When the Cannon Fodder Meets the Love-Brained Female Supporting Character - Episode 14

Wan Yue’s pupils contracted as she straightened her posture. Her fingers tightened around the teacup, and she took a sip of the now slightly cool tea to mask the subtle lapse in her composure.

I was so careful. No one noticed… How did she know?

While Jiang Nan devoted herself to running her teahouse, she also made it her business to gather news and secrets from Yangcheng. Keeping her eyes and ears open in all directions was the only way to stay ahead.

Wan Yue steadied her emotions. After an internal struggle, she openly admitted, “Yes, I tried, but I failed. That’s why I came to seek your cooperation, Boss Jiang. Of course, we wouldn’t be demolishing the Nanning residential district just leasing it. The area has vast bamboo groves, small bridges, and flowing water perfect for a teahouse. We could split it fifty-fifty, and I’d give you the section with the most bamboo—”

Jiang Nan set down her cup, cutting her off. “I heard two families in Nanning suddenly suffered heart attacks?”

Wan Yue stared at her in surprise, as if she didn’t understand.

Jiang Nan continued, “Their sons worked as waiters in a restaurant. The restaurant accused them of stealing money and threw them out. After that, no one dared hire them.”

Wan Yue fell silent before replying hoarsely, “And then?”

“And then…” Jiang Nan smiled, holding up three fingers. “Yesterday, a dog seemed to have died at the entrance of your residence, Boss Wan. It stained three of your green bricks red…”

A chill ran down Wan Yue’s spine despite the absence of wind. Goosebumps prickled her arms as she stared at Jiang Nan, speechless.

“Please leave, Boss Wan,” Jiang Nan stood and said. “I have no interest in Nanning.”

Wan Yue sat frozen for a long moment before placing a silver ingot on the table and sighing in defeat. “Fine. Nothing escapes you. I almost wonder if you run an intelligence bureau. I thought we could have been the best allies.”

Jiang Nan replied, “It’s true that I’m greedy for wealth, but I don’t scheme for it.”

Wan Yue gave a bitter smile. “Seems I came to the wrong place. Good thing I run a restaurant, not a teahouse.” She stood up.

“Rest assured, I’ll abandon this idea from now on.” Without another word, she walked away.

Only after Wan Yue had long left the Hidden Fragrance Teahouse did she finally press a hand to her racing heart and take several deep breaths. Suddenly remembering something, she straightened and continued walking as if nothing had happened.

In this era, merchants held higher status than commoners. The wealthiest could even rival officials. Many bought their positions with silver. While the authority to demolish residential areas technically lay with the government, merchants who wanted to seize land could employ all sorts of underhanded tactics. Especially in small towns like Yangcheng, officials were either bribed or had ties to the wealthy, often turning a blind eye.

The Nanning district was home to simple farmers. Wan Yue had set her sights on it and pulled out all the stops to seize it. Sending armed men to intimidate the residents, ensuring their descendants couldn’t find work, and more all to force these farmers to “know their place” and abandon the land their families had lived on for generations.

But the farmers fought back desperately, banding together in defiance. Throwing a long-dead dog at Wan’s doorstep and splattering its blood across her entrance was just the smallest act of resistance.

They were like a hedgehog covered in spines leaving Wan Yue with no way to sink her teeth in.

In less time than it takes for a stick of incense to burn, the mess left by the farmers was completely cleaned up by the numerous servants of the Wan household. No outsiders saw it, and no rumors spread.

That was precisely why Wan Yue feared Jiang Nan.

Even such a trivial incident that happened in the span of a single incense stick’s burning was known to her in perfect detail. Just who was Jiang Nan?

When she first arrived, Wan Yue had investigated Jiang Nan. She was the cousin of the Jiang family, merely staying temporarily in Yangcheng. Facing a young lady who had only just begun dabbling in business, Wan Yue had assumed she would be the one in control. She never expected Jiang Nan to be so formidable.

Jiang Nan wasn’t as mysterious as Wan Yue imagined. In truth, her victory over Wan Yue was simply because she was far wealthier.

Even her network of hidden guards had been cultivated over a decade with vast sums of real silver.

Wan Yue was skilled in business, ruthless in her methods. But no matter how capable or unscrupulous she was, she had only accumulated wealth for less than ten years. What Jiang Nan held in her hands was the fortune of the Jiang family from Niecheng richer than the Yangcheng Jiangs built over four generations.

Still, her wariness of Jiang Nan led her to abandon her assault on the Nanning residential district, which could be considered a good outcome.

________________________________________

Xiao Ran no longer visited the Jiang residence, and Jiang Huai was nowhere to be seen all day. Jiang Nan believed her act as the malicious cousin had worked splendidly.

This was exactly what she had hoped for.

The Jiang and Xiao families would no longer interact, and if Jiang Huai provoked enemies outside, they naturally wouldn’t involve Xiao Ran.

A task that should have taken ten years to complete had been achieved in less than two months.

Jiang Nan also received a letter from Qin Wan, reporting that her merchant caravan had sold its first batch of goods, with profits exceeding expectations, and thanking her, among other things.

One piece of good news after another put Jiang Nan in high spirits.

She decided to take another day off and go for an outing. She hadn’t even left Yangcheng yet!

And while she was at it, she would deal with the bronze mask she had seized from Jiang Huai.

Leaving it in her hands would only mean its value went to waste. It might go unnoticed for a while, but over time, who could say?

Jiang Nan reached the highest peak near Yangcheng. From the summit, she could see the city’s orderly rows of houses. If not for the male lead emerging from here, Yangcheng could truly be called a peaceful haven, an ideal place for ordinary people to settle long-term.

Surrounded by mountains, nestled beside water.

