Forbidden to Bully the Storybook’s Heroine – Chapter 86
by Little PandaDon’t Do That
After Jiang Yao finished coaxing Muyun, she told her to wait outside for a moment before getting up and entering the room. Jiang Ru was still sitting obediently inside, her legs pressed together and both hands on her thighs in an extremely well-behaved posture.
Jiang Yao closed the door and asked right away, “You know everything?”
Jiang Ru nodded lightly.
“You found out on the day of the autumn hunt?”
She answered softly, “Yes.”
“Tell me, how did you two end up getting together? She said she wants to marry you. What are your thoughts?”
Her jiejie’s question was so direct that Jiang Ru’s snowy, tender face instantly turned as red as the evening clouds, utterly abashed.
“It… it was decided just today. I’ve already agreed to marry her. Father mentioned to me that I would have to choose someone from among the princes. If that’s the case, then it might as well be her. She’s better than the other princes.”
Jiang Yao rubbed the space between her brows, feeling a headache coming on. “But she’s also a woman. You won’t be able to produce heirs. The pressure on you will be immense.”
“The Eighth Prince said she will handle it and won’t let anyone bother me.”
…
“Does it have to be her?”
“Let’s just go with her. I’ve met the other princes, and they’re all… not quite suitable for me.”
Jiang Ru’s voice was light, but her eyes held a complex expression. She was tactful even when speaking ill of others. She was a woman of letters who loved to read, and she couldn’t accept that the other princes couldn’t even recite a poem by the great poet of a former dynasty, Zhao Xun.1 They were truly unsuitable.
And… she had already touched Murong Ci today. She had to take responsibility. Although they were both women and Murong Ci had been under the influence of an aphrodisiac, she had been the one to make the first move. Murong Ci had said she adored her and wanted to marry her. Without much thought, she also felt that Murong Ci was very suitable.
She had to marry into the imperial family anyway. Her jiejie and Muyun-jiejie were so close; she couldn’t possibly break them up.
Jiang Yao’s index finger tapped lightly on the table, making a crisp sound. “Are you interested in Murong Ci?”
Another layer of faint red crept onto Jiang Ru’s cheeks. “I don’t love her, but I do like her.”
She hadn’t known the Eighth Prince for long and had always considered her a confidante and dear friend. The first time she learned of the Eighth Prince’s feelings for her, she had been flustered, but upon reflection, she knew it was her best choice.
Excluding the few princes who were already married, only the Eighth Prince was profoundly learned and shared her love for Qing Tan’s art, possessing many of his paintings in her collection. Moreover, she was a gentle and graceful woman. After marrying her, her life wouldn’t be too difficult, and her father and mother could rest easy.
Jiang Ru had always had a mind of her own. Seeing that she had already made her decision, Jiang Yao could no longer persuade her otherwise. Everyone had to walk their own path. She just secretly cursed herself—if she could do it all over again, she would absolutely not give the two of them so many opportunities to interact!
The thought that it was her own negligence, her over-trusting of Murong Ci, that allowed them to develop feelings for each other over time made Jiang Yao’s heart incredibly complicated. Forget it, she thought, what’s done is done.
She waved her hand. “Remember to tell Second Uncle and Second Aunt about this, so they aren’t caught unprepared.”
Jiang Ru blushed, but she knew this had to be said sooner or later. Better early than late. So, she nodded obediently.
As she left Hengwu Courtyard, she greeted Muyun again.
Seeing her leave, Muyun finally rose from her chair and ran inside cheerfully. Jiang Yao was sitting on the soft couch, lost in thought. Muyun dove headfirst into Jiang Yao’s embrace, her voice soft and syrupy, drawing out her words as if cooing, “Jiang Yao—”
Jiang Yao instinctively wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted her onto her lap. “Hm? What’s wrong?”
Her chest was nuzzled, and the corners of Muyun’s lips curled up. When she had first returned, she had put Jiang Yao in a bad mood, but now she was fine again. She took Jiang Yao’s hand and swayed it back and forth, asking, “What did you and Ru’er talk about? You wouldn’t even let me listen.”
There was a hint of complaint, but she wasn’t angry. She still hugged Jiang Yao obediently.
Jiang Yao chuckled. “Ru’er and the Eighth Prince have privately pledged their lives to each other.2 I ran into them at the Eighth Prince’s Residence today. I just said a few things to her about the Eighth Prince. The rest is none of our business; we just have to see what Second Uncle and Second Aunt think.”
Hearing her say this, there was no surprise in Song Muyun’s eyes, as if she had long guessed the two would get together. Her fair, slender fingers traced circles on Jiang Yao’s chest as she complained, “During the autumn hunt, Ru’er stayed in the Eighth Prince’s room until very late, and you didn’t say a word to her. Of course feelings would blossom. But you were always scolding me back then. I thought you didn’t like me.”
