Transmigrated as the Short-Lived White Moonlight, I Ended Up Happily Ever After With the Female Lead - Chapter 42

Ji Yan’an glanced at Song Yi, then looked at the flustered Le Yan. She grit her teeth and decided to go to the main hall after all. Before she had walked a few steps, Le Yan added from behind, “The Old Madam said she was tired and doesn’t intend to deal with this matter. Her meaning… is for you to handle it.”

Upon hearing this, Ji Yan’an hugged the exquisite wooden door of the sleeping chamber, not wanting to leave. The thought of facing the man who had disgraced himself to the point of “throwing face to the Pacific” just this afternoon, and having to handle the situation herself, immediately plunged her into self-isolation.

“I’ll go with you. Let’s go.” Song Yi tidied her sleeves and adjusted the hair ornament on Ji Yan’an’s head. She then stepped out of the room. She deliberately slowed her pace, only feeling assured when she heard Ji Yan’an following her.

On the way, Song Yi expected Ji Yan’an to say something to thank her for accompanying her. Instead, the other person stood with her hands on her hips, showing no trace of a young lady’s demeanor: “Hehe, Song Yi, Song Yi, even if you hadn’t come out, I definitely would have dragged you out! Don’t even think about leaving me, otherwise…”

“Otherwise?” Song Yi found this amusing. She wondered what kind of reason Ji Yan’an could possibly use to threaten her now.

The words Ji Yan’an spoke next truly surprised Song Yi: “Otherwise, I’ll cry for you to see!”

As if she had grasped Song Yi’s weakness, Ji Yan’an knew that Song Yi always became flustered when she cried, so she simply used this as a threat.

Song Yi’s face darkened, and she remained silent. She stopped, leaning against a pillar, her eyes fixed on Ji Yan’an, suggesting she should go alone.

Ji Yan’an immediately panicked. She absolutely couldn’t cry right now, but Song Yi was now unwilling to accompany her…

Ji Yan’an gritted her teeth, stamped her foot, pouted, and leaned forward, ignoring Song Yi’s tightly furrowed brows. Her voice turned deliberately cutesy: “Song Yi~ accompany me, please!”

After saying it, Ji Yan’an felt like throwing up from the sheer cutesiness. When she looked up at Song Yi, that beautiful, ethereal face displayed a look of disgust for the very first time.

What did that mean??!!

Ji Yan’an felt rejected. Although what she did was indeed disgusting, she couldn’t tolerate Song Yi showing her disgust.

To enact a small revenge, Ji Yan’an grabbed Song Yi’s collar and slowly pulled Song Yi closer. Their eyes met, and they could see their own reflections in the other’s eyes, even hearing each other’s heartbeats clearly.

“What are you doing?” Song Yi couldn’t hold back and spoke first.

Ji Yan’an was also a little nervous and had forgotten what she was trying to do. It took a moment of rapid brain processing before she remembered: “Accompany me.”

“Okay.”

Ji Yan’an ultimately failed to execute any substantial revenge. Instead, she became extremely shy under the spell of Song Yi’s captivating eyes. She released Song Yi’s collar and walked forward, silently cursing herself for being a coward.

“The eldest Miss of the Ji family certainly has a great air about her. Even this old man personally coming can’t invite you?” As soon as she entered the main hall, an old, powerful voice reached Ji Yan’an’s ears. Her heart sank. Is this Huo Xiuyuan’s father?

Sure enough, a face full of wrinkles appeared before Ji Yan’an. The elderly man’s words were disrespectful and full of sarcasm, which made Ji Yan’an very uncomfortable.

“My greetings to you.” Ji Yan’an bowed slightly. Song Yi was about to bow too, but Ji Yan’an stopped her.

It was necessary for Ji Yan’an, as the eldest daughter of the Ji Residence, to maintain some etiquette, but Song Yi didn’t have to. She didn’t need to live by the rules of the Ji Residence.

Old Man Huo didn’t pursue the matter of Song Yi’s lack of a bow much further. After a few sarcastic remarks, the heavy focus shifted to Chang Wan.

