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

While Ruan san niang was biding her time and setting up an “accident” to defraud the Fourth Prince, Ruan Xi finally recovered from her leg injury.

“Young Lady, does it really not hurt anymore?” Su Yu was sitting at the side as she helped Ruan Xi massage her ankle with an appropriate amount of force, and it was extremely comfortable.

For the past few days, Su Yu and Su Zhu had been helping Ruan Xi massage her ankle.

Smiling slightly, Ruan Xi glanced at her small, delicate, and fair ankle, inwardly relieved that this dynasty did not have the terrible tradition of feet binding. Otherwise, if Ruan Xi had to face a pair of three-inch-long golden lotus feet, she did not know if she could bring herself to accept it.

“Truthfully speaking, it stopped hurting two days ago, but Ting Zhou da ge could not set his heart at ease, so the herbal plaster was applied for two more days.”

Since Ruan Xi had to constantly stay on the soft couch for the past few days, she was on the verge of becoming terribly bored. Now that she could get off the couch and walk, Ruan Xi’s countenance was tinted with some happiness. 

“Young Lady, Wen gongzi is caring for you.” Su Yu replied with a chuckle, though she was genuinely assured now. She continued to massage her Young Lady’s foot.

“I know, which was why the herbal plaster was applied for two more days.”

Contented, Ruan Xi leaned on the soft pillow, a smile hanging on her lips. 

At this moment, Su Yu stepped in, beaming with joy as she placed the land deed on the short table that was on the short couch.

“Young Lady, your orders have been completed. These are the land deeds: a total of four storefronts and ten large farmsteads have been purchased. The locations of the storefronts are in the more populated areas, so it requires more silvers, the ten large farmsteads have their own hilly terrains, and some farmsteads even have a huge lake…” Su Zhu introduced the conditions of the farmsteads one by one. 

After Ruan Xi looked through the land deeds, she was extremely satisfied. From now on, she also had her own land. 

She bought those farmsteads for the sake of self-sufficiency, where she could conveniently raise some ducks. The braised duck store business was incredibly popular, and the silvers she possessed would only increase, which gave her the capital to start buying her dowry.

Ruan san niang entering the palace as a Fei was set in stone, but she wondered if Ruan san niang would open her mouth to ask for a bountiful dowry like a lion opening its mouth.

Ruan Yu Wen was not young anymore either, so his marriage matters would be brought forward on the schedule.

Although Earl Chengyi Residence did not have to worry about food and clothing, and it had quite a few businesses, its daily expenditure was costly too. Her dowry would never be unpresentable, but it was precisely for this reason that she was afraid the majority of the Earl Chengyi Residence would be hollowed out after this. 

Ruan Xi’s business in selling the astronomically-priced braised ducks did not have to prepare for a rainy day. The richer her dowry was, the more ample her confidence would be in the Wen Family. 

When Su Yu and Su Zhu saw their Young Lady’s elated appearance, they were happy in their hearts too. With their Young Lady attaining a huge amount of private assets by relying on the braised duck store, she did not have to worry about how she had to live her days in the future. 

Ruan Xi kept the land deeds properly before she gazed at the fine drizzle outside. For the past few days, there would always be sporadic showers of rain, and thus the originally humid weather had become cooler.

“Su Yu, bring over the travel journals.”

As Su Yu picked up those travel journals, she could not help but ask:

“Young Lady, are yõu not going to copy the scriptures today?”

Recently, their Young Lady would always copy the scriptures, and now that she suddenly wanted to read the travel journals, it made Su Yu slightly perplexed.

Ruan Xi flipped through the travel journal as she shook her head. “I’ll be taking a break today.”

Although her ankle had been injured for the past few days, she hadn’t remained idle; her daily arrangements was exceedingly enriching, and she had cycled through the zither, chess, calligraphy, painting, and needlework.  

Right now, she wanted to read the travel journals to relax her mind, to strike a balance between work and rest. 

Su Zhu went to the small kitchen to wash a few fruits and carried them over, while bringing along some pastries. 

The morning passed in such a fashion, with Ruan Xi studying one of the travel journals as the smiling expression on her face became wider and wider.

Su Yu and Su Zhu felt extremely curious upon seeing that.

Their Young Lady had been reading Zhang Liang’s Travel Journal from the cover to the back numerous times.

“Young Lady, nubi heard that the writer of Zhang Liang’s Travel Journal is a roaming merchant that has pretensions to culture, and the things he writes about are not necessarily trustworthy, and most of it is just exaggerations. If it were not for his family owning a bookstore, whether or not the travel journals could be published would be called into question, and even though it has been published, very few people buy it, so it has been accumulating dust in the bookstore.

“And against all reason, this roaming merchant is extremely fond of publishing books, and he doesn’t care about earning silvers.”

Su Yu was genuinely afraid that her Young Lady would believe the nonsense written in Zhang Liang’s Travel Journal, hence she quickly opened her mouth to expose the inside information about this roaming merchant Zhang Liang. 

The edges of Ruan Xi’s lips quirked up slightly.

