Forbidden to Bully the Storybook’s Heroine – Chapter 107
by Little PandaExtra 1: The Original Female Lead is Reborn (11)
Jiang Yao frowned and instinctively took a few steps forward. Seeing her move, Song Muyun hurried to follow. Her eyes were dewy, and her calves were still sore. She stumbled slightly behind the others, unnoticed.
Jiang Yao walked up to Murong Qing, suppressed the disgust rising in her heart, and forced herself to appear perfectly polite and proper. “Your Highness the Seventh Prince, what has happened to you?”
She had a bad feeling.
Sure enough, the next second, Murong Qing struggled up from the floor and pointed a finger at her friends. “You! You dare to assassinate a prince? That is a crime punishable by death!”
Jiang Yao was speechless.
She turned her silent gaze on her friends, who now had their heads lowered, not daring to make a sound.
“What happened?” she demanded. “Open your mouths and speak!”
They looked at one another until they finally pushed forward Sima Jushan, who had some standing in the capital and had just returned.
Sima Jushan looked at Murong Qing with a complicated expression, one that seemed to say, So this is the kind of person you are.
After a moment, he began, “It was like this…”
Just as he was about to speak, Murong Qing suddenly shouted, “You! Shut your mouth for this prince!”
He had seen Song Muyun. Song Muyun was here too?!
For some reason, he didn’t want Song Muyun to know what he had done today, even though the noisy chatter of the onlookers had already sullied his reputation beyond repair.
Sima Jushan paused, but Jiang Yao ignored Murong Qing. Her face was cold. “If he doesn’t speak, how is this female subject to know what occurred? For Your Highness to be so gravely injured today, this female subject will certainly have to report it to my father.”
She lifted her eyes, signaling for Sima Jushan to continue.
Sima Jushan’s father was the Great General, so the Emperor was unlikely to do anything to him. He wasn’t particularly afraid of Murong Qing. Since Jiang Yao told him to speak, he spoke.
“I met a few of my brothers across the corridor, and we were about to meet up when they heard a woman’s miserable screams for help coming from this room. They called me over, and I was the one who told them to kick the door in. We were just afraid someone would be killed. Who knew the person inside would be His Highness the Seventh Prince?”
He looked somewhat apologetic, but not truly. He didn’t regret that kick that had sent Murong Qing flying.
Damn it, he thought. And he’s a prince. Such a fine reputation in public, but behind closed doors, he’s into this kind of torturous stuff.
If they hadn’t come, wouldn’t that girl have been beaten to death by him?
Sima Jushan looked at Jiang Yao, but Jiang Yao stole a glance at Song Muyun, then gently pulled her behind her, hiding her from view.
Song Muyun lowered her head, hiding the faint, almost imperceptible smile at the corners of her mouth.
The sight was a dagger in Murong Qing’s eyes. How dare she? How dare she abandon him and live so well?
How dare she see him, yet refuse to spare him even a single glance?
He trembled with rage, a cold fury washing over him.
“A woman’s miserable screams for help? Where is this woman?”
Jiang Yao raised an eyebrow. She knew Murong Qing was unhinged, not a good person.
She squeezed the hand of the woman behind her, a silent reassurance. She felt a surge of relief; thank goodness she had rescued Muyun.
Song Muyun looked down at their joined hands, and for some reason, her heart fluttered.
The person I love is a very, very good person. She doesn’t just help me. Now that she’s stumbled upon this, she will help the woman inside, too.
She was certain of it.
“When we went in just now, the woman’s clothes were in disarray,” Sima Jushan said. “I told her to get dressed inside before coming out.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a trembling woman emerged from the room. Her steps were labored, her face streaked with tears. The moment she saw them, she couldn’t stop herself from collapsing to her knees.
Her exposed skin was almost entirely covered in red welts and cuts. Her face was also severely swollen, a clear testament to what she had endured inside.
The voices of the onlookers immediately grew louder, all murmuring about how the Seventh Prince was usually so gentle and refined, but was unexpectedly this kind of person.
