Transmigrated as the Short-Lived White Moonlight, I Ended Up Happily Ever After With the Female Lead - Chapter 33

The Old Madam had seen countless schemes in her youth. While she could handle them, it didn’t mean she tolerated disrespect. Since becoming the matriarch of the Ji family, she had established many rules and managed the manor with perfect order, ensuring no concubine dared to overstep.

But the Third Concubine was an exception.

When Ji Yongning brought the Third Concubine back, her beauty was apparent even in her simple cloth clothing. Especially her eyes, filled with the fright and unease of a frightened fawn, made even the Old Madam think she would be well-behaved. Ji Mother drank her tea and nodded in agreement for the concubine to enter the house.

Who knew that after safely giving birth to a daughter, this Third Concubine would put on airs all day long, and then shed a few tears for Ji Yongning at night, maintaining a precarious peace.

The Old Madam had long been displeased with this mother and daughter pair, let alone the matter of them directly threatening Ji Yan’an’s life.

In other words, the Old Madam was not concerned with Song Yi being framed; rather, she was furious that Ji Tong’an dared to lay a hand on the Ji family’s legitimate daughter.

“It is late today. Yan’an and Miss Song should go and rest first. Your grandmother needs to think this over carefully, and we will discuss it tomorrow.” After the Old Madam finished speaking, she stood up and walked toward the side hall. Ji Yan’an, no matter how anxious she was, could only bow respectfully and watch the Old Madam depart.

Immediately, a momo (wet nurse/nanny) walked up, looking kindly at Ji Yan’an: “Miss, please follow this servant. The Old Madam instructed only one room to be prepared, not anticipating Miss Song would also come. In that case… please forgive the two of you for having to share a room for now.”

Ji Yan’an didn’t mind this. Since she had shared a bed with Song Yi so many times, she took Song Yi’s hand and followed the momo.

“Miss, please don’t take offense. It’s truly because we didn’t have time to prepare.” The momo noticed Ji Yan’an’s not-so-good expression and apologized again with a smile.

However, Ji Yan’an’s poor expression was only due to the recent events that had muddled her mind. Hearing the momo’s explanation, she felt a little embarrassed.

“You don’t know, momo, Song Yi and I usually sleep in the same room. It’s no trouble!” Ji Yan’an indicated it was fine.

Song Yi’s footsteps suddenly paused behind her. Ji Yan’an sensed the change and turned to look at Song Yi: “What’s wrong?”

Song Yi’s face was slightly flushed. She lowered her eyes and didn’t answer Ji Yan’an, just kept walking forward. Ji Yan’an was a bit confused, but seeing the momo walking further away, she had to quicken her pace to catch up. Just as she caught up with the momo’s steps, she heard the momo stifle a laugh and say, “Eldest Miss and Miss Song… have a very good relationship.”

As soon as this sentence left her lips, Ji Yan’an’s face turned bright red as well. The handkerchief in her hand was neither put away nor clutched. Her flustered appearance was even more awkward than Song Yi’s just now. Song Yi couldn’t stand it and took Ji Yan’an’s hand: “Since we are the best of friends, what does it matter if we share a room?”

The momo smiled in agreement. They had also arrived at their destination. After diligently giving Ji Yan’an some instructions, the momo returned to wait on the Old Madam.

Ji Yan’an and Song Yi stood in this unfamiliar room. The charcoal fire was burning warmly, and the furnishings inside were exactly to Ji Yan’an’s liking. The Old Madam truly deserved her reputation.

“Um… this… you don’t mind sleeping with me, do you?” After the momo’s comment, stifling her laughter, Ji Yan’an thoroughly felt that not only was it awkward for a man and woman to be physically close, but it was also awkward between two women.

Song Yi curled her lip, sat down first in front of the mirror, and began taking down her hairpin: “I think it’s fine. Why? Is Yan’an shy?”

Song Yi, for once, teased Ji Yan’an, who retorted stubbornly with a flushed face: “Of course not! We’ll sleep together then!”

With that, Ji Yan’an also went to the side of the mirror. She didn’t know how to take down her hairpins, and Le Yan had been sent away. Now, she could only imitate what Song Yi was doing.

As a result, Ji Yan’an not only messed up her hair, but one of her ornamental hairpins (buyao) even got caught in it. When she pulled, it yanked her scalp, causing pain. Helplessly, Ji Yan’an turned her pitiful gaze to Song Yi, only to find that Song Yi had already finished styling her hair and was looking at her.

“Do you need help?” Song Yi lightly touched the pitifully tangled buyao and asked with sincere eyes.

Ji Yan’an nodded vigorously and leaned her head forward. The stubborn buyao was tightly wound in her hair. Song Yi’s slender fingers gently picked open the disobedient strands, guiding the buyao through the complex tresses, and quickly removed it.

“It’s done.” Song Yi handed the buyao to Ji Yan’an. Just as she was about to get up to wash, she was pulled back by Ji Yan’an grabbing her sleeve again.

“Um… could you comb my hair for me?” Ji Yan’an felt utterly ashamed. In modern times, she always wore a simple short ponytail, which she just quickly tied up before work. She had never dealt with such long hair here. Even with Jin Xi and Le Yan helping, it would take half an hour to smooth out her long dark hair, let alone when it was just Ji Yan’an herself.

Song Yi stared blankly at the wooden comb Ji Yan’an offered. After a moment of thought, she understood. Ji Yan’an had been waited on since childhood, so it was normal for her not to know how to comb her hair.

