Transmigrated as the Short-Lived White Moonlight, I Ended Up Happily Ever After With the Female Lead - Chapter 43

The two arrived at the Old Madam’s bedchamber. They saw Chang Wan sitting very properly beside the Old Madam, who was holding Buddhist beads and had her eyes slightly closed, seemingly chanting scriptures.

Ji Yan’an dared not interrupt. Since the Old Madam hadn’t asked her to sit, she didn’t dare to take a seat on her own. She and Song Yi could only stand awkwardly by the door. This caused Le Yan, who was standing at the entrance, to cover her mouth and stifle a laugh. It turned out her own young mistress had moments of such obedience.

Ji Yan’an didn’t know how long she waited until the Old Madam stopped chanting. The old woman placed the prayer beads on the table, replaced the incense in the room, and opened the window to let in some fresh air.

“Grandmother…” Ji Yan’an cautiously spoke first, wondering if her grandmother was angry, otherwise why would she ignore them for so long?

The Old Madam sat back down in the main seat after opening the window. She deliberately avoided looking at Ji Yan’an and simply acknowledged her with a soft sound.

This expression made Ji Yan’an even more frightened. She was close to rushing forward, hugging the Old Madam’s thigh, and saying, “I was wrong,” but with Song Yi standing nearby, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

“Yan’an…”

“Yes, your granddaughter is here!”

Before the Old Madam could finish what, she was saying, Ji Yan’an enthusiastically responded, smiling brightly as she looked at the Old Madam.

The Old Madam had originally intended to keep a stern face to scare her a little, but seeing how endearing Ji Yan’an was, she couldn’t bear it and softened. She reached out her hand, inviting Ji Yan’an to come closer.

Seeing that her grandmother had finally become amiable, Ji Yan’an breathed a sigh of relief. For the first time, she “abandoned” Song Yi and went to sit gently beside the Old Madam, whose hand was clasping hers. The grandmother and granddaughter recreated the scene from the carriage.

Only this time, the Old Madam had fewer ornaments and gold hairpins on her head, her hair simply styled: “Yan’an, have you truly decided to bring Chang Wan to the capital?”

Ji Yan’an looked at Chang Wan, then at the Old Madam, and nodded very firmly. However, she didn’t speak, mainly fearing that every word she said might be wrong.

The Old Madam smiled reassuringly and beckoned Chang Wan over with her other hand. Song Yi, however, remained standing there, seemingly out of place in the current atmosphere.

“Song Yi, come here, next to me!” Ji Yan’an felt competitive and insisted that Song Yi also come closer.

Song Yi couldn’t refuse her, so she reluctantly moved to stand next to Ji Yan’an, watching as the Old Madam Held Ji Yan’an’s hand.

“Hahahaha, when we return to the capital someday, it will be hard for Chang Wan to come back. Take my letter, go back to the Chang residence to pack up, and let your relatives know, so they don’t worry,” the Old Madam said to Chang Wan.

When she turned to Ji Yan’an, the Old Madam looked at her with a gentle scold and poked Ji Yan’an’s head with her finger: “Little girl, you even dared to drag a grown man out onto the street and shout around recklessly. Do you know that if you had said one wrong word, your reputation would have been ruined along with Huo Xiuyuan’s? If you do something so risky again, beware of your grandmother getting angry.”

Ji Yan’an felt a warmth in her heart despite being poked on the head. She picked up a piece of pastry from the table and offered it to the Old Madam: “Hehehe, Grandmother, Yan’an is fine. Song Yi was there. Even if I said something wrong, she could save me from danger. Isn’t that right…”

As she spoke, Ji Yan’an also quickly slipped a piece of less sweet pastry into Song Yi’s mouth when she wasn’t paying attention. Song Yi swallowed the pastry blankly and then nodded in agreement.

It was exactly as if Ji Yan’an had bribed her with the pastry.

“Miss Song Yi can’t always be by your side. You must learn the ways of the world sooner or later.” The Old Madam earnestly advised Ji Yan’an, but seeing her appear only half-understanding, she sighed with a smile. “Well, let it be. Yan’an will understand everything after suffering a setback.”

Ji Yan’an initially took this comment lightly, but some later events made her realize that the Old Madam was indeed remarkably prescient.

Getting back to the main topic, the Old Madam stopped advising her. She took out a waist token and a letter, handed them to Chang Wan, and sent her back to the Chang residence. Only then did the Old Madam become serious.

The old maidservant discreetly closed the wooden door, leaving only the three of them inside with slowly steaming teacups.

“Have you thought about how to deal with Ji Tong’an when we return to the capital?” The Old Madam, seated above, already had a plan in mind, but she wanted to hear Ji Yan’an’s own perspective.

Ji Yan’an rested her small hand on her chin and told the Old Madam her long-planned intentions, but the Old Madam shook her head.

“You cannot only look at things in this way. If you want to take someone down, you must not only know the right and wrong of the matter but also clear away obstacles on your path to defeating her. Wasn’t merely one Wu Shiyuan enough to leave you feeling helpless?”

The Old Madam’s words had the flavor of a champion of ‘inner-court battles’. Wu Shiyuan had indeed made things difficult for Ji Yan’an. If Ji Yan’an’s mother hadn’t arrived in time, the situation might truly have been as the Old Madam described—leaving her helpless.

Although the Old Madam spoke with great authority, her eyes were filled with immense affection. Her gaze toward Ji Yan’an was gentle as water, yet it became slightly complicated when she looked at Song Yi.

Song Yi stood by Ji Yan’an like a wooden person. Her little granddaughter, meanwhile, was smiling happily and courteously moving a stool for Song Yi to sit down.

