Forbidden to Bully the Storybook’s Heroine – Chapter 63

My Own Wife

After their fervent lovemaking, Song Muyun curled up in Jiang Yao’s arms, not daring to make a sound as tears streamed down her face one after another. She couldn’t accept her body’s… reactions. On top of that, Jiang Yao had teased her a few times during their passion, and now she felt even more wronged, her suppressed sobs only occasionally breaking through.

Jiang Yao’s damp palm gently patted her back. “Why are you crying now?” she soothed, helpless. “Did I make you uncomfortable?”

Song Muyun didn’t speak, just cried quietly.

Jiang Yao: …

“Don’t cry, Baby,¹ it’s okay. This is all very normal. What will we do if your eyes get all swollen?”

She continued to cry quietly.

…

“What do I have to do to make you stop crying?”

Completely at a loss, Jiang Yao asked. The crying gave her a headache, and her heart ached, too.

“You don’t have to do anything. You… you don’t need to mind me.”

Seeing Jiang Yao only made her think more about her own sensitivity, how the slightest touch made her feel like she was going to lose control. It just made her want to cry even more.

The crying was making Jiang Yao’s head spin. She had no choice but to lift the woman out of her embrace and pepper her snow-white cheeks with kisses. Those cheeks were already flushed from her tears, and Jiang Yao kissed the tear tracks from her skin.

The little girl gasped in shuddering breaths, her palm pressed against Jiang Yao’s chest, trying to push her away, but her efforts were soft and weak.

Jiang Yao paid her no mind, determinedly kissing her from head to toe, tending to every inch with care. Finally, she captured those vermillion lips, naturally red without any makeup, and kissed her fiercely, grinding against them. She found an opening and slipped her tongue inside, coaxing Song Muyun’s into a dance.

Under such a forceful invasion, Song Muyun finally stopped crying. All she could do was gaze at her with misty eyes, looking utterly pitiful.

Jiang Yao made a soft tsk sound. Seeing she’d stopped, she finally released her lips. “You finally stopped. You’re really hard to coax when you cry.”

The moment the words left her mouth, the little girl’s lip trembled as if she were about to start again. The sight sent a jolt of panic through Jiang Yao, who rushed to appease her. “Don’t cry, don’t cry! You’re not hard to coax, not at all! It’s my fault, I don’t know how to talk. Please, for the love of God, don’t cry again, my little Ancestor.”²

Jiang Yao’s only focus was on placating her Ancestor, holding her and covering her with kisses. After the kisses, she begged her not to cry again. Who knows how long she pleaded, but eventually, the little Ancestor cried herself out and fell into a deep sleep in her arms.

…

Honestly, we haven’t even washed up yet.

Jiang Yao’s eyes were filled with a gentle helplessness. Seeing that the woman was sleeping soundly, she finally got up and called a maidservant³ to bring hot water.

With the hot water placed to the side, she tested the temperature. When it felt right, she wrung out a cloth and began to wash the other woman.

First her face, then her sweat-slicked chest. Then her back, the curve of her bottom, and finally, the parts between. Her legs, of course, couldn’t be missed. By the time she had painstakingly cleaned every spot, Jiang Yao herself was covered in sweat.

Serving this Ancestor is exhausting.

By the time she had them both cleaned up and refreshed, the night had deepened.

Exhausted, Jiang Yao held Song Muyun and fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow, sleeping straight through until dawn.

This time, it was Muyun who woke first.

Her thoughts were still hazy from sleep, and she could only snuggle foolishly against Jiang Yao.

Jiang Yao was still deep in slumber and didn’t seem to react, so Song Muyun felt at ease and continued to lie nestled in her arms.

Once she was fully awake and remembered what had happened last night, she noticed how clean and comfortable her body felt.

Jiang Yao must have done this for her.

Song Muyun secretly pressed her lips together in a smile, then, as if shy, she began to nuzzle restlessly against Jiang Yao’s neck.