In the Da Jin Kingdom, women’s status was not low. To humiliate a woman so brutally in bed was something that would be met with contempt. No respectable family would ever do such a thing.
Hearing the whispers, Murong Qing’s face turned ashen with rage. He glared daggers at Sima Jushan.
He had recently learned that Song Muyun was in Jiang Yao’s hands. He wanted her back but couldn’t get her, and the pent-up frustration was agonizing. He had only come here to vent, but he had to run into this pack of martial artists, these brutes!
Who just barges into someone else’s private room?
Even if the woman inside was screaming her head off, what business was it of theirs?!
Murong Qing was so furious he could barely breathe, his face a mask of livid anger.
Jiang Yao looked down at the woman on the floor, her voice softening slightly. “Do you have a name?” she asked.
The woman glanced at Murong Qing, hesitating, until a clear, cool voice sounded from beside Jiang Yao’s ear. “Her name is Yan Luo.”
Jiang Yao started, then realized it was Yun’er who had spoken. Yun’er had spent some time in the Music House, so it was perfectly normal for her to know the woman.
“Your name is Yan Luo, is that right? Were the injuries on your body inflicted by His Highness?”
The look she gave Murong Qing was as if she were looking at a wild beast. The polite facade she had put on just moments ago had vanished without a trace.
The woman trembled, shivering uncontrollably. Her gaze darted cautiously toward Murong Qing. When she met his grim expression, her chest tightened, and she couldn’t force a single word out.
It was Sima Jushan who snorted. “If it wasn’t the Seventh Prince, did she get them by not watching where she was going and falling down herself?”
“She couldn’t have fallen and ended up like this,” one of Sima Jushan’s martial general friends couldn’t help but add. “The whip in the Seventh Prince’s hand is still dripping blood.”
All eyes fell on the whip in Murong Qing’s hand. Sure enough, a drop of blood slowly fell from its tip. A thick, coppery smell of blood emanated from it, strong enough for anyone with a keen sense of smell to notice.
The martial generals fixed looks of disgust on Murong Qing. He looked so respectable on the outside, but was this kind of person on the inside.
Murong Qing was shaking with rage. He lost his composure and blurted out, “This prince spent silver to summon her! She is supposed to serve this prince! What happens in bed is none of your business!”
“What happens in bed doesn’t give you the right to humiliate someone! If Your Highness had killed her today, would you have paid for the life of a mere Music House girl with your own?”
Sima Jushan had dreamed of being a chivalrous hero who rooted out the strong and helped the weak since he was a child. Today, he had finally run into the bully Murong Qing, and he wasn’t about to let him off easy.
Jiang Yao glanced at his indignant face but said nothing. Sima Jushan would take the lead in this matter.
Sure enough, she heard him declare, “Your Highness, as a prince, you have committed such an act! This subject will report this to the Emperor tomorrow! Regardless of whether His Majesty punishes you, at least this subject will have a clear conscience!”
Jiang Yao was speechless.
Impulsive. So impulsive, she thought. He’s going to take this straight to the Emperor.
But it was fine. His father was the Great General of the dynasty; the Emperor wouldn’t do anything to him.
Murong Qing hadn’t expected these martial men to be so reckless. Hearing that Sima Jushan was going to report this to his Father-Emperor, he finally panicked. He pressed his lips together and said with difficulty, “This prince did nothing. This was merely a matter of mutual consent.”
He shot a threatening look at the woman kneeling on the floor.
The woman trembled and followed his lead. “Yes, I… I was willing.”
It wasn’t that she wasn’t in pain. She was just a woman from the Music House; she couldn’t afford to offend a prince.
If she earned the Seventh Prince’s displeasure, her already difficult life, which was declining with age, would become who knows how much worse.
Sima Jushan frowned. “Don’t be afraid. We are all here. We will protect you.”
