The male supporting character was actually myself.

I need to go see Zhang Ziqiu again tomorrow to see if she can provide any valuable clues. We have to take down that kid Li Jiangchen as soon as possible. If all else fails, maybe we can use Zhang Ziqiu to create a rift between Zhang Mingyuan and Li Jiangchen?

This left him isolated and helpless, completely at their mercy!

He desperately needs a helper, a trusted confidant as capable as Zhang Mingyuan in both literary and martial arts...

Li Dongchen sat in the carriage lost in thought, completely unaware that the carriage was heading east of the city towards the mountains not far away. From there, one could see a brightly lit area. In this special era when ordinary people could only afford oil lamps, the flickering red candles created an elegant and tranquil atmosphere.

"Awoo~" The fluffy little dumpling yawned cutely and fiercely while lying on top of the gate, rubbing its fluffy eyes and gazing into the distance, almost falling asleep from boredom. "Why isn't the host here yet? The main system has already issued a mission, shouldn't the main event at the female lead's house start soon?"

Qinya Mountain Villa.

The female lead, Ruan Xiangqin, wearing a high-quality nightgown, had removed her elaborate makeup and was sitting in front of a luxurious dressing mirror, tying her hair into a simple style for sleeping.

As she looked at her delicate face reflected in the mirror, an unforgettable scene involuntarily surfaced before her eyes—the refined and elegant Dongchen playing with her by the river, talking about ideals, life, and envisioning a bright future. He was so handsome, dashing, and spirited.

Although he did not explicitly state which family's son he was from, his refined manner of speaking, his financial resources to study abroad across the ocean, and his nonchalant attitude when discussing money were enough to deduce that Dong Chen came from a wealthy and noble background.

She met and fell in love with such a tall, handsome, and wealthy young man. Before Dongchen appeared, such a beautiful and romantic love story only existed in the little songs her father taught her and her sisters to sing.

“Dongchen…” Ruan Xiangqin held her face in her hands, staring blankly into the mirror, where she saw the handsome face of the other man looking at her with a smile and affection.

With a sweet smile, she reached out to touch it, but the moment her fingertips touched the cold mirror, she was instantly brought back to reality.

"Alas... The falling flowers are willing, but the flowing water is heartless. You came and went in a hurry, leaving only a beautiful memory and a hazy love. I don't know when we will meet again after this parting." Ruan Xiangqin sighed deeply, fiddling with the wooden comb with a heavy heart.

On the surface, Qinya Villa can still maintain a luxurious lifestyle, but in reality, the family has almost no money left.

Since my mother passed away a few years ago, the family has fallen on hard times, and my father had no choice but to dismiss all the servants.

My father was a very tasteful and talented pianist, but he vowed never to play the piano again after my mother passed away.

When Ziqi died, Boya lamented that he had no more true friends in the world, so he broke his zither and cut its strings, never to play again for the rest of his life. She could understand the purest and most sincere love between her parents and supported her father's decision.

From then on, every spring, my father would take me to the Flower Valley to reminisce about the past and recall how he met and got to know my mother.

In summer, people release lanterns along the riverbank to pray for their mothers' well-being.

In autumn, climbing mountains to watch the wild geese is a way to convey one's longing to one's mother in the sky.

In winter, he played chess with his younger siblings in the snow-covered hut, reminiscing about the most beautiful love between him and his mother...

As Ruan Xiangqin gazed at the flickering red candles outside the window, Dong Chen's image lingered in her mind for a long time, and she couldn't help but feel bitter.

If Qinya Manor still had the huge amount of gold and silver jewelry that her mother brought back then, she would be qualified to enter the upper circle and perhaps even see Dongchen again.

However, with the family fortunes declining, they could only strive to maintain a stable life. How could they possibly realize their own wishes and desires?

Can Dong Chen, a noble young master, break through the shackles of worldly conventions to marry a young lady from a fallen family?

"Ah!"

Li Dongchen, inside the carriage, sneezed and sat listlessly in the corner, saying nothing.

The wound on my back was burning with pain. I didn't know if the injection given by Dr. Yang had worn off. The dull pain was now mixed with a sharp, stabbing pain that made me feel like I was sitting on pins and needles. My right shoe was soaked through. Stepping into some puddle in the courtyard made it smelly, cold, sticky, and very uncomfortable.

Furthermore, after figuring out Li Jiangchen's true intentions, he was now exhausted both physically and mentally from the blow.