It was this movement that woke Jiang Yao, who was genuinely exasperated.

She raised an arm to wrap around the fidgeting woman, her voice raspy with sleep. “What are you doing?”

Song Muyun’s waist was pinned, and she could no longer move. She lay obediently in her embrace and looked up with a pair of sweet, innocent eyes, her eyelids still a little red and swollen.

“Just nuzzling. Can’t I?” Song Muyun asked softly.

She was incredibly cute.

Jiang Yao closed her eyes, tempted to go back to sleep, but nodded anyway. “You can. You’re my wife. You can nuzzle all you want.”

Song Muyun’s eyes crinkled into a smile, filled with delight.

By the time they got up again, the breakfast hour had long passed. Jiang Yao asked the side kitchen for two bowls of Job’s Tears Porridge,⁴ and she and Song Muyun sat in the courtyard to drink them.

Although the weather had turned a bit cold, it felt different and refreshing to sit in the courtyard and feel the breeze when it wasn’t too cold.

Song Muyun squeezed onto the same chair as Jiang Yao.

Worried she might be cold, Jiang Yao looked down and asked if she wanted to put on more clothes. She said no, but then slipped her hand inside Jiang Yao’s collar to warm it.

Tsk, so this is what it feels like to have a wife. To be needed all the time. It’s really nice.

As the two of them lay there enjoying the breeze, they suddenly heard the voices of maidservants calling for the Madam.⁵

Jiang Yao forced her eyes open and saw her mother walking towards them. She reflexively opened her mouth to call out, “Mom.”⁶

Song Muyun, still nestled in her arms, heard the call and her eyes flew open. When she looked up and saw Madam Jiang, she was so startled she immediately stood up. “Auntie…⁷ Auntie Jiang. Muyun greets Auntie.”

Song Muyun performed a curtsy, her head bowed and her expression nervous. Jiang Yao stood up as well, subtly moving half a step forward to shield Song Muyun behind her.

“Mom, what are you doing here?”

She was a little exasperated, guessing her mother had come because of this business of her Rubbing Mirrors.⁸

Madam Jiang gave her a faint look. “Am I not allowed to come?”

Jiang Yao immediately forced a smile. “Of course not. I was just surprised. Are you here to see me and Yun’er?”

She deliberately used the intimate name to let Madam Jiang know that she would not back down.

Madam Jiang looked rather troubled. But when her gaze fell on Song Muyun, it paused. Why are both her eyes swollen? Has she been crying?

Don’t tell me my daughter bullied her into tears?

But… but doesn’t Yao’er like her?

Madam Jiang was completely bewildered, but she quickly composed herself and looked at Song Muyun with a gentle expression.

“Miss Song, Yao’er and I have something to discuss. Would you please give us a moment?”

Song Muyun’s breath hitched. The Jiang family is certainly direct, she thought. Jiang Yao is like this, and so is Madam Jiang.

Jiang Yao turned around and patted Song Muyun’s arm reassuringly. Then, right in front of Madam Jiang, she leaned down and gave her a quick kiss.

Both Madam Jiang and Song Muyun were stunned.

Song Muyun’s red lips were slightly parted, her eyes glazed over. She was completely blindsided that Jiang Yao would do such a thing and just stood there like a fool.

“Be good. Go wait for me in the room,” Jiang Yao said in a low voice.

Still not having processed what happened, Song Muyun just subconsciously followed her words and walked toward the room.

Once she was gone, Madam Jiang looked at her daughter. “Your father told me you like women?”

Although the Great Jin Kingdom had a relatively open-minded culture, that was only limited to the younger generation. Most parents still found Rubbing Mirrors and Cutting the Sleeve⁹ unacceptable.

“Mhm. Mother is so progressive, you won’t stop me, will you?”

The progressive Madam Jiang: …

She really didn’t feel like talking.

