Forbidden to Bully the Storybook’s Heroine – Chapter 10

Tattling

After the midday meal was finished, Jiang Yao still hadn’t left. The silver she had given was enough to book Song Muyun for the entire day, so why should she leave?

She would never do something so wasteful.

“Come over and read storybooks with me?”

Jiang Yao beckoned to Song Muyun.

Song Muyun obediently went over, sitting carefully to one side.

Most of the people who came to the Yueshang House were looking to seek pleasure and make merry, but Jiang Yao didn’t seem like them. She didn’t look like she was here for a good time.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have spent the silver to book her only to ask her to read storybooks together.

A hint of confused doubt appeared in Song Muyun’s eyes, but she didn’t ask, and so she didn’t know the answer.

Jiang Yao was already utterly disgusted with this brain-dead novel and was only continuing to read it purely to remind Song Muyun: Look at how Murong Qing treats you. Are you still going to like him?

Falling for a man who beats women means there will be no good days ahead!

Fortunately, the current Song Muyun seemed clear-headed enough and had promised her she wouldn’t fall for Murong Qing.

Otherwise, she’d have to beat the mandarin ducks with a stick¹.

By the time the two of them finished a storybook together, the sun had already begun to set. The dim yellow light spilled onto the street outside the window. Jiang Yao stretched her tired back and asked Song Muyun, “Did Murong Qing used to come find you at night?”

Song Muyun paused in the middle of standing up. Her expression then returned to normal as she walked to the table, poured a cup of tea, and shook her head. “The Seventh Prince rarely came at night.”

With that, she offered the tea to Jiang Yao, her snow-white, jade-like hand supporting the teacup from below.

Good. She was getting sick of being cooped up in this room.

Jiang Yao took the tea, drained it in one gulp, then wiped her mouth and said, “Mm, then This Young Miss will be heading back. I’ll come see you again tomorrow.”

Song Muyun looked at her, her eyes inexplicably bright. “Miss Jiang, you’re coming tomorrow too?”

“Mhm, to see how you’re doing. Here, take this. Your service today was excellent.”

She pulled a small purse² from her robes, which contained some silver.

Song Muyun bit her lip, a blush spreading across her face. She didn’t accept it, only saying in a small voice, “I didn’t serve you at all. In fact, you were the one who showed me storybooks and treated me to the midday meal.”

Only the top-billed courtesans in the house were able to eat such fine food. No one dared to book her, her father was a disgraced official, and she had almost never received any reward silver from Murong Qing. It had been a long time since she had eaten a meal like that.

Jiang Yao: Why does she seem so easy to satisfy? This won’t do!

She adopted a serious expression. “Which patron who books a girl isn’t doing it for her company? This storybook is so awful, yet you were willing to read it with me. Doesn’t that deserve a reward? Besides, if I didn’t book you, you could have been resting in the courtyard. As for the meal, if I book you for a day, I’m naturally responsible for your meals for the day. This is all perfectly normal. Take the silver and don’t neglect yourself. Look how thin you are. I could wrap one hand all the way around that waist of yours.”

Jiang Yao glanced at her waist, a little covetously, but ultimately restrained herself. This was only the second day they had known each other; she was afraid of making Song Muyun misunderstand that she wasn’t a respectable person.

Jiang Yao stuffed the money pouch in her hand into Song Muyun’s arms, gave a wave, and turned to leave.

Song Muyun stood in the room, staring blankly as the woman’s slender figure gradually disappeared.

The suspicion in her heart finally settled into certainty. Jiang Yao really was booking her to help her, because she was afraid she would suffer at Murong Qing’s hands…

In a small, steam-filled room, the woman slipped off her dress, revealing a snow-white neck. But the body below was covered in wounds, some so deep that they would leave scars if not properly treated with medicine and allowed to heal.

Song Muyun sank beneath the water, quietly looking at her own battered body. Jiang Yao had asked her if she could ever fall for Murong Qing. How could she? She resented Murong Qing to the bone; how could she possibly like him…

Murong Qing was not worthy.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yao had just returned to the Jiang Residence when she was summoned.

Jiang Heng was dressed in dark, casual clothes. Though he was getting older, there was still an ineffable scholarly elegance and handsomeness about him as he sat there. He was quietly sipping tea, and upon seeing Jiang Yao enter, he nodded for her to sit down as well.

“Dad, what did you need me for?”

Jiang Yao sat down casually. Jiang Heng continued to drink his tea slowly, raising his eyelids to glance at her before saying in a measured tone, “I hear you’ve been frequenting the Yueshang House these past few days?”

…

“Murong Qing told you?”

Jiang Yao wished she could stuff Murong Qing in a sack and give him a good beating³.

You and your big mouth! You couldn’t win against me, so you went tattling, is that it?

