When the Cannon Fodder Meets the Love-Brained Female Supporting Character - Episode 29

“How could she be like this!”

The handsome young man walked away, and the surrounding crowd gradually dispersed.

The street returned to its original state. The vendors also went back to their stalls.

Rows of apricot trees lined both sides of the street, their leaves already tinged with a faint yellow. The wind rustled the branches, occasionally causing a leaf or two to drift down.

Jiang Nan was rubbing her temples. She was genuinely carsick.

For her, a horse-drawn carriage was even more nauseating than a modern car.

Suddenly, the person across from her, who had been eating while gazing at the scenery outside, abruptly sat up straight.

Jiang Nan was startled by the sudden movement.

She saw Xiao Ran stiffly picking through the plate. After a while, she held out an orange missing a segment to Jiang Nan.

Her lips pressed together, her eyes clear as autumn water held a trace of delight.

“Sister Jiang, try this. It’s very sweet and juicy.”

Xiao Ran had completely forgotten that just moments ago, she had found the orange annoying and bothersome.

She had tasted something delicious and wanted to share it.

Jiang Nan took the orange, feeling its warmth in her palm.

The carriage continued on its way. Halfway through the journey, Jiang Nan asked the driver to take a different route, one that would be faster.

By evening, they were nearing Qu City.

The carriage suddenly came to a halt. Voices could be heard outside, though they were muffled inside the carriage.

The driver approached and said to Jiang Nan and the others, “Miss, some travelers have lost their way and are asking if we could give them a ride.”

Jiang Nan lifted the curtain and looked at the two men and one woman standing outside. All three were tall and slender. She raised an eyebrow and was about to say something when one of the men quickly clasped his hands in greeting.

“Greetings, ladies. We were heading to Qu City but lost our way and don’t know how to proceed. We don’t need to ride in the carriage. We just hope you could slow down a bit so we can walk alongside.”

Xiao Ran’s gaze swept over their clothes and bundles.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

They wore plain, patched clothing typical of commoners, their bundles bulging with belongings. Their faces bore the weariness of a long journey.

A-Jiu remained silent, looking at Jiang Nan.

Jiang Nan’s expression was calm as she nodded. “Driver, slow down a little.”

“Thank you, miss, thank you!” The man who had spoken earlier was full of gratitude, even bowing deeply.

The carriage slowed to a pace that allowed the three lost travelers to keep up.

After a while, the man came up to the carriage window to chat with Jiang Nan.

“Miss, what brings you to Qu City?”

Jiang Nan replied indifferently, “No need to call me ‘miss.’ We’re going to Qu City to stay with relatives. My name is Jiang Bei.”

She pointed at A-Jiu. “Her name is Jiang Dong.”

Then she gestured to Xiao Ran. “And her name is Jiang Xi.”

A-Jiu said expressionlessly, “Hello, my name is Jiang Dong.”

Xiao Ran nodded quietly.

The man blinked, then chuckled awkwardly. “Haha, your names are quite… interesting.”

Still undeterred, the man pressed on, “But your carriage is quite nice.”

Jiang Nan smiled. “It’s rented. We have to return it.”

The carriage stopped by a lake where a small town sold dry provisions.

Jiang Nan said to A-Jiu, “Jiang Dong, go buy a dry flatbread.”

A-Jiu nodded, got off the carriage, and soon returned with a palm-sized flatbread.

Jiang Nan divided it into three portions, one for each of them.

The man outside saw this and exclaimed in surprise, “Can you really get full eating so little?”

Jiang Nan sighed helplessly, “There’s no other way. We’ve already spent all our silver on travel expenses.”

Xiao Ran held a small, finger-sized piece of steamed bread, her eyes gleaming with joy.

This was bread personally broken by Sister Jiang!

How was this any different from being fed by her directly?

It still carried Jiang Nan’s warmth.

She couldn’t bear to eat it just yet.

The man had been completely skeptical at first, but when he suddenly noticed the quiet girl at the back. Her bright eyes shining with hunger as she nibbled on the bread he was almost convinced.

