panic in Ruan Ruan’s eyes had yet to recede, his heart ached as he hugged her tightly, and he continued to use a gentle voice to comfort his frightened fiancée. “Ruan Ruan, don’t be afraid, I’m here.”

“Young Lady, are yõu alright?”

Su Yu gritted her teeth and hobbled over to ask her in concern, while the guards gathered around to ask for forgiveness.

Qi Yue An stood at the side silently. 

Ruan Xi had already recomposed herself by then, so she revealed a smiling expression to the group from Wen Ting Zhou’s embrace.

“I’m fine.”

Saying that, she landed on the ground from Wen Ting Zhou’s arms. But who could have known that once her feet touched the ground, she would feel a wave of piercing pain, which made Ruan Xi issue a pained whimper involuntarily.

“Your leg was twisted and injured?”

“That seems to be the case.”

Alarmed, Wen Ting Zhou quickly carried her up again, his gaze sweeping past the people present.

“I’ll send Ruan Ruan to the clinic first, hand over this situation to the five district military force to handle in a short while.”

After saying that, Wen Ting Zhou swiftly carried Ruan Xi to the nearest clinic. No one saw the aggregating violent winds and rainstorm in the depths of his eyes.

The collapsed and damaged carriage as well as the dead horse were still lying on the ground. The surrounding crowd gradually dispersed. 

The news of Ruan si xiaojie’s horse carriage being attacked travelled outwards swiftly, to the extent where it had spread throughout the entire capital in less than a double-hour.