The Comeback of the Cannon-Fodder Supporting Actress

Chapter 409: Chapter 102: I’m Just a Sucker for Good Looks 44

Wang Chunhua came as soon as she received Anning’s letter.

Arriving at Prefecture City at the same time were Xu Bao’er and her husband.

Recently, Xu Bao’er had not been in a good mood, so Xie Jue took her to Prefecture City to clear her mind.

Xu Bao’er hadn’t seen Anning for a while, and her mood improved a lot instantly upon seeing her.

Anning chatted with Xu Bao’er for a while and then sent the maid to the kitchen to prepare some delicious food.

It wasn’t until all the maids and old women had left that Anning asked Wang Chunhua: ”Miss Wang, what are you thinking? Can you stay with Mr. Yue until the end? Do you want him to continue pursuing scholarly honors, or do you want him to live a peaceful life with you?”

Wang Chunhua was puzzled: ”Why do you ask this? Did my husband upset you? If he dares to upset you, just tell me, and I’ll beat him up for you.”

Anning shook her head: ”That’s not the case, but this matter is quite complicated. It all depends on what Miss Wang thinks?”

”Just say it, I can withstand anything.”

Wang Chunhua was truly magnanimous, had a generous and cheerful personality, and strong moral principles. Anning truly admired her and didn’t wish to upset her.

However, this was a grave matter, and Anning had to clarify it with Wang Chunhua.

Xu Bao’er, sitting by the side, perked up her ears while listening to the conversation between Anning and Wang Chunhua.

She was also quite curious about what matter made Anning so cautious.

Anning then revealed the discovery that Yue Zhong was possessed by a nightmare charm.

”That ghostly creature is very cunning and difficult to capture. Moreover, it has begun to absorb the negative aura and many negative emotions from Mr. Yue. Forcibly extracting it would also damage Mr. Yue,” Anning explained.

Wang Chunhua thought for a moment: ”Will this affect having children with him?”

Anning shook her head: ”That, it will not.”

Then, after examining Wang Chunhua for a moment, Anning said, ”Congratulations Miss Wang.”

”What for?”

Wang Chunhua touched her belly: ”Am I pregnant? I haven’t gotten my period this month.”

Anning nodded: ”Indeed, you are pregnant, about two months in.”

”Ah?”

Wang Chunhua exclaimed in surprise: ”That’s impossible, last month I...”

Anning chuckled softly: ”Last month, you must have bled very little. It was actually a sign of an unstable pregnancy, not your period.”

It took a while for Wang Chunhua to compose herself.

Then, she grabbed Anning’s hand eagerly: ”Tell me, is it a boy or a girl? Not that I prefer one over the other, but I only want to go through childbirth once. If it’s a boy, all well and good, but if it’s a girl and something happens to the Yue family, life will certainly be hard for my daughter and me. I must find a way to have another child.”

Anning observed carefully, then finally smiled after a while: ”Miss Wang, you got your wish. This pregnancy is both a son and a daughter. However, you must take good care of yourself and ensure the stability of the pregnancy.”

”Definitely, definitely.”

As soon as Wang Chunhua heard that she was having both a son and a daughter, she was immediately overjoyed: ”I’ll see a doctor soon to get some medicine for stabilizing the pregnancy.”

After a while, Wang Chunhua spoke to Anning in a calm manner: ”Now that I am having both a son and a daughter, I don’t care about Mr. Yue’s matters anymore. You do whatever you think is best. As long as he’s alive, I will ask for nothing else.”

Anning smiled and nodded: ”With that, I am also reassured.”

She took out a bottle of medicine and gave it to Wang Chunhua: ”After you go back, put this medicine in his food. Once he consumes it, send someone to inform me promptly. This medicine can momentarily restrain the nightmare charm within his body, rendering it immobile. We must seize this opportunity to capture the nightmare charm; otherwise, the consequences are unimaginable.”

Wang Chunhua accepted the medicine bottle with utmost care: ”Okay.”

After sending off Wang Chunhua and Xu Bao’er, Anning started to ponder over the rural examination.

In the Dajing Dynasty, officials were split between the Southern Party and Northern Party, with the Northern Party being mainly from the Lu region, while the Southern Party was mostly from the Jiangsu and Zhejiang area.

Both regions were prevalent in scholarship, and each Imperial Examination saw contention arise between them.

Additionally, the south, being prosperous, had even more scholars. Not to mention the Imperial Examination; even the rural examination was fiercely competitive.