“Mn, you can set your hearts at ease, I am well-aware of the circumstances in my heart.”

She really did not expect that this roaming merchant by the name of Zhang Liang would chance upon high yielding crops like maize, potato, and yam. While it was true that the travel journal’s descriptions were slightly exaggerated, it could not stand against the fact that it was real.

She was originally trying to while away her time, but now that she was suddenly smashed with the big, pleasant surprise, and she was uncertain if Ruan san niang would dispatch someone to find these high-yielding crops, Ruan Xi refused to pretend like she saw nothing when she had already seen this travel journal. 

Once Wen Ting Zhou arrived, she would ask him to find this roaming merchant called Zhang Liang, and then bring those high-yielding crops back.

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Hence, when Wen Ting Zhou arrived in the afternoon like he typically would, he saw Ruan Ruan standing at the entrance welcoming him in a gleeful and happy manner. A gentle smile graced Wen Ting Zhou’s lips, and he took large strides towards her.

“Ruan Ruan, your leg injury is healed?”

“Mn, it’s healed. Ting Zhou da ge, come in quickly, I have something to tell you.” Ruan Xi could not wait any longer, so she pulled Wen Ting Zhou’s hand and entered the main hall.

The neglected Zhang Qing was already accustomed to this as he followed them inside.

Wen Ting Zhou looked at the hand that was being pulled, his smile deepening. 

Once Wen Ting Zhou sat down, Ruan Xi quickly handed the travel journals to him. Her eyes were brimming with expectation as she stared at him. “Ting Zhou da ge, look at this travel journal, it talks about various kinds of crops that can be eaten, and I’m very interested in them. Ting Zhou da ge, could you dispatch someone to bring those three crops back?”

Su Yu and Su Zhu nearly covered their faces.

Their Young Lady actually believed the nonsense that the roaming merchant wrote in his travel journals.

“Let me take a look.” Wen Ting Zhou raised an eyebrow. Having seen how much Ruan Ruan desired it, his interest was immediately aroused. He took the travel journals that Ruan Ruan was offering and started flipping through it.

“Ting Zhou da ge, this, look at this first.” As Ruan Xi saw how he was flipping through the journal slowly as she sat by his side, she quickly flipped to the page she had folded.

Smiling, Wen Ting Zhou nodded, “Okay.”

But as he continued reading, Wen Ting Zhou’s handsome face gradually became serious. He was intrigued by the crop called yam since it could be planted anywhere, even if it was on infertile and uncultivated land, and its yield did not seem low.

Although the travel journal’s description was slightly exaggerated, Wen Ting Zhou felt that it was worth bringing them back to try planting it.

If it was true, then they would have three more types of grains that could fill their stomachs, and this was hugely beneficial to the common masses.

“Ruan Ruan, I’ll dispatch someone to look for Zhang Liang once I return, and it’s even possible that he already has those crops with him.”

Ruan Xi was very happy.

She knew that Wen Ting Zhou would trust the contents written in the travel journal. 

Su Yu and Su Zhu: “……”

Wen gongzi was doting on their Young Lady too much, no?

During this visit, and under Ruan Xi’s urging, Wen Ting Zhou did not prolong his stay in Limpid Heart Garden, and he only hugged Ruan Xi really hard before he left. 

Since Ruan Xi had fully recovered from her leg injury, Wen Ting Zhou could no longer use the pretext of visiting Ruan Xi to meet her, so he had to hug her as much as he could now. 

After Wen Ting Zhou departed, Ruan Xi was upset and seemingly at a loss; she did not know when they would be meeting again next time.

However, she did not stay crestfallen for long, since an older woman-servant came in to report that the braised marinade in the braised duck store was no longer sufficient. Thus, Ruan Xi swiftly went to her small kitchen to make another cauldron of braised marinade. 

The dense and rich fragrance of the marinade wafted out once more, and the fragrance made the servants in the residence become distracted during their errands.

Ruan san niang was gritting her teeth as well. Her fourth sister really had dogshit luck. 

As she inhaled that enticing fragrance, Ruan san niang swallowed her saliva. She tried to resist it time and time again, but she could not stop herself from going to Limpid Heart Garden in the end. 

Ruan Xi had just changed her clothes when she saw Ruan san niang barge in again, which made her knit her eyebrows slightly.

“I want to eat the braised duck. Si mei, quickly make a braised duck.” Ruan san niang stated without the slightest courtesy.

Both of them had already shed all pretences of cordiality, so instead of beating around the bush, Ruan san niang made her demands bluntly.

“There’s none, if you want to eat it, line up and buy it.” Ruan Xi smiled angrily when she saw Ruan san niang treating everything like it was a matter of course. 

No one could beat her in terms of her thick skin.

Unfortunately, Ruan Xi refused to indulge her. 

“You actually want me to spend one hundred taels to buy your braised duck, you must have gone mad thinking about money.” Ruan san niang gave Ruan Xi a vicious glare.

“Indeed, I’m accustomed to being poor.” Ruan Xi looked at Ruan san niang with a wide smile.

