Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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Jiang Shining did not expect Sun Qinling to come looking for her.
And her thoughts couldn’t help but drift back to that fictional Republic of China era.
Since Sun Qinling failed to get Chen Ruozhi and was shocked by Jiang Shining’s shooting, the two concubines became much more subdued and never bothered her again.
The three of them saw each other frequently, but none of them mentioned that day again. Chen Jiacheng continued to return home two or three days a week, which pleased Jiang Shining. After all, she not only had to turn the tide of the plot, but also had another task: to properly educate her children.
Chen Jiacheng was much easier to deal with than Chu Haoli. Chu Haoli was the emperor, extremely cunning, and particularly prone to paranoia. Chen Jiacheng was different; Chu Haoli was at least the male protagonist, while Chen Jiacheng’s role in this world was at best that of a villainous cannon fodder.
Under Jiang Shining’s deliberate guidance and acting skills, her relationship with Chen Jiacheng became much more harmonious. Occasionally, when he was home, the two would sit together, watching Chen Ruozhi and the third concubine’s son playing and laughing in the yard, and they would even feel a sense of peaceful tranquility.
However, this brief moment of warmth could not stop the main storyline from unfolding.
Even though Chen Jiacheng had been much better to Jiang Yiru than in the original novel, he, like the other men, still had his heart set on the female lead.
Jiang Shining’s shooting left Chen Jiacheng distracted for months, causing him to miss the original story’s plot point of forcing the female protagonist to marry him. However, the timeline continued, and this book told the story of the female protagonist Luan Heli’s entanglements, grudges, and affections with several men in a chaotic world.
So Chen Jiacheng and several other men kept getting involved with the female lead, and after a while, he started to have ambitions again.
Because there was no forced marriage plot as in the original novel, the plot progressed rather slowly.
Three years passed in the blink of an eye during this period. Chen Tanliang was now over eight years old, and the little boy had grown much taller. Chen Ruozhi was also five years old. The little girl looked like a porcelain doll, spoke sweetly, and was even more adorable when she smiled.
Even though the three women had a bit of a falling out because of this little girl, Sun Qinling and Xu Lingxin still liked her. They would often have their maids secretly send her toys and snacks, and occasionally they would hug her when they saw her.
Jiang Shining knew all this, but she turned a blind eye to it.
The siblings’ different personalities had become apparent at this age. Chen Tanliang was quite mischievous as a child, but after his sister was born, the young boy became increasingly mature. Now, almost nine years old, he was more like a little adult. The only thing that could get his energy up was when Chen Jiacheng’s subordinates come to teach him self-defense and fighting techniques.
His younger sister, Chen Ruozhi, however had a sweet tongue and loved to smile with her eyes narrowed. They only started teaching her slightly more difficult poems and lyrics in the first half of the year, and after reading them, Chen Ruozhi began using them to praise people in completely irrelevant ways. For example, she praised a maid named Bai, but when praising her, she recited “white feathers floating on green water.”
These days were quite happy for Jiang Shining. The previous palace intrigue world was too tense, requiring constant vigilance. But this world seemed to be deliberately trying to make things easier for her. Jiang Shining’s favorite thing to do was sit under the tree in the middle of her courtyard, watching her two children review their lessons.
Sometimes the third concubine’s son would also come over. The child didn’t understand the complexities between adults, and he would behave well when they met. Jiang Shining remembered that there was such a child in the original novel, but he wasn’t described in much detail. He was treated equally with everyone, and he was quite good to this little one.
Because the children got along well, Xu Lingxin gradually became closer to Jiang Shining as well. With her sisters all becoming distant, Sun Qinling, the second wife, naturally fared poorly; as she was the only one without children. The book mentioned that the second wife had fertility issues, which may explain why she remained childless.
Jiang Shining herself had no grudge against these people, and considering both the era and the setting, Chen Jiacheng’s three wives had all had a difficult life. Therefore, she occasionally encouraged Chen Ruozhi to visit Sun Qinling more often, since Sun Qinling liked Chen Ruozhi the most.
