The Vicious Supporting Actress Survival Manual

Chapter 3 Vicious Supporting Actress Survival Strategy(03)

After some small talk, the Emperor and Felix Austin left to discuss national affairs. Felix had been raised by the Empress since he was young, so he naturally had a good relationship with Matthew Austin. At this time, Matthew had not yet met the female lead, and the two of them had not turned against each other.

I pretended to smile and chat with the old Queen and Concubine Qi, but the old Queen still held a grudge against me and deliberately ignored me. Concubine Qi also did not dare to talk to me against the old Queen's wishes.

The group chatted as if I wasn't even there, and I didn't feel uncomfortable in the slightest. I was used to being a silent bystander, having learned to lower my presence whenever I went out to eat with my bosses in the company.

However, my head was still hurting from lack of sleep the previous night, and I absentmindedly rubbed my temples. Then I heard the old Queen's voice asking, "Is there something you're not satisfied with regarding my words, Lady Jin?"

My hand froze as I met the Queen's slightly cold gaze. Did they say something while I wasn't paying attention?

Fortunately, before I could answer, the Queen spoke again, "Tell me, what is most important for a woman?"

My brain quickly turned, recalling the Queen's character in the novel. After a moment of hesitation, I replied, "According to ancient wisdom, a woman has four virtues: morality, beauty, speech, and skills."

"The first virtue you mentioned is indeed the most important. In the future, you should focus on self-improvement and being a good assistant by the Emperor's side," the Queen responded, lightly scolding me for her own amusement.

She really didn't like me and didn't miss any opportunity to lecture me. I, the wicked female second lead, had to make amends.

"I will remember, Your Majesty," I lowered my eyes and respectfully answered.

Concubine Qi, sensing the tension, cleverly changed the subject and talked about the new goldfish in the imperial garden pond. The old Queen became interested in the goldfish, and the group went to see them. I followed along obediently.

As I watched everyone commenting on the fish in the pond, I felt an indescribable feeling in my heart. These palace women really lived a boring life, getting excited over a few goldfish.

Some concubines were trying to please the old Queen and crowded around her, so I naturally stood in the corner. I accidentally felt like the old Queen glanced at me, but when I looked over, I didn't catch her gaze and thought I was just being paranoid.

Watching the people by the pond, I suddenly thought of many novel scenes where someone was rescued from the water. I had taken a few swimming lessons in modern times and thought that if the Queen fell into the water, I could use my mediocre swimming skills to save her. Then she would change her impression of me and maybe even become my supporter, making Felix Austin, who would learn the truth later, hesitate to harm me.

But this was just my own wishful thinking. The Queen was not stupid, and why would she jump into the water herself? Besides, no one dared to push her into the water.

I amused myself with my wild imagination, but before I could even laugh, I suddenly felt a force behind me, and my smile froze on my face.

"Splash!"

It seemed that one's thoughts will have bad consequences if they are crooked. This was like what was happening to me now, I suffered the consequences for just thinking about it.

"Oh my God, Lady Jin fell into the water. Quick, someone--" Concubine Qi's cry of alarm abruptly stopped.

She saw me swimming back to the shore using the breaststroke and then climbing up with the help of a maid. The place where I fell was very close to the shore, so these events happened quickly, so fast that even the Queen was stunned.

"When did you learn this...?" The Queen struggled to speak, seemingly trying to find words to describe my swimming style.

It was early autumn, and the weather was not very cold, but I still couldn't help but shiver with my wet clothes.

Seeing my miserable state, the Queen stopped asking and ordered the servants to take me down to change. Although she disliked me, it was just a verbal reprimand. She wouldn't deliberately make me suffer. From this, it seemed that this old lady didn't have those dirty little thoughts, and I silently made a plan to flatter her in the future.

I followed two palace maids to a palace, and they quickly prepared hot water for me. I soaked for a bit, drove away the chill, and quickly got up to change. After all, the Queen was still waiting.

As I was putting on my outer clothes and sitting in front of the mirror drying my hair, I suddenly saw a woman standing silently behind me in the mirror.

This maid, why doesn't she understand the rules? I turned my head and saw that she was dressed differently from the palace maids in her beautiful attire. I was taken aback and didn't know who she was, so I looked at her without any expression.

We both fell into an awkward silence for a while. It wasn't because I was intentionally trying to be enigmatic, but because I didn't know who she was, and I was afraid of saying something wrong.

Finally, the maid, Beauty Rose, spoke first. "Congratulations, Sister Estella, on becoming Lady Jin. As your older sister, I'm genuinely happy for you."

Older sister? I quickly realized that in the novel, Estella Rose was the only daughter of the Rose family, and Ralph Rose had to choose a woman from a collateral branch of the Rose family to send to the palace. So technically, I should call her my cousin.

But this cousin.... was an important character in the novel who caused the downfall of the entire Rose family. She climbed the ranks in the palace with the help of Ralph Rose, and then betrayed him when he lost power, trying to win over the female lead, Lisa Stein.

Of course, in the end, she didn't have a good outcome either. She was just a pawn, who switched sides for her own benefit.

"Beauty Rose, sneaking up behind people like that to give your blessings is really startling," I said casually, putting down the cloth in my hand for wiping my hair.

Seeing my nonchalant attitude, Beauty Rose's eyes flashed with disdain, but she still smiled and said, "Sister Estella, why are you so distant now? We used to be very close."

Although the Rose family deserved to be punished, I still couldn't stand her as a turncoat who betrayed others for her own benefit. So I didn't reply and turned to pick up a comb to tidy my hair.

In the mirror, I saw that she couldn't bear being ignored, so I spoke, "Beauty Rose, now that you've entered the palace, it's better not to call me sister anymore. I can't afford that title...sister. Don't make a joke out of it."

Only women in the palace could call each other sisters.

Although Beauty Rose's eyes changed several times, she didn't attack me. After all, her father was incompetent and only held a minor position in the government. She relied on Ralph Rose's power to climb the ranks in the palace.

"I misspoke. I haven't seen Lady Jin in a long time, and it was a slip of the tongue due to my familiarity," she replied, able to bend and adapt.

My heart skipped a beat, and I tightened my grip on the comb, turning to ask her, "Arrange?"

"There are too many people around Lady Jin, and the Empress Dowager is also thinking of you. I wanted to talk to you alone and came up with this plan," she replied, her face flashing with unease.

"You arranged for someone to push me into the water and implicate me?"

"There was a nanny waiting by the shore who knew how to swim. Lady Jin wouldn't have been hurt," Beauty Rose hastily explained. "There are too many eyes in the palace, and this was the only way to avoid suspicion."

My mind raced, and my heart grew colder and colder, even colder than when I fell into the water.

She was just a beauty, how could she have such control in the palace? I remembered how the Empress Dowager had glanced at me before, as if suspecting that I was deliberately standing on the sidelines to cooperate with Beauty Rose.

I felt angry.

The novel had only focused on the love story between the male and female leads. As the second female lead, Estella Rose, and the cannon fodder Beauty Rose, they were only briefly mentioned as conspiring and passing on information to each other without detailing how they did it.

Now, as I had traveled back in time, I was supposed to supplement the story outside of the novel's plot.

My mind raced, and I immediately decided to sever any ties with Beauty Rose. First, to stop Ralph Rose's evil deeds in the palace, and seond, to deal with Beauty Rose, who had such a narrow vision—

A fence-sitter.