Chapter 12
The Empress Dowager took Ji Yan’an’s hand and gently enclosed the small fingers within her own weathered palms.
“Has Yan’an been doing well lately?”
Looking aggrieved, Ji Yan’an deliberately put on the appearance of someone about to cry.
“Yan’an doesn’t even dare sleep alone anymore. Every time I close my eyes, all I can see is myself drowning in the water!”
That wasn’t entirely a lie. But after Ji Yan’an’s masterful embellishment, even Madam Ji, sitting below, felt her heart ache for her daughter.
The Empress Dowager had already learned of Ji Yan’an’s fall into the water when Madam Ji summoned an imperial physician through the palace. Now, seeing those reddened apricot-shaped eyes, her worry deepened even further.
“Have they found out who harmed you?”
Just as Ji Yan’an expected, the question came.
Concern filled the old, clouded eyes before her. This was family—someone who shared her bloodline. Unexpectedly, real tears slipped from the corners of Ji Yan’an’s eyes, tracing down her palm-sized face.
The Empress Dowager’s maiden family was the same family Madam Ji came from. Ji Yan’an was the only granddaughter of that branch, cherished by the entire clan. The Empress Dowager was no exception.
Watching her cry only made the old woman’s heart ache more. She hurriedly took out an embroidered handkerchief and dabbed at Ji Yan’an’s tears.
“Don’t cry, Yan’an. Tell me whatever grievance you have. I’ll hear it all.”
The cheerful atmosphere in the hall froze instantly.
The matrons scarcely dared breathe.
Song Yi frowned as she watched the small figure standing before the Empress Dowager. A strange heaviness settled in her chest.
Everyone waited for Ji Yan’an to speak.
Instead, she released the Empress Dowager’s hand, stepped back to the foot of the dais, and suddenly dropped to her knees.
The abrupt movement startled the Empress Dowager.
She immediately tried to rise and help her up, but before she could move, Ji Yan’an raised her voice.
“I was harmed, yet even now I cannot avenge myself! If not for Song Yi saving me, I would already be in the Yellow Springs!”
The more she spoke, the more emotional she became. The dangling ornaments in her hair swayed violently.
It looked as though she was about to bow and knock her head against the floor to beg the Empress Dowager for justice.
Before that could happen, Song Yi ignored everything else—including the Empress Dowager herself—and strode forward.
She caught Ji Yan’an just as she was about to kowtow, her expression icy as she pulled the girl to her feet.
“You don’t need to kneel to anyone.”
The words fell quietly from her lips. Whether Ji Yan’an heard them or not, even Song Yi didn’t know.
Only then did the Empress Dowager truly notice the unfamiliar young woman.
She hadn’t heard what Song Yi said and merely asked,
“You are Song Yi?”
Still supporting Ji Yan’an, Song Yi bowed slightly.
“This subject is Song Yi, daughter of a condemned minister. Your Majesty need not concern yourself.”
The words daughter of a condemned minister made Ji Yan’an’s heart tighten.
In the original novel, Song Yi’s parents had offended Consort Liu’s family and were falsely charged with sabotaging military provisions before being executed. They were never criminals at all.
Without realizing it, Ji Yan’an’s fingers clenched tightly around the corner of Song Yi’s sleeve.
She looked up at her.
Song Yi’s expression remained unchanged—cold and distant as ever.
The Empress Dowager had little interest in court politics. She neither knew nor cared what crime Song Yi’s father had supposedly committed.
All she knew was that Song Yi had saved Ji Yan’an.
“Yan’an is the only granddaughter of my maternal family. Saving her is the same as saving me.”
Her voice softened.
“You need not refer to yourself as the daughter of a condemned minister anymore. I also bestow a reward of one thousand taels of gold.”
“Yes.”
Song Yi answered with a single word.
She didn’t even offer formal thanks.
Instead, she simply helped Ji Yan’an back to her seat and sat beside her, her expression unreadable.
Seeing how effectively her daughter had moved the Empress Dowager, Madam Ji naturally refused to be outdone.
Within a few casual remarks, she recounted how the Dowager Consort had come to the Ji residence to cause trouble.
The Dowager Consort and the Empress Dowager had never gotten along.
Now that a perfect opportunity had presented itself, the Empress Dowager immediately seized it.
