The male supporting character was actually myself.

…………

Li Dongchen anxiously jumped around at the door of Zhang Ziqiu's study for a long time, but seeing that she wouldn't open the door no matter what, he was freezing cold and had no choice but to return to his room in frustration.

She hugged the blanket and leaned against the bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.

Especially with his complaints still lingering in her ears, Zhang Ziqiu was reminded of what Xiuer had said before.

Without her own family's support and without children, given Li Dongchen's fickle nature, she might not be able to secure her position as the eldest daughter-in-law in the future.

But the thought of sharing a bed with that rotten piece of flesh was too disgusting for her to bear!

She can't leave the Marshal's Mansion, and she can't reconcile with Li Dongchen. How can she secure her position and avoid being bullied like those unfavored concubines?

"Squeak~"

As the night deepened, the old women on night duty all leaned against their chairs and drifted off to sleep.

Zhang Ziqiu tiptoed into the study, looked around to make sure the courtyard was empty, and then quietly slipped into the main bedroom with a package in her hand.

Li Dongchen was clearly fast asleep; she could hear his even breathing.

"Wipe! Wipe!" Zhang Ziqiu's heart was pounding in her chest, and her hands trembled as she lit the lamp.

The leaping flames illuminated a patch of orange light.

She hurriedly took a black mud ball the size of a longan from the bag, and following the shopkeeper's instructions, placed it on a copper rack to be slowly heated by the fire. Then she gently pushed the finished device, along with the lamp, to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed).

"Goooooooo~"

She came out of the bedroom and looked intently through the glass window. She could almost hear the faint sounds of black mud balls, like asphalt, rolling and churning as if being roasted over a fire.

A wisp of smoke drifted out with the heat of the fire, most of which was inhaled and exhaled by the sleeping Li Dongchen with each breath.

Only after the black, muddy substance had been baked until it was completely charred and dried out, no longer emitting any smoke, did Zhang Ziqiu tiptoe into the house, remove the lamp, clean it, and put it away.

“Once you enter this deep mansion, it’s hard to get out. I have no other choice but to protect myself.” A ruthless glint flashed in Zhang Ziqiu’s eyes. “You must have been using this stuff a lot while you were with those two sisters, right?”

In the past, I would definitely have tried to get you to quit this stuff, turn over a new leaf, and live a good life.

But it would be better if you continued to smoke opium. At least you wouldn't have the mind to play with women and have children if you were addicted to it every day. As long as you don't have any offspring, I can live a more stable life.

Don't worry, I bought the best quality longevity ointment, it's definitely no worse than what those two sisters use to serve you..."

After closing the main room door, Zhang Ziqiu realized that she was sweating profusely from nervousness.

Fortunately, on a whim, I went to an opium den and bought some high-quality opium paste, which came in handy. I'll delay for a few more days and secretly increase the dosage for him, hoping to make Li Dongchen addicted to this frivolous hobby as soon as possible, so that I can finally breathe a sigh of relief!

Zhang Ziqiu made up her mind to quietly return to her study, lock the door, and then lie down to rest.

As dawn broke, Jiang Chen woke up from his sleep, rubbed his eyes, stretched, and prepared to get up, get ready, and direct the army to set off for the next destination.

A fluffy little ball of fluff suddenly fell from the sky and landed on his chest. "Host! Good morning~ The script team has come up with a new plot after racking their brains, do you want to take a look, meow?"

Jiang Chen: (；@д@)

I almost... got crushed to death...

"Xiao Bai, can you be a little more careful next time?" He lay back down weakly and said, "If you do that again, I won't need the script team to dig a hole or the protagonist to sacrifice himself; you'll just crush me to death."

If I were to actually be smashed to death by you, wouldn't I become a laughing stock on the forum?

"The first host to be killed by the auxiliary system, won't that be reported to the main system?"

Fluffy dumpling: o('^｀)o

"Host, if you want to say I've gained weight, just say so! Don't beat around the bush!" It shoved its short paws into its paws and tilted its head, yelling, "I'm angry! And I can't be coaxed!"

Jiang Chen clutched his chest and coughed weakly twice. Seeing that the little ball of fluff wasn't fooled, he took out the small fish plush toy he had prepared earlier from his spatial storage and handed it to her. "That's enough. I didn't just say things randomly..."

The little white cat puffed out its cheeks, turned its head to look, reached out with its paw, snatched the little plush toy, and then grumbled with its neck stiff, "You think you can bribe me with just this little toy!"

"Stop messing around, let me see how the script team manages to come up with a solution after racking their brains."

