Transmigrated as the Short-Lived White Moonlight, I Ended Up Happily Ever After With the Female Lead - Chapter 61

Ji Yan’an nodded, lifted her skirt, and walked out of the cell, looking back every few steps. The guard busied himself locking the door. Ji Yan’an and Song Yi exchanged one last deep gaze through the gap, and then Ji Yan’an sadly walked away.

Outside, the Empress Dowager had already replaced her hand warmer with a second one. Seeing Ji Yan’an emerge from inside dejectedly, she quickly got out of her sedan chair, rushed forward, grasped Ji Yan’an’s hand, said nothing, and pulled Ji Yan’an into the sedan chair.

“I’ll escort you out of the palace,” the Empress Dowager said, as if she had anticipated something.

Ji Yan’an nodded, holding the Empress Dowager’s arm, feeling very tired.

The sedan chair moved continuously through the imperial palace in the dead of night following the wet nurse’s instructions. Ji Yan’an saw many palace halls lit with candlelight; the entire palace was as bright as day, but behind the splendor was nothing but blood and human lives. Ji Yan’an’s fingers lightly touched the letter hidden in her sleeve. As long as it was still there, she could feel much more at ease.

“Go.” The sedan chair stopped, arriving at the most secluded corner gate of the imperial palace, a place only the Empress Dowager knew about—a corner gate specially set up by the founding emperor. Ji Yan’an stood beneath the withered vines, looking at the narrow dirt path outside the gate.

The wet nurse accompanying her left the palace with Ji Yan’an. The carriage was already waiting at the end of the small path. There were not many people left on the streets of the capital. The time was approaching midnight the Hour of Zi. When they arrived at the Ji Manor, the main gate was already closed. The wet nurse was about to call for the gate to be opened, but Ji Yan’an stopped her.

“Wet nurse, please go back first. I’ll trouble you to come again early tomorrow morning…” Ji Yan’an pulled her cloak closer, speaking to the wet nurse in the empty alleyway.

The wet nurse was a little uneasy but still had to return to report. So, she watched Ji Yan’an turn into a small side door before finally leaving with peace of mind.

Finding this corner gate was not easy. Ji Yan’an had searched around the Ji Manor for a long time before she finally discovered it. As soon as she entered, Ji Yan’an was stunned.

It turned out that the Hour of Zi had already passed. Su Zhang and a few of his subordinates were waiting boredly for Song Yi there, but they didn’t wait for Song Yi. Instead, they waited for the dust-covered Ji Yan’an.

“Hey! Who’s there!” Su Zhang didn’t recognize her at first and almost drew his sword at Ji Yan’an. Fortunately, he was stopped by the person next to him: “Look clearly! This is Ji Yan’an, the eldest daughter of the Ji Manor!!”

Hearing this, Su Zhang’s eyes widened as he looked at Ji Yan’an. Only then did he recognize her. He was so scared that he quickly apologized, but Ji Yan’an waved her hand, dismissing it.

“Take out all your dossiers.” Ji Yan’an was so tired she didn’t even want to bother with formalities. She just wanted to quickly get the evidence that could save Song Yi.

Su Zhang was still explaining why he was there when he heard Ji Yan’an’s intention. He drew his sword again: “Excuse me, Miss Ji, what do you mean by that?”

Ji Yan’an sighed, looking at the familiar Su Zhang. She had known all along that the people following Song Yi that day were not soldiers, but Song Yi’s own subordinates.

Ji Yan’an took out a waist token from her sash—the token symbolizing Song Yi’s identity. Su Zhang was immediately startled when he saw it. He subconsciously asked, “Did the Young Mistress encounter any danger?”

They traveled year-round in remote country areas and had not yet heard the news of Song Yi’s imprisonment. Ji Yan’an told them. Upon hearing it, Su Zhang was ready to break into the prison, but Ji Yan’an held him down, coldly telling him about the layers of security in the jail. Su Zhang’s spirits then sank.

“Seeing the waist token is like seeing the Young Mistress. If you want the dossiers, I will give them.” Su Zhang pulled out a thick roll of papers from his bosom with a mournful expression. Ji Yan’an spread out the papers one by one. Every word and sentence were clearly visible. The few volumes of documents exposed the wicked deeds of the Liu family without doubt. Ji Yan’an raised her head to the sky. The dark, heavy clouds covered the sky, suffocating people. Tomorrow would probably be the day she fought Liu Wanwan to the death.

Su Zhang and his men could not stay too long. After explaining the dossiers to Ji Yan’an, they quickly disappeared into the night to deliver the message. It was estimated that the area around the imperial palace would be surrounded by many people tomorrow.

Ji Yan’an looked at the corner gate, which had such a huge loophole, and felt a headache. This Song Yi was indeed clever to have made things so convenient.

As she was thinking, Ji Yan’an walked through the corner gate and suddenly realized that this was the small, dilapidated house where Song Yi had lived before. She couldn’t help but sigh with emotion again.

However, Ji Yan’an didn’t intend to go back to her own courtyard and disturb Le Yan and the others, so she found a random bed in Song Yi’s small courtyard. Covering herself with a slightly musty quilt, she gradually fell asleep. As she slept, a tear of longing slipped from the corner of her eye.

Early the next morning, the Ji Manor was in chaos because the wet nurse came to pick up Ji Yan’an, but everyone in the manor said Ji Yan’an hadn’t returned.

This immediately worried Madam Ji and the Old Madam. They didn’t dare alarm Ji Yongning, who had already left for the morning court, but ordered people to search inside and outside the Ji Manor. When Ji Yan’an rubbed her eyes and emerged from the small, dilapidated courtyard, everyone was exasperated.