One glance from her was enough.
The senior matron at her side instantly understood what needed to be done.
The hall was so warm it made people drowsy.
As the Empress Dowager chatted with Madam Ji, Ji Yan’an finally stopped crying.
Leaning against Song Yi, she slowly drifted toward sleep.
At that moment, a eunuch hurried inside and whispered several words into the Empress Dowager’s ear.
It turned out that Consort Liu wished to meet the Song Yi who had saved Ji Yan’an’s life.
The Empress Dowager nodded and dismissed the eunuch.
Only after popping a grape into her mouth did she speak.
“Yi’er, Consort Liu of Yong’an Palace wishes to see you.”
Hearing this, Song Yi gently woke Ji Yan’an and rose to leave.
The sleepy girl rubbed her eyes and asked in a soft, drowsy voice,
“Mmm… where are you going?”
“Consort Liu has summoned me.”
Without realizing it, Song Yi’s voice softened as well.
She truly hadn’t expected the little girl to spend the day crying in the palace—all in an effort to clear her name and separate her from the stigma surrounding her family.
The moment the words left her mouth, Ji Yan’an’s drowsiness vanished.
Alarm bells rang wildly in her mind.
She immediately sat upright.
“I’m coming with you! You can’t go alone!”
Song Yi looked at her frightened expression, as though Consort Liu were some terrifying beast waiting to devour her.
In that instant, she understood something.
“I—”
Song Yi wanted to say that she had already prepared herself, that nothing would happen.
But Ji Yan’an didn’t even let her finish.
She grabbed Song Yi’s hand and dragged her out the door.
Behind them, Madam Ji and the Empress Dowager exchanged helpless looks.
“Children these days are certainly energetic,” Madam Ji said with a wry smile.
“Why are you insisting on coming with me?”
A eunuch led the way ahead.
Beside Song Yi walked Ji Yan’an, looking as though she were marching into battle.
Song Yi didn’t know the truth.
Ji Yan’an did.
Consort Liu was the mastermind behind the downfall of the Song family. The Liu family’s influence was immense. If something really happened, there was no way the Empress Dowager would openly break with the Liu clan for the sake of a single Song Yi.
There was only one solution.
Ji Yan’an had to go as well.
If the situation turned dangerous, she could force a reversal—even at the risk of her own life.
“I’m going to protect you. No one is allowed to bully you!”
She couldn’t reveal the real reason, so she could only state her intentions with unwavering determination.
After transmigrating into this world, Ji Yan’an had finally come to understand Song Yi.
The seemingly cold and lonely heroine possessed an unyielding spirit and ambitions that stretched far beyond what others could see.
And because Ji Yan’an had already driven away the scumbag male lead who might have helped Song Yi, the only thing she could do now was offer everything she could herself.
At the very least…
She could make sure Song Yi was never bullied again.
Whether the eunuch ahead overheard her declaration or not, neither of them knew.
The two followed him through twisting corridors and winding palace paths until they finally looked up and saw the plaque above them.
Yong’an Palace.
Inside the palace, things were unlike the Ji residence. Neither Ji Yan’an nor Song Yi had maids accompanying them, making their pace much quicker.
Only now did Ji Yan’an finally have the chance to look around.
The blue-green roof tiles and crimson palace walls were buried beneath a blanket of snow.
The magnificent grandeur of the imperial palace seemed softer somehow, stripped of some of its usual ostentation.
Two imposing stone lions guarded the vermilion gates of Yong’an Palace.
Along the broad palace avenue, armored guards patrolled at regular intervals, everything orderly and disciplined.
After waiting at the entrance for a short while, the eunuch who had gone inside to announce them came running back at remarkable speed.
With an eager smile, he invited Song Yi and Ji Yan’an inside.
As he led them forward, he repeatedly praised Ji Yan’an’s beauty.
Ji Yan’an merely lowered her head and smiled.
Wasn’t flattery the specialty of palace servants?
Song Yi walked beside her.
Though she was no less striking, not a single person dared shower her with compliments.
After all, a daughter of a condemned minister was not someone people could casually praise.
Those who survived long within the deep palace were all sharp and perceptive.
Ji Yan’an disdained sinking to their level.
And so did Song Yi.