Her expression was rather helpless as she glanced toward the slightly ajar door. “Is it that Miss Song from just now?”

“Yes, Mom. Dad must have told you, I can’t live without her.”

“What do you mean you can’t live without someone? You’re still young. You just don’t know what you truly like yet,” Madam Jiang said, her voice soft and gentle.

But Jiang Yao wouldn’t have it. “I’m still young? That’s not what you said when you were in a hurry to pick out a husband for me. Your daughter is eighteen. Am I still young?”

“But if you are with a woman, you will never be able to have your own children,” Madam Jiang frowned. She was a proper, well-bred maiden,¹⁰ and she could not accept a woman living her entire life without descendants.

But Jiang Yao was not. She had grown up in the Borderlands¹¹ and had seen many things, both joyous and tragic. She felt that the most important thing in life was to be happy. Moreover: “Children are just here to collect debts. You’ve raised us for so many years, don’t you know that by now?”

…

There… was some truth to that, but Madam Jiang obviously wasn’t going to admit she agreed. She just continued to appeal to emotion and reason. “Mom has raised you and Huai’er for so many years, and I’ve always loved you both. When you have your own children, you’ll have something to look forward to in the long years ahead. You’re young and foolish now; you’ll regret this later.”

“I’ll regret it later if I listen to you. It’s no use saying these things to me. You know me. I’ve been disobedient since I was a child.”

Hearing her mother try to tear her apart from her beloved, Jiang Yao was growing impatient.

Madam Jiang’s expression turned cold. “If it’s no use with you, then call Miss Song out. I’ll have a word with her.”

Seeing she was getting nowhere, she planned to start with Muyun instead.

“Don’t go looking for Muyun. It won’t work. Even if Muyun changes her mind and doesn’t want to be with me anymore, I’ll still pursue her relentlessly. You’ve always said my personality is too stubborn, so you know it’s true.”

She knew her daughter’s personality, and she knew she was telling the truth.

Madam Jiang’s breath caught in her throat. She realized that even if she tried to persuade her, it would have no effect.

Jiang Yao truly loved Song Muyun. She wouldn’t change. And she had heard that this preference for Rubbing Mirrors was not something that could be changed.

Madam Jiang’s delicate brows knitted together. She thought for a moment, and finally, as if having made a decision, she looked up and said, “The Jiang family does not want you to remain unmarried your whole life. As long as you marry, we will not interfere with anything else.”

…

Do you even know what you’re saying?

Jiang Yao was completely shocked. “Mother, are you asking me to be a fickle, two-faced person? Is this our Jiang family’s teaching? You taught me since I was a child that as a member of the Jiang family, one must be single-minded and devoted. Have you forgotten?”

She hadn’t forgotten!

She had that lesson carved into her brain!

Madam Jiang looked somewhat embarrassed. She stared at Jiang Yao for a long while, unable to speak. Finally, she sighed. “You’re right. Our Jiang family could never do such a thing. But do you know how difficult this path is, for a woman to be with another woman? As your mother, I don’t want you to walk such a hard road. Can you understand?”

“Your daughter understands everything you’re saying. But things being as they are, I can only ask you not to make things difficult for Muyun. I was the one who insisted on pulling her along with me.”

Madam Jiang paused, not saying anything more. She only said, “I still want you to think it over carefully.”

“Not considering it, thanks.”

Jiang Yao’s refusal was so quick that Madam Jiang could barely maintain the gentle look on her face.

After a moment, she couldn’t hold back her anger. “If you regret this in the future, don’t come crying to me!”

“I won’t. You can rest assured.”

Madam Jiang couldn’t be bothered with her anymore. Just as she was about to leave, she heard Jiang Yao say, “Oh right, Mom, shouldn’t you be concerned about my cousin from our maternal grandmother’s family? She seems to be getting a little close with the Seventh Prince.”

She stopped, her brow furrowed. “Which cousin?”

