The male supporting character was actually myself.

The little white cat flipped through the script, looking completely bewildered. "Is it that urgent? Isn't the latest effective plot supposed to start in three days?"

In the new storyline, the protagonist Lin Mubai finally changes his approach and decides to become famous in a different way.

Three days later, the son of the prefect invited a group of talented men and women from Jinzhou City to gather at Jiuxianju for a poetry gathering.

Upon hearing that Young Master Xue was in good health, the son of the prefect, who belonged to the upper circle of his peers, also sent him an invitation. So Young Master Xue went there with his page and Lin Mubai, who was also a servant in the study.

While the talented scholars at the banquet pondered deeply, Lin Mubai effortlessly "composed" a timeless poem that astonished everyone present.

He then caught the eye of the governor's son, who was sitting behind a gauze curtain, and the third prince, who was traveling incognito, and they even took the initiative to befriend him.

Due to the influence of the Third Prince, the Xue family not only granted Lin Mubai his freedom, but also the Xue family head, in turn, flattered him by giving him his family heirloom as a sign of goodwill.

Lin Mubai, who had successfully turned his life around, received financial assistance and began to rapidly accumulate wealth by purchasing raw materials to make soap and glass.

He negotiated a cooperation with Master Xue to have the Xue family's shops provide sales, invested in the Xue family's business, and was recognized as Master Xue's godson after Master Xue's son died unexpectedly.

Within a month, Lin Mubai changed the name of the Xue residence to the Lin residence.

Literary and military talents abound, inventions flourish everywhere, and romantic luck is endless...

"Since the protagonist is unwilling to give up the Xue family, such a lucrative opportunity, and is always thinking of killing me, how can I possibly let his journey to ancient times go smoothly?"

Jiang Chen sat in the carriage, flipping through the script and chuckling, "Although the poetry gathering is not to be held for another three days."

But as a frail and sickly scholar of great talent in Jinzhou City, if I don't make arrangements beforehand, wouldn't I be giving Lin Mubai the opportunity to steal the limelight?

The little white cat looked serious. "The problem is that the main system might issue a mission that requires you to take him with you."

How can we plan ahead to prevent him from gaining notoriety for plagiarizing classical poems?

"Of course, we should take the protagonist's path and leave him with nowhere to go."

The wheels rolled along and soon arrived at the prefect's residence.

The Xue family had lived in this area for generations, and Master Xue had even held a sinecure as an official for a few years, and was also the richest man in the area. Naturally, Young Master Xue was acquainted with the sons of various officials.

However, he was frail and sickly since childhood, spending half the year in bed, so he naturally didn't participate much in the social activities typical of young masters.

When Fang Anyi, the son of the prefect, heard that the young master of the Xue family had presented a visiting card, he was so surprised that he hurriedly came out to greet him personally.

They are similar in age and have known each other since childhood, so they have a very good relationship.

After the tedious formalities and pleasantries, upon hearing about the other party's recovery, Fang Anyi exclaimed in amazement, "I never imagined that Brother Chen had such a bizarre and miraculous experience. I must include this experience in my book."

I will need to trouble Brother Chen to write a preface for me at that time, so that the facts can be confirmed.

"Oh, by the way, I have another invitation here that I was planning to send to your residence tomorrow. Now that you're here, it's the perfect opportunity to invite our talented scholar Xue to the banquet in person!"

As he spoke, he instructed his page to fetch the exquisite invitation and deliver it to Jiang Chen.

He opened it and, sure enough, it was an invitation to a poetry gathering three days later.

"Brother Fang is in a very good mood, and I will certainly keep my appointment on time." After looking through the poems, Jiang Chen suggested, "However, it might be inappropriate to recite them directly at this poetry gathering."

Why don't we come up with a title, write down our poems, and then hang them up together for us to enjoy and appreciate?

It's always more interesting and pleasing to write something yourself than to have it copied by a pageboy.

If a work is deemed excellent, it can be directly nominated for inclusion in the collection.

The talented men and women of Jinzhou City pick up their pens to compose poems; besides appreciating their literary talent, they can also witness their calligraphy—isn't that wonderful?

Fang Anyi clapped his hands and exclaimed, "Excellent, excellent! Brother Chen is absolutely right!"

I'll have someone prepare the writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone in advance."

At this point in the conversation, he lowered his voice and said, "Let me give you a heads-up: although this poetry gathering was proposed in my name..."

In reality, the governor's eldest son brought a mysterious young man to visit, and asked me to gather the talented men and women of Jinzhou City. The governor's son then posed a question on the spot.

It seems they might be trying to assess talent through the poetry competition.

This is a great opportunity!

Now that Brother Chen has recovered from his illness and is in good health, he should devote himself to this poetry gathering.

If selected, I might get a recommendation opportunity next year.

At that time, you won't need to spend money to donate a sinecure and hold that title anymore.

With Brother Chen's talent, becoming famous throughout Jinzhou City will be a piece of cake, and it will surely become a popular topic of conversation!

"Thank you for your guidance, Brother Fang!" Jiang Chen returned the gesture of gratitude.

The two chatted for a while longer before parting ways.

"Host, you came all this way but still couldn't find out the question. Did your plan fail?" The little white cat stroked its fluffy ears and sighed.

