I Really Like the Male Supporting Character (Quick Transmigration) - Chapter 18
In the early spring, in March, when it was the rainy season, a light mist cloaked the tiled roofs and white-walled eaves of this southern town and cast an ethereal, almost heavenly glow over the scenery.
Pedestrians moved at a leisurely pace and strolled the streets in small groups. Among them was a tall, sturdy old man with streaks of grey in his hair, carrying a delicate, three-year-old girl on his shoulders. From time to time, he would greet the passersby with a cheerful smile.
“Old Wang, let’s have a drink sometime!” he called out. “Today? No, not today—I’m taking Suisui to watch an opera performance.”
With his little granddaughter Suisui perched on his shoulder, the old man made his way to a small outdoor opera stage. They spent the better part of the day listening to the singers, and he bought Suisui treats—sugar-coated fruits, candy figures, sticky rice cakes, and many other delicacies. Around noon, they began their slow walk back to a residence, which was located on the outskirts of Anling.
The moment they entered the courtyard, the little girl, named Suisui, scrambled down and dashed toward a tall man in white robes that were as pure as snow. With a gleeful cry, she flung herself into his arms, exclaiming, “Daddy! Suisui’s home!”
The man’s amber eyes softened with a gentle warmth as he leaned down to lift his daughter. He smiled as he asked, “Did you have fun, Suisui?”
The child’s cheeks were as fair as snow and as round as little buns. She had delicate features and a pair of large, deer-like brown eyes. With the father and daughter’s faces so close, they seemed as if they were statues carved from the same mould.
“Suisui watched the opera and ate candy, tanghulu, sticky rice cake, and dragon beard candy…” Suisui began listing the treats she had eaten on her small fingers one by one.
Before she could finish, a graceful woman with refined features stepped out from the house, chiding, “Suisui, if you keep eating so many sweets, what will happen to your teeth?”
Suisui quickly clapped her hands over her mouth. In a soft, pleading voice, she said, “Grandpa bought them! I already told him no more. Mommy, don’t be mad at me, okay?”
The elderly man—the marquis of Yuanting, shook his head in amusement. “Ha! This little rascal is so quick to put the blame on her grandpa!”
The woman, Ah Luo, gave a faint smile and instructed a maid to take Suisui to brush her teeth. She then turned to the marquis and said, “Father, don’t indulge her too much. She’s young and doesn’t know restraint. If you and Ah Yu keep spoiling her like this, we’ll end up with a little troublemaker on our hands.”
The marquis’ eyes widened in mock offence. “Troublemaker? Nonsense! My granddaughter can do no wrong!”
Wenren Jin—Suisui’s father, smiled faintly but said nothing. It left Ah Luo to shake her head in silent exasperation.
These two men were hopeless!
In the past, the marquis of Yuanting had always wanted a grandson. When Ah Luo gave birth to a little daughter, he was actually greatly disappointed. However, when he visited his granddaughter during the New Year a couple of years ago, he held his little granddaughter once and decided never to leave this place and return to the capital without her.
Without a doubt, the person who doted on Suisui the most in their family was her grandfather, Wenren Song.
The second person on that list was her father, Wenren Jin. Before Suisui was born, he’d even suggested to Ah Luo that they reconsider having a child, but after Suisui was born, he became a complete slave to his daughter.
Thinking of this made Ah Luo feel quite amused.
That evening, after Wenren Jin coaxed Suisui to sleep, he returned to their room in the dim glow of night.
Ah Luo was sitting by the bed and drying her hair. She smiled at him and teased, “Ah Yu, if I tell Suisui that you once didn’t want her, do you think she’d cry?”
Wenren Jin sat beside her and, without missing a beat, took the cloth from her hands. With his long, slender fingers, he began drying her hair gently. He wiped away the remaining moisture in her locks.
With a warm smile on his face, he replied, “What made you think of that, Ah Luo? Suisui is still young. Don’t tease her.”
Ah Luo let out a little huff. She sounded as if she was sulking as she said, “Now you only have eyes for your daughter.”
