Transmigrated as the Short-Lived White Moonlight, I Ended Up Happily Ever After With the Female Lead - Chapter 20

Song Yi reached for a medical book placed on the small bedside table. After flipping through it for a long time, she finally understood how to help Ji Yan’an.

She closed the book and put it back in its original place, then reached out and pulled Ji Yan’an, who was sitting beside her, into her arms. She leaned against the headboard, with Ji Yan’an half-lying and resting against her. This position was indeed much more comfortable.

Ji Yan’an’s stomach was churning. Leaning against Song Yi felt like finding a safe harbor. Originally, she thought she could just endure it, but now she especially wanted to cry.

“It hurts…” Ji Yan’an said with a sob. Hearing her, Song Yi felt a pang of heartache. She reached out and placed her hand on Ji Yan’an’s stomach, gently rubbing it. Only then did Ji Yan’an slowly stop crying.

The lamp in the room remained lit. Song Yi’s hand continued to rub for her. In a daze, Ji Yan’an could only see the exquisite ceiling and the rising steam from the tea cup that Le Yan had brought.

The faint fragrance on Song Yi mixed with the scent of the tea, enveloping Ji Yan’an’s nostrils and giving her a full sense of security. Gradually, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

The sky was already faintly brightening, but Song Yi still hadn’t slept. She lowered her head to look at Ji Yan’an, half-lying in her arms, sleeping deeply.

Her sleeping face was completely different from Ji Yan’an’s daytime appearance—her small face was soft and rosy, which made Song Yi’s heart feel utterly tender.

“Miss, it’s time to wash up,” Jinxi’s voice sounded at the door of the main hall. Before long, Le Yan ran over and explained the situation.

“Is Miss really suffering from food stagnation?” Jinxi was startled when she heard this. She quickly gathered the maidservants who assisted with washing up and hurried them to the side hall.

“Miss Song, has our Miss woken up?” Jinxi’s voice was neither servile nor overbearing.

Song Yi slowly put Ji Yan’an down to lie flat, then stood up and walked to the door to open it: “She went to sleep very late last night and is still sleeping now. Don’t wake her.”

Jinxi opened her mouth, but ultimately said nothing. However, seeing the hot water held by the maidservants behind her gradually cooling down, she suggested, “How about… we serve you first to wash up?”

Song Yi closed the door expressionlessly, giving Jinxi the cold shoulder.

“No need, I’ll rest a little longer too.”

Having thrown down this remark, Song Yi returned to the couch. With a serious expression, she continued to look at Ji Yan’an’s sleeping face, as if she were studying something.

Jinxi blinked and walked away with a wry smile, leading the group of maidservants. Since the other person wasn’t receptive, as Ji Yan’an’s senior maidservant, she naturally couldn’t push the matter.

Song Yi said she wanted to rest, but she couldn’t fall asleep no matter what. Tossing and turning, and fearing that she would wake Ji Yan’an, she had no choice but to get up, wash and dress herself, and then sit by the table reading a book.

“Miss, the breakfast is as light as possible. Has Eldest Miss still not gotten up?” This was the third time Le Yan had come to call. Ji Yongning had already gone to court and hadn’t waited for his beloved daughter to see him off. He pondered that her injury might be too severe, so he was heading to the Emperor with a belly full of frustration to report.

“What? Breakfast?!” Song Yi was just about to send Le Yan away again, but unexpectedly, Ji Yan’an suddenly cried out. Before she was fully awake, rubbing her eyes, she was ready to eat.

“Change your clothes first,” Song Yi frowned.

Ji Yan’an was jolted awake by the reminder. She looked around, then looked at the clothes she was wearing. It took a while before she remembered that she had suffered from food stagnation last night and had clung to Song Yi’s clothes, refusing to let go.

Her reputation was completely ruined. Ji Yan’an forced herself to stay calm, picked up the long dress Le Yan brought, and put it on. She didn’t know how to do her hair, so she just let it down and didn’t wear a hair ornament. After washing up, she excitedly ran to Song Yi’s side.