But the woman shook her head violently, her loose chignon coming undone. “No, it’s not like that. This servant was willing. Thank you for your kindness, Young Master, but please don’t concern yourself with this servant.”
She lifted her swollen face. A woman’s appearance was her most prized possession; seeing her like this, even Sima Jushan felt a pang of sympathy.
His thick brows furrowed. Jiang Yao also frowned slightly, but she said, “Alright. Since this young lady says she was willing, it’s not our place to interfere. Let’s leave matters as they are for today. I only hope that Your Highness can exercise some restraint in the future. A woman’s life is still a life.”
Murong Qing’s face was cold, and he said nothing.
He could squeeze out a pleasant expression for anyone else, but not for Jiang Yao. Song Muyun had run off with Jiang Yao, and the two of them were so close. He couldn’t calm down.
Anyone could abandon him, but not Song Muyun!
A vicious glint flashed in Murong Qing’s eyes, but it was quickly replaced by cold indifference.
Though his clothes were stained with dust and he was in a wretched state, he clasped his hands behind his back, affecting an air of unruffled composure.
“This prince has said, it was a matter of mutual consent between her and me.”
Jiang Yao nearly rolled her eyes at him in public, but she managed to restrain herself, mindful of her image.
Behind her, Song Muyun tugged on her sleeve. The martial generals also stared at her in shock, as if they couldn’t believe she was really letting it go.
But Jiang Yao’s expression remained neutral. She simply stepped forward to help the woman up and handed her a bottle of medicine.
Under Murong Qing’s threatening glare, the crowd of onlookers, seeing that the incident was over, began to disperse. But the scandalous rumors had already begun to spread uncontrollably.
“Jiang Yao, are we really not getting involved?” Sima Jushan asked, looking at the scarred woman with a pained expression.
Jiang Yao shook her head. “Let’s go.”
“Wait. Don’t go yet. Jiang Yao, what do you want?”
Murong Qing’s grim voice suddenly rang out.
Jiang Yao turned back in surprise, her hand holding Song Muyun’s tightening. She raised an eyebrow. “What do I want?”
“Yes, what do you want? I told you long ago, Song Muyun is mine. Whatever you want, I will give it to you. Give her back to me!”
Sima Jushan’s eyes went wide.
Seeing the two of them staring at the same woman, he finally noticed. Well, I’ll be damned. When did Jiang Yao start bringing a woman around with her?
And… and one so ethereal…
Sima Jushan was dumbfounded. The others were no better, their eyes fixed on Song Muyun. There was no lewdness in their gazes, just a focused, wide-eyed admiration that was intense enough to be unsettling.
Song Muyun hid behind Jiang Yao like a frightened kitten. Her voice was soft and sad, her eyes welling with moisture. “Are… are you going to send me away?”
She knew Jiang Yao wouldn’t. Jiang Yao had touched her; she would never be able to bear giving her to someone else. She just… wanted to win a little more of her pity.
As expected, Jiang Yao couldn’t stand to see her like this.
The moment she saw her, her eyes filled with pain. She cast all other concerns aside, immediately pulling the woman into her arms and stroking her back. Her voice was full of comfort. “What nonsense are you talking about? How could I ever send you away? No matter what he offers, I will never let you leave my side. You’re so delicate, I’m afraid they wouldn’t know how to take care of you.”
The woman before him was a peerless beauty, yet she shed silent tears only for her, as if she had suffered the greatest injustice in the world.
“There, there, don’t cry. We’ll ignore him, alright? Be good.”
As she coaxed her, she reached up to wipe the tears from Song Muyun’s face. A whistling sound cut through the air. Jiang Yao didn’t move. Sima Jushan lunged forward and grabbed the whip. The other martial generals spoke up, their voices heavy with accusation. “Seventh Prince, how could you launch a sneak attack? To use your scholars’ words, that is hardly the conduct of a gentleman!”
“It’s the behavior of a villain!”
“Ah, yes! Seventh Prince, that was truly villainous of you!”
