The Comeback of the Cannon-Fodder Supporting Actress

Chapter 1010: Chapter 987: Glory Amidst Chaos 55

The old man nodded, ”Before, when you lived in the Duke Mansion, didn’t your elder brother also not despise you? Didn’t he also support you for many years?”

Xiao Yuan smiled, ”You’re right, my elder brother did support us before, so what does that have to do with you? You really have a knack for being a father.”

The old man was so embarrassed by Xiao Yuan’s words that his face turned red.

The old man was the Old Duke, and Xiao Yuan was his legitimate son. Xiao Yuan stayed in the Duke Mansion, not supported by the main branch, but by his father.

Earlier, Xiao Yuan and his wife also wanted to separate from the family, but the old man didn’t allow it, saying that as long as parents are alive, the family should not be divided, causing the third branch to suffer many years of grievances.

And now he shamelessly mentions that Xiao Yuan was supported by the main branch, yet was mocked by Xiao Yuan, which almost made him fly into a rage from shame.

”Would you want that?”

Xiao Yuan stopped walking, ”So, you want to live with elder brother?”

The old man nodded, ”Naturally.”

Xiao Yuan didn’t let the old man continue walking, ”Someone, take the old man and the old madam to West Street.”

Xiao Yuan had prepared a house for the main branch on West Street. When he said send them to West Street, he meant sending them to that house.

Immediately someone came over, dragging the old man and the old madam back onto the carriage.

Anning laughed and nodded to several servants to follow them and serve.

Xiao Jin asked Xiao Yuan softly, ”What should be done with these two old people? We can’t let them keep causing trouble. If they create a mess, it might affect you, Third Brother.”

Xiao Yuan remained calm, ”What do they hope to achieve by coming here? By relying on the influence of the eldest? Or because he’s a cowardly softie? Once in the house on West Street, all affairs will be managed by the steward, and the serving servants are all hand-picked by your Third Sister-in-law. Everyone receives their monthly salary from your Third Sister-in-law’s side, who do you think they’re loyal to? Once the eldest and the old man move in, don’t expect freedom. I’ll have people deliver their food, clothing, and necessities, but they won’t be allowed to leave. What trouble do they hope to make? If they intend to stir up trouble, they’ll be stopped by the servants before they can act.”

Xiao Jin was taken aback, looking at Xiao Yuan once more, realizing that Xiao Yuan was no longer the oppressed Third Young Master in the Duke Mansion, but a strategic and commanding figure.

”I was overthinking.”

Xiao Jin smiled, ”Such arrangements couldn’t be better, saving us from anyone using the old man to threaten us, and preventing them from causing trouble in the countryside.”

Xiao Yuan’s light and indifferent words decided the future life of the old man and the other three branches.

The old man insisted on Xiao Yuan supporting the main branch, so Xiao Yuan would support them, but how he supported them was his decision. He would treat them like pigs: if they behaved, they’d remain idle, eating and sleeping, sleeping and eating. If they didn’t behave, dealing with them would be just a matter of Xiao Yuan’s word.

When Xiao Jin returned home, thinking about Xiao Yuan’s arrangements for the old man, he felt a chill of fear.

He imagined that if he ever misbehaved, his Third Brother might deal with him in some unpredictable way.

However, Xiao Jin was ultimately not too afraid.

After all, he was a very obedient good boy; things that Third Brother forbade him to do, he absolutely wouldn’t do.

After settling the old man and the old madam, a few days later, the main, second, and fifth branches also arrived at the Prefecture City. Anning arranged for people to directly take these three families to the house on West Street.

Then, Anning dispatched guards, placing people at the front and back doors, rotating shifts 24 hours to ensure that people inside couldn’t leave and outsiders couldn’t enter.

After arranging all these matters, Xiao Yuan then began to gather places that hadn’t yet submitted to him.

He led troops in battles for about a month, essentially gaining control over the entire Nanyi Prefecture.

After reclaiming Nanyi Prefecture, Xiao Yuan didn’t go out to battle again; he started handling political affairs. He entrusted the task of recovering other Prefecture Cities to Xiao Jin, Xiao Ling, and Dong Da.

By late autumn, Xiao Yuan’s territory expanded significantly.

Besides Nanyi Prefecture, he had controlled Xifeng Prefecture and Ningyang Prefecture, both adjacent to Nanyi Prefecture.

Though Xifeng Prefecture and Ningyang Prefecture didn’t have many people under their jurisdiction, the land was relatively fertile, and resources were rich. Furthermore, Xifeng Prefecture and Ningyang Prefecture each had mines.