That kind of look couldn’t be faked.

Even in these times, there were still people starving to this extent.

His gaze softened with pity as he looked at them.

Though Jiang Bei and Jiang Dong held their bread motionless, their expressions cold and aloof, he believed it was merely their last attempt to maintain dignity in front of strangers.

After the man left, Jiang Nan turned to Xiao Ran.

Xiao Ran had actually finished the bread she had given her.

Jiang Nan thought to herself,

Was she really that hungry?

As night deepened and the three of them grew drowsy, a pungent smoke suddenly filled the carriage.

Before passing out, Jiang Nan caught sight of a black bamboo tube stealthily extending into the carriage from outside, white mist rising from its opening.

She had no idea how long she was unconscious.

When she awoke, the first thing she saw was iron bars. She was locked in a cell.

Xiao Ran was in the cell opposite hers, still unconscious.

A man approached, his figure barely discernible in the dim light, but vaguely recognizable as the one who had approached them earlier. His expression was unreadable in the darkness.

He crouched down and chuckled, “You shouldn’t have revealed that you were poor. Didn’t you know our Yelan Gang specifically targets the poor?”

How foolish.

Jiang Nan’s face darkened.

She had thought her performance today was full of flaws, that these people wouldn’t take the bait. Yet…

The Yelan Gang was a small, insignificant group, skilled in deception and evasion.

Some gangs preferred robbing the rich. Taking their wealth, their women, then silencing them forever. Those with bad luck might soon face retaliation from the victims’ families, and if they encountered powerful foes, the entire gang could be wiped out. Others were luckier, escaping consequences.

The Yelan Gang operated differently. Lacking the resources to challenge the powerful, they had a strict rule: never provoke the wealthy or influential. Not out of kindness, but purely to avoid trouble.

There were ways to rob the rich, and ways to rob the poor.

Plain-looking women were sold to brothels, ordinary men sent to labor as slaves. Handsome men were delivered to male brothels, while beauties like Jiang Nan and her sisters were gifted to the nobility in exchange for rewards and protection.

The poor had no powerful relatives to back them up. Even if they wanted justice, they were powerless.

So, the gang disguised themselves as commoners, striking up conversations with passing travelers to gather information.

Many, fearing to flaunt wealth in front of strangers, pretended to be poor.

But whether truly rich or poor, none could escape this man’s discerning eye.

The desperate hunger in Xiao Ran’s eyes was something he had only ever seen on the genuinely impoverished. That was why he had acted.

After listening to his explanation, Jiang Nan’s expression remained indifferent.

“How many members are in your Yelan Gang?”

“A dozen or so.”

“Are you the leader?”

“That’s right.”

“Named Ye Qiong?”

“That’s me.”

The man belatedly realized he was being interrogated by Jiang Nan and grew somewhat irritated. He wanted to throw out a harsh remark and leave when suddenly, it felt as though cold water had been splashed over his head. His alarm bells rang instantly.

“How do you know my name?”

Jiang Nan looked at him as if he were a rare spectacle. “I thought you wouldn’t realize until someone was right in front of you.”

The man’s face paled, and he turned on his heel to sprint back.

Sure enough, when he reached the camp, he saw over a dozen of his brothers tied to a large tree, their mouths gagged with white cloth.

What chilled Ye Qiong the most was that he couldn’t even see where their captors were.

Inside the dungeon.

Xiao Ran’s vision was blurry. She blinked, and the haziness gradually faded. She watched as Jiang Nan pulled out an extremely thin wire from somewhere, fiddled with the lock a few times, and it clicked open.

When Jiang Nan was very young, she was often locked inside the house by her grandparents. Every day she woke up to an empty home. Eventually, she learned how to pick locks.

Xiao Ran stared blankly as Jiang Nan proceeded to unlock the shackles in front of her.

Jiang Nan observed Xiao Ran sitting there, hands braced against the ground, her blue dress splayed like a blooming flower. A plain brocade belt cinched her waist, accentuating its slender grace. Her face still wore a dazed expression, as if she hadn’t fully regained her senses.