Seeing Song Yi obediently sit, Ji Yan’an also felt much more at ease. She leaned on the Old Madam’s shoulder and asked playfully for guidance: “Then Grandmother… Yan’an is the junior. No matter what, I can’t talk back to those who are older than me.”

This meant she wanted the Old Madam to teach her how to respond in a way that was respectful and impeccable while leaving the opponent speechless.

She expected the Old Madam to offer some golden words of wisdom, but to her surprise, the method the Old Madam tailor-made for her was—status crushes everything.

“Yan’an is the highly esteemed legitimate eldest daughter of my Ji family, favored by the Empress Dowager and the Emperor. You only need to show respect to those of equal status or higher. You dared to disrespect even the Imperial Concubine, so we need not fear anything.” Although the Old Madam was in Songzhou, she was fully aware of everything, as if she were in the capital, even knowing about Ji Yan’an confronting the scumbag male lead and his mother.

Being told about this incident to her face, Ji Yan’an felt a little embarrassed and covered her face, muttering: “That Imperial Concubine was too much. Your granddaughter said a few words out of anger.”

The Old Madam felt like laughing at Ji Yan’an’s embarrassed look. Her aged hand stroked Ji Yan’an’s head. The soft strands of hair slid past the Old Madam’s fingertips; the texture was indeed lovely.

“Yan’an, don’t be like this. That Imperial Concubine dares not cause you trouble. What you need to do is make good use of the status Heaven has given you. If your elder brother and father are meant to bring glory to the Ji family, then our Yan’an should be the high and mighty eldest daughter of the Ji residence.” Perhaps it was this very mindset that had instilled arrogance in the original owner since childhood. Even though she was overly spoiled, no one ever dared to criticize her. Furthermore, by relying on this very pride and status, she made the scumbag male lead regard her as his ‘white moonlight’.

The Old Madam’s voice was strong, as if it was lending Ji Yan’an strength. This seemingly kind and benevolent old woman was actually very shrewd. She didn’t demand that Ji Yan’an restrain herself, nor did she ask Ji Yan’an to cherish the “territory” fought for by her father and brother. Instead, she merely reassured her to be the eldest daughter with peace of mind.

Before Ji Yan’an could think of what to say, the Old Madam looked at Song Yi and said earnestly to both of them: “If you truly like something, there’s no need to worry too much. My Ji family’s children have never feared anything.”

Ji Yan’an genuinely didn’t understand the meaning of these words. She thought the Old Madam was still advising her not to be afraid of confronting the Imperial Concubine, but Song Yi’s eyes slightly shifted, as if she understood something.

The Old Madam refocused her attention on Ji Yan’an and found her granddaughter’s eyes still looking innocent, clearly having understood nothing. She sighed helplessly. Never mind, as long as Song Yi understood.

After giving many more instructions about returning to the capital, the Old Madam finally let Ji Yan’an go. Even as Ji Yan’an was leaving, she was still reiterating those matters.

“Grandmother! Yan’an knows, you must also remember to pack your clothes and things. The capital is very cold!” Ji Yan’an opened the wooden door and ran out, only leaving this sentence behind. The Old Madam and the old maidservant couldn’t help but laugh, thinking that this was the vitality of youth.

Running out of the Old Madam’s room, Ji Yan’an let out a long breath and walked slowly with Song Yi along the corridor, in no hurry to go anywhere.

Song Yi remained silent, as if she had become even less talkative. Ji Yan’an was afraid she would revert to her non-communicative state, so she quickly started a conversation to find a topic.

Song Yi, however, seemed unable to muster enthusiasm. She responded to Ji Yan’an’s topics only with one or two perfunctory sentences, as if her mind was preoccupied.

“Strange…” Ji Yan’an wondered to herself, “Song Yi has been like this ever since leaving Grandmother’s room. Did Grandmother say anything bad just now?”

Ji Yan’an racked her brain to recall everything the Old Madam had said to her. There was absolutely nothing inappropriate. So, what was Song Yi thinking about?

Seeing that Song Yi was not paying much attention to her, Ji Yan’an simply stopped, refusing to walk further like a spoiled child, waiting for Song Yi to turn back to look for her.

“Why aren’t you walking?” As expected, after walking a few steps alone, Song Yi noticed the sudden silence around her—no footsteps and no sound of Ji Yan’an talking. She stopped and turned around to see the ‘little one’ hugging her arms in a huff, looking at her with a hint of… resentment?

Seeing that Song Yi finally stopped to wait for her, Ji Yan’an quickly lifted her skirt and ran over, almost rushing into Song Yi’s arms. Fortunately, she managed to brake in time and stopped right in front of Song Yi.

“What were you thinking about just now?” Because Ji Yan’an was so short, her head reached just under Song Yi’s chin. The warmth of her breath naturally brushed lightly against Song Yi’s fair, lovely neck, causing Song Yi to take a step back and almost bump into a pillar.

“N-nothing… I wasn’t thinking anything.” Song Yi stammered, feeling that rare sense of nervousness once again. She dared not look into Ji Yan’an’s innocent eyes, so she turned around and spoke to the pillar.

Ji Yan’an felt inexplicable. She circled around to the other side of the pillar, tilting her head to look at Song Yi, and noticed that her expression seemed off. The blush on her face was also quite unusual.

“What’s wrong with you? Do you have a fever?” She had previously only seen Song Yi’s earlobes turn red when shy. This was the first time she had seen her face so red. Ji Yan’an rubbed her eyes again. No mistake…