Transmigrated as the Short-Lived White Moonlight, I Ended Up Happily Ever After With the Female Lead - Chapter 57

“Ji Yan’an, daughter of the Prime Minister, pays her respects to Imperial Concubine Liu.”

“Song Yi pays her respects to Imperial Concubine Liu.”

After the two entered, they bowed to Liu Wanwan, who offered a forced smile: “Quickly rise, quickly rise. Why be so formal between us?”

Ji Yan’an was startled by her overly polite demeanor. Seeing Liu Wanwan reach out to help her up, she instinctively stood up by herself, leaving Liu Wanwan’s hand suspended mid-air in an awkward fashion.

It wasn’t that no one noticed, but everyone pretended not to see and continued their own conversations.

Ji Yan’an and Song Yi found a relatively inconspicuous spot to sit down. On the nearby table, fruits and delicate pastries were elegantly arranged, but Ji Yan’an had no appetite, feeling as if the pastries were poisoned.

“The two of you certainly have airs. Today is an invitation hosted by our Imperial Concubine, so why did the two of you arrive so late? I know Miss Ji is the legitimate eldest daughter, but may I ask, isn’t everyone here a treasure in their family’s palm?”

Just as Ji Yan’an and Song Yi sat in silence, a veiled voice drifted over. Ji Yan’an followed the sound and saw that the speaker was Lin Jinxi, whom she hadn’t seen in a while. Today, she wore a green dress but had pink pearl hairpins on her head, looking mismatched and awkward, yet she clearly considered herself very beautiful. She shook her head fiercely while speaking, seemingly afraid that others wouldn’t notice her inferior hairpins.

As soon as she spoke, the atmosphere plunged back into an icy silence. The other concubines and young ladies looked embarrassed, simply watching Ji Yan’an’s reaction.

Ji Yan’an understood Lin Jinxi’s intention—she just wanted to provoke her, causing all the concubines and young ladies to be dissatisfied with her. Even Song Yi secretly tugged at her sleeve, signaling her not to act impulsively.

Ji Yan’an almost patted her chest to guarantee that she would certainly not deal with Lin Jinxi the same way she had dealt with the eunuch before. A different strategy was needed.

“Sister, what do you mean by that? Yan’an was just on her way when she happened to see a bracelet that was truly beautiful, and thought of offering it to the Imperial Concubine for her return to favor, but she was misunderstood by you like this.” Ji Yan’an deliberately dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief, looking utterly wronged and pitiful.

Song Yi was a bit confused; Ji Yan’an had been asleep in her arms the whole way, so where was this bracelet? She wasn’t worried about being exposed, though.

As expected, Lin Jinxi, feeling challenged, couldn’t back down: “Since that’s the case, why doesn’t Miss Ji bring the bracelet out for us to see, and broaden our horizons?”

Seeing that Ji Yan’an was about to mess up, Song Yi was about to speak up to help her out, but Ji Yan’an didn’t need it at all: “Thank you for reminding me, Sister. I almost forgot.”

With that, Ji Yan’an retrieved a well-packaged, obviously extraordinary box from her sleeve.

The crowd of onlookers—concubines and young ladies—quietly put down their intentions to just watch the drama and slowly began to gather around, all wanting to see what kind of extraordinary item this rumored bracelet was.

Ji Yan’an slowly opened the box. Inside lay a pair of white jade carved with silk and inlaid with ruby double-dragon-playing-with-pearl bangles. The bangles were truly glittering, not only adorned with high-quality white jade, but the patterns and motifs on the bangles were also festive and beautiful. Now, let alone Lin Jinxi, even the earlier Consort Xian’s eyes were practically glued to it.

“It’s not that it’s extremely valuable, but this bangle is so beautiful it’s simply captivating,” Consort Xian nodded and stepped forward, her envious gaze too obvious. Liu Wanwan smiled smugly, hooking up her bright, beautiful lips as she walked over, took the bangles with a beaming smile, thanked Ji Yan’an politely with a few words, and then falsely encouraged everyone to continue drinking tea.

Ji Yan’an had impulsively decided to prepare this bracelet yesterday. After Jin Xi brought her a pendant, Ji Yan’an had been examining it and suddenly discovered a pair of bangles in a pile of jewelry that perfectly matched the pendant—it was this very pair. Ji Yan’an felt that the two items might be fated, so she carried them with her before leaving. Who knew they would serve such a purpose? Now, Ji Yan’an recalled what Jin Xi had said about the pendant ensuring safety, and perhaps it was true.

Just like that, Ji Yan’an and Song Yi stayed low-key for the entire morning. For some reason, Liu Wanwan kept trying to get close to Song Yi, which made Ji Yan’an a little uncomfortable, so she moved a little further away from Song Yi.

Before long, the maids filed into the main hall, each carrying various dishes, placing them on the large round tables. There were three large round tables in total, filling the entire main hall. Liu Wanwan smiled captivatingly, yet her movements while walking were heavy like a pregnant woman, drawing sighs of admiration from those who watched.

Though not the Empress, no one in the entire inner palace today had more glory than Liu Wanwan. Not only did the unmarried young ladies secretly take her side, but even the seemingly arrogant Lin Jinxi constantly fawned over Liu Wanwan.

Everyone took their seats. Ji Yan’an just wanted to find a secluded spot, finish this difficult meal, and quickly leave. Who knew that when Liu Wanwan saw them not sitting at the main table, her sharp voice started up: “Why aren’t the two of you sitting here? Could it be that you still hold a grudge against this palace?”