Without the original timeline to refer to, Jiang Shining had no idea what the future would hold, so she began to socialize with the wealthy women of Dongcheng, attending as many banquets and gatherings as possible. Women spread information the fastest, and wherever socialites and wealthy women socialized, it was like a women’s exclusive intelligence network.
“Have you heard? Recently, the big boss, Mr. Li, and the young master of the Wei family have been pursuing that Luan Heli. The project that their two families were originally going to cooperate on has been canceled because of this.”
“Wow, what kind of enchantress is this Luan Heli? She makes so many men lose their minds, but I don’t find her attractive at all.”
“You don’t know yet, it’s said that Commander Chen also—”
The moment the wealthy woman opened her mouth, she was immediately surrounded by people nearby. She then realized she’d been so engrossed in gossiping that she’d completely forgotten Jiang Yiru was there. A moment of awkwardness ensued for everyone.
But Jiang Shining smiled gently, “Don’t worry about me. As long as I’m spending his money, that’s enough. Why should I care who he’s taken a fancy to? You should just talk as usual, so I know who I’m dealing with.”
Upon hearing this, the socialites and wives all burst into laughter.
“Yes, yes, yes, just like you are. Your idea is right.” Another woman fanned herself with her finger and said disdainfully, “Men are all the same, a leopard can’t change its spots. I’m too lazy to care about my husband. He can do his thing, and I’ll do mine.”
Seeing that the topic was about to veer off course, Jiang Shining spoke up in time, “The Luan Heli we were just talking about…”
“Oh, I heard Mrs. Li say that she saw the Marshal invite Luan Heli to dinner that time, and a few minutes later the Wei family’s son went over in a rage… You know, this isn’t the Wei family’s territory, this is Dongcheng! He still dared to be so hot-tempered, and the Marshal beat him until his head was bleeding. In the end, they didn’t even finish their meal, and that was the end of it.”
Jiang Shining frowned slightly. She remembered that it was because of this incident that the remaining male supporting characters formed an alliance to find a way to get rid of Chen Jiacheng, their most powerful and difficult rival.
However, the key point was that these people were all supporting characters. Later, they met the male lead, who also had troops under his command. Through schemes and tactics, he either conquered or defeated the other male supporting characters, and finally shot Chen Jiacheng, and lived happily ever after with the female lead.
Jiang Shining didn’t have any plans; plans couldn’t keep up with changes. But she knew she had to disrupt the original storyline and prevent these people from forming an alliance.
“When did this happen?”
“The day before yesterday or the day before that, I forgot.”
After the banquet, Jiang Shining returned to the Marshal’s Mansion. With the household accounts in her possession, she immediately had some gold, silver, jewelry, and banknotes brought out, packed them up, and then headed out of the mansion to the Wei family’s residence in Dongcheng.
Originally, only Young Master Wei lived in Dongcheng. Upon hearing that he had been beaten, Old Madam Wei rushed over from another city overnight. When the maidservant came to report that the Marshal’s wife had come to visit, Young Master Wei was lying on the bed, grimacing, contemplating how to take revenge on Chen Jiacheng.
Upon hearing that it was Jiang Yiru, both mother and son were stunned.
“I won’t see her!” Young Master Wei said immediately.
Old Madam Wei said helplessly, “Son, you have to see her. You’re on Dongcheng’s turf, and if you don’t see her, aren’t you just going against Chen Jiacheng?”
“My family also has powerful backers. It’s one thing for him to hit me, but does he dare to kill me?” Young Master Wei said disdainfully.
“That Chen Jiacheng is a bandit. If a bandit doesn’t value his life, who wouldn’t dare to kill him?”
Seeing that his mother was about to cry, Young Master Wei waved his hand impatiently.
“See her, see her, alright? What’s the point of seeing her? I bet she’s just here to give me a hard time…”
When Jiang Shining entered the inner room, she saw Young Master Wei lying on the bed, staring at her with a hostile expression. Jiang Shining smoothed her hair, smiled, and turned to look at Old Madam Wei.
“Madam, I have come to apologize.”