“Cousin Su Qiu.¹² If I’m not mistaken, she probably fancies the Seventh Prince.”

The Jiang family and the Seventh Prince were currently at odds, like fire and water.

Madam Jiang, Liang Qingyin, frowned slightly. After a moment, she nodded. “I am aware of this matter. You don’t need to involve yourself. I will handle it.”

“Mhm.”

Jiang Yao grunted in acknowledgment, having no intention of getting involved anyway. Seeing her mother about to leave, she even waved enthusiastically. “Take care, Mother. I won’t see you out.”

Madam Jiang’s footsteps quickened; she wanted nothing more to do with her.

Seeing this, Jiang Yao snorted softly and went back inside to find her wife.

Her wife was sitting all alone on the soft couch, her face pale, her gaze lowered, her entire being radiating despair.

It was a heart-wrenching sight.

Jiang Yao strode over and swept the woman into her arms. “I’m back. I’ll read that proper storybook¹³ you like with you today, how about it?”

Song Muyun lifted her lovely, shimmering eyes to look at her, her heart still tense. She couldn’t help but ask, “What did your Auntie say to you?”

She could, of course, guess that her Auntie had come because of their Rubbing Mirrors.

“Nothing much. I just told her we’ll be together forever, that I’ll cling to you for a lifetime, and then we chatted a bit about the Liang family’s affairs.”

She said it so casually, as if it were nothing of consequence, but they had talked for so long. It must have been that her Auntie disapproved of her relationship with her.

It makes sense, she thought. Jiang Yao is so exceptional. She deserves a better life, a life that everyone would envy. Song Muyun’s eyes showed a hint of retreat. The next second, she was being pressed onto the bed as Jiang Yao kissed her lips fiercely.

Jiang Yao seemed to know what she was thinking. Her words were pointed. “Don’t overthink it. As long as we are good, that’s all that matters. We will be together forever.”

Without realizing it, she had grown used to having Song Muyun by her side.

The kisses made the little girl’s eyes fill with a thick mist, and with a single blink, a tear slid toward the corner of her eye.

Jiang Yao’s heart ached terribly. She moved to kiss her eyes, her voice muffled. “Don’t cry. My mom really didn’t say anything. I’ll protect you. You’re so delicate and prone to tears, what would you do without me, hm?”

Song Muyun’s eyes became teary over and over again, making Jiang Yao’s heart break for her. She stroked her constantly. “What’s all this? What is there to cry about? Stop crying now, be good.”

“I’m not crying. I’m just… just a little sad.”

Her eyes were red-rimmed, looking utterly pitiful.

Jiang Yao’s heart instantly softened. She hugged her and rocked her again and again, cooing softly, “Don’t be sad. What is there to be sad about? It’s not like I’ll listen to them. No one can separate us, not even you yourself. Do you understand?”

She stroked Song Muyun’s cheek. The little girl shed silent tears as Jiang Yao tipped her sharp chin up to kiss her soft lips.

After a long, quiet moment, Song Muyun, who had been passively receiving the kisses, suddenly began to kiss her back eagerly. Her hands unconsciously climbed onto Jiang Yao’s shoulders, stealing the air from her mouth.

Seeing her respond, Jiang Yao’s eyes lit up. She lifted her up, sat down on the soft couch herself, and then gripped the woman’s two slender thighs, holding her in her lap to kiss her.

A maidservant who came in was greeted by the sight of Miss Muyun sitting in her own lady’s lap, kissing her. She was so startled she nearly dropped something again.

A long, long time passed before they finally separated. Both of their lips were a little red and swollen, a testament to how forcefully they had been sucking.

There was even a small tooth mark on Jiang Yao’s lip.

She let out a muffled laugh and touched the mark, her voice laced with helplessness. “You… you’re like a little puppy.”

Song Muyun blushed, sitting with her legs parted on her lap, and looked down without a word.

“Are you going to cry anymore?”

