Chapter 6
Madam Ji looked at the two of them and felt a headache coming on. In the end, she simply turned and left to check on the medicine being brewed. Anything was better than looking at her daughter, who seemed to have suddenly lost all common sense.
“What exactly are you trying to do?” Song Yi asked, frowning as she stood off to the side.
Ji Yan’an puffed out her cheeks stubbornly and squeezed her eyes shut as if throwing a tantrum.
“I’m telling you, that old hag is definitely going to keep finding ways to make trouble for you. And that Liang Jingcheng guy? He’s obviously bad news too. Since you’re my lifesaver, I have to stay here and protect you.”
The meaning behind her words was obvious:
If you won’t move into my courtyard, then I’ll move into yours.
Just remembering the look in Liang Jingcheng’s eyes made Ji Yan’an break out in goosebumps.
That’s the male lead? He deserves to be beaten with sticks. Every one of them falls in love the moment they see a pretty face.
Song Yi had assumed Ji Yan’an insisted on staying behind so she could continue tormenting her.
She hadn’t expected it was simply because she wanted to protect her.
“As you wish, Miss.”
At last, Song Yi relented.
She had always hated being around other people, yet now she was agreeing for one reason alone:
she didn’t want to disappoint Ji Yan’an.
The moment she heard those words, Ji Yan’an’s eyes flew open.
Her eyes curved into crescents of delight. She looked so happy that it seemed she might throw herself at Song Yi and cling to her arm at any second.
Winter snow was cold enough, but melting snow was worse—like living inside an ice cellar.
After sitting upright for only a short while, Ji Yan’an was already shivering. Hugging her arms around herself, she burrowed back beneath Song Yi’s faded little quilt, washed so many times that the color was nearly gone.
Song Yi glanced over sideways but made no move to find her a thicker blanket.
The entire point was to make this pampered young lady realize how difficult things were and retreat on her own.
Why should she take care of her so attentively?
The snow outside had stopped, but the wind still howled relentlessly.
It blew so fiercely that Ji Yan’an could no longer hear the crunch of servants’ footsteps through the snow.
The courtyard itself was remote and desolate.
No sounds.
No voices.
Only the endless moaning of the winter wind, making the place feel unsettlingly empty.
After an unknown amount of time, Le Yan entered carrying a bowl of medicine.
Before she even crossed the threshold, Ji Yan’an caught the thick, bitter scent of traditional herbs.
Her face immediately crumpled like a steamed bun.
Her expression twisted so badly it was impossible to tell what she was feeling anymore.
Song Yi rarely took medicine herself. Even she frowned slightly at the smell, though she said nothing.
“Miss, drink a nice hot bowl of medicine and get some sleep. You’ll feel better when you wake up!”
Little Le Yan seemed completely immune to the odor.
She had personally watched over the medicine while it was brewing. Soot smudged her cheeks, leaving dark streaks across her face and making her look rather bedraggled.
Carefully, she brought the bowl over.
Steam rose from the surface, blurring her vision, so she freed one hand and gently fanned the hot vapor away from Ji Yan’an.
Unfortunately, all she succeeded in doing was spreading the medicinal smell throughout the room.
“I really can’t drink this.”
Ji Yan’an cautiously took a sip.
She nearly spat it out on the spot.
Even Le Yan felt sorry for her.
The smell alone had nearly made her vomit while brewing it. The only reason she endured it was because she didn’t trust anyone else to prepare medicine for her young mistress.
But asking someone like Ji Yan’an—who was used to fine food and luxury—to drink something this bitter?
That truly was asking too much.
“I’ll do it.”
Song Yi finally couldn’t stand watching the medicine grow cold.
Expressionless, she took the bowl from Le Yan’s hands.
Ji Yan’an’s eyes widened in horror.
Wait. This isn’t how the plot is supposed to go.
Shouldn’t the heroine either get annoyed and leave, or stay cold and silent?
Why is she feeding me medicine?
Is this going to be mouth-to-mouth?
Her imagination instantly took flight, drifting into scenes that would never survive censorship.
Then Song Yi’s cold voice cut straight through her fantasies.