"Young Master, I need to tell you all about the Ruan family's Qinya Manor." The head manager, being older and more experienced, could quickly adjust his strategy in the face of a difficult situation, striving to handle things flawlessly. Therefore, even though he didn't think highly of Li Dongchen, he still wanted to personally teach and guide him.

"Qinya Manor was built by a qin player named Ruan Fannan. It is said that he used his superb qin skills and handsome appearance to win the heart of a young lady from a scholarly family in the capital and elope with her. The young lady, surnamed Ning, followed him to Yucheng with a huge dowry and bought Yuqin Mountain, three miles east of the city, to build Qinya Manor."

In earlier years, the Ruan family was considered a wealthy family in Yucheng. They lived a life of luxury and had countless servants. The couple, Jinse and her husband, played music and sang songs every day without engaging in any productive work.

A few years ago, the young lady who brought her dowry to support her husband and gave birth to three daughters and one son passed away. Her huge dowry has been squandered and almost all of it has been sold off. However, Ruan Fannan still acts like a rich man, neither working nor supporting his family.

When they ran out of money, they would come to our money exchange and mortgage and sell off their real estate piece by piece until they had mortgaged all the real estate in the entire mountain villa to the money exchange.

Even so, young master, look over there, brightly lit, that's Qinya Manor. They clearly borrowed all their money from loan sharks, yet they still squander it like this. I watched coldly; the entire manor where the father and his five sons live is lit by candles, burning through several months' worth of lighting costs for an ordinary family in just one night.

They owe our bank 526 silver dollars, which is overdue for more than a year.

Out of consideration for my past relationship with Ruan Fannan, I had already subtly urged him to return the principal, but to this day he has not returned a single penny of the principal. Today I must get this large sum of money back.

Six hundred and fifty silver dollars, including principal and interest, was no small sum for the Marshal's Mansion.

Li Dongchen listened attentively and couldn't help but sneer, "His name is indeed fitting; he's just a gigolo!"

I've seen plenty of people like this when I was studying abroad. They use their good looks to seduce rich girls. Once the girl is hooked, they run off with the money and the girl, getting a beautiful wife for free and making a fortune along the way.

It's pitiful that those pampered and overprotected young ladies, who are so preoccupied with love and affection, end up being tricked and manipulated by sweet words.

Ruan Fannan's wife was relatively lucky; she didn't suffer too much hardship despite giving birth to so many children and dying from illness.

"If Ruan Fannan had been any more ruthless, he could have immediately found a younger and prettier concubine after she fell ill, and had her take over the family with a child or two. Wouldn't that rich young lady have been in an even worse situation?"

Having said that, he straightened the long robe draped over his legs as he sat cross-legged, and said in a deep voice, "Thank you for your advice, Chief Manager. I will learn from this experience and never fall for their sweet talk again. Debts must be repaid, especially those owed to men who don't work and live off their wives' savings—they are absolutely unforgivable!"

I heard from my father that the world has been turbulent these past two years and real estate isn't worth much. You should do the math; if the estate's valuation isn't enough to cover the debt, then we'll send Ruan Fannan to the coal mines to work and pay off the debt!"

"Young Master's words are very insightful and well-considered." Upon hearing this, the head manager stroked his beard, finally feeling somewhat relieved.

It seems the eldest young master just hasn't gotten into the swing of things yet. He's grown rapidly after his debt collection experience. Tonight, the two brothers working together should be able to completely resolve the issue of Qinya Manor, this big holdout.

Ruan Fannan... Li Dongchen lifted the curtain and looked at the brightly lit mountain in the distance. A cold smile appeared on his lips. He thought to himself, "What a disgrace to a good name!"

The image of Ruan Xiangqin frolicking by the water flashed before his eyes, and he felt the deepest softness in his heart stirred. It was a flutter of the heart! It was love! He had to make a good impression on his father. As long as he could get through these first few days and stabilize the situation, he would send someone to find his dream lover.

Only she, with her beauty and elegance like a lotus emerging from the water, is a fitting match for the surname Ruan. Her soft and delicate features evoke feelings of tenderness in one glance.

Ruan Fannan, that gigolo who has tarnished the beauty's reputation, should just die sooner rather than later!

I ran into Ruan Xiangqin that day. Judging from her refined speech and elegant attire, she must come from a well-off family. As long as they're not so poor they can't afford to eat, her father shouldn't object, right?