Jiang Heng gave a slight nod. “Never mind who told me. What were you doing at the Yueshang House? Learning to seek pleasure and make merry like the others?”

The Yueshang House was the capital’s famous gold-melting den⁴. It wasn’t just men who loved to go; women who acted more on their whims went as well. But most of the women who went were the young misses of wealthy families. She was the Eldest Miss of the Prime Minister’s residence. What would it look like for her to be there?

Jiang Yao glanced around before pouting and saying, “It’s not convenient to talk here. Let’s go to your study.”

Jiang Heng paused in the act of drinking his tea. His long sleeves stirred slightly in the breeze as he stood up. “Then come.”

In the study, servants had lit several dim yellow lamps, illuminating the darkness.

Jiang Heng stood behind his desk, casually flipping through a book. “Go on, speak,” he said with a note of resignation. “Making such a fuss over visiting a brothel⁵.”

Jiang Yao had been on her way to practice her martial arts and was holding a whip. She now habitually tapped it on the desktop, but was stopped by a look from Lord Jiang and had no choice but to straighten her back and stand more properly.

Her father had been immersed in the imperial court for many years. She hadn’t thought of hiding certain things from him; in fact, telling him might yield better advice.

“Was it Murong Qing who told you I went to the Yueshang House?”

Jiang Heng, holding a rolled-up blue-covered book, tapped it on the desk noncommittally. “First, you tell me why you went to the Yueshang House.”

Jiang Yao understood. She just knew it was that petty villain Murong Qing who had tattled. He failed to snatch the person away today, so now he wanted to use her father to pressure her, is that it?

In his dreams!

Her expression grew more indignant as she looked at Jiang Heng and said, “You might as well ask Murong Qing how he knew your daughter went to the Yueshang House in the first place.”

Jiang Heng frowned. “Stop saying ‘Murong Qing this, Murong Qing that.’ If anyone heard you, they’d think you have no manners.”

Jiang Yao choked on her words. Forcibly swallowing her retort, she pouted and said, “Fine, fine, the Seventh Prince, the Seventh Prince. You have no idea how outrageous the Seventh Prince is! On the outside, he acts like a clear wind and bright moon⁶, a true gentleman. But the other day, I accidentally saw him enter the Yueshang House, and he was beating a woman inside!”

The crease between Jiang Heng’s brows deepened, a clear sign of his disbelief.

“The Seventh Prince is a member of the imperial family. He is learned, accomplished, and has always been known for his courtesy. Why would he go to a pleasure house to beat a woman?” Even if he were to beat someone, wouldn’t he do it in his own residence? Why go to a place like a pleasure house with so many prying eyes?

Jiang Heng didn’t believe Murong Qing could do something so foolish.

Jiang Yao let out a cold scoff. “You may know a person and their face, but not their heart⁷, Dad. Do you know who he was beating? The daughter of Song Yunqian⁸, who was just imprisoned recently—Song Muyun. It’s tragic enough that she ended up in a pleasure house, but the Seventh Prince still beats her. And when he saw me, not only did he not stop, he even told me to join him! Tell me, are those the actions of a human being?”

A trace of disdain showed at the corners of Jiang Yao’s eyes and brows.

Jiang Heng’s expression grew even more incredulous. “Why would the Seventh Prince beat Miss Song? I heard you’ve been clashing with the Seventh Prince frequently of late. Have you two had a falling-out?”

He thought Jiang Yao had gotten into a conflict with Murong Qing and was here to make a false accusation. This infuriated Jiang Yao. Her palm slammed down on the desk with a smack. A faint crack appeared on the surface of the fine huanghuali wood⁹ tabletop, and a vein in Jiang Heng’s temple began to throb.

He then heard his daughter say, “If you don’t believe me, then send someone to investigate. There isn’t a shred of falsehood in what I’ve said. The Seventh Prince is a hypocrite whose outside and inside are not one¹⁰. You should speak with him less in the future, lest you be used by him without even knowing it. All right, all right, I’m going to practice my martial arts. You can take your time thinking it over.”

“Wait.”

Jiang Heng called out to her as she turned her back. His expression was somewhat grave and stern, but he still said, “Regardless of what kind of person the Seventh Prince is, when you are out, the dignity of the imperial family is more important than anything. Do not be so discourteous again.”

By saying this, he already half-believed her. He would naturally send people to investigate the rest.

A smile suddenly touched the corners of Jiang Yao’s lips, and her voice became a little more cheerful. “I know, I know. I’ll be more careful next time.”

As long as he doesn’t try to steal my person from me, I’ll naturally treat him like the esteemed prince he is.

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The author has something to say:

Author: I really want to have Yaoyao and Yunyun take a bath together. I love bathrooms so much.

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