Quick Transmigration: The Female Supporting Character's Counterattack, A Guide to Cunning Strat

After the joke, the Empress said seriously:

"But it's not bad if you don't get married. If you get bored, we can find a few sons-in-law to live with us. Our dignified Duke Zhenguo Mansion can afford to support a few idle people. If you don't have enough money, just tell your aunt, and your aunt will support you."

"I knew my aunt loved me the most," Lin Shuwan said coquettishly, taking the Empress's arm.

"You know I love you, yet you won't even give me a few peeled melon seeds?" The Empress raised her chin, making a blatant gesture.

“Of course I’m willing to give it to Her Majesty. I’ll serve it to her right away.” Lin Shuwan picked up a plate, grabbed a small handful of food, and said, “Here, Your Majesty, let me feed you, ah—”

"Hmm, you've been well served. Here's a kumquat for you." The Empress nodded in satisfaction and condescended to hand over a kumquat.

"Thank you for your generous gift, Your Majesty." Lin Shuwan obediently stood up, respectfully accepted the oranges with both hands, and then gave a curtsy.

When they got up, they couldn't hold back anymore and burst into laughter, which took them a while to calm down.

"Alright, alright, tell your aunt again what your opinion is on the Fifth Prince," the Empress continued.

“He’s just a very kind older brother to me. Aunt, why are you asking the same question as Xiao Anzi?” Lin Shuwan said.

Seeing that Lin Shuwan showed no emotion whatsoever when mentioning the Fifth Prince, the Empress was relieved, but still mentioned it briefly:

“You’re all grown up now. You treat him like an older brother, but he might not want to be your older brother.”

"Besides, who in this palace is easy to fool? With your personality, be careful not to get fooled and still be laughing like an idiot."

The Empress tapped Lin Shuwan's head with her index finger, clearly annoyed.

I didn't say anything before because I knew Lin Shuwan was stubborn. Once she made up her mind about something, she would insist on doing it head-on, and saying anything would only make her more rebellious.

Today, seeing that she had no interest in the Fifth Prince, but still felt a good impression of him, the Empress couldn't help but give her a few instructions.

That silly girl, the Fifth Prince only said a few words of concern and gave her some trinkets, and she actually thought he was being sincere.

"Whether someone is truly sincere towards you or not, you must use your own heart to see," the Empress said, leaving it at that.

Lin Shuwan naturally knew that the Fifth Prince was not sincere, but given the original owner's character, it was not good to change too quickly. She simply nodded thoughtfully.

After saying this, the Empress resumed her lazy demeanor: "But who is this 'Little Anzi' you mentioned?"

“A few days ago, I accidentally fell into the water and he saved me… My grandmother recognized him as her grand-nephew and let him stay in the mansion,” Lin Shuwan explained simply.

The Empress, spitting out melon seed shells, asked, "This isn't like Mother's style. You're the one who wants to keep him, aren't you? Is it because of his outstanding appearance?"

Lin Shuwan nodded and said, "His appearance is indeed quite good; he could rank among the top three among all the young men in the capital."

The Empress immediately became interested, stopped eating her melon seeds, sat up straight, and said, "You wouldn't happen to have taken a liking to him, would you?"

The Empress thought for a moment and then said, "Although his status is indeed a bit low, our family doesn't care about such things. As long as he is a good person and cherishes you, it's not impossible for you to have him marry into your family if you really like him."

"Aunt! Don't overthink it. Although my decision to keep him was partly due to his appearance."

Lin Shuwan gestured with her index finger and thumb twice, then put her hands on her hips and said, "But I mainly want to see if he can really pass the imperial examination!"

"Besides, I'm his teacher now. If he really passes the exam, wouldn't I get some credit too?"

"Tell me, among all the young ladies in the capital, which one can teach a student to become a scholar?"

"Moreover, in my opinion, given his comprehension, he might not even be able to become the top scholar!"

The Empress leaned back lazily in her chair: "Whether I can pass the exam is still uncertain; fate will decide."

"Hmph, he'll definitely pass the exam, Auntie, just you wait and see."

After making her bold statement, Lin Shuwan approached the Empress mysteriously and said, "Aunt, I have discovered something truly amazing."

The Empress also moved closer and whispered in her ear, "Speak."

“Xiao Anzi is two years older than Brother Yiheng, and he looks somewhat like Brother Yiheng. If he hadn’t been a servant before, I would have thought that Consort An had a son!” Lin Shuwan exclaimed.

"She's always thinking about nonsense. Two years before she gave birth to the Fifth Prince, Consort An was still working in the late Empress's palace."

The Empress lowered her voice: "However, his age is similar to that of the late Empress's youngest son."

Finally managing to steer the conversation towards the late Empress, Lin Shuwan continued, feigning curiosity, and asked:

"It seems like my aunt has never mentioned the late Empress Dowager much. What kind of person was she?"

"The late Empress, I met her a few times at banquets before she got married. She was a very gentle person."

The Empress glanced at the tightly closed door and lowered her voice again: "Everyone in the palace says that the late Empress was His Majesty's most beloved person. With her passing, His Majesty's heart has gone with her."

“I have met the Imperial Concubine and the other concubines, and they are all outstanding in appearance. The late Empress was able to surpass them to become the Emperor’s favorite, so her appearance must have been quite remarkable as well.” Lin Shuwan deliberately pointed out her appearance.

"That's right, even I was amazed when I saw her. How could there be such an outstanding person in this world? Even the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden descending to earth would not be as good as her."

The Empress still felt a little disoriented when she recalled that face from her memory.

"My aunt really piqued my curiosity, but unfortunately I never got the chance to meet her."

"I have a portrait here that can give you a general idea. Wait while I go get it."

A short while later, the Empress gracefully arrived carrying a scroll.

The scroll is opened, revealing a woman with a graceful and delicate figure, her every smile and gesture leaping off the page.

The empress sighed, "I can only capture seven-tenths of her beauty; it's far from matching hers."

"How did my aunt come to have this portrait?" It was a pleasant surprise; I never expected that the Empress would have a portrait.

"Don't you know that my painting skills are unparalleled in the capital!"

The Empress's smugness was indeed inherited from Lin Shuwan, but she quickly composed herself and explained:

"When I first saw the portraits of the emperor and empress in the palace, I said that they made the people look ugly. The emperor didn't believe that I could paint better than that, so I thought I would prove him wrong."

“I drew several pictures, but I was never quite satisfied with any of them. In the end, he took the one that was nine-tenths as the likeness, and this one was the most accurate one left, so I kept it.”

"Thinking back on it, maybe he knew I was a great painter and deliberately showed me that ugly one to provoke me into painting."

"So, His Majesty still values ​​seniority; he's quite a sentimental person," Lin Shuwan said.

“I don’t think so. Look at the past few years, the number of newborn princes and princesses in the palace has not decreased.”

"And then there's Consort An. She passed away just a year before, and she caught the Emperor's eye because of her slight resemblance to both of them, and gave birth to a son and a daughter."

"Everyone says that Consort An is a substitute for the previous one, but I think that if you just randomly find someone who looks similar to be a substitute, then your deep affection is worthless!"

The empress, in the end, got angry herself, gritting her teeth as she spoke.

"Aunt, you can't say these things in front of other people!" Lin Shuwan said worriedly.

"It's natural."

Fortunately, there was no one else in the room, and the nanny who had been with them since childhood was guarding outside the door, so it was alright.

……