Forbidden to Bully the Storybook’s Heroine – Chapter 108

Extra 1: The Original Female Lead is Reborn (12)

At the Jiang Residence, Sima Jushan went to find Jiang Heng, while Jiang Yao took Yun’er and Yan Luo straight back to Hengwu Courtyard. She had someone arrange a place for Yan Luo to stay, telling her to do some light cleaning for now and that they would discuss her future when a new decision was made.

Yan Luo was so moved her eyes welled with tears, and she thanked Jiang Yao profusely.

            

Jiang Yao had no need for her endless thanks. She waved a hand to dismiss her and took her xifu’er back to her room.

They had lunch in the courtyard and were just in time for the family banquet in the evening.

The Jiang family was shocked to discover that Jiang Yao had brought Song Muyun.

            

Seeing their intimate posture, even holding hands, Jiang Heng narrowed his eyes, sensing something, but he said nothing. Liang Qingyin, however, had always sympathized with Song Muyun’s plight and fussed over her with concern.

Sima Jushan was also there. When he saw Jiang Yao bring Song Muyun directly to the banquet, his jaw dropped in shock.

How… how audacious!

            

Jiang Yao was truly daring by nature. If any other woman were involved in “mirror polishing,”​¹ she would surely hide it away, terrified of her parents and elders finding out. But Jiang Yao was so open about it, and this woman wasn’t afraid either.

He couldn’t help but glance at Song Muyun.

He had already learned Song Muyun’s identity from Jiang Huai: the daughter of a convicted official, the girl left behind by the Song family who had committed the crime of deceiving the emperor. She had once been sent to the Music House, then fallen into Murong Qing’s hands, and was finally taken away by Jiang Yao.

            

It was hard to imagine that this was a woman with such a tragic background.

It was enough to stir one’s compassion.

But the moment that feeling stirred, Jiang Yao turned to look at him, her eyes cold with a clear warning. Sima Jushan coughed lightly and immediately retracted his gaze, not daring to look again.

            

If he kept looking, Jiang Yao would probably gouge his eyes out. So fiercely protective. How strange.

This was the first time in this life that Jiang Yao had brought Song Muyun to a family banquet. Song Muyun understood her meaning.

From now on, she was part of the Jiang family.

            

Just like in her previous life, Jiang Yao would bring her to the family banquets and dote on her endlessly.

“Try this. It’s freshly delivered venison, there isn’t much. You have a piece first.”

Jiang Yao herself ate little, busy instead with serving food to Song Muyun. The commotion was not small, and several elders looked over. When she noticed their gazes, Song Muyun’s cheeks flushed red with embarrassment.

            

“Jiang Yao, don’t serve me. I can get it myself.”

She spoke in a small voice, feeling very awkward.

No matter how many times this happened, she could never get used to Jiang Yao being so good to her in front of so many members of the Jiang family.

            

She was always afraid of leaving a bad impression on them.

Under the table, Jiang Yao squeezed her hand and raised an eyebrow. “If I don’t serve you, I’m afraid you won’t dare to take anything yourself.”

Song Muyun fidgeted. “I won’t. I dare to take it. You… you should stop.”

            

“Fine, I won’t. Eat whatever you want. Don’t be polite.”

“Mm, I know.”

Song Muyun replied obediently.

            

Jiang Yao finally started to eat her own food. Then, she happened to glance up at Song Muyun and discovered that she only dared to eat the dishes directly in front of her, not touching anything even slightly further away.

Jiang Yao smiled. Her parents were so amiable, yet this little coward was still scared.

She once again took it upon herself to serve Song Muyun a piece of meat from a more distant dish, then instructed a serving maid to fetch her a bowl of soup.

            

Song Muyun ate the meat with a blushing face, feeling as if everyone was watching her. It was just an illusion; they at most glanced at her, and then Ru’er exchanged a few words with her.

After the evening meal, everyone returned to their own courtyards. Song Muyun followed closely behind Jiang Yao, the very picture of docility.

When Jiang Yao ruffled her hair, she just looked up at her obediently.