Ruan san niang exploded in anger and she threatened, “Even your own sister has to spend one hundred taels to eat a braised duck, aren’t you afraid that I’ll spread this matter outwards?”

Not caring in the least, Ruan Xi uttered, “Do as you please.” 

Ruan san niang’s complexion became as black as a pot’s bottom instantaneously, and she was so angry she was shaking with anger. In the end, when she saw that she could not demand a braised duck, she stormed off in a fury.

Su Yu asked worriedly, “Young Lady, are you not afraid of the Third Young Lady randomly spreading rumours?”

Ruan Xi hooked up her lips. “What is there to be afraid of? There are more than a dozen versions of rumours related to me in the capital, and when there are too many nonsensical and ludicrous rumours, the number of people who actually believe them will only decrease.” 

Furthermore, considering how Ruan san niang’s reputation was rotten to the core, it was not something that could be redeemed easily, and it seemed like Ruan san niang did not have any intention of redeeming it. 

Su Yu thought about it, and realised that it was true, so she stopped tangling over it as well. 

Ruan san niang left Limpid Heart Garden in spitting rage, but the craving in her stomach had yet to disperse. It had been a long time since the last time she ate the braised duck, and she was genuinely craving it. Hence, Ruan san niang gritted her teeth, deciding to go to the main courtyard to find Zhang shi because she doted on her.

In the end, Ruan san niang did not manage to eat any braised duck, and she could only secretly dispatch her servant to line up to buy it, aggrieved. 

After not being able to buy it for five consecutive days, Ruan san niang nearly vomited blood in anger, but she could only give up powerlessly in the end.

She had something more important to tackle— bumping porcelain with the Fourth Prince.

Unfortunately, no matter how perfect her plans were, she had underestimated the female guards by her side, and underestimated the importance that the old Emperor attached to her. 

She merely went to the Fourth Prince Residence to visit Mu Qing Ci, and while she only touched the wall without seeing the actual person, her small movement – in addition to the words she spoke which the female guards secretly overheard as she was smashing the items in her room – allowed the old Emperor to guess her motive. 

Enraged, the old Emperor swiftly sent down the imperial edict conferring her as his Fei.

Ruan Xi was unaware of Ruan san niang’s covert actions. She was busy reading Wen Ting Zhou’s letter. 

As she had expected, that roaming merchant Zhang Liang did have the three crops – maize, potato, and yam – in his possession, except it was few in quantity since he had used most of them as seeds.

Beyond that, he had the method of planting as well, which made Ruan Xi ecstatic after she read it. 

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Just as Ruan Xi was planning to write a reply letter to Wen Ting Zhou, Su Zhu entered the room in a hurry.

“Young Lady, someone from the imperial palace has arrived, Furen asks yõu to go to the main hall to receive the imperial edict.”

Ruan Xi stilled. Subsequently, she remembered what Wen Ting Zhou told her, and it was more than likely that this imperial edict was the imperial edict to confer Ruan san niang as Fei. 

She straightened out her appearance before she brought Su Yu and Su Zhu towards the main courtyard.

Presently, the main courtyard was packed to the brim with people. A gonggong with a dull and needless face was standing there, holding the imperial edict with both hands, and there was a group of imperial guards by his side.  

公公 (piyin: gong gong) – a form of address for a court eunuch.

Lao Taitai, Zhang shi, Ruan Yu Wen, and a mentally unstable Ruan san niang…

Strangely enough, even though today was not a given rest day, Ruan Xi noticed that her Earl Father was also present. She could not help but find it quite particular. When Earl Chengyi saw that Ruan Xi had arrived, he cupped his hands towards the eunuch holding the imperial edict. 

“Liu gonggong, everyone has gathered, please recite the imperial edict.”

Liu gonggong nodded. 

Everyone knelt down in succession to receive the edict. 

Just as Ruan Xi had predicted, this was a Fei conferring imperial edict. In a nutshell, it detailed how Ruan san niang had invented the moveable type printing and her corresponding contributions were vastly huge, which has pleased the Emperor greatly, hence he specially conferred Ruan san niang as Ruan fei.

Apart from Ruan Xi, everyone present was dumbstruck. 

A smear of darkness flickered past the bottom of Zhang shi’s eyes.

Ruan san niang’s qi and blood surged up once she heard the entire Fei conferring imperial edict, and then she promptly fainted from the over-stimulation. The pearl hairpin on her head rolled and landed on the ground, issuing a clear and crisp noise in the silence.  

Ruan Xi: “……”

Lao Taitai and Earl Chengyi was originally overjoyed that Ruan san niang was conferred Fei, but who could have thought that Ruan san niang would unexpectedly faint.

Their complexions became metallic green, both shocked and angered. They loathed the fact that they could not slap Ruan san niang awake. If the Emperor learned that she had been discourteous when receiving the imperial edict, they did not want to know how they would be punished.

Without missing a beat, Lao Taitai plastered on an exuberant smile as she spouted nonsense with unblinking eyes.

“Liu gonggong, san niang fainted out of excitement after she heard that she was going to enter the imperial palace as a Fei.”

Ruan Xi: “……”