Being called a villain several times, Murong Qing’s face shifted between green and white. He truly didn’t want to offend this group of martial generals, but they showed him no respect as a prince!
“Jiang Yao, let her go! Give her back to me! Whatever you want, this prince can give it to you!”
His voice wasn’t quiet; he was practically shouting. Jiang Yao pressed Song Muyun’s fluffy head against her chest, covering her ears to shield her from the noise.
This intimate, protective gesture made Murong Qing’s eyes burn with fury. He felt as if something of the utmost importance was about to be torn away from him.
I have to kill Jiang Yao. I must kill her, or the situation will spiral out of control!
The feeling struck Murong Qing with inexplicable certainty. A murderous intent flickered in his eyes, but it vanished in an instant. Jiang Yao didn’t notice, but Sima Jushan did.
He found it strange. That vicious prince is definitely plotting something big.
Jiang Yao’s expression was aloof as she looked at Murong Qing. “Your Highness, this female subject lacks nothing. As for this person… since you gave her to Jiang Huai, she now belongs to the Jiang family. If you insist on taking her back, I can only ask my father to speak with you.”
Murong Qing froze. He lowered his head, his expression unreadable. In the end, he didn’t dare to offend Jiang Heng. He flung his sleeve with a sharp snap and turned to leave without another word.
Sima Jushan muttered, “Less courteous than this daddy. I’m impressed.”
Jiang Yao gave a faint hum of agreement and pulled Song Muyun back into her arms. “Let’s go. We’ll leave first.”
The men all looked at the beautiful woman trembling off to the side, feeling a pang of pity. “If we just leave like this, won’t the Seventh Prince come back and trouble her again?”
The beauty didn’t dare say a word. She kept her head down in silence, a look of despair in her eyes.
“Mm,” Jiang Yao said. “That’s why we’re going to find the madam1 and buy her freedom.”
In an instant, everyone looked up at her, including Yan Luo, who had been staring at the ground. Her tear-filled eyes widened in disbelief, so fragile it seemed a single touch would shatter her.
Song Muyun felt a pang of guilt. For a moment, she had actually thought Jiang Yao had changed, that she really wasn’t going to save Yan Luo. I’m a terrible person.
Sima Jushan’s face lit up. “That’s a great idea! That way, we don’t have to worry about Murong Qing coming back to bully her. Our Eldest Miss really thinks of everything.”
When he was happy, he would also call Jiang Yao “Eldest Miss.” The others immediately chimed in with praise.
Jiang Yao glanced at him, then asked Yan Luo if she was willing to leave with them.
Yan Luo had been somewhat famous in her younger years, but now, with her looks fading, she had long wanted to escape this pit of fire. She just had never managed to save up enough silver. Now that someone was offering to buy her freedom, how could she possibly refuse?
She was so worried Jiang Yao would change her mind that she nodded her head like a chicken pecking at rice.
Jiang Yao told Sima Jushan to go pay the redemption fee, then asked Yan Luo who she wanted to follow.
Yan Luo’s gaze fell on Song Muyun. She recognized her.
The day Song Muyun had left, her face had been deathly pale, without a trace of color. She had been so thin she looked as if a gust of wind could knock her over, never to wake again.
At the time, she had thought that Song Muyun wouldn’t live long after being taken away by Murong Qing.
But seeing her again today, she was a completely different person.
Her complexion was rosy, her black hair was glossy and lustrous, and her eyes shone with a bright light. Her dress was made of the most fashionable and finest material in the capital. She was clearly being well cared for.
Just now, the Seventh Prince had told this young lady to return the person to him, so… Muyun was in her hands now?
Without hesitation, Yan Luo chose to go with Jiang Yao.
In an instant, the person who had been smiling shyly a moment ago froze. Her smile vanished, and she instinctively hugged Jiang Yao’s arm, looking at Yan Luo with the wariness of a wolf cub.
Although she knew Jiang Yao wasn’t the type to be fickle, she couldn’t help but feel nervous, to frighten herself.