These mines hadn’t been developed or utilized, and few people knew of them.

Anning had quietly gone to inspect and discovered them.

Xifeng Prefecture had coal mines, and Ningyang Prefecture had iron mines, with abundant iron reserves.

To plan a rebellion, weapons are essential, and making weapons requires iron. Now that Anning found iron mines in Ningyang Prefecture, it relieved a pressing need.

Xiao Yuan personally took some people to Ningyang Prefecture, found some miners to mine, and after discovering iron ore, directly smelted it on-site to create weapons.

Meanwhile, a considerable amount of coal was mined from Xifeng Prefecture.

Extracted coal was used to make coke for smelting iron, completing the process.

Xiao Yuan was heavily recruiting troops, while Anning visited many farmers, providing a variety of seeds and teaching them how to plant.

Given Xiao Yuan’s great reputation in the Nanyi region, the common folk feared him, and Anning was his wife, so when Anning told everyone to plant specific seeds, no one dared disobey.

Thus, that year, many families planted the seeds Anning provided.

These seeds included rice, wheat, and some beans, all of which were high-quality crops Anning had cultivated.

Apart from seeds, Anning also made some simple nutrient liquid for farmers to spray on their fields.

People didn’t know why they needed to spray these liquids. However, since Nanyi Prefecture was practically under military control, soldiers went to the countryside to spread the message to spray the liquid, no one dared not to comply.

While Anning and Xiao Yuan were busy, Xiao Yin was also occupied.

Xiao Yuan had found several scholars for her, and Xiao Yin busied herself with writing stories.

Xiao Yuan wanted Emperor Jingqing to be depicted as an incompetent and tyrannical ruler in her works, so Xiao Yin had to make the Emperor seem violent and brutal.

This is Xiao Yin’s strong suit, as she had those scholars write according to her instructions.

How should it be written?

Of course, as fantastical as possible.

Under Xiao Yin’s pen, Noble Consort Li was portrayed as an old mountain spirit monster. To attain immortality, she seized the body of a woman with the surname Li, relying on the woman’s beauty to enter the palace, wreaking havoc among the concubines in the harem, and winning Emperor Jingqing’s favor, using her influence to slander and eliminate loyal ministers and generals.

She stayed by Emperor Jingqing’s side to absorb the Dragon Energy from him and cause chaos in the realm, hoping to secure the fortune of the Daqi Dynasty for hundreds of years to come.

Emperor Jingqing was bewitched by Noble Consort Li, committing many actions that incited public anger.

For instance, he devised many tortures, poisoned many ministers, and brutally killed the kind and virtuous Consort De.

In Xiao Yin’s depiction, the deeds of Emperor Jingqing and Noble Consort Li were inhuman.

For example, a concubine offended Noble Consort Li, so she had the concubine’s hands and feet chopped off, eyes gouged out, tongue cut out, and had the person soaked in a wine cask.

Another example is when Emperor Jingqing and Noble Consort Li were wandering the streets, she saw a pregnant woman and bet with Emperor Jingqing on whether the unborn child was a boy or a girl.

Emperor Jingqing said it was a boy, Noble Consort Li insisted it was a girl, neither would relent, so Emperor Jingqing had the pregnant woman seized and made to undergo a cesarean section on the spot to determine the sex of the unborn child.

These sorts of events were numerous.

Once Xiao Yin wrote these stories, Xiao Ying took them to storytellers in teahouses and restaurants to narrate to the public.

This Nanyi region was far away from the Capital, and people truly didn’t understand what was happening there.

Moreover, Xiao Yin’s stories were depicted so vividly, as if personally experienced, making it easy for people to believe. Before long, many Nanyi Prefecture residents began secretly cursing Emperor Jingqing and Noble Consort Li.

When the populace began to despise Emperor Jingqing, Xiao Yin then started indoctrinating the people of Nanyi Prefecture, telling them that Xiao Yuan was a heavenly star, unable to bear seeing people suffer, and had descended to rescue them.

Anning was portrayed as a goddess descending from heaven, having cultivated high-yield rice and wheat with her own hands and offered them free for planting, even procuring divine water for irrigation, all to ensure the people had enough food to eat.

Xiao Yin undertook all these propaganda activities secretly, subtly influencing people’s thoughts and gradually gaining the recognition of Xiao Yuan and Anning among Nanyi Prefecture’s people.