After admiring the scenery for a while, Jiang Nan buried the bronze mask beside the many graves at the back of the mountain, erecting an unmarked stone.

She dusted the dirt off her hands.

Alright, time to pick out a maidservant for herself.

Two incense sticks later.

On a muddy path, the wind swayed the loquats on the trees lining the road, making them teeter precariously, neither falling nor staying put.

Jiang Nan’s expression was indifferent as she held a dirt-stained bundle in her arms.

She had dug the bronze mask back up.

Of course, it was impossible to let go of such a golden opportunity and pretend to be someone indifferent to fame and fortune.

Such a treasure might one day play a crucial role if her business ventures ever hit a snag.

After much deliberation, Jiang Nan ultimately decided to hide the bronze mask in the cellar of her newly purchased tea plantation, assigning a hidden guard to keep watch.

A’Tuo had been searching for her for some time, both anxious and a little resentful. “Miss, where have you been? This servant has been looking everywhere for you!”

Jiang Nan replied, “I just took a stroll nearby to clear my mind.”

A’Tuo understood.

Recently, the young master rarely came home. It was said he often spent time with Miss Yu, and just as frequently, he would get so upset by her that he’d run off to seek comfort with various women. Under such circumstances, it was quite understandable that Jiang Nan felt so stifled that she went out alone to clear her mind.

The two of them walked to the edge of the city, where a noisy crowd had gathered.

A delicate-looking woman, dressed in thin clothing, covered half her face with her sleeve, tears streaming from her eyes. On the ground lay a man, his eyes tightly shut, his lips blue clearly gravely ill.

Someone asked the woman what was going on. Covering her face, she sobbed, “My father is seriously ill. I wish to sell myself to pay for his treatment.”

Immediately, the men in the crowd began to stir with excitement.

Seeing this, Jiang Nan also stopped and, like someone drawn to a spectacle, pushed her way forward.

Right in front of her and A’Tuo, two men were discussing buying the woman.

The words they exchanged were utterly vile.

“Brother Zheng, neither of us has a wife. Why don’t we buy her together?”

“She’s asking for fifty taels of silver. How can we afford that?”

“That’s easy. You pay half, I pay half. Problem solved!”

“But who gets her?”

“We’ll share her. One day for you, one day for me.”

The lewd laughter of the two men made Jiang Nan uncomfortable. She frowned, and A’Tuo beside her also wore a strange expression.

She sighed to Jiang Nan, “That poor girl!”

Jiang Nan nodded, deep in thought. “Then let’s buy her.”

Jiang Nan stepped to the front and said to the delicate woman, “I’ll give you a hundred taels. Come with me and be my maid.”

While the others were still calculating whether to buy her, Jiang Nan struck swiftly, leaving everyone stunned.

A hundred taels!

That was double what the woman had asked for.

The woman’s eyes lit up, as if afraid Jiang Nan might change her mind, and she nodded eagerly. “Yes, yes! I’ll come with you right away.”

She helped her father up from the ground and followed closely behind Jiang Nan.

The two lecherous men who had been scheming earlier were dumbfounded. “Huh? Just like that?”

Jiang Nan took out fifty taels in silver notes from her sleeve and handed them to the woman. “Come to the Jiang residence tomorrow with your things.”

The woman nodded repeatedly. “Thank you, my benefactor.”

“What’s your name?” Jiang Nan asked.

The woman answered, “A-Jiu. My name is A-Jiu.”

After helping the man around a corner, the woman suddenly let go of him, stepping half a pace away. Seeing the man still dazed, she slapped him hard on the shoulder.

The slap was as heavy as iron, jolting the man awake instantly.

“Here’s one tael for your acting. Don’t breathe a word of this, or else…” The woman tossed him a silver ingot.

The man clutched the silver and assured her, then vanished in the blink of an eye.

The woman turned and, swift as the wind, scaled a high wall, disappearing among the rooftops.

She was no ordinary pitiable woman, she was one of the covert guards trained by Jiang Nan’s parents.

The entire act between the woman and the man had been orchestrated by Jiang Nan.

Jiang Nan didn’t trust the people in the Jiang household.

She needed a plausible reason to bring in someone she could trust, someone who could act on her behalf at any time. Hence, she arranged this drama of selling oneself to save a father.

Jiang Nan glanced at the sky. The sun had reached its zenith, its blinding light making it hard to keep one’s eyes open.

She decided to have lunch and then head to the Hidden Fragrance Pavilion.

Jiang Nan picked a random tavern, ordered two dishes, and ate. After the meal, she went to the Hidden Fragrance Pavilion to pass the time.

At noon, very few people came to drink tea.

After giving the most basic instructions, Jiang Nan took a short nap on the top floor.

She wasn’t sure how much time had passed when Fang Rui bounded up to the rooftop, hopping excitedly beside her. “Boss, a real beauty has come to our teahouse! A stunning beauty! She’s drawn in quite a crowd for us.”

Her loud voice dragged Jiang Nan out of her dreams. Blinking sleepily, she lifted her head and rubbed her slightly throbbing temples.

Fang Rui suddenly fell silent, staring at her in a daze.

Earlier, to sleep more comfortably, Jiang Nan had removed the hairpins from the sides of her temples. Her dark tresses cascaded loosely like clouds, with a few unruly strands falling against her snow-white neck.

Jiang Nan took a sip of the tea in front of her and asked, “What were you saying just now?”

Fang Rui’s cheeks flushed slightly as she stammered, “I-I was saying that besides you, Boss, another great beauty has arrived at the teahouse. The crowd downstairs has grown quite a bit because of her.”

Jiang Nan chuckled.

It had to be said, admiring beauty was a universal trait of humanity.