“Miss Ji, when will you return my daughter-in-law?” Old Man Huo’s opening line was sharp. He didn’t care if Ji Yan’an was his junior or if he needed to be polite in his speech.

Ji Yan’an smiled and slowly picked up the freshly brewed tea offered by the maid. After taking a few slow sips, she said, “What do you mean by that? Are you suggesting that I abducted the Second Miss of the Chang Family?”

She deliberately emphasized the words “Second Miss of the Chang Family,” making her meaning clear even to the most naive person.

But Old Man Huo pretended not to understand, repeating only a few points: “Return my daughter-in-law” and “Chang Wan’s declaration of divorce is void.”

Ji Yan’an no longer wanted to argue with the unreasonable man. Seeing Huo Xiuyuan standing timidly nearby, she decisively redirected the conflict toward him: “Young Master Huo, why don’t you explain exactly what you did?”

Old Man Huo was successfully distracted and turned to look at his son, his eyes seeming to encourage him to confess everything.

The more Song Yi observed, the more she felt something was amiss. She mused that Huo Xiuyuan likely hadn’t told his father the whole truth, only mentioning that his wife had been ‘abducted’ to the Ji family’s old residence.

So, Song Yi leaned in and analyzed this for Ji Yan’an. Ji Yan’an also observed for a while and agreed that Huo Xiuyuan was indeed acting suspiciously.

“Today, I originally just had a chance encounter with Miss Yan’an. Who knew Chang Wan misunderstood and thought there was something going on between us…”

Before he could finish, Ji Yan’an knew Huo Xiuyuan’s account was already contradictory. He had been openly pursuing her, so how did it become a misunderstanding on Chang Wan’s part?

However, since the matter concerned her own reputation, Ji Yan’an found it hard to openly refute him. She gripped the teacup tightly, as if about to crush it. Song Yi saw Ji Yan’an’s predicament and immediately interrupted: “It was clearly Young Master Huo relentlessly pursuing Yan’an. How can you say Chang Wan misunderstood? Young Master is adept at fabricating stories.”

Huo Xiuyuan’s expression changed, and Old Man Huo’s face also turned very ugly. He sternly questioned Huo Xiuyuan again, and this time, the truth finally emerged.

Upon learning the truth, Old Man Huo was so furious that he smashed his teacup to pieces. His face was practically black as coal. Pointing at Huo Xiuyuan’s nose, he shouted, “You bastard! You dare to hide this even from your own father? And here I was, willing to humble myself to beg for your wife back, yet you, this good-for-nothing, were greedy for what others have? Is the eldest legitimate daughter of the Ji Residence someone you can even hope to reach?!”

Huo Xiuyuan also secretly cursed himself for not preparing a complete story. Now, being pointed at and scolded in front of all the maids and servants of the Ji Residence, his mindset was near collapse. He clenched his fists but dared only to stand there and wait for his father’s reprimand to finish.

Old Man Huo couldn’t afford to lose any more face, but his son truly made him feel bitterly disappointed. Thus, he flicked his large sleeve and left, deliberately not taking Huo Xiuyuan with him, meaning for him to handle the situation himself.

Ji Yan’an and Song Yi watched the farce, smiling but saying nothing. They had initially thought he was a naive male cannon fodder, but it turned out he was a foolish scumbag. With that intelligence, it was a miracle he’d survived this long, and he dared to think about marrying her?

Ji Yan’an rolled her eyes dramatically. Even the original owner would never have given him any hope.

Old Man Huo had come in a furious rush and left in disgrace. Ji Yan’an remained calmly sipping her tea in the main hall, but Huo Xiuyuan absolutely refused to leave.

The old governess had been waiting outside the door for a long time and felt sorry to see her young mistress so annoyed, so she bravely opened her mouth: “Young Master, why don’t you return home first?”

Huo Xiuyuan was already full of pent-up anger. Since the audience were just these maids and governesses, he naturally vented his anger on the old governess.