He finished drying her hair as a knowing smile crept into his expression. He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her from behind. His voice was soft and gentle as he whispered into her ear, “I cherish Suisui because she’s the child you carried. That’s all there is to it.”
Ah Luo murmured softly, “But now… you hardly touch me… Husband, have you grown tired of me?”
The words had barely left her lips when Wenren Jin froze. A faint blush now coloured his fair, handsome face. In a low voice, he replied, “Ah Luo, it’s not that at all. I just don’t want you to go through the pains of pregnancy again…”
Since Suisui’s birth, Wenren Jin had devoted much of his energy to their daughter. He had been so hands-on with her upbringing that Ah Luo barely had to lift a finger, though it did sometimes leave her feeling a little neglected. The frequency of their time together had decreased significantly, and it was a sharp contrast to the intimacy of their early marriage.
Aside from this, though, Wenren Jin’s treatment of her remained as affectionate as always. At times, she wondered if she was simply overthinking things.
That night, she finally voiced her feelings, only to be met with an answer that took her by surprise.
Ah Luo found herself recalling the past. She was only seventeen when she gave birth to Suisui. Her young age was compounded by severe pregnancy reactions, which made the later stages of her pregnancy especially difficult for her.
During that time, she suffered such swelling in her legs that she was bedridden. She was unable to move and was often sleepless through long nights.
Wenren Jin, too, lost weight from looking after her. By the time of her labor, his mood had grown increasingly somber, and on the day before she was to give birth, he had even suggested calling it off.
Later, Ah Luo realised that Wenren Jin had developed a fear. His mother had died giving birth to him, and it had left him with a shadow that followed him even to his adulthood. Seeing his wife’s own suffering had left him scarred, as well.
Even after Suisui’s smooth delivery, the shadow remained, hidden beneath his calm exterior.
“Don’t you want more children? Father is still hoping for a grandson,” Ah Luo said while turning to look at him.
Wenren Jin’s expression softened. He gently stroked her cheek and smiled lightly. “I understand Father well. He wouldn’t mind; he adores Suisui.”
Ah Luo raised her gaze to his and leaned in to give his lips a playful nip. She felt his breath hitch and his chest rising slightly.
“I missed you,” she murmured. “Don’t you miss me too?”
Surely, he must have been holding back for a long time now.
After figuring out the true reason behind his distance, Ah Luo had calmed down. Still, she was curious if he could resist her temptations.
That night, Ah Luo gave it her all. She savored the rare sight of her usually reserved gentleman of a husband losing all restraints, with his cheeks flushed and his eyebrows beaded with sweat.
The next morning, Ah Luo rose in high spirits. The sun was already well into the sky by the time she woke up.
Upon seeing her mother, Suisui stuck her little tongue out in a teasing gesture. “Mommy is so lazy; the sun’s already shining on your bottom!”
The marquis grinned wildly and told his granddaughter, “Your mommy isn’t lazy. She was busy making you baby siblings!”
Both Ah Luo and Wenren Jin turned red. Just then, the former Grand Tutor Su and his wife arrived to visit their granddaughter.
They were in Anling, a town in the Zhuzhou prefecture in the south of the empire. Three years earlier, Su Shaoyan had been assigned to this prefecture as its governor. The climate here was mild and humid year-round, and with family around, Ah Luo and Wenren Jin had decided to settle down there.
The two families lived close by and practically became one big family over the years.
Upon seeing her grandparents, Suisui ran over and threw herself into their arms. Lady Zhong had given birth to a son for Su Shaoyan last year, so Grand Tutor Su and Lady Yao now had a pair of grandson and granddaughter. Lady Yao seemed to have become much younger these days, and even the usually stern Grand Tutor Su would break into a smile from time to time.
Lady Yao took Suisui to play with some trinkets, while Grand Tutor Su joined the others beneath the blooming magnolia tree in the garden.
“This year, we’ll likely need to return to the capital for New Year’s. His Majesty’s fiftieth birthday will be a grand celebration,” Grand Tutor Su said after sipping tea slowly. “But with the current tensions there, it’s hard to predict what will happen.”
