Transmigrated as the Short-Lived White Moonlight, I Ended Up Happily Ever After With the Female Lead - Chapter 59

Ji Yan’an guessed Liu Wanwan’s motive, and her heart sank. What else could such a comprehensive plan be for, if not to ensure the Song family could never rise again?

The Empress Dowager let out a cold snort, her eyes flashing with murderous intent. She tightly gripped the prayer beads in her hand, sitting alone in the silent, unnervingly quiet bedchamber. After a long while, the Empress Dowager finally spoke: “An’er, I can only point you to one path. Take out the dossiers and combine them with all the evidence Song Yi has, overturning the injustice the Song family has suffered for many years. Only this can save Song Yi and protect the court’s peace.” The Empress Dowager’s tone was heavy. As the Empress Dowager, she naturally enjoyed immense wealth and glory, but this very position constrained her greatly, as was the case this time…

She knew the Liu family intended to rebel but could not tell the Emperor. Firstly, all the evidence was in the hands of the Song family. Secondly, she was the Empress Dowager but could not govern; if she did, she would be criticized for ages.

Ji Yan’an understood these matters. She looked into the Empress Dowager’s eyes and solemnly agreed. The Empress Dowager might have thought it too difficult, but Ji Yan’an felt as though she understood the essence of transmigrating with a script in hand… it wasn’t necessarily meant to tell you about every character or help you through every obstacle. Those minor issues still depended on one’s own reaction, but on matters of great importance, the script had never failed.

Just as Ji Yan’an knew the location of the dossiers from the start: the bottom-most cabinet of the Ji Residence’s library, behind a small Pixiu statue, which, when slightly turned, revealed the location of the documents. But Song Yi hadn’t taken them this time. To be precise, she hadn’t exploited anyone, even after luring Ji Yan’an to the woodshed that day; she didn’t continue to use Ji Yan’an after they came out.

“Alright… but can I go to the prison tonight…” All of Ji Yan’an’s strength had been used up in the rationality she displayed just now, but now she felt she couldn’t be without Song Yi, even for one night.

The Empress Dowager looked at Ji Yan’an with a heavy heart. She hadn’t realized her little darling could go to such lengths for Song Yi. The evidence was being taken from the Ji Residence; if anything went wrong… the Ji Residence would be the first to suffer. Perhaps Ji Yongning had some other way to save himself, but Ji Yan’an would certainly die.

Ji Yan’an understood this truth, but she wasn’t afraid, nor did she give up on saving Song Yi. Perhaps from the moment she transmigrated, Ji Yan’an had vowed to clear Song Yi’s name one day. This was not only for her own emotional distress her ‘unfulfilled wish’ or ‘Yi Nan Ping’ but also for Song Yi as a person.

Coming to this unfamiliar place, Song Yi had given Ji Yan’an too many surprises and too much heartfelt emotion. This was why she was willing to protect her time and again. Song Yi was capable of protecting herself from being bullied, but her nature and her grand plan constrained her. Ji Yan’an was willing to be the villain, to offend everyone to protect her.

And Song Yi had not disappointed her. The Song Yi from the original text, who was unscrupulous for revenge, had not appeared. Instead, the Song Yi who would blush and smile had emerged.

That was enough, wasn’t it?

“You may. I will instruct the guards to facilitate it. I suppose the title of Empress Dowager is still useful.” The Empress Dowager tenderly wiped the tears from Ji Yan’an’s cheeks, finally agreeing to her request.

“Good! Then I’ll go prepare those dossiers right now!” Ji Yan’an rushed out, leaving the Empress Dowager confused by her words. Could this girl actually know the whereabouts of the other documents?

However, children have their own fortunes. The Empress Dowager looked at Ji Yan’an as if seeing her own granddaughter, for she was, after all, a person who shared the same blood as herself.

Ji Yan’an ran out of the bedchamber, found the nanny in charge of arranging carriages, and urgently requested a carriage to leave the palace. Seeing it was Ji Yan’an, the nanny dared not be careless and quickly summoned several maids and eunuchs to prepare the sedan chair and carriage. While Yong’an Palace was still in disarray, Ji Yan’an was sent out of the palace.

Meanwhile, the Ji Residence had received news of Liu Wanwan’s miscarriage and the problem with Song Yi’s sachet, throwing them into chaos. Madam Ji and the Old Madam had even prepared carriages to rush to the palace when they saw Ji Yan’an’s carriage arrive at the gate of the Ji Residence, which finally allowed them to breathe a sigh of relief.

“Yan’an!” Seeing Ji Yan’an alight from the carriage alone, Madam Ji quickly stepped forward to check if she was hurt. Only after confirming she was safe did she relax.

Ji Yan’an had cried in the carriage again; her face was still streaked with tears, and she looked pitifully at Madam Ji.

“Mother… Song Yi didn’t do such a thing… I swear, that sachet was actually mine…” Ji Yan’an was about to speak but was stopped by Madam Ji. She looked around and quickly pulled Ji Yan’an into the Ji Residence.

They didn’t speak the whole way until they returned to Ji Yan’an’s courtyard, where Madam Ji finally opened her mouth: “Yan’an, you must speak cautiously. This matter is already spreading widely. One wrong word from you will implicate the entire Ji Residence.”

Ji Yan’an nodded obediently, looking at Madam Ji’s worried expression and the Old Madam’s furrowed brow. She didn’t know how to bring up the matter of the dossiers.