Moreover, Li Jiangchen is younger than him and born out of wedlock. He has already been engaged, and as the eldest legitimate son, his father will definitely agree to his marriage at this time. Once he brings her home...

The carriage swayed and rocked, and Li Dongchen seemed to already see the peerless Ruan Xiangqin, dressed in a phoenix coronet and wedding gown, sitting on the edge of the bed, looking shy and waiting for their wedding night.

Imagining this scene, his heart suddenly burned with passion—I, Li Dongchen, am determined to make a name for myself, inherit the Marshal's Mansion, become the best Marshal, marry a virtuous wife and take beautiful concubines, and live the most wonderful life in this turbulent and special era.

Everything starts tonight with successfully recovering the debt owed to Qinya Manor. That's over six hundred silver dollars! It'll definitely impress my father!

Jiang Chen glanced at the script, which still hadn't updated, and frowned slightly.

Ruan Fannan is indeed disgusting. As a man, he has lived off a woman his whole life. In the original story, he even had to take someone down with him when he was about to die, making the original owner, who hadn't done anything wrong, hate him.

But he's the kind of person who ruins his wife and children's lives, and the other party is willing to let him ruin them, so they think he's very loyal and devoted.

In matters that are mutually agreeable, outsiders have no need to meddle.

In the original storyline, the villa was burned to the ground, and the youngest daughter insisted on going to get her mother's belongings. Even though Zhang Mingyuan and his men had already rescued her, Ruan Fannan ignored the attempts to stop her and ran into the fire like a madman. By the time she was rescued, she had already died from the fire poisoning.

The female protagonist harbors resentment towards the original owner of the body for killing her father and vows to never share the same fate with him.

Although the logic and thought process were quite peculiar, Jiang Chen could understand some of it after reading the script. Who could expect a gigolo father and a love-struck mother to raise a child with normal values?

With her family gone and her father dead, the female lead, like some people who blame heaven and earth but never themselves, doesn't blame her father for being irresponsible, but always needs to find someone to blame and transfer her hatred. The male supporting character, who is the scapegoat, is naturally the best candidate.

Jiang Chen just wanted to complete the mission and get rid of all the messy entanglements so he could lead the army to carry out the revolution. Therefore, he sent Little White Cat to make arrangements early on to ensure that Ruan Fannan would not come back to cause trouble during the debt collection process.

In the original storyline, the only person directly harmed by the debt collectors was Ruan Fannan, who was burned alive. If we could prevent him from sneaking back and being burned to death, and burn down the manor and lose his home, it might even inspire Ruan Fannan's sense of responsibility as a father, motivating him to work hard and earn money to support his children.

Then the female protagonist wouldn't have needed to become a dancer and thus completely change her fate.

"I hope everything goes well!" Jiang Chen sighed as he looked at the grand mansion with its flickering red candles.

Hearing this, Zhang Mingyuan, who was preoccupied with his own thoughts, forced a smile. "It will definitely go smoothly. I had someone inquire about Ruan Fannan. Besides being shameless, he doesn't have any real skills. The money shop hasn't pressed for payment because of some past ties. But now that times are tough, they have to collect the debt. He's an educated man, so he has to be reasonable, right?"

"A rogue isn't scary, what's scary is a rogue with culture. If a scholar is unreasonable, he can really cause you trouble. Give the order that when we get to the manor, none of our men should step forward. Wait for my instructions and don't give them any leverage."

"Yes!"

The cavalry, carrying torches and marching in a grand procession, resembled a winding fire dragon in the darkness, attracting considerable attention.

Before long, Ruan Xiangqin's younger sister, Ruan Xiangyun, noticed something was wrong. She put on a coat and came out of the house, standing on tiptoe to look around. "Big sister! Big sister, come quick! It looks like a horse caravan is going up the mountain!"

The fluffy dumpling prepared in advance according to its host's instructions, while Ruan Xiangqin, who was still feeling sorry for herself in front of the mirror in the room, did not hear her sister's shouts at all.

Ruan Xiangyun, an impatient and impulsive person, called out twice but failed to bring her eldest sister. Instead, she woke up her younger brother and sister who were already asleep.

The younger sister is twelve years old this year, and the youngest brother is eight years old. The two of them ran out barefoot in their pajamas and stood next to their second sister, looking a little lost. "Second sister, who are those people?"

