Chapter 11
Song Yi nodded at her words and slowly stepped into the carriage.
The Ji family’s carriage was already considered spacious and well-appointed, yet it could still only comfortably seat two people. Outside, Leyan gave an order, and the carriage began moving once more. The grand procession rolling through the streets drew countless curious onlookers, who stopped to watch.
From the moment she climbed aboard, Song Yi didn’t say a single word.
Ji Yan’an, on the other hand, couldn’t stop talking.
Her little mouth chattered nonstop, as though she wanted to drag Song Yi into a discussion about the stars, the moon, and then—of course—that utterly scumbag male lead.
Meanwhile, Ji Tong’an and Third Madam had arrived at the temple long before them.
The heavy snowfall had only just ceased, and many people had come to burn incense and pray for blessings. Fortunately, thanks to the Ji family’s status, the temple’s abbot personally came out to receive them.
After the group stood before the Buddha and hypocritically offered a few prayers for the prosperity of family and nation, the abbot led them to a pavilion on the temple’s rear mountain for tea.
“Please wait here for a moment, benefactors. The person you’re expecting will arrive shortly.”
The abbot was merely delivering a message. Once he had said what he needed to say, he departed, leaving only a young monk behind to pour tea.
The scenery from the rear mountain was something one could never see from the Ji residence.
Standing in the pavilion and looking down, nearly half of the capital lay spread before them.
Street vendors shouting their wares at the foot of the mountain.
Fortune-tellers waving banners and calling for customers.
The countless faces of ordinary life.
It was as if the whole mortal world had been gathered beneath their gaze.
Yet Ji Tong’an had no interest in admiring the view. She sat stiffly in her seat, a storm of resentment brewing inside her.
Third Madam looked no better.
Perched on the stone bench, she wore an expression of constant anxiety and fear, the very picture of pitiful fragility.
Not long afterward, two women approached the pavilion.
One was a mature woman, the other a young girl.
The older woman appeared roughly the same age as Third Madam, while the girl seemed close in age to Ji Tong’an.
The woman walked with her chin perpetually raised, carrying herself with such arrogance that one might mistake her for the principal wife of some prestigious household.
Ji Tong’an curled her lip.
She knew exactly who they were.
The woman was Wu Shiyuan, the Sixth Concubine of General Lin’s household.
The girl standing beside her wasn’t some noble young lady either, but Wu Shiyuan’s biological daughter—Lin Jianxi, the sixth illegitimate daughter of the Lin family.
“Greetings, Madam Wu.”
Ji Tong’an offered a perfunctory curtsy, her tone distinctly lacking warmth.
Third Madam, however, reacted as though she’d just seen a beloved relative. Grabbing Wu Shiyuan’s hand, she immediately burst into tears.
“My dear sister! What happened to you?”
Wu Shiyuan naturally had a loud voice and little sense of restraint. Her shout was so sharp that even the young monk serving tea glanced over.
Third Madam merely cried harder without speaking.
Helpless, Wu Shiyuan turned toward Ji Tong’an.
Ji Tong’an impatiently dismissed the monk before speaking frankly.
“The plan you gave me—pushing Ji Yan’an into the water—was completely useless! I handled everything flawlessly. Who would’ve thought she wouldn’t die? Not only did she survive, but after waking up she’s been defending that bitch Song Yi at every turn.”
The matter had nothing to do with Lin Jianxi.
Yet the moment she heard the name “Ji Yan’an,” her eyes widened.
Before Wu Shiyuan could even respond, Lin Jianxi exploded.
“She’s nothing but worthless mud that can’t even cling to a wall! Does she really think she’s some phoenix perched on a branch?!”
Jealousy blazed in her eyes so fiercely it seemed ready to consume her whole body. Even the hairpins in her coiffure trembled with rage, completely destroying the poised image she’d arrived with.
Ji Tong’an clearly looked down on her.
She barely acknowledged the outburst and kept her gaze fixed on Wu Shiyuan, waiting for her opinion.
Wu Shiyuan lifted her teacup, took a small sip, then slowly set it down.
A trace of seriousness appeared on her face.
“This means Ji Yan’an has already started guarding against you and is trying to win Song Yi over instead. That’s not a good situation.”
She paused.
“I also heard… she didn’t take you into the palace this time?”
The question struck a nerve.
Ji Tong’an instantly lost her temper.
She smashed her teacup.
Then the fruit plate.