The little girl obediently shook her head. “I won’t cry anymore.”

“Don’t you mind my parents. They probably won’t come looking for you. But even if they do, you are not allowed to listen to them and leave me, you hear?”

She poked Song Muyun’s snowy forehead, leaving another faint red mark.

Song Muyun touched the mark on her forehead and said in a small voice, “I know. I can’t leave you either.”

The thought of leaving Jiang Yao made her heart ache terribly, to say nothing of watching Jiang Yao marry someone else. She could never accept that.

Auntie, Uncle,¹⁴ I’m sorry. I know I’m being selfish, but I have nothing else. I only have Jiang Yao…

The little girl had exhausted a great deal of energy just from crying. After lunch, Jiang Yao found a way to coax her to sleep.

She had woken up later than her, so she wasn’t tired. She leaned against the window, lost in thought.

She didn’t know how long she thought for, but as the sun slanted west and cast its last rays, the woman who had been sleeping peacefully on the bed suddenly began to move restlessly. Not only was the blanket kicked to the floor, but she was also muttering something nonsensical.

Jiang Yao frowned and took a few steps forward to wake her. Before she could call out more than twice, her hand was grabbed. The little fairy’s eyes were shut tight, but her expression was one of terror. “Jiang Yao! Jiang Yao—”

She suddenly called out Jiang Yao’s name sharply twice. Jiang Yao quickly bent down and shook her firmly. “Wake up! What’s wrong? I’m here, I’m here. Right here. Are you having a nightmare¹⁵ again?”

She shook her hand vigorously. Song Muyun’s head rocked quickly from side to side on the pillow, and she was soon woken up. Her eyes snapped open, and in that moment, the fear and terror in them were plain to see.

Upon seeing Jiang Yao, Song Muyun visibly relaxed, but her expression grew even more fragile. Without a second thought, she threw herself into Jiang Yao’s arms.

Her voice was choked with sobs. “Jiang Yao, sob sob you scared me to death! I had that nightmare again. I’m so glad you’re okay, so glad you’re okay…”

Song Muyun looked up, reaching out a trembling hand to touch Jiang Yao, her expression one of utter distress.

Jiang Yao’s features softened. She covered Song Muyun’s hand with her own, stilling its trembling. Her voice was helpless yet soft. “What could happen to me? What did you dream about me?”

She couldn’t have dreamed that I died, could she?

That would be too bloody a dream. No wonder it scared the little girl so badly.

The next second, the little girl’s tearful voice confirmed her suspicion.

She whimpered and cried, saying miserably, “I dreamed that I got you killed. Sob sob how could I get you killed? They all said I was the one who killed you. It scared me to death.”

She was crying hard, hiccupping and sobbing, nearly fainting in Jiang Yao’s arms.

Jiang Yao quickly patted her back to soothe her. “What are you thinking? If you could get me killed, that would make you quite impressive. Aren’t I standing right here, perfectly fine? Stop crying, hm?”

“But in my dream, you were dead. I couldn’t find you…”

“Dreams are the opposite of reality. Why would you believe it? Better to believe me. I will definitely live a good, long life, and spoil you for a lifetime, hm?”

Jiang Yao’s gaze was as gentle as could be. Song Muyun’s eyes grew hot, and the tears fell even faster. She… she really was so good, so very good to her. If she let someone like this go, she would never meet another.

Song Muyun understood this very clearly in her heart. She would not let go of Jiang Yao’s hand. She really wouldn’t.

The little girl curled up in the red-clothed woman’s embrace, her features radiating a kind of fragility. Remembering the scene from her dream, she looked at her cautiously and asked, “Will you really spoil me for a lifetime?”

She was afraid. She was so afraid that Jiang Yao was lying to her.

But given Jiang Yao’s character, she would not lie about such matters.

Sure enough, the next second, Jiang Yao promised, “I will. If I can’t, may heaven strike me—mmph!”

