The Comeback of the Cannon-Fodder Supporting Actress

Chapter 73: Chapter 73: The Face-Slapping Time-Traveling Farming Girl 10

Zhou Zhenniang returned to her quarters and immediately had her maid fetch her a pot of wine to drink.

After drinking the wine, Zhou Zhenniang felt her heart fluttering as if it had taken flight, and she felt thoroughly pleased with herself.

She couldn’t help but want to do something.

Looking at the books lying around the room, along with some ink and brushes, Zhou Zhenniang picked up a pen wanting to write, but before the brush even touched the paper, she threw it away.

She was no great talent in literature; initially illiterate, she only learned to read and write to please Qi Rui. Even now, her handwriting was nothing to boast about.

Unable to write or draw, Zhou Zhenniang paced restlessly around her room.

Thinking it over, she felt confident about her needlework, so she decided to embroider something for Boss Zou.

Taking out her needle and thread, Zhou Zhenniang sat on the bed and began her embroidery, but after a small bit she became impatient.

Two agonizing days passed, and on the day she had arranged to meet with Boss Zou, Zhou Zhenniang dressed up in bright peach clothing and went out to watch a play, looking all spruced up.

Arriving at the troupe, she chose a good seat and waited for the play to begin, eventually becoming enchanted by the performance.

That day, after watching the play, Zhou Zhenniang was called backstage by Boss Zou for a heart-to-heart.

The two chatted about everything under the sun, and Zhou Zhenniang genuinely felt that Boss Zou understood her like a confidant.

She thought if only Boss Zou had wealth and power, she would abandon everything to be with him; unfortunately, Boss Zou came from a lowly background.

For a moment, the thought of Qi Rui bored her.

In truth, she wasn’t very fond of Qi Rui; she was only with him to lead a better life.

Men like Boss Zou were more to Zhou Zhenniang’s liking.

Alas, one cannot have both the fish and the bear’s paw. She couldn’t help but sigh over this, considering it a lifelong regret.

Boss Zou treated Zhou Zhenniang to tea and some pastries. When the time was about right, he saw her off.

For some reason, Zhou Zhenniang felt a bit dizzy when leaving the troupe.

She thought it must be because she had been sitting for too long and then suddenly stood up, so she found a spot to stand for a while, but the longer she stood, the more uncomfortable her head felt.

Rubbing her temples, Zhou Zhenniang felt her legs growing weak and decided to find a place to sit before continuing on.

Not far away, there was a small teahouse, and she thought of taking a good rest there.

But Zhou Zhenniang had only taken a few steps when, unexpectedly, someone dashed out diagonally towards her, hurtling straight at her.

Another person was chasing the first, shouting as they ran: ”Catch the thief, catch the thief...”

Though dizzy, Zhou Zhenniang naturally knew to get out of the way in such a situation.

She quickly sidestepped, but in her haste, she stepped on a girl’s foot.

”What are you doing?”

The girl, having been stepped on painfully, spoke to Zhou Zhenniang with no kind tone.

Zhou Zhenniang, growing increasingly irritated, couldn’t help but retort: ”What do you mean, what am I doing? Didn’t you see someone was about to bump into me? Naturally, I needed to move aside. What about you? Didn’t you know to avoid? You deserve getting stepped on by me.”

With that remark, Zhou Zhenniang ignited a confrontation.

The other girl wasn’t one to be easily bullied; scolded as such by Zhou Zhenniang, she fired up with anger and reached out to hit Zhou Zhenniang.

How could Zhou Zhenniang let herself be hit? She dodged nimbly to the side and, incensed, she retaliated with a kick at the girl.

The girl had a bad temper, but her reflexes were not sharp.

She failed to dodge Zhou Zhenniang’s incoming kick, and was sent flying by the impact.

Zhou Zhenniang dumbfoundedly watched her kick send a grown woman flying far away, blinking in disbelief.

”Ah!”

A shriek rang out.

Then came running a young woman in a green top and moon-white long skirt; she hurried over to the fallen girl, crying and struggling to help her up, all the while crying out, ”Commandery Princess, are you alright, Commandery Princess.”