He raised his hands as if to shove the old governess. Being elderly, how could she withstand a shove from a strong young man? Ji Yan’an saw this and rushed forward anxiously to shield the old governess. Huo Xiuyuan hadn’t expected Ji Yan’an to suddenly rush over, and it was too late to withdraw his hand. The strike was heading straight for Ji Yan’an’s back.

Song Yi flashed in front of Ji Yan’an with a light movement, raised her hand to catch Huo Xiuyuan’s arm, and twisted it hard. A sharp, crisp sound followed by Huo Xiuyuan’s agonizing scream indicated that his hand had been broken.

Huo Xiuyuan’s eyes turned red, and he began to curse loudly, completely disregarding Ji Yan’an’s presence. Every word he hurled was so harsh that it only made Ji Yan’an angrier.

“Song Yi, you’re nothing more than a criminal’s daughter. A vile spawn indeed!”

This was the sentence that truly enraged Ji Yan’an. Before Song Yi could say anything, Ji Yan’an’s eyes widened, and she rushed forward, grabbing Huo Xiuyuan’s now-broken hand and dragging him out of the Ji Residence gate. Standing on the street, she shouted: “Everyone, come and see! Young Master Huo of the Huo Family is such a shameless man! He has a wife at home yet still delusions of marrying into my family! After his rightful wife divorced him, he still comes to my residence to cause trouble…”

“Does Young Master Huo think the Ji Residence has no one to stand up for itself?!”

The last sentence resonated like thunder among the crowd. The common people who were actively shopping for New Year goods stopped, their hands clutching vegetables, all staring at the grimacing Huo Xiuyuan.

“Yes! I can testify! When I was drinking tea at the Star Drunk Tower, I saw Huo Xiuyuan being extremely attentive to Miss Ji! She is a major young lady from the capital, far beyond his reach! Was Huo Xiuyuan hoping to marry her to climb the social ladder!!”

Ji Yan’an never expected such an unexpected bonus—there was actually an eyewitness in the crowd?

The common people, hearing this, believed it implicitly, and their gazes toward Huo Xiuyuan were mixed with indignation.

Someone, nobody knew who, first threw a vegetable leaf at him, followed by many eggs and rotten vegetables. Several kind people even pulled Ji Yan’an out of the range of the projectiles. Ji Yan’an stood far away, watching Huo Xiuyuan being beaten like a rat running across the street.

“Song Yi!” Ji Yan’an’s peripheral vision caught the flash of blue, knowing it was Song Yi who had arrived. She smiled and ran over to stand with her.

Song Yi smiled slightly without saying anything. Her hand, hidden in her sleeve, held several poison needles. With a ghostly technique, the needles left Song Yi’s hand and fiercely embedded themselves in the back of Huo Xiuyuan’s neck. The speed was so fast that even Ji Yan’an hadn’t seen it clearly, only feeling that something had flown past.

Immediately after, Huo Xiuyuan started screaming and shouting. His behavior became utterly manic. He was picking up rotten vegetable leaves to eat and smashing rotten eggs on his head, which stunned the onlookers.

“What… what is going on!” Huo Xiuyuan’s sudden descent into madness was completely unexpected. Ji Yan’an didn’t know what was happening. She cautiously asked, clutching Song Yi’s sleeve.

Song Yi offered no explanation. She turned in Ji Yan’an’s direction, covered Ji Yan’an’s eyes with her hand, and whispered in her ear, “Don’t look. It’s disgusting.”

Huo Xiuyuan’s current state of madness was indeed disgusting. The poison needles were still stuck in his neck, but no one saw them, as absolutely no one was willing to approach the lunatic.

“He got what he deserved!” Old Man Huo came running, wailing and crying. Huo Xiuyuan’s younger brother, Old Man Huo’s second son, came with him, also unable to bear the sight of his older brother in such a state.

Song Yi and Ji Yan’an didn’t stay any longer. Amidst the noisy crowd, they returned discreetly to the Ji Residence.

“Second Miss, Young Miss, the Old Madam requests your presence.” Just as they stepped into the old residence, the old governess came forward to report. Ji Yan’an and Song Yi exchanged a look, both feeling a degree of apprehension.