Still not satisfied, she grabbed the maid Jing’er standing nearby and slapped her across the face, imagining it was Ji Yan’an instead.
“Not only did she refuse to take me, she brought her precious Song Yi with her! The two of them are living in the same courtyard now. They’re closer than real sisters!”
Ji Tong’an felt as though she might grind her teeth into powder.
The cold wind drifted through the pavilion.
Yet it couldn’t extinguish the blazing flames of jealousy burning within them.
While the three women schemed and plotted, Ji Yan’an and Song Yi’s carriage arrived at the palace gates.
Though called a palace gate, it was actually a side entrance reserved for imperial consorts and their female relatives.
The carriage had barely stopped when several senior palace matrons hurried forward.
They eagerly lifted the curtain and carefully helped Ji Yan’an down.
Even Madam Ji couldn’t help smiling at the sight.
“The Empress Dowager still dotes on Yan’an as much as ever.”
The moment Ji Yan’an saw the matrons, she understood.
These women were all trusted attendants of the current Empress Dowager.
Given her special status, she could even be considered a distant relative of the old matriarch.
Ji Yan’an wasn’t stupid.
She had only recently offended that old demoness.
If she wanted to survive, she needed to cling tightly to another powerful backer.
So she naturally grabbed Song Yi’s hand and began explaining the purpose of today’s visit.
“First, we convince Her Majesty that you’re innocent. Then I’ll make sure that old witch looks even worse!”
Her expression was solemn and determined.
Song Yi barely heard a word.
All her attention was focused on the hand Ji Yan’an was holding.
As if sensing the stare, Ji Yan’an glanced down awkwardly and was about to let go.
Before she could, Song Yi tightened her grip.
“If we’re supposedly closer than real sisters,” she said calmly, “then naturally we should appear a little more intimate.”
It was such a perfectly reasonable statement.
Yet somehow, coming from Song Yi’s lips, it carried a strange kind of magic that left Ji Yan’an utterly captivated.
Ji Yan’an shook her head as though trying to clear it.
Then she happily allowed Song Yi to keep holding her hand while she turned her attention to admiring the palace scenery.
As they walked, she compared everything around her to the imperial palaces she’d seen in television dramas.
Only to discover reality was far more beautiful.
Even the paving stones were cut to nearly identical sizes.
Every flower and shrub had been trimmed with meticulous care.
The flowers in the imperial garden far surpassed the rare plants growing in Ji Yan’an’s courtyard.
One random blossom tucked away in a corner could probably support a poor family for a lifetime.
…
Ji Yan’an looked everywhere with endless curiosity.
Song Yi, meanwhile, never once let her gaze wander.
As though she had long grown tired of such sights.
As though the only thing she wanted was to meet the Empress Dowager as soon as possible.
After some distance, they were helped into sedan chairs.
Ji Yan’an and Song Yi shared one.
Madam Ji rode alone in another.
The bearers knew the route well, and before even a stick of incense could burn through, they had arrived at the Empress Dowager’s residence.
“Eldest Miss Ji of the Ji family, Ji Yan’an, has arrived! Madam Ji has arrived!”
The old eunuch’s announcement pierced the sky, the echo lingering in the air.
Covering her ears, Ji Yan’an darted inside ahead of everyone else.
The moment she entered, she saw an elegant and dignified elderly woman seated at the place of honor, looking at her with unconcealed affection.
“Your Majesty!”
Ji Yan’an immediately ran over and threw herself into the Empress Dowager’s arms, unleashing all the shamelessly adorable skills she’d learned from acting spoiled toward the director of her orphanage.
She rubbed her head against the older woman’s shoulder again and again.
The Empress Dowager hadn’t expected such enthusiasm.
Her smile widened so much her eyes nearly disappeared.
She eagerly wrapped both arms around Ji Yan’an, pulling her close.
Behind them, Madam Ji and Song Yi entered and dutifully offered their greetings.
Only after receiving permission to rise did they stand again.
By now, both the Empress Dowager and Ji Yan’an had slightly disheveled hair from all their playful fussing.
Neither seemed to care.
The sight left the surrounding matrons completely stunned.
“So… even now that Miss Ji is grown up,” one newly arrived matron murmured in disbelief, “she can still cling to Her Majesty and act like a child?”
It was then that she finally understood.
The place Ji Yan’an held in the Empress Dowager’s heart was anything but ordinary.
