Transmigrated as the Short-Lived White Moonlight, I Ended Up Happily Ever After With the Female Lead - Chapter 1

In the winter of Yongzhao’s fifteenth year, a blanket of snow covered everything.

The blue bricks and red tiles of the capital city were thickly covered in white snow, and the entire city seemed to quiet down. The street vendors were too lazy to hawk their goods, just waiting to finish the day and go home to warm up.

“It’s only the beginning of the twelfth lunar month, and it’s already this cold. How will we manage in a few more days…” A young maidservant, beautifully and brightly dressed, stood outside the Ji Manor’s gate. She was only a maidservant, yet her attire was more lavish than most people on the street.

Another maidservant, wearing a long blue skirt, walked out from inside the gate. Hearing what the first maid said, she couldn’t help but smile: “Working at the Ji Manor, are you still afraid of freezing? But why aren’t the Miss and Madam here yet?”

The maid shook her head, not knowing. Just as she spoke, a sound of colliding jade pendants on a carriage was heard from the end of the long street. The two maids exchanged glances, knowing they had arrived. They quickly picked up a few oiled paper umbrellas and went to meet them.

They dared not open the umbrellas, allowing the snow to fall on themselves as they gracefully walked to the carriage. After the carriage steadily stopped at the entrance of the Ji Manor, the maids dared to open the umbrellas, waiting for the people inside to alight.

“Jingxi respectfully welcomes Miss and Madam back to the manor.” The maid in the blue skirt, taking the lead, first bowed to the people inside the carriage. The maidservants and pages following her all bowed and greeted them.

“Rise.” A pleasant and clear voice, gentle yet commanding, came from inside the carriage.

The maidservants and pages stood up, orderly pulling back the thick curtain of the carriage to invite the people inside to step down.

A pair of snow-white, delicate hands rested on Jingxi’s, immediately followed by a face so beautiful it was breathtaking. The young woman’s hairdo was immaculate, her long hair draped smoothly over her back, and the hairpins on her head were all priceless. After the graceful young woman stepped out, she turned to help the madam behind her alight. The madam’s head was adorned with gold hairpins and shaking pendulums, yet it did not look vulgar. Her eyes and eyebrows bore a seven or eight-tenths resemblance to the young woman’s.

The two were immediately surrounded and escorted into the manor.

“A happy birthday to the Eldest Miss!” Jingxi was quick-witted. After entering the main hall, she led all the servants, great and small, to offer birthday wishes to the young woman. The young woman showed little emotion, merely nodding faintly.

The room was filled with fragrant scents, and the birthday gifts were displayed everywhere. Today was, in fact, the nineteenth birthday of the Ji Manor’s Eldest Miss, Ji Yan’an.

As the birthday banquet officially began, Ji Yan’an sat beside her parents, receiving congratulations from the guests.

Ji Tong’an, seated below, noticed that Ji Yan’an was already tired of responding to the well-wishers, so she decided to help her out.

“Father, Tong’an would like to go with Eldest Sister to see the red plum blossoms in the back garden. I heard the red plum blossoms are exceptionally beautiful on a snowy day.” Ji Tong’an was the daughter of the Third Concubine, a concubine-born daughter of the Ji Manor. She always followed behind Ji Yan’an, timid and compliant. A concubine-born daughter like her was not originally supposed to attend such an occasion, so her presence was only by virtue of following Ji Yan’an.

Ji Yongning looked at the weariness on his legitimate daughter’s face and also felt a little heartache, so he nodded and permitted it.

After leaving the main hall, Ji Yan’an finally breathed a sigh of relief. Her eyes held a smile as she looked at Ji Tong’an. Just as she was about to speak, she saw another person following Ji Tong’an.

“Why is she here too?” Ji Yan’an’s tone suddenly turned cold, and the smile in her apricot eyes vanished, as if the person following Ji Tong’an were an unforgivable villain.

Ji Tong’an glanced casually behind her, uncaring: “Eldest Sister, don’t mind her. I only brought her out to amuse us.”

The person behind her wore a slightly worn, pale yellow long dress. Her black hair was simply tied up with a wooden hairpin, which did not diminish her beauty in the slightest.

