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

Wen gongzi’s arrival made the entire Earl Residence bustle with noise and excitement instantaneously, and all the servants in the residence were discussing about Wen gongzi animatedly.

Meanwhile, Ruan san niang was feeling regretful in her heart. If she had known earlier, she would not have pestered her mother about betrothing her fourth sister, but unfortunately, it was too late for regrets.

It was better to forge a closer relationship with her fourth sister now. When she married Qi Yue An later, she could make use of this connection to pave the road for Qi Yue An.

When Qi Yue An eventually climbed up the ranks step by step, her mother would forgive her for acting on her own initiative.

Ruan san niang kept consoling herself incessantly: her choice would not be wrong, Qi Yue An was merely in dormancy right now. When the opportunity arises, he would inevitably soar with his first flight.

Then, she straightened out her appearance meticulously before she rushed over to Limpid Heart Garden swiftly with her maidservants trailing behind her.

Along the way, the comments of the servants would reach her ears time and again.

“Skies above, have you seen him? Wen gongzi looks really handsome!”

“I’ve already seen him, the Fourth Young Lady is truly fortunate. It is clear at a glance that Wen gongzi is an elegant and dignified noble son with a warm temperament.”

“Yes, agreed, hasn’t there been hearsay that Wen gongzi’s handsomeness is akin to jade, and that he’s a refined and cultivated individual? Sure enough, the rumours are not empty.”

“……”

Upon hearing the servants in the residence flatter Wen gongzi without restraint, Ruan san niang’s mood worsened even further.

Some of the servants saw Ruan san niang walking in their direction, so they tugged on the excitable person beside them and they went quiet in succession.

It was only when Ruan san niang left that the servants stopped holding themselves back, and they started to compare Wen gongzi with the illegitimate son of the Marquis Residence, Qi er gongzi, whose reputation was less than stellar, which led to them sighing endlessly.

The Third Young Lady’s fiancé was without the learning and the skill, and his status as an illegitimate son did not help matters either. When he was compared to Wen gongzi, one was underneath the ground, the other was held up in the skies.

It was no wonder that the Third Young Lady’s complexion was so ugly.

please read this on yuulation dot wordpress dot com

……

Since Wen gongzi was from the younger generation, he went to greet the Furen of Earl Chengyi Residence first before he journeyed towards the entrance of his fiancée’s courtyard under the guidance of Ru Yu Wen.

Although Limpid Heart Garden was a small courtyard, it won in terms of its scenery and elegance.

During shen shi, the spring sunlight was still warm.

申时 (pinyin: shen shi) – a double-hour that lasts from 3PM to 5PM.

Inside the courtyard.

Ruan san niang was originally talking to Ruan Xi but when she heard the servant report that Wen gongzi had arrived, she raised her head in a hurry to gaze towards the main entrance of the courtyard.

An eighteen to nineteen-year-old man dressed handsomely in a brocade robe stepped into the Limpid Heart Garden at a relaxed pace under Ru Yu Wen’s lead.

Needless to say, that handsome young man was most definitely Wen gongzi.

His features were gentle, his temperament was elegant, the side of his lips were raised to form a thin smile that was tinged with the spring breeze.

The person on the road was akin to jade, the noble son was peerless in his age.

Who could imagine that such a gentle and handsome person like Wen gongzi would reject countless noble daughters from prominent families, and that even county princesses and imperial princesses would be no exception to that rule? 

A rosy glow surged up and filled the cheeks of the servant girls in the bashful nervousness. Su Yu and Su Zhu did not manage to escape Wen gongzi’s charisma either as they became red in the face.

As Ruan Xi watched Wen gongzi saunter over at a suave and unhurried pace, she could not suppress her visible astonishment.

Every move and action that Wen gongzi made was suffused with a graceful and noble air, which told of his exceptional upbringing.

After her astonishment had passed, Ruan Xi released an inaudible sigh of relief.

Ruan san niang, who was seated by her side, held her breath unconsciously the instant she saw Wen gongzi. Her quiet heart started to beat furiously as a small fraction of irreconciliation churned in her eyes.

The past events came unbidden to her mind.

As a transmigrator who carried a golden finger, Ruan Ning had a strong sense of superiority. After she kicked away her silk-clothed fiancé, she made make-up products, brought out glass and cement, and sent people overseas to look for agricultural products with high yields— like sweet potato, potato, and maize.

She even passed off the disease-curing function of her system  as her medical skill and saved a number of people with power and influence.

The winds rose and the waters tided in her favour; her name was raised to the skies; she had countless admirers and numerous imperial sons trying to draw her over to their side, and she trampled on all the noble daughters beneath her feet.

Her scenery was limitless.

风光 (pinyin: feng guang) – it also means ‘impressive’ or ‘grand’.

But there were innumerable dangers hidden behind the scenery. She was later exposed due to the schemes of others, and her inability to distinguish pulse patterns or illnesses and open prescriptions were her greatest weak points.

Secondly, while she was the one who made the glass and cement… How could a noble lady who had been raised in the depths of a boudoir possibly invent such things, this was not something that could be explained with intelligence alone.

It was only when she became the old Emperor’s imperial concubine whose each and every move was monitored, and when the imperial sons who loved and adored her had disappeared without a trace, that she came to an abrupt and complete realisation of the truth. Just how naïve was she? The ancients were not stupid, especially those who could become higher officials because which one of them was not an old fox? The old Emperor had drawn out all the things that she knew before he imprisoned her in the palace, and she was even forced to accompany him in burial in the end.