Before she could finish, Song Muyun had clapped a hand over her mouth.

Song Muyun warned her indignantly, “I won’t allow you to say such things! It’s bad luck!”

See, this is my little Ancestor. Even though she likes to be unreasonable, she thinks of me in everything she does. Her heart and eyes are full of me.

So what if she has a few flaws? Besides, being unreasonable isn’t such a big problem.

She gently stroked Song Muyun’s soft, black hair.

“Alright, I won’t say it anymore. I’ll listen to you,” Jiang Yao said.

“That’s more like it. Don’t say it again in the future. I don’t want you making any vows; they only make me worry. Even if one day you truly don’t want me anymore, I would still want you to be well and safe.”

Hearing this, Jiang Yao was a little stunned. When did my little Ancestor become so magnanimous?

Even if I left, she would wish me well.

Oh well. “I couldn’t bear to leave. You’re so well-behaved, and you can’t live without me. Where could I possibly go?”

If she wasn’t around, Muyun would even wake up crying. How could she dare to go far?

“You’re right. I can’t live without you.”

Song Muyun pressed herself against Jiang Yao’s chest, for the first time saying she couldn’t leave her without a hint of shyness.

Jiang Yao’s mood instantly brightened. She lifted her from the bed into a princess carry, holding her and nuzzling her smooth, pale cheek, murmuring sweet nothings. “It’s okay. We won’t be separated.”

She had thought Muyun’s nightmare had been cured, but it seemed they hadn’t.

Looks like I can’t let her sleep alone anymore. What if she gets trapped in a nightmare?

Jiang Yao was deeply worried.

“You carry me to the soft couch. I still have to work on the scent pouch.”¹⁶

She had just finished consoling her, and now the woman was already in a hurry to find herself something to do. Jiang Yao, while complying and picking her up, couldn’t help but mutter in exasperation, “What time is it, and you’re still thinking about that scent pouch? You were just crying your eyes out a moment ago.”

As she spoke, she touched the eyes that were red from crying.

They had been swollen from last night’s tears, and today they were even redder and more swollen.

Song Muyun buried her head in her chest and grumbled, “I just want to make my scent pouch. You don’t need to mind me.”

Tsk, quite the temper.

It’s getting bigger and bigger from being spoiled by me.

Jiang Yao doted on her and could never bear to lose her temper with her. Seeing this, she could only concede. “Alright, alright. You work on your scent pouch. I won’t mind you.”

She set her down and turned to hand her the embroidery basket, but Song Muyun snatched it and ignored her completely.

Jiang Yao didn’t know what she’d done wrong and was about to ask when she heard the little girl say in a stuffy voice, “You dare not mind me? I’ll stab you in your sleep tonight, hmph.”

It made her laugh out loud in exasperation. Jiang Yao poked her soft cheek, leaving a faint dimple. “Didn’t you just say I didn’t need to mind you?”

Such a big temper for such a little person.

Song Muyun was so angry she pricked her fingertip with the needle. Before she could even cry out in pain, Jiang Yao had snatched her finger and was gently sucking on it, frowning and chiding her for being careless.

She lowered her head and said in a muffled voice, “Even if I say not to mind me, you can’t really not mind me. Besides you, I have nothing left.”

The little girl’s mood suddenly plummeted. Jiang Yao’s sucking on her fingertip paused. She then stood up, pressed Song Muyun’s head against her chest, her handsome brows knitted together in displeasure. “I was joking, you couldn’t tell? Why did you take it so seriously? When have I ever not minded you?”

Song Muyun looked up from her embrace, her features so pretty and delicate she didn’t seem real, but her attitude was somewhat imperious, like a spoiled and unreasonable young lady from some great house. “You can’t even joke like that. It made me so angry.”

She gave Jiang Yao’s arm a light pinch, a force that probably wouldn’t even leave a red mark.

She really is my own wife. So cute.

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