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

When the two pretty maidservants saw the Fourth Young Lady accept their bond contracts, they were secretly happy.

Prior to this, they caught a few glimpses of Wen gongzi – no, he was Wen daren now – which caused their budding love to germinate, thus giving rise to love and adoration. Now that they had this chance, it goes without saying that they had to hold onto it properly. Even if they were only small and insignificant concubines, even if they were not favoured, they would have brocade clothing and jade meals for the rest of their lives.

Their gazes were heated and piercing as they stared at the Fourth Young Lady.

Mama Sun heaved an inaudible sigh of relief. Truthfully speaking, she did not want to do this at all. She was genuinely perplexed by her Furen’s thoughts, but when she ruminated over how the Fourth Young Lady could not have her own children in this life, she silently pitied her for a moment. For the same reason, she could not resist giving her a word of advice. 

“Young Lady, Furen is really doing this for yõur own good.”

Ruan Xi was handing the slave contracts to Mama Yang, who was standing at the side, when she heard Mama Sun say that Zhang shi was doing this for her own good. A peal of cold laughter burst forth in her heart.

Unfortunately, she could not enjoy Zhang shi’s goodwill.

“Mama Sun, I am aware that Mother is doing this out of good intentions. I have accepted the maidservants; you can go back and report to her.”

Mama Sun peered at the Fourth Young Lady’s estranging and apathetic smile with a deep glance. She did not utter another word, only bowing and taking her leave.

Ruan Xi ignored the two maidservants’ expressions as she looked towards Mama Yang. Her tone was nonchalant as she said: “Mama Yang, I will be handing these two people for you to educate. If they don’t meet my criteria before I marry out, just let them stay in the Earl Residence to be hard labour servant girls, and then pick two new dowry maidservants who are suitable.” 

The two sweet and charming servant girls were stunned like they had been struck by thunder. Quite evidently, they did not expect that they had to undergo the Fourth Young Lady’s test.

Bring out the Furen?

They did not dare. Prior to this, Furen told them that once they were by the Fourth Young Lady’s side, they were the Fourth Young Lady’s to deal with.

A wave of panic flooded their hearts. 

“May Young Lady set her heart at ease.” Mama Yang smiled slightly.

They were just two servant girls; Ruan Xi did not even exert the effort to remember their names before she threw them at Mama Yang for some education.

By the time Mama Yang brought them away, Su Yu and Su Zhu were visibly confused. 

“Young Lady, their slave contracts are in your hands. If yõu don’t wish for them, yõu can actually sell them away.”

Ruan Xi chuckled, “It doesn’t matter. Since Mother said that they are my dowry maidservants, that is all they will amount to, maidservants accompanying me in marriage. Yes, the truth is that everyone is well-aware of what is happening, but we are all simply choosing not to say it out loud. Furthermore, do I look like someone who needs dowry maidservants to consolidate favour or give birth to sons?

“Or do you feel that a person like Ting Zhou da ge will allow them close to his person?”

The faith that Ruan Xi had for Wen Ting Zhou was brimming in her eyes.

Regardless of whether it was the Wen Ting Zhou in the original novel, or the Wen Ting Zhou she understood, neither of them were people that others could easily scheme against.

There were so many ladies that loved and adored him, and there were bound to be a few extreme ones, but Wen Ting Zhou’s side still remained clean.

Su Yu and Su Zhu: “……”

Fine, they had forgotten about Wen gongzi.

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Just like that, the matter of the maidservants accompanying her in marriage passed without causing any ripples or waves. On the other end, Ruan san niang was dying from anxiety as she was waiting to see Ruan Xi put on a good show. But as more time elapsed, Ruan san niang had no choice but to recognise this reality.

Her fourth sister actually accepted the dowry maidservants that her mother sent. 

She couldn’t possibly be willing to share Wen Ting Zhou’s love with other women, right?

Ruan san niang was visibly dumbstruck, since it induced a sullen feeling like she was punching cotton.

Was she brainwashed by that training Mama from the Wen Family or something?

Right, that must be the case.