“Open your mouth.”
Those two words were colder than the winter wind outside.
Ji Yan’an snapped back to reality immediately.
What am I even thinking?!
This is the aloof, rebellious heroine!
For some reason, despite Song Yi’s icy expression and impatient tone, Ji Yan’an thoroughly enjoyed being fed by her.
Mouthful after mouthful, she swallowed obediently.
The medicine somehow tasted sweeter than honey.
Le Yan watched from the side, utterly stunned.
Before long, the entire bowl was empty.
Song Yi handed the bowl back to Le Yan, her face wearing an expression that suggested everything had gone exactly as expected.
“Tha—”
Ji Yan’an had barely begun to thank her when her stomach lurched violently.
The bitterness surged up her throat.
“Ugh—!”
By the time she finished vomiting, she felt completely drained.
Only then did she realize she hadn’t eaten breakfast.
There was nothing in her stomach except medicine.
Every last drop had ended up on the floor.
The resulting smell was… difficult to describe.
Embarrassment, humiliation, sickness—
everything hit her at once.
Ji Yan’an completely broke down.
She burst into loud, miserable sobs, crying without the slightest trace of noble-lady dignity.
Song Yi stood at a distance, watching.
Ji Yan’an looked pitiful enough that she didn’t know what to say.
But Le Yan was furious.
“Our Miss skipped breakfast just so she could rush over and save you! Not only are you not grateful, now you’re standing all the way over there. Are you disgusted by her?”
Hands on her hips, Le Yan pointed accusingly at Song Yi and unleashed a barrage of complaints.
She forgot entirely about their difference in status.
Only after the words left her mouth did she realize what she had done.
By then, even Ji Yan’an had stopped crying.
The room fell silent.
Outside, the wind continued to howl.
Le Yan’s face instantly turned white.
Trembling, she dropped to her knees, ready to apologize.
Before she could kneel fully, Song Yi reached out and stopped her.
“There’s no need.”
The moment she heard that Ji Yan’an had skipped breakfast just to save her, something trembled deep within her chest.
When she turned and looked at Ji Yan’an again—pale-faced and lying weakly on the bed—an inexplicable irritation filled her mind.
An irritation directed at herself.
“I’ll move into your courtyard.”
The words came abruptly.
“You shouldn’t stay here anymore. It’s not a good place to recover.”
After tossing out that sentence, Song Yi turned and began gathering her belongings.
Ji Yan’an nearly jumped out of bed in excitement.
If she hadn’t genuinely been feeling ill, she probably would have started celebrating on the spot.
“This is what they call accidentally making the heroine give in!”
Carefully stepping around the puddle she had just vomited onto, she happily muttered to herself.
Le Yan no longer dared speak.
While the two young women packed their things, she hurriedly summoned other servants to clean the room, hoping to make up for her earlier outburst.
In the span of a single morning, Ji Yan’an had successfully completed her mission of getting the heroine to move into her courtyard.
She was so delighted that she ate several extra steamed buns at lunch.
Madam Ji found it baffling.
The two girls who had once been at odds with each other were suddenly living in the same courtyard.
Still, seeing her daughter so happy, she decided not to interfere.
That afternoon, sunlight bathed the estate in a rare warmth.
Most of the snow outside had melted away.
After painstakingly forcing down another bowl of medicine with the help of preserved fruit, Ji Yan’an reclined against the bed and read a storybook.
The wind outside had quieted.
Song Yi had officially settled into the courtyard.
Everything seemed to be falling neatly into place.
Yet Ji Yan’an suddenly found herself deep in thought.
“Who told that old hag that Song Yi pushed me into the water?”
She answered her own question almost immediately.
“Ji Tong’an. Ji Tong’an… You even managed to use the Imperial Dowager Consort as a pawn. No wonder you’re the number one green-tea schemer in the original novel.”
As she pondered how best to deal with Ji Tong’an, the sound of jingling ornaments drifted in from outside the courtyard.
Laughter and lively chatter accompanied the footsteps.
The voices grew closer and closer.
Only then did Ji Yan’an realize who had arrived.