The Magistrate of the region where Xiao Yuan was taking the rural examination was originally from Jiangnan, and his two sons were also about to participate in the rural examination.

Due to some discord with the Academic Administrator in charge of the rural examination in the Jiangnan region, the Magistrate feared his sons would be obstructed, so he devised a way for them to take the rural examination in the North, where the competition was less fierce.

Secondly, the relationship between the Magistrate and the Academic Administrator was quite decent, and even without cheating, his son likely wouldn’t be hindered.

The Magistrate had good intentions, but often things do not go as one wishes.

Anning remembered that in her previous life, He Anning had seized this opportunity to help Yue Zhong achieve a good ranking in the rural examination.

This time, she too intended to take advantage of this opportunity to help Xiao Yuan pass as a scholar.

After deciding her plan, Anning began to press Xiao Yuan to compose policy essays.

Whether in Jiangnan or the north, in recent years, flowery and ornate essays held an advantage in rural examinations.

Over these years, the Dajing Dynasty officials and scholars alike have favored lavish and splendid styles, and most students had been emulating such writing, praising and lauding as per the contents, composing as lavishly as they could.

However, just this year there would be a change in the Academic Administrator, and the new one happened to be quite eccentric.

The Magistrate belonged to the Southern Party, while the incoming Academic Administrator was a Northern Party official, who upon arrival, intended to trouble the two sons of the Magistrate’s house. To do so, he would favor essays that were particularly plain yet substantive; the more splendid the writing, the greater the chance of being rejected.

Anning was now having Xiao Yuan write that kind of simple essay.

In fact, Xiao Yuan couldn’t write anything pompous or luxurious.

He lacked the learning and the words for it; managing to write an essay that was balanced and stable was good enough, and to hope for anything higher-level was simply unrealistic.

Anning felt this was just perfect, as long as he was able to pass the examination, that was enough.

Come the next day, Wang Chunhua sent a letter to Anning, informing her that the medicine had been administered.

Anning hurriedly made her way to the Yue Family.

By the time she arrived, Yue Zhong had already passed out.

Wang Chunhua led Anning into the room, and as soon as she entered, she saw Yue Zhong lying on the ground.

Anning had Wang Chunhua dismiss the servants and tightly closed the doors and windows, then she began to cast her spell.

When Anning entered, the nightmare charm sensed something extraordinary about her; currently weak, it dared not confront Anning head-on. It wanted to flee but found itself completely unable to escape.

Anning sneered, walked over, patted Yue Zhong a few times, and then, with a lift of her hand, pulled out a beautifully colorful and pretty little thing.

Wang Chunhua watched in astonishment: ”Is this the thing? This... is too pretty looking.”

”The more toxic something is, the prettier it often appears.”

Anning smiled as she began to contact An Xin.

An Xin had been in closed cultivation recently, and it took Anning quite a while to reach her.

”Ningning, what’s the matter?”

Then, An Xin saw the nightmare charm Anning was holding: ”Oh my, Ningning, where did you find this? Give it to me quickly, quick!”

”You keep it well; it might come in handy later.”

The nightmare charm struggled ceaselessly in Anning’s hand but couldn’t break free at all.

It started to bargain with Anning: ”Let me go, and I’ll grant you wealth and glory; whatever you wish for, I’ll help you, even if you want to become an Empress...”

Anning ignored it, and it began to plead: ”Please have mercy, don’t kill me, I’ve done no harm; I just want to live; I never meant to harm anyone.”

Anning laughed and carefully bundled up the nightmare charm.

Afterward, Anning said to Wang Chunhua: ”Take good care of your husband these few days. Once he wakes up, he might become a bit duller, and it’s likely he won’t have any hope in the civil examinations anymore. However, he has already made a name for himself, and life will still be manageable.”

Wang Chunhua stood up to send Anning off.

Anning gestured: ”No need, I will return now to refine this ghostly creature.”

On her way back, Anning had An Xin take the nightmare charm.

An Xin had already started her own space in the previous two worlds and could collect some items, even creating a few Golden Fingers.

But Anning never relied on any Golden Fingers.

No matter the world she was in, she would rely on her own abilities; Golden Fingers were not only useless to her but might cause her to lose her true purpose, so she refrained from using them if she could.

An Xin put the nightmare charm into her space, turning it into one of the Golden Fingers.

She seemed particularly happy: ”Ningning, we have quite a few Golden Fingers now, do you want to use one?”

Anning shook her head: ”Not necessary, I’ll use it when I can’t handle something on my own.”