The women in the ancient-era must be fettered and held hostage by the social norms of virtue and magnanimity and the Confuscian moral injunctions for women, where they had to obey the three men  and abide by the four feminine virtues.  

It was truly tragic. 

In her previous lifetime, her fourth sister and Qi Yue An were well-matched in social and economic status and had similar positions in their respective families. She had grounds to stand on when she dismissed his back courtyard and refused to admit concubines for Qi Yue An, but she was claiming higher social status with the Wen Family in this lifetime, her family background and status was gravely ill-matched, and not only did she have to ensure that Wen furen had a favourable impression of her, but she also had to protect her own good reputation. It was no wonder why she endured and swallowed the anger of having to accept the dowry maidservants that her mother sent, she must be afraid of causing a stir before her grand wedding.

She was truly pitiful. 

As Ruan san niang continued to allow her thoughts to run wild about how her fourth sister’s days were not as impressive or blissful as they seemed on the surface, her mood soared.

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Recently, the Earl Chengyi Residence was busy preparing their Fourth Young Lady’s marriage matters, so the residence was bustling and lively. 

Joyous occasions brace the spirit; as the bride-to-be, Ruan Xi was rosy in complexion, and she was glowing with health.

The two dowry maidservants who had been educated by Mama Yang for the past few days had shed their mortal bodies and exchanged their bones; the giddy and coquettish temperament that once suffused their bodies had been washed away, and they have become rule-abiding, proper, and respectful. Those aspects seemed to ooze out of their inner hearts, and they looked much more pleasant and comfortable to the eye.

“May the Young Lady bestow a name.”

After Ruan Xi gasped with admiration, she did not ask what kind of methods Mama Yang used to educate them.

“In the future, both of you shall be called Su Shan and Su Hu respectively.” 

The two dowry maidservants nearly cried tears of joy when their Young Lady bestowed names unto them.

“Many thanks to Young Lady for the name bestowal.”

Su Yu and Su Zhu: “……”

Mama Yang was truly amazing.

“Mama Yang has worked hard.” Ruan Xi looked at Mama Yang with a smile. She honestly felt like she had dug up a treasure. 

She was worthy of being the Mama who had the most scenes in the original novel.

Mama Yang replied smilingly, “It’s enough if the Young Lady is satisfied.”

From that day onwards, the maidservants by Ruan Xi’s side finally fulfilled the quota. 

Meanwhile, Zhang shi had actually been paying attention to the movements in Limpid Heart Garden the entire time, and the fact that Ruan Xi had changed the names of her dowry maidservants also reached her ears.

Zhang shi frowned slightly, unable to shake off the feeling that something was wrong. 

However, she did not have the time to ponder deeply, since the wedding dress that the Wen Family had finished embroidering was sent over, and the dowry list that belonged to Ruan Xi had reached her hands.

The thickness of a woman’s dowry when she married out was extremely important, since it could determine whether they could straighten their backs in their husband’s family and conduct themselves properly. 

Having forty-eight wedding dowry chests was considered dignified, sixty-four chests was considered ample, and one hundred and twenty-eight chests was the mark of an imperial clan member’s dowry. 

Ruan Xi’s wedding dowry and the Wen Family’s betrothal gifts totalled up to one hundred and ten chests. It was unknown how many eyes would drop out from shock if it was publicised. 

To say nothing of the braised duck recipe at the bottom of her chests.

Most marrying daughters of prominent, powerful and/or noble families would usually bask their wedding dowry.

Among the five soon-to-be brides who were going to marry into the Wen Family on the same day as her, three of them had already basked their wedding dowries. 

The aforementioned three individuals were the ones marrying into Duke An Residence, of whom Ruan Xi had seen during Wen lao-furen’s longevity feast. 

The family backgrounds of those three noble daughters were outstanding.

As for the noble daughters who were going to marry into Minister Wen’s Residence, namely Ruan Xi and Wen Ting Yi’s newly engaged fiancée, neither of them had basked their wedding dowries yet. 

Many people had their heads raised in expectation. 

Who was ignorant of the fact that Wen gongzi had brought along several carts worth of betrothal gifts to finalise the marriage with Earl Chengyi Residence?