            

It made one sigh in their heart. Cute, alluring, beautiful—who could resist?

She certainly couldn’t.

The two of them had now pierced the window paper,​² so to speak. Although Song Muyun had been the one to deliberately seduce her at first, Jiang Yao was clearly not the type to eat and run. She had already seen everything; as long as Song Muyun was willing, the woman was hers. They would be together, properly together.

            

At this thought, Jiang Yao’s eyes narrowed, a strange sense of joy bubbling up inside her.

She had never once considered “mirror polishing” before, but when it actually happened, she found she wasn’t the least bit repulsed. In fact, she was even a little eager to try.

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Back in Hengwu Courtyard, the lamps had long been extinguished at Yun’er’s request. The two of them sat on the soft couch, the window open to let in the bright, clear moonlight.

            

Song Muyun nestled in Jiang Yao’s arms. The maidservants on night watch had been sent back to rest, leaving them the only two people still awake in the courtyard.

The girl in her arms was clearly happy, her eyes squinted in a look of utter relaxation and languor. “Jiang Yao, does this count as us admiring the moon together?”

“Mm. What, are you going to compose a poem?”

            

Song Muyun poked her. “Of course not. When I’m with you, I can’t compose anything.”

Jiang Yao chuckled. “What’s that supposed to mean? That I make you unpoetic?”

“No. When I’m with you, I don’t want to compose poetry. My mind is just full of you.”

            

Those words gave Jiang Yao pause. She could feel the hand that was stroking Song Muyun’s hair freeze.

Jiang Yao abruptly pulled her hand back, her heart pounding as if it were about to leap out of her chest. Yun’er was getting better and better at sweet talk, she thought, leaving her almost unable to handle it.

“Mm, my mind is full of you, too,” Jiang Yao replied, but her eyes darted away, clearly a little shy.

            

Song Muyun thought with delight that there would come a day when she could make Jiang Yao blush.

She turned her body, shifting from their shoulder-to-shoulder moon-gazing posture to sitting face-to-face in Jiang Yao’s lap.

Jiang Yao’s body instinctively leaned back a little, but Song Muyun immediately pulled her forward again. As the night deepened, the little ancestor was about to start digging up old accounts.

            

“At Yue Shang Fang today, did you really not touch any of those men?”

Jiang Yao was speechless.

“Heaven as my witness, I didn’t even touch a corner of their robes.”

            

She sounded utterly helpless.

Song Muyun let out a delicate humph. After how well Jiang Yao had treated her today, she was finally certain that Jiang Yao was still into “mirror polishing” and hadn’t gone astray. So, the topic shifted, still full of jealousy.

“What about Yan Luo, then? You brought her back today. Do you like her a little?”

            

Jiang Yao hadn’t expected her to compete with Yan Luo. Helplessly, she patted the girl’s soft, plump, and perky bottom, making her tremble. “Why would I like her? I just wanted to bring her back to prevent Murong Qing from doing anything to her. Besides, you know her, don’t you?”

Her Yun’er knew the person, so of course she would help if she could.

Song Muyun looked at Jiang Yao with her watery, bright eyes, still demanding petulantly, “Then you’re not allowed to like Yan Luo. If you’re going to like someone, you can only like me.”

            

The girl in her home was exceptionally prone to jealousy. Jiang Yao had no choice but to agree. “Alright, I can only like you. I definitely won’t like anyone else.”

In her twenty years of life, she had never been moved by anyone. The only exception was yesterday, when she touched Yun’er. A tremor had run through the depths of her soul, as if this was how it was always meant to be. They were meant to be together.

“That’s more like it.”

            

Song Muyun lowered her head, her long, thick eyelashes trembling. She shyly threw herself into Jiang Yao’s arms, letting Jiang Yao hold her and gently stroke her back.

---

Beneath her skirt, a strange dampness spread, soaking through everything from her innermost trousers to her outer dress. The woman’s delicate body trembled, her long, slender, pale fingers splaying open before clenching into tight fists. Her gaze was hazy, falling vacantly on the person holding her.