"Hmm...it's not impossible..." The little white cat twisted its almost invisible neck and grinned mischievously. "You have to meow first so I can hear it, otherwise it won't make up for my psychological trauma!"

Jiang Chen: ...

"I was the one who suffered physical injury, why should I apologize to you?" He sighed, clutching his chest.

After a few seconds of standoff between the man and the system, Jiang Chen cleared his throat and paused for a moment before letting out a soft "Meow~"

"Meow~ My host is the best! Love you, muah!" The fluffy little ball immediately jumped up, scattering flowers all over the room, meowing happily and rubbing against his face, kissing him. "Hehe, I saw a test on the forum about how much the host dotes on the auxiliary system, so I wanted to try it out. My host really spoils me the most! I'm so happy~"

"Childish!" Jiang Chen shook his head with a wry smile and opened the script that the little white cat had obediently presented to him.

The overall plot has been significantly altered. Firstly, several concubines in the Marshal's Mansion became pregnant one after another, but none of them gave birth to a newborn child. They either miscarried or died young. Having experienced the pain of losing his child, Li Tianxing cherished his only son even more.

Li Dongchen married two concubines under the pretext of continuing his lineage. One of them was a talented socialite in the upper class. The two were in love and often smoked opium together, indulging in ecstasy and daydreaming.

Best Supporting Actor Li Jiangchen leads troops into battle and wins every battle. After unifying the beautiful land, he fights fiercely against the invading army.

However, the war of aggression reached a stalemate, Shanbei fell and Yucheng was captured. Zhang Ziqiu was attacked and killed while protecting the students of the school during their retreat.

Li Tianxing led his guards to their deaths on the battlefield;

Under his father's protection, Li Dongchen, along with his two concubines and the enormous wealth accumulated by Li Jiangchen for the Marshal's Mansion, used his connections with classmates from an enemy country to exchange his younger brother's whereabouts for a ticket to go abroad.

During their escape, they meet Ruan Xiangqin, a woman who is also searching for a way out. After a series of love-hate entanglements and passionate encounters, they reconcile and vow to stay together forever, their love unwavering, and grow old together.

Ultimately, the train carrying Li Jiangchen was ambushed, and he and his most loyal personal guards were all killed in the bombing.

Meanwhile, Li Dongchen spent the rest of his life happily with his beautiful wife and concubines on the other side of the ocean...

"The script team is awful! Why make the main character run away when they can just let him run away? Why make others suffer?" The fluffy little dumpling scratched its claws on the blanket in anger.

Jiang Chen, engrossed in studying the new plot, casually replied, "Of course, I, the best supporting actor, have to die. Otherwise, given the prevailing trend, if I don't die, I'll definitely be the number one figure in the new country."

Once the invading army is destroyed and the country is restored to prosperity, will they still spare Li Dongchen, who absconded with a huge fortune and deserted the battlefield? Therefore, my existence is a threat to the protagonist; the best supporting male character must die in this round!

"So what should we do?"

“Of course, we should start with the details.” Jiang Chen pointed to a passage in the script and asked, “Does Li Dongchen smoke opium? Did he get it from the Bai Moli sisters?”

The little white cat tilted its head, thought for a moment, and shook its head, saying, "No, meow~ I remember that the two sisters didn't smoke opium. The devices in the room were for opium-smoking guests. I've never seen Li Dongchen use them. Could it be that his socialite concubine taught him?"

"Xiaobai, go back now and keep an eye on things for me..." He whispered a few words of advice to the fluffy little dumpling's big ears.

It stood ramrod straight and gave a salute, "Yes, meow! Mission accomplished!"

The protagonist is even trying to be trendy by smoking opium; isn't that just asking for trouble?

Jiang Chen narrowed his eyes, looked at the script for a moment, and then got up to make a phone call to Mr. Nangong.

The New Year is approaching at a leisurely pace.

When the lights of every household shone brightly to welcome the Spring Festival, Li Jiajun also had a rare few days off. Everyone stayed at the encampment waiting to eat a dumpling filled with meatballs made by the logistics cooks.

"Tomorrow is Lunar New Year's Eve, and this is the first time I've spent the Spring Festival on the front lines." Zhang Mingyuan rubbed his hands together, exhaling puffs of white mist, and looked at the town surrounded by withered trees in the distance, laughing, "The people are hoping that our Li family army will win the battle and divide the land soon."

Spring plowing will begin soon after the Spring Festival. If land reform proceeds quickly enough, people will be able to plant their own land in the spring.

A group of people came to deliver New Year's goods yesterday, and it looks like there are still people coming to deliver things today. Should we accept them or not, especially during the New Year?

