The Comeback of the Cannon-Fodder Supporting Actress

Chapter 1097: Chapter 1071: Nobility Amidst Chaos

Anning sent off the couple Yinya and received news from An Xin.

Noble Consort Li has arrived at the borders of Dajing.

She smuggled in with the help of the system and is now in Jinling.

Upon hearing this, Anning couldn’t help but laugh.

This Noble Consort Li is muddle-headed, and so is the system. They’re just delivering themselves on a silver platter.

”Let them come.”

Anning said to An Xin, ”Disrupt the opponent’s system a bit more, make it even more confused. Also, I’ll have someone make it easier for Noble Consort Li to reach Suzhou sooner.”

Hearing this, An Xin also laughed, ”Alright, let them deliver themselves from a thousand miles away then.”

Anning then wrote a letter to the spies along the way from Jinling to Suzhou, asking them to assist Noble Consort Li in reaching Suzhou early, while reporting on her itinerary.

After waiting for about ten days, Anning received news from the spies saying that Noble Consort Li was about to reach Suzhou.

Anning quickly informed Xiao Yuan about this.

The couple changed into plain clothes and left the palace, heading to a place about ten miles from the gates of Suzhou City.

This is an official road, which was turned into a paved road shortly after Xiao Yuan occupied Suzhou. Nowadays, most merchants or scholars from other places travel to Suzhou via this road.

When Anning and Xiao Yuan arrived, they found a small pavilion to sit in.

With them were also Hidden Guards. Anning sent one to deliver a message to the Hidden Guards following Noble Consort Li to guide her there.

After waiting for over an hour, they saw a blue cloth-covered carriage approaching from a distance.

Once the carriage stopped and the curtain was lifted, it revealed a very beautiful face.

Looking at her surroundings, she instantly panicked, ”Driver, where is this? I’m supposed to go to Suzhou City, why have you brought me here?”

Anning approached with a smile, ”Noble Consort Li.”

Noble Consort Li was startled, ”Who are you? I’m not Noble Consort Li, you’ve got the wrong person.”

Xiao Yuan, standing next to Anning, glanced at Noble Consort Li and soon had an understanding of her so-called palace fighting system.

Noble Consort Li’s so-called palace fighting system might just be some bootleg product.

Look at how it has made Noble Consort Li look. At first glance, she is indeed stunning and looks like a top beauty, but the face doesn’t hold up well to scrutiny. The more you look, the odder it seems.

How should I put it—Noble Consort Li’s face looks like one that’s been surgically altered in modern times. Although it appears quite attractive, with all facial features finely crafted, it lacks distinctiveness, beauty merely in surface appearance, not in bone structure.

”The whole way, our guards have been protecting you closely, how could we mistake you for someone else?”

Anning chuckled, ”Come on down.”

Noble Consort Li, finding herself in this situation, reluctantly got off the carriage, ”Who exactly are you?”

Xiao Yuan spoke, ”Noble Consort, you really have a bad memory. Wasn’t our family exiled to the Southern Yi because of you in the early years? What, don’t you recall?”

Noble Consort Li immediately realized who they were.

She truly did not expect that before even arriving in Suzhou, the Emperor and Empress of Dajing had already intercepted her on the road.

She lowered her head immediately, tears in her eyes as she wiped them away, ”So, it’s someone from the Xiao Family. I know you hate me, but... your family’s exile was not because of me. It was Emperor Jingqing who decreed it, unrelated to me. I am just a weak woman, how could I possibly...”

Before Noble Consort Li could finish, Anning reached out and lightly grasped her body, and Noble Consort Li felt a searing headache, so intense it made her want to die, causing her to scream and wail continually, ”It hurts so much, what did you do to me? Spare me, it hurts so much, I... I truly had no ill intentions.”

Anning looked at a gray mass in her palm and sneered, ”So it’s you, where did you escape from?”

The palace fighting system cowered into a ball, ”Spare me, I haven’t done anything wrong. I can help you; I have eyes like autumn water, a slender waist, and skin as smooth as cream. I can help make you more beautiful, I can make the Emperor love you more.”

Anning clenched her palm, squeezing the palace fighting system until it screeched, ”Truly, I can really help you.”

Anning pointed at Noble Consort Li, ”To become like her? No thanks, I think I look alright as I am. I am beautiful enough, I don’t need to become more beautiful.”

Xiao Yuan also laughed, ”You are already the most beautiful, I love you just as you are.”

Anning squeezed firmly, bursting the system, then tossed the remaining system energy to An Xin, ”Absorb it.”

At this point, Noble Consort Li understood what had happened.

Her system was gone.

She frantically lunged at Anning, ”I want to kill you, give me back my system, give me back my system.”

The guard next to Anning kicked Noble Consort Li to the ground, immediately tying her up with a rope.

Anning coldly looked at Noble Consort Li and instructed the guard, ”Find a place to kill her, throw her into the Human Furnace.”

Anning wouldn’t keep Noble Consort Li captive to torture.

People like Noble Consort Li, who can obtain a system, tend to have quite good luck. If imprisoned, she might have a stroke of luck and escape, potentially causing future trouble.

It’s better to kill her decisively, throw her into the Human Furnace to burn her to ashes, ensuring she can’t cause any more trouble.

The guard dragged Noble Consort Li away, and moments later, Anning caught the scent of blood, knowing Noble Consort Li was gone.

”Let’s go.”

She took Xiao Yuan’s hand and boarded the carriage back to the palace.

Having dealt with Noble Consort Li, Anning felt a weight lifted from her heart.

She felt much lighter, while Princess Fengyang felt an overarching sense of freedom, as if something weighing on her was gone, greatly improving her mood.

Furthermore, recently, Princess Fengyang’s luck has been especially good. She finds money when she goes out, sows flower seeds and grows rare flowers, and always seems to find the tastiest parts of any meal, further lifting her spirits.

Soon, the New Year arrived.

This year’s Spring Festival was like any other, with nothing extraordinary.

The day after New Year’s Day, Princess Fengyang left the palace, spending the month at the theatre.

By February, all of Jiangnan was busy sowing seeds and preparing for spring plowing.

Meanwhile, on the Da Qi side, it started to rain. The rain wasn’t heavy, but it lasted for several days, and after it stopped, the Yellow River burst its banks.

At a time of spring plowing, when supplies are already low, the flood devastated both banks of the river, leaving numerous people drowned or fleeing with no home or fields, with many starving to death.

Da Qi wanted to provide disaster relief, but the granary was empty, and the court had no money to offer.

Seizing the opportunity, Xiao Yuan convened a meeting with civil and military ministers to strategize for the northern campaign.

This time, he himself would lead the army on campaign, leaving Anning and Xiao Ying to oversee Suzhou, with Xiao Ying acting as regent.

Dajing’s army divided into two, one route by land to draw Da Qi’s attention, and the other by sea, leading ships silently to land in Jinmen, stealthily approaching the Capital.