Especially Le Yan, who pouted and complained to Ji Yan’an all morning until Ji Yan’an got into the carriage without stopping. Ji Yan’an was preoccupied with her own thoughts and couldn’t listen, letting the words go in one ear and out the other as she headed for the imperial palace.

Madam Ji and the Old Madam were both uneasy and prepared their carriages to head to the palace as well. For a time, half of the Ji Manor was empty. Even Ji Tong’an, who was still dispiritedly staying in the woodshed, knew about the matter.

Today, the Emperor was late for the morning court. It was the Empress Dowager who held him back until Ji Yan’an arrived at the imperial palace before allowing the Emperor to leave.

On the majestic imperial court, civil and military officials stood in two long rows. Ji Yongning stood at the head of the civil officials on the left, and General Lin was at the head of the military officials on the right.

The Emperor, with a look of displeasure, entered the court. The eunuch’s shrill voice announced the start of the court session. The civil and military officials slowly knelt and shouted, “Long live the Emperor, Your Majesty!”

After the Emperor granted them permission to rise, officials from various departments came forward to report on matters large and small. The Emperor perfunctorily discussed these issues.

“Today, We have another important matter that We hope Our beloved ministers can offer some advice on.” The Emperor finally got to the point. The ministers all perked up, and Ji Yongning also stood there feeling a little uneasy.

“Bring forth the criminal Song Yi!” The eunuch received a look from the Emperor and quickly shouted at the top of his lungs. Thus, Song Yi was brought up, bound tightly. Her devastatingly beautiful appearance made many ministers momentarily stunned.

“This woman harmed Our Imperial Heir. The evidence is conclusive, and her father’s crime came first. We wonder what suitable punishment Our beloved ministers have in mind?” The Emperor’s voice was coarse, snapping many people back to reality.

Only then did the ministers realize that this Song Yi was actually the daughter of the former criminal Song Mingde. Now they stopped looking at her face. One by one, they offered increasingly harsh suggestions, knowing that she was the one who had offended the Liu family back then.

“Your humble subject believes she should be executed immediately!”

While others were still contemplating exile or demotion to commoner status, General Lin’s single sentence interrupted the entire court’s discussion.

This sentence was exactly what the Liu family wanted. Several of Liu Wanwan’s elder brothers came forward one after another, dramatically bemoaning their misfortune, causing the Emperor, who initially hadn’t planned to execute Song Yi, to waver slightly.

Song Yi had not spoken a word throughout. The Emperor asked her, “If you are willing to admit your crime, We can spare you the death penalty.”

Song Yi stood up straight, her eyes fixed on the Emperor without the slightest panic: “I will not admit to something I haven’t done. Kill me or flay me, do as you please.”

These words once again infuriated the Liu family.

Several of the elder brothers jumped up and cursed Song Yi. Seeing the situation getting out of control, the Emperor gave an order for the guards to drag Song Yi away and have her executed at noon today.

The guards waiting at the door received the command and immediately rushed in to seize Song Yi and take her away. Just as they picked her up, a woman in luxurious clothes with a head full of costly hairpins and trinkets broke in. The Empress Dowager had styled Ji Yan’an’s hair, leaving half of her long hair draped over her shoulders. The rest was styled with the finest hairpins and headpieces. Large pearl earrings dangled from Ji Yan’an’s earlobes, making her skin appear exceptionally fair.

Despite the complicated luxurious dress, Ji Yan’an walked with strength and her skirt remained unruffled. She held a brocade box in her hands.

While the guards were still stunned, Ji Yan’an walked up to them, knelt down, and raised the brocade box. Her voice was loud: “Today, anyone who dares to touch Song Yi is challenging me, Ji Yan’an.”

The more Ji Yongning looked at the box, the more familiar it seemed. After remembering, his heart sank. This matter was serious today.

The Liu family brothers hadn’t realized the severity of the situation and almost laughed out loud: “What about you, Ji Yan’an? This is an order from the Emperor!”

Ji Yan’an sneered, stood up, and in front of all the civil and military officials: “I, Ji Yan’an, guarantee with my life that Song Yi absolutely did not commit any act to harm Noble Consort Liu’s Imperial Heir. If I speak a single lie, I deserve a terrible death.”

When this poisonous oath was uttered, the ministers fell silent. The Liu family was hard to offend, and the Ji family was also hard to offend. These small creatures caught between the two warring beasts could only wait for the Emperor to speak.

The Liu brothers started cursing again, but Ji Yan’an ignored them. After pushing the guards aside, she embraced Song Yi and handed the brocade box to the eunuch, who then passed it to the Emperor.

“This humble subject has one more thing to report.”

Ji Yan’an’s voice echoed throughout the court. Ji Yongning gritted his teeth and stomped his foot, rushing to assist his daughter, kneeling beside Ji Yan’an.

The Emperor became interested: “Oh? What is it you want to report.”

“This humble subject accuses the Liu family of having intentions of treason and having already carried out acts of rebellion!”

This sentence exploded among the ministers like thunder. The word “treason” was like a forbidden word in court, but Ji Yan’an not only said it today but also claimed that the Liu family intended to rebel.

The Emperor’s expression immediately changed. He quickly opened the brocade box handed up by the eunuch and examined the letters and dossiers. The various data were clearly and plainly recorded, along with the Liu family’s seal.

The Liu brothers knelt down, vehemently arguing and denying everything. The Emperor couldn’t believe it either and asked officials from various departments to compare the data. The result was… these dossiers were all genuine, and the letters were real as well…

It was just that the Liu family’s letters had never been sent. Their intention to rebel years ago had been suppressed. The Emperor slumped on his dragon chair. After a long time, he squeezed out a few words from his throat: “If today… Yan’an had not impeached you to Us, would this dragon chair have been yours to sit on in a while?”