Jiang Yao lowered her head, hooked Muyun’s sharp, delicate chin, and kissed those perfectly soft lips, refuting the claim between kisses. “How could I bear not to like you? I’ve always liked you very much.”
From the heartache and pity at their first meeting to the affection that followed, it had actually been a very short time.
“You’re lying. You didn’t like me at all back then. I hinted at you so many times, but you never responded, just leaving me to sing a one-woman show3 all by myself.”
Recalling the past seemed to aggrieve the young lady. Jiang Yao caressed her face and said disapprovingly, “I did like you, I just hadn’t realized it then. Thinking back now, whenever you spoke to someone else, I’d feel unhappy. I only wanted you to stay with me, to talk to me. Isn’t that liking you?”
Jiang Yao lowered her head and captured the woman’s rosy, soft lips, grinding against them gently.
Song Muyun tried to dodge, but it was useless. As Jiang Yao nibbled on the flesh of her lips, she mumbled indistinctly, “You were unhappy, but you never said so. You made me think you didn’t like me, and I was scared every single day.”
She had been truly terrified back then, always wondering what she would do if Jiang Yao didn’t like her.
“What was there to be afraid of? If I don’t like you, who else could I like? Besides you, have I ever treated anyone else so well, managing every aspect of your life, from your clothes to your food? Yet you’re the one who never believes me.”
As she spoke, Song Muyun thought of the clothes in her wardrobe. The fabrics and patterns had been chosen by Jiang Yao, and she had personally taken her measurements. She had indeed been cared for down to the smallest detail.
The young lady’s cheeks were as pink as peach blossoms. There were only the two of them in the room, so she abandoned her decorum, clamping her legs around Jiang Yao’s waist and saying in a soft, intimate voice, “Alright, alright, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have doubted you. In any case, we’re together now. Jiang Yao, we have to be together forever and never be apart.”
She was hinting that Jiang Yao had to take her along even when she went to the battlefield; she shouldn’t even think about being separated from her.
But Jiang Yao didn’t have such a cunning mind and didn’t think about her own military campaigns. Hearing her words, she only thought that the two of them were destined to grow old together and readily agreed.
Believing she had secured a promise, Song Muyun beamed with joy and took the initiative to press herself against Jiang Yao’s neck for a kiss.
Jiang Yao was no saint, either. She was fine when people didn’t try to seduce her, but when they did, she was an easy target every time.
A pair of hands, calloused from years of sword practice, had at some point snuck in from behind, pressing against the skin of that slender waist.
Halfway through her kiss, Song Muyun’s body suddenly stiffened. A soft gasp escaped her, and the strength drained from her limbs as she collapsed into Jiang Yao’s arms.
The room was brightly lit, and a gentle breeze from the window caressed her hair. She wanted to tell Jiang Yao to close the window!
But the moment the words left her mouth, they turned into a fragmented sob. How embarrassing! Afraid of being overheard, she could only bite her lip hard, unwilling to let a single sound escape.
Jiang Yao’s hands roamed all over the treasure in her arms. She watched as the mist in her eyes grew thicker and thicker, until an irrepressible moan sounded, and everything finally returned to peace.
While holding the panting woman in her arms, Jiang Yao picked up the teapot to wash her hands.
Her hands were drenched, and she almost couldn’t contain it all. She had almost slipped four fingers inside. It was so warm and passionate, wrapping tightly around her.
After catching her breath, Song Muyun looked at the bright daylight outside, feeling both shy and mortified. She buried her entire being in Jiang Yao’s embrace, her flushed cheeks bumping against that soft chest again and again. Her voice was full of lingering sobs and complaints. “How could you do that? The window wasn’t even closed! What if someone saw?”
Jiang Yao soothed her. “How could anyone see? I was blocking you, and your clothes are on properly. Your body is so sensitive, it was over in a moment. Why would we need to close the window?”
By the end, she even sounded a little innocent.
Song Muyun: !!!
She shot Jiang Yao a fierce glare, her jade-white ears turning red. It was a perfect display of being fierce in appearance but timid inside.4 She said, “I don’t care. If you do this again next time, I won’t let you touch me!”
“Alright, alright, I’ll close it now, I’ll close it now. From now on, we’ll always do it with the window closed.”
Her wife was particularly concerned with her reputation. It seemed she would have to do less of these stimulating things, or she would be without a wife in minutes.
Footnotes
- Zhao Xun (昭洵) is a fictional famous poet from a past dynasty within the story’s world.
- To “privately pledge for life” (私定终身, sī dìng zhōngshēn) means to get engaged without parental consent, a serious matter in a society where marriages were arranged.
- A “one-woman show” or “one-man show” (独角戏, dú jiǎo xì) is a metaphor for a situation, often in relationships, where one person puts in all the effort without any reciprocation from the other party.
- The idiom “fierce in appearance but timid inside” (色厉内荏, sè lì nèi rěn) describes someone who puts on a stern or harsh front but is actually weak or cowardly on the inside.
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