Her lips parted slightly as she panted softly.

            

The window had been left open, letting the moonlight stream in. The courtyard was quiet; everyone was asleep. So, they could be a little more unrestrained.

Perhaps it was the moonlight that made one all the more nervous.

It was a night of utter release.

            

In the heat of the moment, letting things happen naturally didn’t seem like a big deal. But the next day, when all the memories came flooding back, Song Muyun was instantly mortified, even though no one had seen them.

The maids’ rooms weren’t far from theirs. She had been so loud—could they have heard?

If it had all been Jiang Yao’s doing, she could have blamed Jiang Yao for bullying her. But last night… she had clearly been the one trying to entice Jiang Yao, softly inviting her several times.

            

Now she didn’t even have a scapegoat.

Song Muyun was too embarrassed to open her eyes. She lay in bed with her head buried, pretending to still be asleep.

Jiang Yao, of course, knew she was awake. Thinking of the cooling weather and what her father had mentioned, she told Song Muyun about it. In a few days, they would be going on the autumn hunt, and she would take Yun’er with her.

            

The two were like newlyweds, inseparable.

Hearing the words “autumn hunt,” Song Muyun suddenly recalled fragmented memories from her past life. A deep unease filled her heart. In her memories, the “her” of that time and the “Jiang Yao” of that time had gone on the autumn hunt, and something had happened…

Jiang Yao had been injured.

            

Even though it wasn’t the same year, the memory still made her heart pound with fear.

She abruptly sat up and grabbed Jiang Yao’s hand, looking at her with trepidation.

Jiang Yao sensed her tension and looked back, bewildered. Then she heard her ask, “Will Murong Qing try to kill you during the autumn hunt?”

            

The question was so out of the blue it was startling. Jiang Yao’s mouth twitched, and she reached out to flick the other girl’s forehead. “The Emperor will be at the autumn hunt. It could easily turn into regicide. How would Murong Qing have the guts for that? Besides, even if he had the guts, he doesn’t have the men.”

Murong Qing was currently working in the Ministry of Revenue, not a military official. Where would he get men?

She just thought her girl was worrying for nothing.​³

            

“But what if Murong Qing does have men?”

Song Muyun had been reborn; she knew many things that the Jiang Yao of this world did not.

The young woman frowned, regretting that she hadn’t told her everything. After being reborn and seeing her, her heart and mind had been so full of Jiang Yao that she hadn’t had time to plan many things.

            

Jiang Yao frowned. “Men? Unlikely. He’s just a prince, what kind of men could he have?”

Song Muyun hesitated, but not for long. She leaned on Jiang Yao’s shoulder and fabricated a story. “Before my family’s downfall, my father once told me that it was Murong Qing who set the trap that destroyed our family. The dam in Luzhou collapsed because they never used the disaster relief funds to repair it. Instead, the money was embezzled by Murong Qing and various officials. Tell me, what do you think he would use such a large sum of money for?”

Song Muyun acted as if she didn’t know the answer. When she mentioned her father, her eyes glistened with unshed tears as she looked at Jiang Yao.

            

Seeing that she was about to cry, Jiang Yao felt a bit helpless. She placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and pulled her into an embrace. “You mean to say, Murong Qing would use that money to raise a private army?”

“That’s a capital offense. Is he really that bold?”

Jiang Yao found it hard to believe.

            

Song Muyun nestled obediently in her arms, a bone-deep hatred in her eyes. “What if he is?”

Yun’er wouldn’t make baseless accusations. Although Jiang Yao felt the matter was too huge to be likely, she subconsciously believed a part of it.

She gently stroked Song Muyun’s back, her mind racing as her hands moved to soothe her.

            

Then she heard her ask again, “I said my father was framed. Jiang Yao, do you believe me?”

Jiang Yao squeezed the rounded shoulder under her palm and replied, “Of course I believe you. To have raised a girl like you, your esteemed father must have been a very good person.”