The woman had long, narrow eyes and a cold expression on her face. She was the universally acknowledged beauty of the capital city. Even Ji Yan’an, after spending half a day getting dressed up, could only just compare to her when standing side-by-side.

Women are prone to jealousy, and it was the same for Ji Yan’an.

“If Father hadn’t been soft-hearted, she might not even have lived until today. Who is she trying to show off that seductive face to all day long!” Ji Tong’an’s words became increasingly unrestrained.

The woman’s name was Song Yi, the same age as Ji Yan’an—nineteen years old. Three years ago, her parents were killed by people from the palace. Because Song Yi’s father and Ji Yongning were close friends, Ji Yongning was soft-hearted and took Song Yi in under his care. However, the solitary and rebellious Song Yi gradually made Ji Yongning lose his patience to treat her well. As time passed, he almost forgot about such a person. Life in the back garden was difficult, and the concubine-born daughters and concubines naturally took out their frustrations on her.

Song Yi heard the conversation between the two in front of her but said nothing, only burying her head lower. Ji Yan’an’s gaze swept over the wooden hairpin, and she gave a cold laugh, saying nothing, and went straight towards the patch of red plum blossoms in the back garden.

“Eldest Sister… wait for me.” Unclear glints flickered in Ji Tong’an’s eyes.

“Ah… save me! Hmm…” In the lake of the Ji Manor’s back garden, Ji Yan’an could be seen splashing in the water. On the shore, countless maidservants and pages anxiously rushed to jump in and rescue her.

But none were as quick as Song Yi. Song Yi immediately jumped into the lake, swimming swiftly to the center of the lake to grab Ji Yan’an. Because the lake water was icy cold in winter and there was thin ice around, Song Yi took off her shabby outer coat and covered Ji Yan’an with it first. Then, holding Ji Yan’an with one hand, she struggled to swim toward the shore with the other.

Finally, with the help of the crowd, they got ashore. Song Yi was drenched and shivering from the cold, but she still insisted on carrying Ji Yan’an back to her bedroom. Ji Yan’an, however, had already fainted. All the maidservants were scared pale, following behind them, unsure what to do.

Upon returning to Ji Yan’an’s bedroom, Ji Yongning and Madam Ji had already rushed over. They were heartbroken seeing their cherished pearl-of-the-palm now unconscious with tightly closed eyes.

“Send for a doctor immediately! Jingxi, take my waist token to the palace and ask for an imperial physician. Tell them Yan’an has drowned!” Madam Ji had long lost her elegant and dignified appearance. She was pacing anxiously, not hesitating to alarm even the palace.

Song Yi sat in the corner, hugging her arms and trembling. Her expression remained unchanged, but a hidden gloom was in her eyes, and she occasionally scanned Ji Tong’an, observing her hypocritical behavior.

The entire Ji Manor was busy until nightfall. The imperial physician had long arrived, and everything that needed to be done was done, but Ji Yan’an simply would not wake up.

“What is the situation now!” Ji Yongning was over there angrily demanding answers, while Ji Yan’an was lying in bed, confused and bewildered.

After listening for a while, Ji Yan’an finally picked up on keywords like Miss, Madam, and Song Yi.

“Wait, isn’t this the plot of the novel I hadn’t finished reading? Drowning? Isn’t this the scene where the male lead’s beloved is supposed to die?” Ji Yan’an secretly opened her eyes and looked at the group kneeling by her bed. Every single person matched the description in the original book. This discovery horrified Ji Yan’an!

If I had known that having the same name would lead to transmigrating into the book, I absolutely would have finished the book before going to sleep!! Ji Yan’an was practically crying. She didn’t dare to open her eyes or speak now, fearing that one wrong move would get her burned as a demoness.

“It was you, Song Yi?” While Ji Yan’an was lying in bed with her mind racing, she heard Ji Yongning ask this question through gritted teeth. This was… the moment in the original work where Ji Tong’an framed Song Yi for Ji Yan’an’s death!!

Ji Yan’an’s brain spun wildly. Next, Song Yi should be nearly killed and, as a result, meet the morally despicable male lead!