"To be so brazen at night, it must be Li Yexiao!"

Ruan Xiangyun glared at him with her almond-shaped eyes and said angrily, "I've long heard that the second son of the Li family is no good, but I never thought he would set his sights on our manor. This is terrible! Where is Father? Where did Father go?"

The youngest, Ruan Yunfei, was clearly spoiled. In this turbulent and special period, while his peers were already able to help their families make a living, he was still holding a rattle drum, acting like an ignorant three or four-year-old child who knew nothing of the world.

"Dad was still lying in bed when I went to sleep. I just heard my second sister calling me and I got up to find Dad wasn't there." He pouted his chubby face and asked in a childish voice, "What would happen if Li Yexiao set his sights on me?"

Ruan Xiangyun was taken aback when she picked him up.

She was lively and active, and often ran around the city playing, hearing many rumors about Li Yexiao. But the aunties who sat and gossiped only talked about how bad he was, without ever hearing what bad things he had actually done.

Ruan Xiangyun thought about the villains in the various romance novels she often read in her father's study, and gritted her teeth, saying, "Hmph, he's a ruthless killer. If he targets a woman, she'll definitely be captured and sexually assaulted by a man, suffering all kinds of humiliation. Either way, she'll suffer!"

The younger sister trembled with fear upon hearing this. "Second sister, let's hurry and go find Father and bring him back. I'm scared!"

"Meow~" The little white cat, which had just sat up excitedly waiting for its host to come and do the task, suddenly became wary. "Are you serious, meow? This wasn't in the original plot. If you go to call someone, it'll be troublesome!"

Chapter Ten: Oh no! Li Yexiao is here!

In the original storyline, Li Jiangchen burned down the manor to shoulder all the hatred.

After the female lead, Ruan Xiangqin, became a dancer, Li Dongchen, knowing the reason, feared that the beauty would resent him, so he concealed his identity and went to great lengths to promote her. Thus, the most popular dancer at Yucheng Paramount and the top-ranking man naturally fell in love, repaying even the smallest kindness with boundless affection, becoming inseparable and unable to extricate themselves.

It wasn't until the later stages of the story, after the protagonist Li Dongchen defeated his only competitive younger brother and solidified his status as the young marshal, that he confessed to Ruan Xiangqin.

He claimed he didn't want to hurt the most sincere feelings between them, but he couldn't bear the pangs of conscience and had to tell her the truth, hoping she wouldn't hold a grudge for concealing his true feelings.

After a series of ups and downs of love, hate, and entanglement, the female protagonist finally realizes that it was Li Jiangchen who killed her father and that Li Dongchen had nothing to do with it. Only then does she happily agree to the marriage proposal, marry into the Marshal's mansion, and become the young mistress. She then uses every means to sow discord and help Li Dongchen suppress his brothers.

"These two are truly exemplary in their hypocrisy and quirky thought processes. The host has gone to great lengths to revise the script!"

Seeing that her little sister had only talked about it and hadn't actually gone to find anyone, the fluffy little dumpling relaxed, licked its paws, and sighed, "No wonder the script team arranged a happy ending. In reality, the more shameless, unreasonable, and good at making excuses for themselves, the better they live. Zhang Ziqiu and Ruan Xiangyun, they really are a perfect match for the male lead in every way!"

Jiang Chen had made proper arrangements, and had Rongtuanzi prepare in advance to stall the female lead and Ruan Fannan.

After the formalities are over, they symbolically burn down some insignificant houses like cowsheds to see if they can complete the task by stepping on the line. This way, Ruan Fannan can escape a disaster, and the female lead, Ruan Xiangqin, can also have a genuine encounter with Li Dongchen.

Without the covert entanglement of hiding one's identity, it became much easier to help the script team revise the plot later.

"As long as you don't disturb the old man lamenting his passing by the river in the back valley, my prop will remain effective, and your father will survive. So please don't cause any trouble!"

The fluffy ball was a little worried, after all, there were only so many items that could impede people without leaving a trace. The D-grade item they were using today was quite effective; the only problem was that it couldn't be disturbed, otherwise it would lose its effectiveness.

It looked at the old man's frail appearance. In the original story, he rushed into the fire and was killed by smoke and fire in less than two minutes before Zhang Mingyuan and his men dragged him out. If it tried to use physical methods to knock him out, it would likely kill him with one blow.