“You’re reading again?”

“Breakfast has been set out. Go eat.”

The two spoke at the same time, pausing, then smiled at each other after a while.

Ji Yan’an obediently sat down at the table, while Song Yi continued to bury her head in her book. “Aiya, read your book after you finish breakfast!” Ji Yan’an seemed to imply that if Song Yi didn’t join her, she wouldn’t eat either.

Song Yi smiled wryly. She had no choice but to put down the book in her hand, walk to the dining table, and eat with Ji Yan’an.

“This morning’s congee isn’t good; it’s not as delicious as the congee you cook,” Ji Yan’an looked listlessly at the congee in front of her, only picking up and nibbling on a steamed bun with a vegetarian filling.

Song Yi didn’t speak, but outside the courtyard, a clamor arose. Listening closely, it seemed to be centered around Ji Tong’an, with Le Yan and Jinxi blocking her from entering.

Today, Mother Ji was out attending a banquet, and Ji Yongning was at court. There were virtually no elders in charge in the manor. Fortunately, the Ji family’s rules were usually strict, and the maidservants and old nanny servants served their respective mistresses as usual. However, Ji Tong’an seized this opportunity.

“Is there no law anymore? Now that Eldest Sister is in the same room as a poisoner, her life is in danger. Why can’t I go in? Song Yi is a young lady, but am I, Ji Tong’an, not also a young lady of the Ji manor? Considering the matter, the one who should be with Eldest Sister should be me!” Ji Tong’an no longer concealed her nature. She was arrogant and bossy in front of the maidservants, which severely frightened the timid Le Yan.

“Third Miss, don’t speak nonsense. Where is this poisoner!” Jinxi was older after all and was better at handling situations than Le Yan. Having been by Ji Yan’an’s side for so many years, she had seen all sorts of scenes. Ji Tong’an was just a small, illegitimate Third Miss, and Jinxi could handle her.

Ji Tong’an was dressed in a peach-colored gown, making her look radiant, with a rosy complexion. There was no sign that she had been poisoned.

She waved her handkerchief and pointed at Song Yi’s room, crying, “It’s that Song Yi! The medicine she brewed for the concubine mother last night—after Concubine Mother drank it, she fainted and is confined to bed. We checked the dregs from last night’s medicine with a physician, and there was an extra poisonous ingredient inside!”

Jinxi was also shocked. In the capital, incidents of poisoning and murder were not uncommon, but this was the first time in the Ji manor. Long ago, when the Old Madam was still in the capital, there was one poisoning incident. The person was ultimately sent to the clan’s punishment hall, where they were never heard from again. The next time they were seen, they were brought out having been torn apart by five horses.

Although the Old Madam was now recuperating in her hometown, her deterrent effect remained. None of the concubines or young ladies in the Ji manor dared to attempt poisoning, no matter what they did.

If this poisoning incident were to be made public now, it would likely cause another upheaval.

“Then how can Third Miss be so certain that Miss Song did it? The crime of poisoning is severe, but slander is not easily forgiven either,” Jinxi knelt, but her voice remained cold.

The only person who dared to cause trouble in Ji Yan’an’s courtyard was a Grand Concubine. Ji Yan’an might not be sharp enough right now, but that didn’t mean her maidservants were pushovers.

Ji Tong’an naturally knew that Jinxi was not easily fooled, so she immediately produced evidence. She pulled over a cook who was beside her, her expression incredibly arrogant: “This cook, and the other cooks in the kitchen, all saw Song Yi and Eldest Sister enter the side room of the kitchen together last night. Don’t tell me you want to say Eldest Sister is the one who poisoned?”

Ji Tong’an’s words were too sharp. Jinxi dared not respond at all and simply stepped aside with Le Yan to make a path.

The room’s sound insulation was not very good, and Ji Tong’an’s voice was loud. Ji Yan’an inside the room heard everything clearly.