A ripple of emotion stirred in Jiang Nan’s heart.

She felt the urge to tease her.

A cold smile curled at Jiang Nan’s lips as she lowered her eyes. “You’ve seen everything. It seems I can’t let you live.” Her expression darkened as she slowly bent the wire in her hand.

Hearing this, Xiao Ran’s eyes widened instantly, the rims moist. Tears from her earlier struggle to keep them open.

Jiang Nan couldn’t bear being looked at like that. Her expression softened, and she was about to explain.

Xiao Ran tilted her head up, revealing her fair skin and the faint outline of collarbones beneath her clothes. Slightly disheveled strands of hair cascaded from her shoulders to her waist with the movement. Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears, her lips the color of peach blossoms.

“I can do it myself. Sister Jiang, don’t dirty your hands.”

Under the dim light of the dungeon, their shadows stood side by side.

Jiang Nan’s heart tightened. She swallowed hard, her composure slipping for a moment.

This girl!

Why does she always act like this?!

Forcing herself to stay calm, Jiang Nan reached out to help Xiao Ran up and explained everything. Midway, her voice faltered. She caught what looked like a fleeting expression of regret on Xiao Ran’s face.

Regret?

No, it couldn’t be. She must have imagined it.

After finishing, Jiang Nan said, “Let’s go. We’re leaving.”

Outside, A-Jiu had been waiting by the dungeon entrance for a long time.

She led the two of them to Yelan Camp.

Yelan Camp was simple, enclosed by a circle of iron railings bound together with barbed wire. In the center stood a few tents.

A group of people were tied up in the open area.

Among them were the men they had encountered earlier.

Ye Qiong was tied separately, glaring fiercely at Jiang Nan, his face dark with fury.

Xiao Ran was stunned. Who had tied all these people up? It seemed to have something to do with Jiang Nan.

Jiang Nan nodded in satisfaction. Truly worthy of the elite guards she spent tens of thousands of taels of silver on every month.

Their efficiency was impressive.

Because of this, she had to work hard on her business otherwise, she wouldn’t have the funds to maintain such a formidable force.

Jiang Nan asked A-Jiu, “Where are the things you searched for in the dungeon?”

A-Jiu led Jiang Nan into a tent filled with all the loot they had gathered.

Ignoring the piles of gold and silver treasures, Jiang Nan sifted through the items and eventually pulled out a stack of parchment papers.

She unrolled one of the parchments to examine it.

It contained numerous locations, each clearly marked with details such as where wolves or bandits could be found.

This wasn’t what Jiang Nan was looking for, so she opened the next one.

This map was large, about half a person’s height, depicting every corner of Qu City important streets, shops, and the residences of the wealthy.

The third parchment recorded the characteristics of over a dozen influential and wealthy individuals in Qu City, including detailed family relations.

The fourth contained intelligence about Qu City and nearby towns, including gossip about secret affairs.

The last three parchments were what Jiang Nan had been searching for.

When she had first heard about the Night Lantern Gang’s existence for seven or eight years, she had guessed they must possess highly detailed intelligence. This would be useful for her plans in Qu City.

If they hadn’t, it wouldn’t have mattered. Just a few extra months of detours and some lost silver.

But she hadn’t expected the Night Lantern Gang, which had survived for so long, to be so blind.

Jiang Nan glanced at the scattered gold and silver treasures and said, “Find a few people to take these and the prisoners outside to the authorities.”

“Yes, Mistress.”

When Ye Qiong was being taken away, his face was filled with panic and indignation as he shouted, “If you’re so capable, why didn’t you fight us openly?”

Jiang Nan: “…” She was a covert operative. Why would she fight them openly?

The night fog was thick.

Jiang Nan found the carriage and driver abandoned by the Night Lantern Gang in the wilderness. After waking him, she brought him to the camp entrance.

The three of them decided to rest in the gang’s tents for the night and set off again the next morning.

At dawn, Jiang Nan and her companions departed.

Qu City was close by, and they arrived in just two hours. Upon entering, Jiang Nan immediately noticed the differences from Yang City.