The marquis touched his own head, and his expression turned serious. He said, “Perhaps we should find a reason for the ladies to stay here?”
Grand Tutor Su nodded. “Shaoyan and I discussed it. My wife and his wife will remain here. Yan’er and Suisui, however, must go.”
While Su Shaoyan was an ordinary court official without any noble title, Wenren Jin was the heir of a marquis. Ah Luo was his legitimate wife, and Suisui was his legitimate daughter. As such, they must attend the imperial banquet.
Seeing everyone’s concern, Ah Luo spoke up. “There’s no need to worry too much. I’m only a lady, and the marquis’ residence has no real political power. Nothing will happen to us.”
The rest of the people on the table agreed. They began to discuss other matters.
The marquis asked Grand Tutor Su, “Old Su, you’re the clever one here. Who do you think will succeed His Majesty, in the end?”
Over the past three years, the capital had seen many changes.
The seventh prince’s faction now competed with the crown prince’s faction directly.
Last year, when the crown prince was performing a duty, he acquired the emperor’s ire due to his favorite concubine messing up his task for him.
Recently, the crown prince had also become more and more aggressive in his actions. He also no longer bothered concealing his ambitions for the throne.
The crown prince was the second son of the emperor. The eldest son of the emperor had died early, but he still had the third and sixth princes—two other of the emperor’s grown sons, below him. The third and sixth princes came from the same mother, and their mother’s family wasn’t a prominent family, so they weren’t really favored in this battle for the throne.
The seventh prince, however, had been born to a mother from a strong, prominent family. He also had the family of his wife, the Zhao family, backing him. On top of that, he was the emperor’s favorite son. In truth, he was the crown prince’s only real rival.
If not for the current crown prince, the seventh prince—considering his family background and personal qualities, would have been the obvious successor to the emperor.
With a hint of detachment in his voice, Grand Tutor Su replied, “The crown prince has the support of the Song family, so he won’t be easily defeated. Still, the seventh prince has the emperor’s favor. What will happen in the future remains uncertain to me.”
At this time, Wenren Jin softly said, “The crown prince’s connection to the Song family is currently strained. Some time ago, I received news from the capital about how the crown prince’s legitimate wife and his favorite concubine had a fight. His favorite concubine caused his legitimate wife to have a miscarriage, and his legitimate wife now could no longer bear children.”
When he said this, a trace of regret colored his voice. After witnessing his wife’s childbirth, Wenren Jin gained sympathy for all pregnant women in the world. He also gained a deep-seated fear about Ah Luo experiencing the same thing as the crown prince’s legitimate wife did.
Ah Luo sensed his unease. Beneath the table, she took his hand and intertwined his fingers with hers.
With certainty, Grand Tutor Su said, “The crown prince is but a puppet of the Song family. The Song family is what the crown prince’s opponents truly need to guard against. During His Majesty’s birthday banquet, he will summon Song Renzhou back to the capital, and something big will certainly happen at that time. Whether His Majesty or the Song family wins in the end, though, is something that only time will tell.”
Ah Luo understood that her family’s upcoming return to the capital was fraught with uncertainty. Her arrival had altered the course of events, as she had spared the seventh prince from his original fate and created a substantial obstacle for the crown prince on his path to the throne.
Then there was Su Baiwei, the prince’s notorious concubine. Her entanglements had led to repeated blunders by the crown prince, who was now viewed by many as a man lost in romantic entanglements, heedless of his duties. He favored his concubine and allowed her to ruin his own wife.
It was no secret that the Song family despised Su Baiwei. They blamed her for the crown princess, Song Rulan’s miscarriage, and the crown prince’s failures.
Besides, the Su family and the marquis of Yuanting’s residence were now allied with the seventh prince’s faction. There was no favorable end in sight for them if the crown prince ascended the throne, even with Su Baiwei as his favored concubine.
Right now, the future remained an enigmatic mystery.