Sitting swaying in the carriage, Jiang Chen denied it, saying, "The layout I was talking about wasn't about asking about the questions."

You've probably forgotten that the protagonist, Lin Mubai, hasn't learned the language of this world yet.

If you travel back to ancient times and don't have a special status, you'll end up like Lin Mubai, completely illiterate.

In those days, very few people could go to school and read books, and even books were considered valuable items.

The original owner was just a pancake vendor, how could he possibly have had the opportunity to learn to read and write?

Therefore, the plot arrangement is that the rules for the poetry gathering three days later are very casual.

They simply gave a problem, and whoever solved it stood up and read it aloud.

This way, the protagonist who can't read can steal the spotlight.

My suggestion is to cut off this path.

"Oh~" The little white cat thought for a while but couldn't figure it out, so it yawned and lay down on his shoulder to doze off.

As Jiang Chen stepped down from the carriage and was about to enter the room, he caught a glimpse of a slightly hunched figure out of the corner of his eye. He immediately stopped and looked over carefully.

She was a woman in her early twenties. Although she was dressed neatly, she seemed rather dull. Under the direction of the steward's wife, she was carrying a large bag of dirty clothes toward the well, which looked like a dry cleaning job.

"Who is that?" he asked the gatekeeper, pointing to the unfamiliar young woman.

The other person glanced at her and replied with a smile, "She is the servant Mu Bai's wife. She said she was sick before, but after she came back, she took two doses of medicine and was fine. Now, the Rui family is arranging for her to wash the servants' dirty clothes."

"Call her over here, I want to ask her a few questions."

The manager agreed and scurried off to fetch someone.

The little white kitten, half-asleep, asked, "Host, what are you going to do?"

"Of course, it's about cutting off Lin Mubai's escape route."

"Huh?" The fluffy little dumpling was full of questions again, and then quickly went to look at the script.

I feel like I can't keep up with the host's train of thought!

Chapter 18 Get out of the way, I'm going to make soap!

The steward quickly led over the meek and obedient Madam Lin, saying, "This is our young master, quickly kowtow and pay your respects!"

"Answer whatever the young master asks truthfully."

"Yes! Greetings, young master!" Remembering the steward's words, Madam Lin hurriedly knelt down and stole a glance while exchanging greetings.

As expected, the handsome young man was exceptionally good-looking, and at first glance, he appeared to be a refined, easy-going, and kind person.

"Get up and answer me." Jiang Chen looked her up and down.

Lin Zhangshi was very good-looking. Her hair was a bit yellowish, probably due to malnutrition. Although her face was pale after she was dressed up, her delicate features were still visible.

If she can recover from her illness and have a better living environment, she should be able to grow into a beautiful woman.

This explains why the two children are so soft, fair-skinned, and adorable; the parents are both good-looking, so the children naturally have good genes as well.

"Mu Bai served as a servant in my study. He was a bit slow-witted and couldn't be taught proper etiquette. But he was hardworking and diligent, and kept trying to learn the rules."

He told me you're not in good health and have two children who are three or four years old.

Are you settling in well here?

If you encounter any inconvenience or if the servants treat you badly, please let me know, and I will seek justice for you.

Upon hearing this, Madam Lin mustered her courage and said in a trembling voice, "I...I have something important to report to you, young master, but..."

She nervously looked up and glanced around. There were many servants and maids around the young master, so she could only swallow back the words that were about to come out.

As expected of someone who followed her husband to many places to do business, Lin Zhangshi was indeed not stupid.

Jiang Chen gestured for her to follow him into the courtyard, dismissed everyone around him, and sat down under the covered walkway, urging her to speak boldly.

"Young master, then I'll speak my mind!"

Madam Lin twisted her hands nervously and said, "You'd better get rid of Lin Mubai as soon as you have the chance!"

He's possessed by an evil spirit; he's acting very strangely!

Once she started talking, Madam Lin was no longer shy and poured out everything she had been holding back.

"Yay! I finally found it!" Only then did the little white cat, who was flipping through the script, excitedly exclaim, "Host, you read the plot so carefully! As expected of the host I chose, you're awesome!"

The newly updated plot mentioned that Lin Mubai's first wife, Lin Zhangshi, became depressed and died of illness a month later.

Lin Mubai had already successfully established connections with the capital and no longer needed to contribute Nannan to get acquainted with the princess.

And so, the two children, who were of no use to the plot, died of illness...

"So you didn't willingly sell yourself into the Xue family." Jiang Chen listened thoughtfully, and after a moment of contemplation, she said softly, "Since the estrangement between you and your husband cannot be eliminated..."

Suspecting that Lin Mubai, whose personality has drastically changed, is possessed by an evil spirit, he has indeed been unkind to you.

Our Xue family is not one to bully others by relying on power.

I can give you some advice; whether or not you should do it is your own choice.

Go to Lin Mubai now and ask for a divorce. After you and your two children sever ties with him, I will arrange to return your indenture to you.

I imagine it must be tough for you, a woman raising two young children all by yourself..."

Before he could finish speaking, Madam Lin hurriedly said, "Young master, I am not afraid of difficulties!"

I've lived through the toughest and most exhausting days.

Now that the two children are older, things aren't so difficult anymore.