It had been so, so long since Song Muyun had seen her father that she could barely remember his face, but her eyes were full of nostalgia. “My father was a stubborn and serious man, and his rules were strict. But he was very upright.”

            

She knew her father was incapable of such a thing.

“Mm. I’ve heard my father mention your father.”

At these words, Song Muyun immediately looked up at Jiang Yao, her eyes shimmering with tears and fraught with anxiety. “What did Uncle say?”

            

“He also said that Uncle Song was a very stubborn man, inflexible in the world of officialdom, and often made enemies.”

Song Muyun covered her mouth and chuckled softly. Yes, that was exactly the kind of person her father was. If he hadn’t been so rigidly upright, he wouldn’t have been framed.

That same day, Jiang Yao went to her father’s study and told him everything Yun’er had said, word for word.

            

It wasn’t that she was too reliant on her father, but this matter required some thought, and she didn’t want to think. She also had no power of her own, so it was better to hand it over to her father to investigate.

Her father was powerful, worldly-wise yet upright. And, most importantly, he currently loathed Murong Qing. She had heard that in today’s morning court, someone had already stepped forward to impeach Murong Qing, accusing him of beating a female musician for his own amusement. The story had already spread among the common people, damaging the imperial family’s reputation, and they were calling for the Emperor to punish him.

How could the Emperor have imagined that his seemingly refined son was capable of such a thing? After several confirmations, Murong Qing had no defense and was sentenced to confinement in his residence to reflect on his misdeeds.

            

This was, of course, Jiang Heng’s handiwork. He was more than happy to dig a pit for Murong Qing.

With the matter settled, Jiang Yao swaggered out of her father’s study.

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Despite Song Muyun’s warning, no one expected things to happen so quickly.

            

On this day, Jiang Yao took Song Muyun to the outskirts to fly a paper kite. It was just the two of them, along with two or three Shadow Guards. Who would have thought that as they were flying the kite, a commoner who had been letting out his own kite string nearby would suddenly grip the thin line, turn sharply, and slash it viciously toward Jiang Yao.

Fortunately, Jiang Yao had been on alert ever since she noticed someone approaching, so she was able to dodge with extreme speed.

Seeing the first attack fail, the man quickly pulled a dagger from his robes and stabbed at Jiang Yao again.

            

Song Muyun was scared stiff, but her body moved faster than her mind. She instinctively moved to shield Jiang Yao.

Jiang Yao wasn’t frightened by the dagger, but she was terrified by Song Muyun’s sudden action. She quickly wrapped an arm around her and rolled them both across the ground.

The other people flying kites nearby suddenly all turned into assassins. They drew weapons from their waists, killed the panicked commoners who were truly flying kites, and advanced on Jiang Yao.

            

Seeing the situation turn sour, the few Shadow Guards with Jiang Yao immediately leaped out to defend her.

The assassins were highly skilled. In a one-on-one fight, they were no match for Jiang Yao, but now there were so many of them…

Fuck, it must be that treacherous villain Murong Qing!

            

The first person Jiang Yao thought of was Murong Qing, based on what Yun’er had told her. She had already believed Yun’er, and now she believed her even more!

In the chaos, Jiang Yao drew her longsword and pushed Song Muyun behind her, killing anyone who came at her. This group’s martial arts were excellent; her Shadow Guards couldn’t hold them all off, so most of them naturally broke through to her.

Song Muyun clutched Jiang Yao’s sleeve, her eyes darting around in panic. She was ready to block for Jiang Yao the moment she seemed to be in trouble.

            

Suddenly, her gaze fixed on a certain spot. She saw a half-familiar and utterly loathsome face.

Her heart stopped. It was Murong Qing. He was here too!

Warm blood splattered across her face.
Jiang Yao’s strength was fading, but she still managed to tease, “What, scared stiff? You don’t even know how to dodge.”

            

Song Muyun tightened her grip on the fabric at Jiang Yao’s waist, ignoring her teasing. Instead, she said with a nervous, frantic expression, “Jiang Yao, Murong Qing is here too! I saw him, right in that pavilion.”