They were both dumbfounded. They came to apologize.
Ignoring their expressions, Jiang Shining sighed softly, “Young Master Wei, both of you were at fault that day.”
“I did something wrong—?!” Young Master Wei was so angry he almost jumped up, then grimaced in pain. “Ouch—look at the state I’ve been beaten up in!”
“The commander-in-chief’s mistake was using numbers to bully the few, which caused you such serious injuries,” Jiang Shining said calmly. “But you were also at fault. This is Chen Jiacheng’s Dongcheng. You tried to intimidate him here. If he doesn’t punish you, how will his people respect him in the future? You’ve come all this way; do you expect him to respectfully escort you home?”
“This…” Young Master Wei was stunned.
Jiang Shining waved her hand, and four maids who had followed her stepped forward, each carrying a wooden basket covered with a red cloth.
“Please accept these gifts as a token of my apology.”
The first basket was opened and contained some precious gemstones and diamond jewelry. The second basket was filled with banknotes, the third basket contained land deeds, and the last basket was empty.
“I know the Wei family is large and wealthy and has nothing to lack. So please don’t laugh at me, it’s just a small token of my appreciation.”
Young Master Wei scanned the baskets one by one, finding the Marshal’s wife much more approachable than he had imagined, completely unlike Chen Jiacheng. Seeing the last basket, he asked with interest, “Why is the last one empty?”
“The last one is a promise,” Jiang Shining said calmly. “If Young Master Wei needs my help in the future, I will do my best to help you.”
“Oh?” Young Master Wei shifted his position, looking quite interested, and asked, “What do you want to exchange?”
“Nothing else. I simply hope to mend the relationship between my Marshal’s Mansion and your Wei family,” Jiang Shining said with a gentle smile. “Do you think that’s appropriate?”
“Perfectly, perfectly!” Before Young Master Wei could speak, Old Madam Wei quickly added, “We never wanted to be enemies with the Commander-in-Chief anyway, this is for the best!”
Young Master Wei chuckled and said, “That’s a bit difficult. As long as Chen Jiacheng still has his eye on Luan Heli, he and I will inevitably clash.”
“Really?” Jiang Shining raised an eyebrow. “Did Miss Luan ever say she liked you? That she had feelings for you?”
“No, but… she didn’t reject me.”
“She didn’t reject Chen Jiacheng either,” Jiang Shining said with a smile. “Miss Luan just doesn’t want to offend you powerful people. Not rejecting doesn’t mean she likes you. Besides, she hasn’t rejected anyone, so how do you know you’re special?”
“You— of course I’m more handsome and dashing, and everything about me is perfect!”
“It seems Miss Luan doesn’t think that way, otherwise she would have been with you long ago.”
Seeing that Young Master Wei was about to retort, Jiang Shining reached out to stop him.
“I’m just giving you a piece of advice, Mr. Wei. You’re different from the other suitors,” Jiang Shining said. “They’ve all become independent and have their own livelihoods, while you’re still being supported by your family. After chasing women and having your fun, shouldn’t you occasionally look back at your elderly parents? Luan Heli won’t die without you, but without you, the Wei family will be on the verge of decline.”
“Are you threatening me?” Young Master Wei said angrily.
“I’m reminding you. Others are willing to play along with you because of the Wei family behind you. Don’t end up not winning over Miss Luan and ruining your own business as well,” Jiang Shining said calmly. “If Luan Heli meets someone she truly loves, everything you’re doing now will seem absurd and laughable to others. That’s all I have to say. Young Master Wei, please get some rest.”
“You fu**ing stop right there— is this how you apologize when you come to someone’s doorstep? Huh? You—”
Young Master Wei was furious, but Jiang Shining turned and left with her men.
Madam Wei, however, reddened her eyes and, wiping away her tears, pressed down on Young Master Wei.
“My son, everything she said is the truth. Don’t cause any more trouble, come home with me.”
“I, I…” Young Master Wei couldn’t even speak as his mother pressed his hand against his wound. In the end, he cried out in pain, “Oh, alright, alright, I’ll go with you, just let me go…”
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