The four words “hold a grudge” made Ji Yan’an’s heart drop. She immediately stood up, pulled Song Yi, and walked over to Liu Wanwan’s table.

“Imperial Concubine, what do you mean? We were just afraid there wouldn’t be space here. If we’re talking about holding a grudge, we’re afraid that the Imperial Concubine harbors resentment towards us juniors,” Ji Yan’an said with a fake smile, extremely unwillingly sitting down next to Liu Wanwan. The scent of rouge and powder filled her nostrils; no matter how fragrant the food was, it couldn’t mask the perfume on Liu Wanwan. Ji Yan’an frowned as she looked at the table of food, completely losing her appetite.

Song Yi also sat next to Liu Wanwan. The two were forcibly separated by Liu Wanwan, looking at each other, hoping to exchange meaning through their eyes.

Liu Wanwan smiled as she served them food. Ji Yan’an couldn’t even maintain a forced smile. She swallowed the food with a stiff face. No one at the table spoke, and Liu Wanwan was eating very happily.

Just as Ji Yan’an had stuffed a few bites and was about to leave early, she noticed that Liu Wanwan’s expression was off. Her delicate face turned pale, her eyebrows were tightly furrowed, and she was clutching her stomach.

“Pain…” Liu Wanwan struggled for a long time, holding onto the table, and managed to utter this one word. Everyone in the main hall panicked, especially Liu Wanwan’s personal maid, causing everyone to become agitated.

“Ah ah ah… The Imperial Concubine is only four months pregnant, why is she bleeding!!” Guided by the maid, Ji Yan’an finally looked over and saw that Liu Wanwan’s skirt was stained with blood. This immediately made Ji Yan’an recall the night she was robbed by bandits.

Ji Yan’an stared at the bloodstain, getting more and more lost in thought. The surrounding noise turned into the evil laughter of the bandits. Ji Yan’an felt a little dizzy. Song Yi, seeing this, quickly rushed to support Ji Yan’an and whispered, “What’s wrong?”

Ji Yan’an felt much safer when she smelled the delicate fragrance. They stood out strikingly amidst the chaotic crowd. Liu Wanwan’s personal maid couldn’t stand it anymore: “Both Misses! Our Imperial Concubine is like this, please move aside so she can be taken to the couch!”

Ji Yan’an looked closely; she and Song Yi were indeed standing right next to Liu Wanwan, seemingly obstructing the way. So, they quickly moved aside. Whether it was intentional or not, when the maid was supporting Liu Wanwan, she fiercely stepped on Ji Yan’an’s foot.

“Hiss…” Ji Yan’an cried out in pain. Song Yi quickly looked at her. Ji Yan’an pointed to her foot. Song Yi followed her gaze and saw a large footprint on the silk shoe. The maids often walked in the courtyard, where there was a lot of snow, so now Ji Yan’an’s shoe and stocking were wet. It was both painful and cold, and her entire foot felt numb.

Song Yi let go of Ji Yan’an, walking step by step towards the maid who was frantic with sweat, pretending to check on Liu Wanwan. Then, she put all her strength and Qinggong lightness skill into her foot and firmly stepped on the maid’s foot.

“Ah!!!!” A wail louder than Liu Wanwan’s sounded. Ji Yan’an watched with wide eyes, and at the same time, felt a surge of satisfaction. She pulled Song Yi over, leaned in with a smile, and whispered, “Thank you!”

Song Yi nodded slightly without saying anything. The two lightly attempted to leave but were blocked by the eunuch Fu Ji, the one whose palm Ji Yan’an had stabbed with a hairpin. Fu Ji looked completely shadowed, but his voice was still sharp: “All Misses and Imperial Concubines present are forbidden to leave… Our Imperial Concubine just got pregnant and something like this happened. We must find the culprit no matter what!”

As soon as he said this, many young ladies and concubines were displeased. Was he suggesting that their Imperial Concubine’s misfortune was related to them?

Consort Xian, especially fond of showing off, immediately spoke up when she saw the situation: “Everyone gathered here today is from a respectable family. Who would do such a despicable thing to harm her child? Keeping us confined in Yong’an Palace is essentially imprisonment!”

This instigation caused everyone to become dissatisfied, and they started chattering. Only Lin Jinxi spoke with a hint of sourness: “Hehe, everyone here is respectable? Isn’t there still the daughter of a criminal official?”

As soon as she spoke, everyone’s eyes turned to Song Yi. Song Yi stood there calmly, her moonlight-colored skirt completely unruffled. She was not angered by their words but stopped Ji Yan’an, who was about to rush forward to argue.

Being stopped by her helped Ji Yan’an regain some sense of reason, but she coldly said, “The Empress Dowager once said that Miss Song saved this Miss’s life, which is a great merit, and she should not be referred to as the daughter of a criminal official. I wonder if Miss Lin intends to go against the Empress Dowager?”

This shield proved useful. Ji Yan’an only casually mentioned the Empress Dowager, and Lin Jinxi immediately shut up, not daring to say anything. However, Ji Yan’an’s rebuttal to Lin Jinxi was too late, and the palace concubines had already started gossiping.

“Imperial Concubine Liu only invited young ladies from respectable families today. It’s impossible for us to harm her child. Only this Miss Song raises suspicion.”

“Didn’t the Imperial Concubine have a big conflict with these two a while ago? She invited them today to reconcile, but then something like this happened.”

“Then… this Song Yi is indeed suspicious.”