Quick Transmigration: Reversing the Life of a Cannon Fodder Female Supporting Character

Actually, this consolation isn't very real. Unless Xiao Lan marries back to the frontier, the chances of her coming back are slim. Transportation is underdeveloped, and a round trip would take more than two months. How easy is it for her to come back?

There were no families here that could match the Xiao family's social standing, so no daughter of the Xiao family ever married into the family.

Xiao Lan shook her head: "Mother, I understand. Even if I don't leave now, I will leave sooner or later. I've known that since I was old enough to understand."

Just look at the two aunts from the previous generation and you'll know.

The journey was smooth until they reached a fork in the road, where Cui Yao instructed, "Go to Xicheng."

"Mother, are you going to see Sister Cen?"

"We're so close now, let's turn the corner and go see her. Your second aunt said she's pregnant."

Xiao Cen is Xiao Wuyuan's eldest daughter, one year younger than Xiao Qingzhi. Her husband's family is the Zhang family of Xicheng. They have been married for two years and she is now pregnant.

There was another secret reason why she wanted to see Xiao Cen. In the original owner's life, when the Xiao family was in trouble, the Zhang family divorced Xiao Cen without saying a word. Xiao Cen was carried out of the Zhang family and died less than a day after leaving Xicheng. At that time, the Xiao family had already been imprisoned. The original owner did not have the energy to pay attention to this niece. She only heard later that the niece did not have a single trusted servant. After she was divorced, when her maidservant outside picked her up, she was no longer alive.

Clearly, the Zhang family had already taken action against her; even if the Xiao family hadn't met with misfortune, her days were numbered.

There are still ten years before the Xiao family's incident, and Cui Yao may not be able to see anything wrong with the Zhang family this time. She can only try to subtly remind Xiao Cen.

"That's great! I miss Sister Cen too. Oh dear, what gift should I prepare for Sister Cen's child? All the luggage is in the car, so it's inconvenient to look for things."

"What's the rush? The capital is close to her in-laws' home. The baby won't be born until next year. You can take your time to prepare once you get to the capital."

"That's true." Xiao Lan breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.

The Zhang family of Xicheng, with Princess Fu'an's massive convoy approaching, naturally couldn't possibly be unaware of it, given that the Zhang family was the local tyrant of Xicheng.

The servants came to report it early on.

Zhang Juncheng is the second son of the third branch of the Zhang family. The Zhang family are civil officials, and the current patriarch of the Zhang family is Zhang Juncheng's uncle, who is a second-rank official and resides in the capital. The head of the Zhang family in Xicheng is Zhao Juncheng's father.

"Jun'er, Princess Fu'an seems to be here to see Lady Xiao. Keep her calm and don't let her complain to Princess Fu'an." Zhang Juncheng's mother was his second wife, and although he was the second son of the legitimate wife, he was actually his mother's eldest son.

"Don't worry, Mother, women become easier to control once they have children." With no outsiders in the room, Zhang Juncheng dropped all pretense and completely revealed his true nature.

"If it weren't for your future and the power of the Xiao family, I wouldn't have wronged Mei'er by making her a concubine. After all, she is my niece," Madam Zhang said harshly.

"Mother, I know you're doing this for my own good. Mei'er comes from a humble background, and she's sensible. Besides, she has me who loves her and you who protect her, which makes up for the difference in her social status."

"That's right. My perfectly good niece has become a concubine. As her aunt, how could I let her be bullied by the first wife? No matter how powerful Madam Xiao is, would she dare to disobey her mother-in-law?"

When Cui Yao arrived in Xicheng, she did not go directly to the Zhang family, nor did she even enter the city first. Instead, she stayed at the post station outside the city.

Three days later

"This Zhang family is far too arrogant," Cui Yao concluded.

She was the Princess of Fu'an, the wife of a marquis, and the widow of the Grand Marshal stationed on the frontier. With such a status, any noble family would have to be on good terms with her on the surface. She stayed at the post station for three days, and the gentry from the nearby prefectures all sent visiting cards, but the Zhang family remained silent.

The people who sent the visiting cards didn't actually want to pay her a visit; they were just trying to make their presence known, as a matter of etiquette.

Xiao Huaizhi organized the evidence collected by his personal guards over the past few days: "The Zhang family patriarch is an official in the capital and has already established himself. Some of the more talented members of the family have followed the patriarch to live in the capital. The branches that remain in the old city are all mediocre people. Currently, the Zhang family leader in Xicheng is the father of Sister Cen's husband."

"This man," Xiao Huaizhi didn't know how to describe him, "is quite adept at managing general affairs, but he's very clueless when it comes to the inner quarters. After his first wife passed away, he remarried to the daughter of a local gentry. She was a mean-spirited woman, and he didn't seem to like her very much. She often stayed outside the ancestral hall of the estate and the main house, rarely returning home. His second wife only gave birth to one son, and she vented her resentment towards her husband on her eldest son. It is said that the eldest son almost died at the hands of his stepmother several times."

Xiao Lan: "The personal guards were able to find out all this in less than three days. Does that mean the whole city knows about her mistreatment of her eldest son?"

"Pretty much, I just ask around and a lot of people say that."

"This is not very clever. The matriarch of a large, secluded mansion has allowed rumors that are detrimental to her to spread throughout the city."

Cui Yao thought of something else: "Do you think Cen'er is the kind of person who would know we're at the post station outside the city and then do nothing?"

"No," Xiao Lan said firmly. Although she and Sister Cen were much older and hadn't known each other for long, Sister Cen's upbringing would never allow her to behave so rudely.

"Why is that?"

"They've taken control of Sister Cen?"

"Why are the legitimate son and wife being controlled?"

Xiao Huaizhi and Xiao Lan exchanged a glance, their eyes blank. Based on what they had seen and heard in the past, they couldn't think of a reason why, even if Xiao Qingzhi made such a scene, she still hadn't shut Wang's sister's eyes and ears.

"Enter the city tomorrow, pay a visit to the Zhang family, and bring your personal guards." Cui Yao gave the order directly. This situation didn't arise overnight; it's likely that the Zhang family's motives weren't pure when they married the Xiao family's daughter.

The main force of the Xiao family resides in remote border regions, while those remaining in the capital are mostly weak women and children. If a Xiao woman marries into the Zhang family's stronghold, she can easily be controlled. Moreover, the Xiao family is the kind of marriage alliance the Zhang family desires.

It's unclear whether this mistreatment of the Xiao family woman is the idea of ​​the entire Zhang family or just one branch. If it's the latter, it's easier to handle; if it's the former, it's more troublesome. The entire Zhang family is prepared, and it will be difficult for Cui Yao to escape unscathed.

These days are so restrictive!

She needed achievements, achievements that stood apart from those of her father, brothers, and husband's family. Cui Yao lowered her eyelids, her fingers rubbing inside her sleeves, trying to find something in her knowledge that would benefit the country and its people without arousing the emperor's suspicion.

Repeating crossbows: This dynasty had crossbow bolts, but the technology was rudimentary, and they were rarely used on the battlefield. There were no large repeating crossbow carts. This is something we can try.

High-yield crops? She does have seeds in her space, but she needs a legitimate reason to show them to the public.

Since arriving in this mission world, she has never used her spatial ability. She is of noble status and is always surrounded by people. Moreover, the servants who follow her cannot be underestimated. If she misses a bite of food, people will start to wonder why.

I closed my eyes and looked inward at my soul space. It was unlikely that I would need to use that space for this mission.