While fighting, Jiang Yao spared a glance toward the pavilion she indicated. Most of it was blocked by a thick tree trunk, but a visible corner of a robe confirmed that someone was indeed there.

Her expression turned cold. Other than her Shadow Guards and the people trying to kill her, there was no one else around. If that really was Murong Qing, perhaps she could…

            

Just as she was thinking, the sound of hoofbeats rang out. Someone shouted from a distance, “Jiang Yao! Hold on—”

It was Sima Jushan.

Jiang Yao’s tense nerves relaxed. Thank goodness it was him. If it had been anyone else, things might have been difficult.

            

Sima Jushan hadn’t come alone. He had been out with some martial generals, hoping to encounter some charming young ladies flying kites. He never expected to see a fight from afar. He was about to intervene when he got closer and—holy hell, the ground was stained with blood. And the person fighting desperately against them was none other than Jiang Yao.

They each drew their weapons and joined the fray, finally allowing Jiang Yao to catch her breath and lean against Song Muyun for a moment.

But the respite didn’t last long. Someone shot an arrow at them.

            

Needless to say, it had to be Murong Qing’s men again.

Jiang Yao was numb to it by now.

The martial general blocking arrows for her also looked on the verge of a breakdown. “Eldest Miss, who on earth have you offended? This person is out for your life!”

            

“I don’t know either.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Jiang Yao saw someone step out of the pavilion. It really was Murong Qing!

He probably wanted to see her in a pathetic state. Too bad for him; he would soon be in a much more pathetic state than her.

            

She picked up an arrow from a dead assassin on the ground and, from an angle no one noticed, swiftly let it fly.

The smile had not yet formed on Murong Qing’s face before it froze completely.

His eyes filled with disbelief as he collapsed to the ground with a thud.

            

Even if she hadn’t been certain at first that Murong Qing wanted to kill her, the fact that he had been hiding there the whole time, his malicious gaze following her like a shadow, made it nine times out of ten.

Because of the matter with Yun’er, Murong Qing had hated her to the bone ever since the incident at Yue Shang Fang. Jiang Yao was kind, but not so kind as to tolerate a loose end with the background of an imperial prince.

She had a premonition that if she didn’t kill Murong Qing today, the two of them would meet on the battlefield later. And by then, he would likely be much harder to kill.

            

Jiang Yao’s move was clean and decisive. Murong Qing didn’t even have a chance to cry out before he fell.

In the end, their combined forces killed nearly all the assassins, though they managed to capture a few alive. Everyone was wounded, with Jiang Yao being the most seriously injured. Song Muyun, however, had been well-protected by her and was completely unharmed.

“Jiang Yao…”

            

She called out in a choked voice, full of heartache, her eyes shimmering.

Several times she had wanted to step forward and block a blow for Jiang Yao, but Jiang Yao would rather suffer a more severe injury than let her get even a scratch. Afraid of being a burden, she had finally stayed put at the back, not daring to move. Now, she was overwhelmed with both gratitude and pain, her eyes brimming with tears.

Just as Jiang Yao was about to respond and comfort her, a man’s affected voice rang in her ears.

            

“Oh, Jushan, are you alright? Look at you, you’re bleeding! It’s breaking this brother’s heart to see~”

It was a distinctly gruff voice, yet he was forcing it into a high-pitched squeak, thoroughly disgusting both Jiang Yao and Sima Jushan.

Jiang Yao took Song Muyun’s hand. “Let’s go report this first,” she said with difficulty.

            

“We still have to report it? Are you trying to catch the person behind this?” Sima Jushan ignored his nauseating friend and spoke to Jiang Yao.

Jiang Yao nodded, then said, “Cut the crap and come with me.”

And so, the group arrived outside the Shuntian Prefecture.​⁴

            

Due to the special status of the individuals involved, the Shuntian Prefecture quickly accepted the case. First, they threw the captured men, whose jaws had been dislocated, into the dungeons for interrogation. Then, they sent people to investigate the scene on the outskirts.