Jiang Chen, holding up his fox-fur sleeves, shook his head and said, "Not only can we not accept them, but we should also share some of the New Year's goods we prepared with the people, since guests are always welcome."

Firstly, ordinary people are not well-off, and we don't lack food, so why should we need other people's?

Secondly, who knows if the people who come are really ordinary people?

What if there's something mixed in? It would be such a headache during the New Year! Go tell the guards not to stop people coming in, but to check them carefully, making sure no one brings in anything they shouldn't.

"Yes!" Zhang Mingyuan had barely left after receiving the order when he ran back with a joyful smile, shouting, "Young Marshal! More than a dozen large trucks loaded with supplies have arrived. They say they're from the City That Never Sleeps and they need you to come and meet them personally!"

A city that never sleeps?

Jiang Chen's eyes flashed with Lin Wanyan's smile, and the corners of his mouth involuntarily turned up slightly.

Since their last meeting, the two could only chat on the phone when they had a spare moment. No wonder she had been subtly asking me where I was on the phone and whether I wanted to come back to Yucheng for the Spring Festival. It turns out she was coming to surprise me during the New Year.

"Young Marshal Li!" The convoy leader smiled and handed over a stack of goods lists, saying, "These are New Year's gifts specially prepared for you by the young master and daughter of the Lin family. The comrades of the Hongqi Society have also prepared some supplies as a token of their appreciation. Please accept them, Young Marshal."

"It's so cold, everyone must have had a hard time driving all the way from the south!" Jiang Chen stepped forward and shook hands warmly with the person in charge. He then took the list and glanced at it. The supplies brought by the trucks were nothing more than oil, salt, rice, flour, cotton-padded coats, quilts, and some scarce medicines.

He quickly flipped through the list to make sure it was all the goods and nothing else was included, then hurriedly asked, "Is there anything else?"

The person in charge shook his head seriously, "No, all the supplies delivered this time are here."

Jiang Chen frowned slightly in disappointment, unwilling to give up, and asked again, "Not even a letter? Or... was there any message or something?"

"No." The person in charge shrugged and shook his head. "Is the young marshal waiting for some news? I'm only responsible for transporting goods; I don't know anything else."

It seems that all we have left are supplies...

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, he instructed Zhang Mingyuan to take charge of receiving everyone, while he himself planned to make a phone call later to collect the New Year's gifts that had been promised long ago!

"Young Marshal Li, what do you want to hear?" Jiang Chen had just turned around and looked down at the list, preparing to walk back, when suddenly a figure came around from the side of the convoy and hugged him from behind, asking softly, "If it's not too mushy, I can tell you in person."

Chapter Forty-Six: Double Happiness

Jiang Chen felt a gentle embrace around her lower back, and a sweet surprise spread through her heart, instantly bringing a smile to her face.

He turned around and hugged the person wrapped tightly in the package. His eyes caught sight of his many subordinates, who had known all along but were deliberately keeping it a secret to surprise him, secretly laughing. He quickly waved his hand and said, "Aren't you going to help unload the goods? What are you laughing at?"

"Hehe, the young marshal is grinning from ear to ear while pretending to be fierce."

"Lin Sanqianjin traveled a long way to bring warmth during the Spring Festival, how enviable!"

"Our young marshal and the Lin family's daughter are truly a perfect match!"

"Tsk tsk tsk, this is a match made in heaven. Only Lin Sanqianjin, with her elegant demeanor befitting our young marshal..."

……

The soldiers watched with amusement as their young commander led his beautiful bride by the hand all the way to the military camp, and they all gathered together to gossip about when they would be able to drink the wedding wine.

"Why did you come all the way here during the Spring Festival?" Jiang Chen led her to his military tent, poured her a cup of hot water and handed it to her. "Are your uncle and the others worried about you traveling north through two provinces?"

Lin Wanyan curiously looked at the military tent he was staying in.

The place wasn't big, but it was clean, tidy, and well-organized. She took the water glass and said with a playful smile, "Of course I'm worried. After all, it's a convoy transporting supplies, and it will pass through many places where bandits roam."

So, under the protection of the men sent by my elder brother, I took the train to Buqiling. Only after confirming that I was within the territory managed by the comrades of the Hongqi Society did I join the convoy and we circled around from the rear.

Lin Wanyan pointed to a group of people outside helping to unload the goods and said softly, "Those are the people my older brother sent to protect me."

Knowing you're working so hard leading troops on the front lines and can't even properly celebrate the holidays, my family is very supportive of my idea to come and spend the New Year with you. So… this time I want to stay a little longer. I'm a great shot, and I can fight alongside you!