The Comeback of the Cannon-Fodder Supporting Actress

Chapter 667 - 654: Slapping the Transmigrated Man 9

Anning returned to her room when the sky had already darkened; after playing and frolicking with a few maidservants for a while, she went to bed.

When the room was left with no one else except for Moli, who was on night duty by the couch, Anning got up. She pressed Moli’s acupoint to induce sleep, then changed into a set of light clothing and slipped out the door.

So far, Anning had a limited understanding of the affairs of the Ji Family.

What Mr. Ji was doing, how close his ties were with the Crown Prince, his reputation among officials, etc., Anning knew nothing.

She thought of first getting a grasp of the Ji Family’s affairs before making further plans.

Anning took advantage of the deep quiet of the night to head towards Mr. Ji’s study.

She planned to look through Mr. Ji’s correspondences, as well as some matters related to the government office.

Upon entering the study, Anning took off her shoes and proceeded barefoot. With delicate steps that barely touched the ground, she approached the desk. Holding her shoes in one hand, Anning rifled through papers and letters on the desk with the other.

She found a few letters which were all insignificant. They were communications between Mr. Ji and some colleagues, superiors, subordinates, as well as letters from friends. Most addressed family matters and contained nothing official.

Anning replaced the letters where she found them and started to search for any secret compartments or hidden chambers.

She hadn’t looked far when she heard a noise.

Anning quickly retreated to a corner, and moments later, a shadow darted into the study.

As Anning’s eyes narrowed at the sight of this shadow,

she could tell it was a man’s silhouette, clad in night gear, moving with a precise agility, much like an experienced thief.

Watching the man search the desk, and then around for any hidden mechanisms, Anning stealthily moved behind him. With a swift chop of her hand, she knocked the man out, sealed his acupoints, and then Anning found a mechanism; behind a bookshelf, she discovered a small hidden chamber filled with various account books and edicts from the Crown Prince to Mr. Ji.

After skimming through, Anning learned that the Crown Prince had been asking Mr. Ji for silver and goods, requesting him to keep an eye on certain officials, and was also corresponding with officials from the Crown Prince’s faction.

Having understood all this, Anning carefully put everything back in place. Before leaving, she added an Array to the chamber, ensuring that no one but Mr. Ji and herself could locate it.

After taking care of everything, Anning carried the intruder out of the study. With a few swift movements, she was out of the Ji Family house and soon arrived at Xiao Yuan’s house.

Anning located Xiao Yuan’s room and gently knocked on his door.

Xiao Yuan was before her almost instantly.

Anning put the man down in front of Xiao Yuan: "Help me interrogate him; I caught him in Mr. Ji’s study."

Xiao Yuan quickly grasped what Anning intended to do.

"Don’t worry, wait for my message."

It was late, so Anning left promptly after handing the man over to Xiao Yuan.

By the time she returned, it was just past midnight. Anning changed her clothes and went to sleep.

Since then, Anning had been waiting for a message from Xiao Yuan.

After two days, Xiao Yuan finally sent Anning a letter. He brought some delicate jewelry, and although the jewelry box had a hidden compartment, Anning took out the jewelry and waited until she was alone to open the secret layer and retrieve the letter.

Upon reading the letter, Anning understood what was going on.

The person who invaded Mr. Ji’s study that day had been sent by Cui Yiran.

The Cuis came from a military background; Cui Yiran’s great-grandfather and grandfather had fought in many great battles with Emperor Taizu and Taizong. Although the Cuis had relinquished military power, they still had a private army in secret.

These private soldiers were under Old Master Cui’s control. As the only son of Old Master Cui, Cui Yiran would certainly know some matters and be able to command some skilled and capable private soldiers.

Cui Yiran sent someone to steal letters from the Ji Family. He wanted to obtain leverage over Mr. Ji, then threaten him to stay out of Cui Jishi’s affairs.

Cui Yiran wanted to divide the family before marriage.

He wished to separate from the second branch of the Cui family and kick them out of the Marquis Mansion. Fearing that a family separation would intervene, he needed to make preparations in advance.

After reading the letter, Anning burned it. Sitting by the window, she couldn’t help but snicker as she fiddled with a pot of flowers on the desk.

Cui Yiran thought himself clever, taking everyone in the world for a fool.

Did he really believe that after the division, his days would be better, and he could extricate himself from future troubles?

Such wishful thinking.

If ever a rebellion occurred, not to speak of dividing the family, even if they split from the clan, he would not be able to escape responsibility.

In these times, the concept of one’s gain or loss affecting the whole is emphasized; as long as he is part of the Cui family, whatever trouble any branch causes, he could not dissociate himself from it.

Do not speak of already having divided the family or the clan; the authorities do not regard these distinctions.

Have you not heard of earlier cases where guilt by association extended to ten clans? Ten clans is to say even friends count as a clan, let alone merely a family division.

Anning actually found this Cui Yiran to be a bit too unbridled in his actions.

Having successfully annulled his engagement with Anning, he started to be smug, thinking he could do anything.

However, whatever Cui Yiran does, Anning will not bother with; she just needs to manage the affairs of the Ji Family well.

She has now set up an Array in the study; no matter how many little thieves Cui Yiran sends in, none will get anything.

Anning didn’t take this matter too much to heart, mainly because Mrs. Ji had started asking her to embroider her wedding gown.

Embroidery is not the original body’s forte, and Mrs. Ji didn’t ask Anning to do the entire set of the wedding dress, just to add a few stitches for the appearance.

However, Anning may not embroider the wedding dress, but she must make one or two things for Xiao Yuan and Ms. Ping personally.

Mrs. Ji was actually quite worried.

Anning’s needlework is particularly poor, and she didn’t know what Anning would be able to make.

Later, they decided to make two wallets together.

The material for the wallets was of good quality, but the craftsmanship was rather rough, and the embroidery on top was somewhat displeasing to the eye.

Mrs. Ji herself felt embarrassed looking at these two wallets; they truly were not presentable.

To Anning, however, it didn’t seem to matter. She laughed and said, "It’s just for show after all. Young Master Xiao and his mother will probably use them to weigh down the bottom of a chest; nobody would actually wear these."

Mrs. Ji thought about it and stopped fretting over it.

Days passed by, and soon after the Six Rituals were completed, it was time for Anning and Xiao Yuan’s wedding day.

Two days before the wedding, Mrs. Ji came for a visit. She brought gifts for Anning’s dowry and talked to her for a long time, essentially advising her to live well in the future, be filial to her mother-in-law, respect her husband at the Xiao Family’s house, and especially not to be frivolous.

As she was leaving, Mrs. Ji secretly slipped Anning two gold notes.

That evening, Anning saw that the denominations were not small; each was worth a hundred taels of gold, which would convert to 2,000 taels of silver.

2,000 taels of silver was enough for a modest family to live comfortably for a lifetime.

Regardless of the intent behind Mrs. Ji’s gift, Anning remembered this kindness.