She didn’t know that Jiang Yao had felt an uncontrollable sense of pity for her from their very first meeting. She only thought that Jiang Yao had helped her because she was truly pitiful and because Jiang Huai had been the one to wrong her. But Yan Luo was also extremely pitiful. She had been bullied by Murong Qing, no different from how she herself had been that day. Would Jiang Yao pity her, too?
A sense of crisis bloomed in the young woman, and she clung to Jiang Yao’s arm, refusing to let go.
The coarse men, who rarely saw women, were practically drooling. They had thought she was a noble, fairy-like figure, but this behavior made her seem more like a pampered and beloved young lady from some household.
As for whose household…
Their gazes couldn’t help but drift to Jiang Yao.
Their Eldest Miss was rarely so intimate with anyone. This was the first time they had ever seen someone cling to her like this.
And she didn’t resist, just let the person cling.
How strange.
Jiang Yao sensed the change in the person beside her. She looked down and asked what was wrong, but she refused to say, just shaking her head.
But something was clearly wrong.
Jiang Yao fell silent, her calm eyes fixed on her. After a moment, Song Muyun lowered her head and finally mumbled an excuse. “I… I don’t feel well.”
Jiang Yao first blinked in surprise, then her brow furrowed deeply. She placed her hands on Song Muyun’s shoulders, turning her to face her, and asked for confirmation, “You don’t feel well?”
Song Muyun nodded obediently, her snow-white teeth gently biting her red lip.
The next moment, a sudden feeling of weightlessness washed over her. Jiang Yao had swept her up into her arms, holding her securely, and cooed, “We’ll be back soon. Be good, just bear with it a little longer.”
She blushed at being coaxed. It had been a long time since Jiang Yao had treated her like a child. She was embarrassed.
Yan Luo was also so shocked her mouth fell slightly open. It was the first time she had seen Muyun like this. Back at the house, she had been famous for being an ice beauty who paid no mind to anyone.
Sima Jushan quickly paid the money and bought the person. They immediately handed the indenture contract2 back to Yan Luo. Yan Luo was stunned again. This was the first time she had met such masters, who treated a lowly Music House woman like a human being. They had paid the silver to free her, yet they didn’t even want her contract, simply giving it back to her.
Tears instantly filled Yan Luo’s eyes. In a secluded spot, she couldn’t help but kneel, crying, “My great benefactors, Yan Luo has no way to repay you. I can only serve you like a horse or an ox…”
Jiang Yao still had someone in her arms. She gestured with her eyes for the others to help Yan Luo up.
Yan Luo was crying like pear blossoms in the rain.3 Jiang Yao was about to look at her and speak, but the person in her arms suddenly made a fuss, grasping her chin and forcing her to look only at her, then refusing to let go.
Jiang Yao had no choice but to speak to Yan Luo while looking at the person in her arms. “What we did today was a small effort. You will have to plan your own future. There is no need to thank us. We only did what was necessary to have a clear conscience.”
Yan Luo nodded quickly, her eyes still filled with gratitude. But Jiang Yao didn’t look at her again. All her attention was focused on the person in her arms. “Are you feeling unwell somewhere again?”
How could Song Muyun admit she was jealous? Her face flushed red, and she just rubbed her face against Jiang Yao’s chest, managing to get away with it.
Sima Jushan’s attention was once again drawn to the person in Jiang Yao’s arms. She was well protected by Jiang Yao; all he could see was a cascade of beautiful black hair.
Remembering the woman’s divine, fairy-like beauty, he couldn’t help but feel an itch in his heart. “Jiang Yao,” he asked, “who is this in your arms…? How come you’ve never mentioned her before?”
Jiang Yao looked down, her gaze gentle on Song Muyun. Song Muyun poked her, as if urging her to answer quickly.
“Yeah, yeah, Eldest Miss, that’s not fair! Hiding such a beautiful girl from us, huh? We want to meet this beau—”
The man who was speaking abruptly fell silent, his eyes bulging as if they were about to pop out of his head.