After being reborn back to the original starting point, Ruan Ning took a warning from the past and refrained from making a display of her abilities.

And being the outstanding, handsome, clean-living and honest noble son that Wen Ting Zhou was, Ruan Ning had secretly held affections for him in her heart like every young woman would even though she was being chased and admired by countless of other noble sons in that lifetime. Hence, she had approached Wen Ting Zhou and expressed her ardent affection for him in front of everyone, brimming with confidence.

However—

Wen Ting Zhou rejected her!

He rejected her without sparing her feelings in the least!

Ruan Ning had lost her face completely then; the noble daughters who were jealous of her ridiculed her, and her admirers only consoled her verbally.

Now that she was meeting the young Wen Ting Zhou again, remaining aloof and indifferent towards him proved to be an impossible endeavour for Ruan san niang.

The reason she had persistently asked her mother to betroth her fourth sister to Wen Ting Zhou was also because of that small shameful thought in her heart, where she wanted to see her fourth sister being made a joke of after she was rejected.

Who could have known that Wen Ting Zhou would agree to this marriage!

As Ruan san niang looked at the handsome young man who was walking closer, her jealousy grew with every extended moment he occupied her thoughts. She stopped consoling herself that Wen Ting Zhou was a cutsleeve, and stopped persuading herself that her fourth sister was only an illegitimate daughter who would never have good days once she married into the Wen Family.

Her fourth sister’s life was extremely good; it was highly probable that she will be loved and pampered by her husband like in her previous life, and have the filial piety of her sons and daughters.

please read this on yuulation dot wordpress dot com

Keenly, Ruan Xi sensed the emotions of the Ruan san niang beside her changing and the corners of her lips curled up.

In the book, Ruan san niang and Wen gongzi had a few intersections, and now that she was meeting Wen gongzi again today… It was estimated that she was recalling the unpleasant memories from her previous life.

Ruan Xi pushed down the rising corners of her lips.

By then, Ruan Yu Wen and Wen gongzi had already arrived before the Ruan sisters.

“San mei, si mei, this individual is Wen gongzi.”

Ruan Ning might have returned to her senses but the turns of her mind were unfathomable as she glanced at Wen gongzi shily with her bright and beautiful eyes. Then, she spoke with a delicate and frail voice: “Ruan Family’s san niang has seen Wen gongzi.”

Her voice was affectedly sweet, so saccharine and cloying that it made teeth sour.

甜腻 (pinyin: tian ni) – fig. overly sentimental.

Ruan Xi: “……”

Ruan Yu Wen frowned slightly upon seeing that. For Ning’er, the dignified legitimate daughter of an Earl Residence, striking such an attitude was unbecoming of her education and upbringing, and it would only arouse disparagement.

He could not resist shooting Wen gongzi a look, and it was as he had expected.

Although Wen gongzi smiled and nodded in reply, a hint of alienation and indifference leaked out from the depths of his eyes.

His gaze shifted towards the other lady whose remarkable appearance and levelled temperament had been overshadowed by Ruan san niang’s brilliance.

“Yu Wen, this lady is my future wife Ruan si xiaojie, yes?”

阮四小姐 (ruan si xiao jie) – Ruan (Family’s) fourth young lady.

Those kindly black eyes of Wen gongzi harboured faint laughter, as though a spring breeze was caressing his face.

Ruan Yu Wen nodded his head.

“It is precisely si mei.”

Ruan Xi met Wen gongzi’s profound and gentle black eyes. Her heart stuttered briefly as she had the faint misconception that she had been seen through. She recomposed herself and displayed a bashful smiling expression that was befitting of her position.  “One has seen Wen gongzi.”

Wen gongzi smiled slightly. “You are my future wife, you do not have to be so courteous.”

Ruan Xi continued to uphold the original owner’s character design in front of her oldest brother and Ruan san niang as she feigned shyness and lowered her head.

Internally, however, she was furtively searching for how she could find a reason to have some private words with Wen gongzi.

When Wen gongzi saw that, the smile in his eyes deepened. It was as if their heartbeats were in unison since he was thinking about the exact same thing as Ruan Xi.

“Yu Wen, can I converse with Ruan si xiaojie alone for some time?”

Ruan Xi raised her head in surprise, meeting Wen gongzi’s laughter-tinged eyes. Her cheeks heated up abruptly and she lowered her again at lightning speed.

During the imperial reign of Shengde, it was not considered a violation of propriety when unmarried men and women met alone to cultivate their feelings.

Hence, it was neither rude nor a breach of etiquette for Wen gongzi to say this.

Even though Ruan san niang had to maintain her usual smiling expression in front of their servants after she was being ignored by Wen gongzi, her heart was full of doubts and jealousy.

She really could not understand how her fourth sister – a person composed of empty beauty and average talents –  managed to enter Wen Ting Zhou’s vision.

Ruan Yu Wen glanced at his fourth younger sister who had her head lowered due to her shyness before he laughed secretly. Nodding his head, he said: “Of course you can.”

Subsequently, he pulled Ruan san niang away with admirable discretion.

Su Yu and Su Zhu also withdrew further away at swift speeds, thus leaving Wen gongzi and Ruan Xi alone.