What they found set off a massive uproar in the capital.

The Seventh Prince was dead. He had died silently in a field littered with corpses, his eyes not even closed.

            

Based on the clues left behind, he had most likely died at the hands of the assassins.

This was strange.

At first, they had assumed the assassins were there to kill Eldest Miss Jiang or Young Master Sima. After all, neither was an unknown figure, and their fathers had made many enemies. It was perfectly normal for someone to take revenge on their children. But now… the Seventh Prince was dead.

            

The matter had suddenly become severe. They couldn’t help but wonder: were the Jiang and Sima scions just collateral damage? Was the main target the Seventh Prince?

After all… many of the dead at the scene were commoners. Of all the people flying kites there, none had survived except for the group who reported the crime and the few who were captured alive.

Perhaps these few had only survived because of their superior skills?

            

After all, the Seventh Prince was famously poor at martial arts.

Many people speculated along these lines.

With such a major incident, Jiang Yao and the others were summoned to the imperial palace that very evening.

            

Including Song Muyun.

When she learned that Murong Qing had died there, she was so shocked her jaw hung open. She almost instinctively thought of Jiang Yao. It was Jiang Yao’s doing.

But she couldn’t say it. She had to pretend she knew nothing.

            

The Emperor’s expression was grim. He summoned the Dali Temple Minister to interrogate them in his presence.

Other than Jiang Yao and Song Muyun, no one else knew Murong Qing had been there. They were naturally bewildered. Jiang Yao went along with them, saying only that she hadn’t noticed Murong Qing, and that if she had known, she would have protected the prince’s safety with her life.

Investigating the case was a major undertaking, especially since it involved a prince. It couldn’t be solved in a day or two. For now, they could only let the group go home, lest their elders come to the palace demanding their release.

            

Jiang Yao was certain the case wouldn’t be solved easily, and even if any leads did appear, her father would clean up after her. She just hadn’t expected… the repercussions to be so widespread.

The captured assassins claimed they were acting under the orders of the First Prince, Murong Chun, and they carried tokens engraved with the character for ‘Chun’. Her father’s investigation revealed that the collapse of the Luzhou dam was connected to both the First and Seventh Princes, and had nothing to do with Song Yunqian. They had even used the embezzled funds to raise a private army.

Jiang Heng presented his findings in court. Before nightfall, the entire capital knew.

            

If Murong Qing were still alive, people would probably spit on him as he passed by.

How utterly depraved, to use the lives of countless common people to raise a private army.

The Seventh Prince’s former reputation as a refined, gentle, and caring man instantly collapsed. As Jiang Yao and Song Muyun walked down the street, they could hear the common folk cursing his name.

            

Storytellers compiled the two princes’ evil deeds into storybooks, reciting them day after day in the teahouses. Whenever they reached the part about the princes’ miserable ends, the teahouses would erupt in cheers.

In a private room in a teahouse, Jiang Yao poured Song Muyun a cup of clear tea. “Are you at ease now?”

They looked at each other with a tacit understanding. Today was the day the First Prince was to be executed. The sun was bright, everything was perfect. And they were about to begin… their new future.

            

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The author has something to say:

This extra is over. Tomorrow I’ll write a parallel universe extra.

I have two female sugar gliders at home. I got the little one on the 6th and have been keeping them in separate cages. Today I discovered that the big one might want to have a lesbian relationship with the little one… The big one has always really liked the little one. Even though they’re not in the same cage, she always pushes her nest to be opposite the little one’s, always wanting to sleep with her. The little one is scared of her and often scolds her, but the big one just makes happy crabbing sounds when she gets scolded. She’s such a simp QAQ. Today I put them in the same cage. The little one kept rejecting the big one, but the big one just kept getting closer, following her everywhere. I prepared a nest for each of them. The big one’s nest is the one she’s always slept in, but she won’t sleep in it. She insists on squeezing into the little one’s tiny nest. This afternoon I went to check and found her pressing the little one underneath her, belly to belly. I really suspect she wants to start a lesbian relationship…

            

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