Taking the wooden comb, Ji Yan’an faced the mirror, leaving her back to Song Yi. Her messy hair awaited Song Yi’s touch. Song Yi felt no impatience; instead, she was secretly looking forward to touching Ji Yan’an’s soft long hair again.

The wooden comb ran through Ji Yan’an’s long hair, stroke by stroke. This was the first time Song Yi felt so nervous, afraid that too much force would hurt Ji Yan’an. As the hair gradually smoothed out, the fragrance became more intense, lingering around Song Yi’s nose. The faint scent of jasmine filled the entire room. Ji Yan’an’s bath water often included jasmine petals.

The closer Song Yi got, the stronger the jasmine scent became, seemingly emanating from Ji Yan’an’s body. Song Yi didn’t know what she was thinking, but her throat became dry, and the image of Ji Yan’an bathing appeared in her mind.

The more Song Yi felt something was wrong, the less she could stop herself from thinking these things. Her eyes flickered as she looked at Ji Yan’an. After much effort, she finally managed to comb Ji Yan’an’s hair smooth. Placing the wooden comb on the table, Ji Yan’an reached up to feel her hair and sincerely praised Song Yi’s skill: “It’s so smooth! I was completely helpless against this bird’s nest of hair.”

As Ji Yan’an spoke, she looked at Song Yi in the mirror. Song Yi’s eyes seemed off, and her expression was terrifyingly cold.

“Did… did I trouble you?” Ji Yan’an suddenly became alert. How could she forget that Song Yi was the isolated and arrogant female protagonist, the one who would eventually become corrupted/dark later on?!

Song Yi was pulled back by the sound, her gaze focusing on Ji Yan’an. She smiled faintly: “No. It’s too late. I’ll go wash first.”

With that, Song Yi stood up as if escaping, vanishing from Ji Yan’an’s sight. Stepping out of the room, she quietly called a young maidservant.

“Go prepare hot water and call a few people to help Eldest Miss wash her face.” After Song Yi instructed, she went to find cold water herself, scooping it up with her hands to wash in the cold evening wind—more to cool down than to wash her face.

Song Yi felt her body temperature had been gradually rising while combing Ji Yan’an’s hair. Her face was very hot, and she had become completely unlike herself.

“What is going on?” Song Yi stared at her reflection in the water. The person in the reflection was indeed beautiful, with phoenix eyes beneath delicate eyebrows—a look that could make people linger with just a smile. But it was also this face that was habitually cold, something Song Yi deeply worried about.

Because of this face, she came to the Ji manor, and because of this face, she was almost killed in her youth.

Song Yi no longer wanted to recall all these things. But today, not only her own face appeared in the mirror, but also another face…

Song Yi calmed down for a long time. Only after her complexion softened did she turn and walk back into the room. She happened to meet a maidservant carrying hot water and a towel. Song Yi opened the door and brought the maidservant inside.

After pushing the door open, the room was quiet. Ji Yan’an was not complaining into the pillow. The charcoal fire crackled in the stove. Song Yi was a bit confused… no one?

Slowly walking to the bedside, Song Yi understood. Ji Yan’an was leaning diagonally on the bed, a book on etiquette precariously held in her hand. Her sleeping form was truly adorable. Her mouth was slightly open, and she was wearing a pure white inner garment. Song Yi instinctively looked away.

“Miss… this…” The maidservant looked troubled, keeping her voice extremely low. The hot water she held was still steaming.

“Put the water down. You may leave first.” Song Yi instructed.

The maidservant breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, she didn’t have to wash the face of the sleeping Eldest Miss herself. She put the hot water down and immediately darted out of the room, which made Song Yi chuckle slightly.

Was Ji Yan’an that scary?

Song Yi’s answer was no. She squatted down, dipped the cloth into the water, wrung it out after it was soaked, and gently wiped Ji Yan’an’s face with the hot cloth. The tender little face made Song Yi dare not use too much force. Ji Yan’an, who wore no makeup, didn’t require much cleansing, but this process once again made Song Yi’s lips dry.

Song Yi found this simple task extremely difficult. Only when the basin of hot water turned cold did Song Yi suddenly come back to her senses. She placed the basin and the wet cloth by the bed, changed out of her clothes, and put on the same white inner garment as Ji Yan’an.

Ji Yan’an originally slept on the inner side, but this time, because she was so sleepy, she had fallen asleep on the outer side. Song Yi had no choice but to lie down on the inner side, facing Ji Yan’an’s back.

She reached out and pulled the quilt over Ji Yan’an, then pulled another quilt over herself. The bedside lamp was extinguished, and half the room plunged into darkness.

Ji Yan’an’s extremely light breathing, however, was noisy enough to keep Song Yi awake. She tossed and turned, completely unable to sleep. After struggling for half the night, just as she was about to doze off, she heard a thud.

“Who is it?!” The period of living in fear during her childhood was something Song Yi could never forget. She immediately got up to check, only to find no one beside her.

“Ji Yan’an?” Song Yi frowned and called her name. After a long while, a mournful cry came.

“Ouch!!”

It turned out that Ji Yan’an had poor sleeping habits and had rolled off the bed. There happened to be a water basin by the bed. Ji Yan’an not only took a hard fall but was also bruised on her back by the water basin, hurting her so much that she cried out regardless of her image.

The maidservant keeping watch outside heard the sound and tried to enter, but Ji Yan’an quickly stopped her with a loud warning: “Don’t come in! I’m fine!”