It might be better to act first and report later. This way, she could claim the act was hers alone and avoid implicating the Ji Residence.

Having made up her mind, Ji Yan’an then borrowed the excuse of wanting to rest to make Madam Ji and the Old Madam leave. Madam Ji left, turning her head every few steps, and the Old Madam said nothing.

Only the worried Le Yan and the restless Ji Yan’an remained in the room.

“Miss… are you alright…” Le Yan was close to tears. She couldn’t have imagined what happened today, let alone experience it personally. When Ji Yan’an got up to leave, Le Yan was still bewildered.

“Le Yan, I need to go to the woodshed to find Ji Tong’an. You wait here in the room.” Ji Yan’an earnestly instructed Le Yan. Le Yan nodded solemnly, staying put in the room.

As Ji Yan’an left the courtyard, she looked back at the silly Le Yan, wondering if she would return safely.

Ji Yan’an did head towards the direction of the woodshed, but she turned a corner and stepped into the Outer Courtyard.

“Miss…” The layers of guards protecting the outer study were also bewildered, seeing the eldest daughter of the Ji family, who never set foot in the outer courtyard. They exchanged glances, unsure whether they should move aside.

“You all heard what happened at Yong’an Palace today, didn’t you? Father asked me to fetch some books for him to consult, to see if we can prevent Miss Song’s crime from implicating the Ji Residence. Can you afford to be responsible for delaying this?” Ji Yan’an rolled her eyes, perfectly mimicking the original owner’s demeanor. The guards looked at each other and also felt they absolutely could not bear that responsibility, so they made way. After all, Ji Yan’an was just a young lady who didn’t like to read; what kind of political secrets could she possibly understand?

Ji Yan’an successfully entered the library. A smell of book mold emanated from within. Ancient book preservation techniques had done their best, but they still couldn’t completely prevent molding. The Ji Residence library had been constructed with various materials, so even decades-old books were only just beginning to emit a moldy smell and were still readable.

Following the description in the book from her memory, Ji Yan’an walked straight inside. This library led underground, and the deeper she walked, the deeper it went, with the candlelight flickering dimly. Ji Yan’an suppressed the discomfort and fear in her heart, taking a step at a time, holding a candle and carefully guarding the flame, lest she ignite the valuable books.

After walking for a while, she finally reached the bottom. The candlelight was about to go out. Ji Yan’an carefully placed the candle down and went to search for the small Pixiu.

Ji Yan’an turned several circles, wondering if she had taken a wrong turn, as she didn’t see the legendary small Pixiu. Just as she was about to turn back, she tripped over something and nearly smashed her face into the candle.

“You scared me!” Ji Yan’an exclaimed. Picking up the candle, she saw it was a Pixiu statue. It turned out she was a bit nervous and only looked at the walls, forgetting to look down.

Ji Yan’an eagerly turned the Pixiu. The bookcase immediately made a loud noise. Ji Yan’an watched as the bookcase opened a small crack. Pushing it open further, she saw it was empty except for a brocade box lying inside.

The brocade box was covered in some dust, but the material of the entire box was still very good. It didn’t look like something that had been kept in this dark place for years. Ji Yan’an carefully took it out and opened it. Inside were several letters. Ji Yan’an, who had expected some dossiers, was a little curious. Like someone peeking at secret notes, she opened the letters and read them word by word.

The more she read, the angrier Ji Yan’an became.

This Liu family was indeed plotting a rebellion. The handwriting matched the calligraphy gifted by Liu Wanwan’s father in the palace. The content was solid evidence requesting military aid from other nations and embedding spies. To ensure they were sent out, the letters also bore the seal of the Liu family head.

No wonder this was the most crucial piece of evidence. Ji Yan’an felt that if it were her, this single piece of evidence would be enough.

But the Empress Dowager and Song Yi were cautious people. Back then, Song Yi and these letters were entrusted to the Ji Residence. However, the Ji Residence was unwilling to spend the effort to find the remaining evidence, nor did they want to risk offending the Liu family. Seeing that their rebellion had not yet gained momentum, and the letters sent outside were intercepted, they didn’t take it very seriously. The letters were stored in the Ji Residence for many years, sealed away, and when brought out now, they appeared mysterious and terrifying in the candlelight.

There were human lives in every line of this writing…

Ji Yan’an quickly took the letters out, carefully wrapped them in a handkerchief, and tucked them into her sleeve. She restored the area to its original state, randomly pulled out a few books, and walked out.

It took a while to reach the entrance of the library. The guards couldn’t help but look at Ji Yan’an’s books, and upon seeing they were ordinary texts, they couldn’t help but smile.

This was exactly the effect Ji Yan’an wanted. Only by making these people believe she was firm in the belief that ignorance is a virtue and that she never understood the purpose of these books and documents would they not become suspicious.

Ji Yan’an leisurely carried the books out of the Outer Courtyard and returned to the small courtyard next to the woodshed. Just as she was about to tidy her clothes, Le Yan scurried over.

“Miss, you’re here! I knew you’d be in this small courtyard if you weren’t at the woodshed.” Le Yan smiled foolishly, but Ji Yan’an couldn’t be happy.

“What is it?”

Le Yan then remembered why she sought Ji Yan’an. She hurriedly reported: “Oh, right, the Empress Dowager sent someone to fetch you.”