Ruan Xi did not intend on basking her wedding dowry at all. The residence had been too bustling as of late, with close relatives and close friends paying visits one after another to add to the dowry. Ruan Xi was already terribly exhausted from being pulled around by Zhang shi to entertain them, and she only wanted to take a breather and have some peace and quiet three days before the big wedding, and enjoy the last period of leisure she had. 

When Zhang shi realised that she did not have any intention to do so, she allowed her to do as she pleased. Only Earl Chengyi felt extremely regretful, but he did not force her. 

The people who were waiting left and right for Ruan Xi to bask her wedding dowry waited for nothing, and they only managed to wait for the news of Wen Ting Yi’s new fiancée Liu xiaojie basking her wedding dowry. 

柳 (pinyin: liu) – directly translates to ‘willow’.

Everyone: “……”

“Young Lady, even that Liu xiaojie has basked her wedding dowry, is Young Lady really refraining from basking her wedding dowry?” Su Yu could not help but ask as she fanned her Young Lady.

Ruan Xi was drinking tea and reading at her own leisure when she heard Su Yu’s words. 

She tossed out an offhanded reply, “Not basking, tired.”

The Liu xiaojie that Su Yu was referring to was the legitimate daughter of a seventh-rank small official. She was the girl that Wen Ting Yi – Wen Ting Zhou’s illegitimate younger brother – liked, whom he finally managed to obtain as he desired after he broke off his engagement with Mu Qing Ling. 

Once she married into the Wen Family, both of them would be sisters-in-law (through the blood-related brothers they married). 

Su Yu: “……”

Putting down the book in her hands, Ruan Xi gazed at the resplendent sunlight outside. When she thought about how she was going to marry out the day after tomorrow, her lips curled upwards unconsciously as a faint trace of expectation and joy emerged in her heart.

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Two days later, the weather was sunny and warm, and it was a cloudless blue sky. It was a good day that was appropriate for marrying out. Ruan Xi wore an exquisite and beautiful crimson red wedding dress as she sat on the edge of the bed, with a brilliant and vibrantly coloured phoenix coronet resting on her head, and she was so beautiful that it was impossible to tear your eyes away from her.

Ruan san niang stared at her fourth sister who was as tender and beautiful as a flower, her gaze darkening as she smiled and went forward to offer her congratulations. 

“Congratulations si mei, one hopes that you will give birth to a precious child early.”

 

Translator’s Note:

On the Three Feminine Obediences and Three Feminine Virtues, taken from Wikipedia:
(imma throw up in ‘this is absolute horseshit’, hold on)

The Three Obediences for born females are to obey, give obéisances and follow the spiritual, ethical and moral wisdom of:

her father as a maiden daughter (未嫁从父; wei jia cong fu)her husband as a chaste wife (既嫁从夫; ji jia cong fu)her sons, and upon conflicts, in prioritized order according to the seniority of each, as a widow in perpetuity dedicated to clan and family (夫死从子; fu si cong zi)

The Four Feminine Virtues for women are:

Feminine Virtue in Ethics in matrimony (婦德; fu de)Feminine Virtue in Speech in matrimony (婦言; fu yan)Feminine Virtue in Visage i.e. ‘comportement’ / manners / facial appearance, in matrimony (婦容; fu rong)Feminine Virtue in “Works” / ‘oeuvres’ i.e. active and ongoing feminine participation in chaste, monogamous, matrimonially-restricted sexual intercourse as a virgin preserved for a lifelong monogamous marriage arranged for the first and foremost interest and benefit of the Empire/State, clan and family bridewealth and the name and moral fame of the patrilineal clans of birth, especially of the husband and in-laws but also of self and the mother’s patrilineal clan of origin, and with virginity preserved until spiritually presented on wedding day upon clan-officiated and family-arranged marriage; lifetime monogamous maximal reproduction especially of son heirs and chaste daughters normally about ten offsprings at least five of which are healthy sons; loyal child-birth for the only one spouse in a lifelong marriage; and enlightened, dedicated and responsible child-rearing in lifelong maternity; spiritual, religious, moral, ethical and philosophical education of children; etc. (婦功; fu gong)