Zhou Zhenniang could tell things were taking a bad turn and immediately tried to run.

But she had only managed a few steps when she was caught.

The man who caught her was tall and sturdy.

The man dragged her over to the side of the Commandery Princess who had been kicked, ”Commandery Princess, this lowly woman is trying to escape.”

The Commandery Princess lay on the ground, unable to get up for a long time, panting with her eyes closed. She felt pain in every organ she’d been kicked.

Through gritted teeth, she hissed, ”Lock her up in prison. I’ll deal with her once I’ve recovered.”

Barely aware of what was happening, Zhou Zhenniang was thrown into a cell.

She knew things were bad for her, probably an inescapable calamity, and her face turned ashen.

”I am...”

Zhou Zhenniang wanted to shout out a few times, to say she belonged to Magistrate Qi, but thinking of Qi Rui’s good reputation outside, and his selfish nature, she dared not shout.

She was afraid that if she caused a scene and Ye Anning found out, Qi Rui would silence her to appease Ye Song.

Zhenniang had barely been taken to the prison when Anning received a message.

She burned the note, smiling as she played with a mynah bird she had just bought.

Being thrown into prison was just the first step; what awaited Zhenniang was much worse.

Today, the person Zhenniang offended was Commandery Princess Shuxiu, the only daughter of Prince Kang Le.

Although the name ”Shuxiu” suggested elegance, the princess herself was anything but elegant; instead, she was particularly unruly and unreasonable.

As Prince Kang Le only had such a single treasured daughter at his advanced age, he naturally doted on her immensely, getting her whatever she desired.

Previously, Princess Shuxiu was married, but her husband’s fate was not good and he died of illness within two years of their marriage.

Unwilling to suffer in her in-laws’ home, Princess Shuxiu took her dowry and returned to Prince Manor.

After that, she indulged in pleasure-seeking unrestrainedly, with countless visitors passing through her private quarters. Anyone she took a fancy to, she’d find a way to bring back to Prince Mansion, having caused more than one death in the process.

Prince Kang Le knew about all these things, but to make his daughter happy, he disregarded the will and lives of others.

Zhenniang encountering Princess Shuxiu was truly a case of one evil meeting a greater evil, with one harming more than the other.

Of course, Anning had orchestrated the whole affair from start to finish.

Anning’s schemes were extremely clever.

She would not have someone seduce Zhenniang, compromising another’s innocence to harm her, nor would she poison Zhenniang to take her life.

That would be letting Zhenniang off too easily.

What Anning wanted was for Zhenniang to meet an undetectable, fatal misfortune and suffer before her death.

Even Qi Rui could only watch Zhenniang die, helpless to do anything.

She wanted to sow hatred between Qi Wenwei and Qi Rui, planting thorns between the father and son for future enmity.

Anning had people gather information and knew that Princess Shuxiu also loved opera, and recently she had become fascinated with Boss Zou, wanting him to be one of her consorts. However, Boss Zou did not fancy Princess Shuxiu’s ways, and was quite reluctant.

While Princess Shuxiu was deeply infatuated with Boss Zou and was hesitant to coerce him, she would often patronize his performances, hoping to persuade him with both soft and hard tactics.

Boss Zou, who was normally aloof, had surprisingly been warm and conversational to Zhenniang lately, much to Princess Shuxiu’s displeasure.

Anning exploited this fact, arranging things ingeniously by having Boss Zou delay Zhenniang, so she would go out and encounter Princess Shuxiu.

Both the thief and the one catching the thief were actors hired by Anning, meant to drive Zhenniang towards Princess Shuxiu and spark a conflict.

Of course, Anning also played some tricks, giving Zhenniang a bit of bad luck.

There you have it, by sheer coincidence, she offended Princess Shuxiu.

And that kick from Zhenniang? Also Anning’s doing.

When the thief ran by, a confidant of Anning’s, who was close to Zhenniang, touched her, actually applying a concoction from Anning that momentarily increased one’s strength.

There, that kick from Zhenniang nearly ended Princess Shuxiu’s life, an act that would definitely not be taken lightly.