Yang City moved at a leisurely pace by noon, the streets were nearly empty as everyone, even the cats and dogs, took afternoon naps.

But in Qu City, even as noon approached, the streets remained bustling. Children ran around everywhere, their laughter ringing like bells. The city’s largest bridge was crowded with vendors selling toys, packed with people.

For the first time, Jiang Nan experienced such a vibrant scene.

Opening a teahouse here would surely bring in more profits.

Her heart stirred with ambition.

Today, Qu City had restricted carriage access, so Jiang Nan and the others had to enter on foot.

Xiao Ran invited Jiang Nan to accompany her to her aunt’s place, but Jiang Nan politely declined. Instead, she checked into a small inn.

Xiao Ran returned to her aunt’s home with some regret.

Xiao Wan was both surprised and delighted to see her.

“You’re back! Have you changed your mind and decided to find a young gentleman in Qu City?”

Xiao Ran shook her head. “No.”

Xiao Wan stopped teasing her and had the kitchen prepare some food before sitting down to chat.

“I went to He Tu Street today to have my fortune told. The seer said today would bring good news.”

Xiao Ran asked, “Was it accurate?”

“Of course! Look, you’re here, aren’t you?” Xiao Wan chuckled.

Xiao Ran was intrigued.

She wanted to have her fortune told too.

Acting on impulse, she set off for He Tu Street that afternoon.

This street could be considered the liveliest in Qu City, with vendors selling just about anything.

Xiao Ran wove through the crowd and finally found a fortune-telling Taoist priest. She took out twenty copper coins, along with her birth characters and Jiang Nan’s name, saying, “Please divine the marital prospects between these two individuals.”

The priest hummed in acknowledgment and began his calculations. After the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn, he declared, “Their destined affinity is insufficient.”

Xiao Ran: “…” This priest seemed like a fraud. Time to try another.

She found a second priest, who after his divination said, “Their union would not be accepted by worldly conventions…”

Another charlatan!

Xiao Ran approached a third priest. The moment the priest frowned upon completing his reading, she stood up and left without a word.

Then she found a fourth priest.

This priest, upon finishing his calculations, relaxed his brow and smiled faintly: “These two are a match made by heaven.”

Xiao Ran’s heart blossomed with joy.

She took a closer look at the priest. His hair was white as a crane’s feathers, yet his face retained a youthful glow. The Taoist robe he wore seemed to suggest he might ascend to immortality at any moment.

This one was clearly a master of profound cultivation.

Her aunt truly hadn’t deceived her!

________________________________________

Wan Jie was chatting with the teahouse owner he collaborated with.

Holding a cup of tea, his face couldn’t conceal his smugness: “Let me tell you, in at most half a month, we’re going to strike it rich.”

“How so?” asked the portly owner across from him.

“Have you heard of the Qin Xin merchant caravan?” Wan Jie inquired.

The plump owner nodded: “Yes, the newly emerged caravan with potential. They defeated the established caravans and secured this round of tea transportation contracts. It’s been the talk of all the teahouses.”

Wan Jie’s expression grew even more self-satisfied: “I recognized their worth early on. When they were still obscure, I invested a sum and even arranged for a relative of mine to infiltrate their ranks.”

He conveniently omitted how he had repeatedly disparaged the Qin Xin caravan during their struggling early days.

The portly owner’s eyes lit up: “You’re serious?”

“Absolutely.” Wan Jie lifted his chin. “As for those teahouses that oppose us like the Cheng Family Teahouse, Evergreen Teahouse, and that Hidden Fragrance Pavilion in Yang City…”

At the mention of Hidden Fragrance Pavilion, his expression suddenly changed. Recalling the incident in that alley, he couldn’t help but shudder.

Wan Jie rubbed the goosebumps on his arms.

That person wouldn’t come to Qu City anyway, what was there to fear? Even if they did come, it wouldn’t matter. On someone else’s turf, even a dragon would have to coil up.

“In any case, those teahouses that oppose us won’t have good days ahead,” Wan Jie declared.

The portly owner laughed along, his eyes narrowing into fleshy slits.

