Quick Transmigration: The Cannon Fodder Female Supporting Character's Revenge

After the execution was over, Qi Ning and Meng Shaoqing left the execution ground and got into their carriage to go home.

The scene of a severed head and dripping blood was too gruesome; many men present could not bear the sight.

Meng Shaoqing couldn't help but ask Qi Ning, "Are you scared?"

"I was scared." Qi Ning lied through her teeth.

Meng Shaoqing, however, believed it. He hugged Qi Ning tenderly and patted her back to comfort her, saying, "Don't be afraid, I'm with you."

Qi Ning found Meng Shaoqing quite adorable, and silently curled her lips as she nestled in his arms.

Shortly after Meng Jiyang was beheaded and his head displayed to the public, the results of the imperial examination were announced.

Meng Shaoqing's name appeared on the honor roll without any surprise, and he was at the very top, the top scholar.

The palace examination was not far off.

Meng Shaoqing performed perfectly, and the emperor greatly admired his talent.

On the day of the imperial examination, Meng Shaoqing was personally selected by the emperor as the top scholar and was also given the official position of compiler in the Hanlin Academy, a sixth-rank official.

After Meng Shaoqing became the top scholar, he naturally enjoyed immense prestige.

Many people who witnessed Meng Shaoqing's talent and good looks considered him the best candidate for their son-in-law.

This included the Grand Secretary Zhou, who was in power at the time.

This Lord Zhou also greatly admired Meng Shaoqing's talent and specially took him as his disciple.

When Meng Shaoqing visited Lord Zhou's house that day, after Lord Zhou finished discussing business with him in the study, he casually asked him, "Shaoqing, are you married?"

Lord Zhou wasn't asking about his daughters, as they were all already married. It was just that someone had learned that Meng Shaoqing was Lord Zhou's student and asked him to inquire about her.

Meng Shaoqing immediately replied, "Teacher, I am already married."

"is it?"

Lord Zhou was somewhat surprised.

“That’s right,” Meng Shaoqing said frankly. “My wife and I got married in our hometown last year. At that time, I had nothing. We simply bowed to heaven and earth. I promised that I would hold a wedding ceremony with her again after I passed the imperial examination.”

Now that Meng Shaoqing is married, Lord Zhou naturally won't bring up anything else.

However, hearing Meng Shaoqing's words reminded Lord Zhou of Meng Jiyang, who was beheaded for cheating in the imperial examinations. At the time, it was widely rumored in the capital that Meng Jiyang had abandoned his mother and wife in order to curry favor with the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

Lord Zhou looked at Meng Shaoqing and smiled, "I heard that you and Meng Jiyang are both from Yuanzhou City. Meng Jiyang abandoned his wife and mother for power, but you were able to keep your wife who had shared your hardships after you achieved success. It is truly commendable."

Meng Shaoqing shook his head slightly.

“Teacher, although my wife and I met when we were both humble, I do not consider her to be a wife who has shared hardships with me. She is my wife.”

"You don't know this, but when I married my wife, I had nothing and was in debt. Not only did she not despise me, but she also paid off my debts. She even supported me all the way to the capital to take the imperial examination. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't have been able to come to the capital to take the imperial examination so smoothly."

Moreover, Meng Shaoqing felt that he had only done what a normal person should do, and that it was Meng Jiyang who was so inhuman that he was made all the more precious by comparison.

Lord Zhou asked in confusion, "Since your wife is capable of paying off your debts and supporting you all the way to the capital to participate in the imperial examinations, her family background must be quite good, right?"

"Not so," Meng Shaoqing said with a faint smile. "Neither she nor I have parents; we are just ordinary people. What family background do we have to talk about?"

"But my wife is no ordinary woman. She is skilled in weaving and embroidery. Moreover, she has a talent for business. I wonder if you have heard of the Jinxiu Pavilion in the capital. It was my wife who ran it all by herself."

When Qi Ning's deeds were mentioned, Meng Shaoqing's expression was filled with pride.

"Oh?"

Lord Zhou was somewhat surprised upon hearing this.

“I have indeed heard the women in my family talk about this Jinxiu Pavilion. They all really like the fabrics and ready-made clothes in the Jinxiu Pavilion. So it turns out it is your wife’s property. It seems that what you said was not an exaggeration. Your wife is indeed no ordinary woman.”

"It turns out that my master's wife and the women in the family also like things from Jinxiu Pavilion."

Meng Shaoqing said at the right moment, "What a coincidence! Today, when my wife learned that I was going to visit my teacher's residence, she specially asked me to bring several bolts of fabric, which I left at the gatehouse. I will have to trouble you to deliver them to your wife and the other women in the household later."

Lord Zhou doesn't usually accept gifts easily, but since Meng Shaoqing's gift came from his own household and touched the hearts of the women in his family, he naturally wouldn't refuse it.

He laughed and said, "You two are quite well-mannered. You are truly blessed to have such a wife."

Little did Lord Zhou know that Qi Ning had recognized Lord Zhou's wife and other female relatives at the Brocade Pavilion earlier, and knowing that they liked the fabrics, she instructed Meng Shaoqing to send them as gifts from the Brocade Pavilion. This was no coincidence.

Meng Shaoqing couldn't help but admire his wife's arrangement.

However, even if Lord Zhou no longer mentions arranging a marriage for Meng Shaoqing, others will bring it up.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, whenever someone brought it up, Meng Shaoqing would say frankly that he was already married. Not only that, but he was also supported by his wife, and even his trip to the capital for the imperial examination was funded by her.

Before long, the news spread throughout the capital, saying that the newly appointed top scholar had already gotten married and that his wife had been supporting him in taking the imperial examinations. His wife was the owner of the Jinxiu Pavilion, and so on.

Even the emperor heard the news and praised Meng Shaoqing for being grateful and repaying kindness, unlike Meng Jiyang who was ungrateful.

Qi Ning was both amused and exasperated by Meng Shaoqing's actions.

"I heard you tell everyone you meet that you're supported by your wife. Do you know that people say behind your back that you're a gigolo?"

At that time, Meng Shaoqing was sitting at his desk writing something. He didn't think there was anything wrong with it at all; on the contrary, he thought it was a good idea.

"I've always been a kept man, and no one has ever been wrong about that."

He put down his brush, pulled Qi Ning to sit on his lap, and said with a hint of pride, "You know, after I released this news, no one has inquired about my marriage anymore. If anyone tries to ruin our marriage, they are putting me in an unjust and immoral position."

"Now I can finally have some peace and quiet. What does it matter if people laugh at me? Besides, not all of them say I'm a kept man. Many people even envy me for having such a wonderful wife."

Qi Ning couldn't refute his words, so she could only glare at him and say, "Your tongue is getting smoother and smoother these days, I can't argue with you."

After saying that, she got up to leave.

But Meng Shaoqing held her tightly, still keeping her in his arms: "Wife, don't be in a hurry to leave. Let me read you the story I just wrote, and you can give me your feedback."

Qi Ning then glanced at the desk, which was covered with several stacks of densely written manuscripts.

After passing the imperial examination with top honors and being granted an official position, Meng Shaoqing, aside from dealing with official matters, would pick up his pen again in his spare time and begin writing these things.

Qi Ning was somewhat puzzled by this.

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