He had never been so incredulous about anything in his life. He thought he must have misheard!
Jiang Yao… Jiang Yao liked women?
No one had ever dared to think such a thing.
She was the daughter of that old-fashioned, stubborn Prime Minister. How could she dare to like women?
At the same time, Sima Jushan was heartbroken. The woman who had just stirred his heart now belonged to someone else, right before his eyes.
If it were anyone else, he would have put up a fight. But it was Jiang Yao, so he’d better forget it. A friend’s wife is not to be touched.
Song Muyun peeked out from Jiang Yao’s embrace and shot Sima Jushan a cool glance.
She recognized this man. That day, when she wanted to eat the sugar figurine5 Jiang Yao had bought, this was the person who had inexplicably blocked her path and said a bunch of things that upset her, causing her to miss out on her treat.
She did not like this person.
Song Muyun twisted around, burying herself completely against Jiang Yao’s soft chest, and urged in her ear, her breath like orchids, “Jiang Yao, when are we going back? I’m sleepy.”
“You don’t want to eat out?”
The thought of eating with that man ruined Song Muyun’s appetite. She shook her head. “Mm, let’s not. Let’s go back and eat, okay?~”
She was acting coquettishly, her soft voice enough to make one’s heart melt.
Someone was about to show a look of enchantment, but Jiang Yao’s sharp glance swept over them, and they immediately stood up straight, each one more proper than the last.
She looked down at Song Muyun again, her expression gentle, and asked in a soft voice, “Then do you want a sugar figurine?”
“I want that.”
Song Muyun clutched Jiang Yao’s collar, her voice so soft and sweet it could give one a toothache.
Yan Luo hadn’t expected this kind of relationship between them either. She stared blankly, unable to process it for a moment.
Jiang Yao took Song Muyun to buy two sugar figurines, but she stopped Sima Jushan, who was about to take his leave. “You all head back. Sima, you come to my house and discuss today’s events with my father.”
Sima Jushan was confused. “???”
“Weren’t you going to let Murong Qing off?”
Mindful of Yun’er’s presence, Jiang Yao inexplicably wanted to maintain a good image. She suppressed the eye-roll and simply said in a weary tone, “Who said I was going to let him off? Just do as I say. I can’t be bothered to explain it to someone as dense as you.”
Sima Jushan watched her leave with the woman in her arms, Yan Luo following gratefully behind them. He suddenly understood. Back at the Yue Shang Fang, it would have been unwise to clash with Murong Qing directly, and she was afraid he would go back and trouble the woman later. Now that they had the person out, and Murong Qing thought they wouldn’t press the matter, he would let his guard down. That was the best time to strike.
Jiang Yao was truly brilliant!
Sima Jushan waved for the others to go back, while he himself trotted after her. “Hey, wait for me! I’ll go back with you! Will Godfather help us?”
“He will,” Jiang Yao said with certainty.
For some reason, her father had recently become unshakably convinced that Murong Qing had placed a ‘gu’ curse on him. In any case, his opinion of the prince had hit rock bottom. He wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to punish him.
That way, she wouldn’t have to rack her brains. It was really nice to have a capable father.
Footnotes
- Original: lǎobǎo (老鸨). The female manager of a brothel or pleasure house.
- Original: màishēnqì (卖身契). A deed of sale or indenture contract that bound a person, typically a woman or child, into servitude or service at an establishment like a pleasure house.
- A classic Chinese idiom, ‘lí huā dài yǔ’, which literally means ‘pear blossoms in the rain’. It is used to describe the beautiful and moving sight of a woman crying.
- Original: sǎozi (嫂子). The term for an older brother’s wife. By using it here with her martial brothers, Jiang Yao is formally declaring that Song Muyun is her partner, effectively her ‘wife’ within their circle.
- A traditional Chinese folk art using hot, liquid sugar to create three-dimensional figures, often of animals or mythical creatures, on a stick.
0 Comments