________________________________________

When Jiang Nan found some free time, she went out to explore. Only after stepping outside did she realize how numerous teahouses were in Qu City, there seemed to be one every ten paces.

She randomly chose one and took a seat inside.

The teahouse wasn’t large, its decor simple, and the tea ordinary. Their main attraction was an exceptionally entertaining storyteller they’d hired.

The patrons here were those who disdained refined establishments, preferring places with lively, earthly atmosphere.

After the storytelling concluded, the audience broke into applause. Just as Jiang Nan was preparing to leave, she overheard the conversation between two men in front of her.

“The tea here isn’t as good as what we have back in Yang City,” said a man with tied-up hair to his companion.

“What good tea does Yang City have?”

“There’s Hidden Fragrance Pavilion. I particularly love their new ‘Half-Day Demon’ blend.”

The other person looked a bit confused. “What on earth are you talking about? I’ve never heard of either. What kind of tea is Bantianyao, green tea or black tea? What a strange name.”

“It’s rock tea. That’s just what it’s called.”

“Never heard of it. I think you must be missing Yangcheng too much, which is why you think the tea there is so fragrant. Qicheng is several times bigger than Yangcheng, so naturally, the tea here is better.”

“Forget it. You wouldn’t understand anyway.”

Jiang Nan listened for a while before leaving thoughtfully.

It seemed that if she wanted Qicheng to accept the Hidden Fragrance Pavilion, she would first have to establish the reputation of its signature tea, Bantianyao.

After familiarizing herself with the general layout of Qicheng, Jiang Nan returned to the inn to organize her thoughts.

Xiao Ran came to see her.

“Sister Jiang, would you like to visit my aunt’s house?”

Jiang Nan declined.

Xiao Ran persisted, “My family’s parrot can say ‘hello, sister.'”

Jiang Nan remained unmoved.

“My house has lots of delicious pastries you’ve never tried before.”

A flicker of interest crossed Jiang Nan’s face.

“My aunt is a collector of cultural artifacts.”

Jiang Nan finally gave in.

Since she had nothing better to do, she might as well go and have some fun.

When Jiang Nan arrived at Xiao Ran’s aunt’s house, she immediately recognized Xiao Wan, who bore some resemblance to Xiao Ran, and greeted her.

Xiao Wan smiled warmly and asked, “Are you the owner of the cloak?”

Before Jiang Nan could process the question, Xiao Ran’s words diverted her attention.

“Sister Jiang, the cultural artifacts room is just ahead,” Xiao Ran said, casting a playful glance at her aunt.

Upon entering, Jiang Nan saw shelves lining two walls, filled with cultural artifacts. Carved gourds, walnuts, agate ornaments, small rosewood pieces, and more. The collection was dazzling, each piece of exceptional quality.

“Take a seat and look around. I’ll go prepare some pastries for you,” Xiao Ran said before leaving the room.

Xiao Wan entered slowly and sat across from Jiang Nan.

Jiang Nan had peach-blossom eyes, her lashes thick as a fan, naturally long and casting delicate shadows beneath them. Her slightly arched eyebrows lent her a touch of spirited charm, making her as radiant as spring blossoms.

Xiao Wan nodded subtly to herself. Earlier, when Jiang Nan and Xiao Ran had walked in together, she had found the sight quite pleasing.

“Do you also enjoy cultural artifacts?” Xiao Wan asked with a smile.

Jiang Nan replied modestly, “I’m just a beginner.”

The two chatted for a while, sharing their thoughts on artifacts, their textures, and their luster. When the topic turned to whether artifacts needed oiling, they found themselves in complete agreement, feeling an instant kinship as kindred spirits.

After talking at length, Xiao Wan grew thirsty and took a sip of water. Smiling, she asked, “Xiao Ran’s pastries are delicious, aren’t they? She’s also excellent at embroidery, needlework, and carving. As her aunt, I adore her dearly.”

Jiang Nan nodded.

Xiao Wan leaned in closer, her expression turning mysterious. “But there’s one thing she absolutely must not touch. Do you know what it is?”