Forbidden to Bully the Storybook’s Heroine – Chapter 31

Startled

Jiang Yao entered Yueshang House the next day, carrying a stick of tanghulu¹. As was her custom, she tossed a piece of silver to the madam². Hearing her say that Muyun had not yet risen, she shook her head, refusing the person who offered to wake Song Muyun, and went to the rear courtyard to find her personally.

The rear courtyard was very quiet. Occasionally, people would emerge from a few of the rooms, and upon seeing it was Jiang Yao, they would greet her with eager expressions.

After yesterday’s events, everyone knew that the great young miss of the Prime Minister’s residence had taken a fancy to the daughter of a disgraced official in their fang³. Not only did she come to request her daily, but she even spent a fortune to book her exclusively on the day she was scheduled to perform. This act made a crowd of hualang⁴ and xiaoguan⁵ endlessly envious.

So what if she was a woman? She looked far more reliable than any man.

Song Muyun’s room was located a bit further back. She walked over and raised a hand to knock on the door.

A voice sounded from inside the room, sounding a bit hoarse and weak. “Enter.”

Hearing the voice, Jiang Yao frowned. She was about to push the door open, but after one or two tries, she found it had been bolted from the inside and would not open. She had no choice but to call out from the doorway, “Muyun, why is the door locked?”

After she asked, a flustered sound suddenly erupted from within. First, Song Muyun called out her name, and immediately after, a thud was heard, like a heavy object falling to the floor.

Jiang Yao’s heart tightened, and the reckless energy from her many years of martial arts training surged up again. She subconsciously lifted a foot and kicked the door open, striding inside in a few large steps.

Her eyes were met with a pitch-black inner room. No lamps were lit, the windows were shut, and the curtains were drawn. She hurriedly rounded the screen, straining her eyes to find Song Muyun, who had fallen on the floor in the darkness.

She really fell. Clumsy.

The great young miss Jiang sighed and squatted down. She held down the person who was struggling to get up, pressing her into her own embrace before lifting her. She sat with her on the bed, her tone a bit helpless. “How could you fall just getting out of bed? Are you hurt anywhere?”

In the panic just now, she had not forgotten to protect the tanghulu. At this moment, she stuffed it into Song Muyun’s hand, signaling for her to eat.

Outside, the day was already bright. From the moment the door was kicked open, light had spilled in.

Song Muyun stared blankly outside, then clutched the tanghulu in her hand tightly, trying to shrink her entire self into Jiang Yao’s embrace.

Her voice was faint, as if it couldn’t find purchase. She said, “So, it’s already daybreak.”

Jiang Yao’s brow furrowed even tighter, to the point where she could have crushed a mosquito. “What’s wrong with you today? Are you unwell?”

She raised a hand to touch Song Muyun’s forehead, only to find that it was beaded with a bit of cold sweat.

Song Muyun lifted a pair of eyes shimmering with watery light to look at her, looking utterly pitiful. “Jiang Yao…”

But she only called her name.

Jiang Yao held the person in her arms, patting her back soothingly, again and again. “What on earth happened? Did something happen after I left yesterday? Did Murong Qing come looking for you?”

Right now, the only person she could think of who still held a grudge against Song Muyun was Murong Qing.

Song Muyun, dressed only in a thin inner robe, hid in Jiang Yao’s embrace and nodded lightly. Her voice carried a hint of timidity and an inexplicable fear. “Last night, after Murong Qing left, I had a nightmare. I kept having nightmares. The moment I fell asleep, I would have a nightmare. I don’t dare to sleep anymore…”

Murong Qing appeared in every dream. He shamed her, bullied her, and in the dream… there was no Jiang Yao.

Song Muyun was startled, not because she was frightened by those terrifying instruments of torture, but because there was no Jiang Yao in her dream.

There was only her, hopelessly enduring it all.

No one would save her, protect her, or dote on her.

Hearing her speak of nightmares, hearing her say she dared not sleep, Jiang Yao’s grip on her tightened. She clutched the person tightly in her embrace, her mind already cursing Murong Qing eight hundred times over. While silently cursing Murong Qing, she soothed Song Muyun, “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. I’m here. Murong Qing wouldn’t dare bully you. What did he say to you? Did he frighten you? Should I go beat him up to let off some steam for you?”

Jiang Yao suggested. She had long wanted to beat Murong Qing up again!

But her sleeve was tugged lightly. Song Muyun, lying in her arms with eyes hazy with mist, was clearly aggrieved, yet she still shook her head. “No, don’t go. I’m fine. Murong Qing is, after all, an imperial prince.”

The Seventh Prince in her dream wore dragon robes⁶, which made a bit of fear grow in her heart. She finally realized that this dark and disgusting creature was an imperial prince, a prince who could possibly inherit the throne. If he were to inherit the throne, and Jiang Yao continued to make an enemy of him, he would definitely not let Jiang Yao go.

This person was narrow-minded; he would certainly retaliate.

Song Muyun’s slender body was trembling slightly. Jiang Yao wanted to coax her but didn’t know where to start, so she could only gather her carefully in her arms, comforting her by her ear, one whisper after another. “So what if he’s an imperial prince? He’s just an imperial prince, that’s all. I am not afraid of him. If he dares to bully you, he should be prepared to pay the price!”

What’s so great about being an imperial prince? Without the support of the civil officials this time, Murong Qing can take the throne with his head for all I care.

Jiang Yao already looked down on his shameless, two-faced behavior. Now, seeing Song Muyun trembling with fear because of him, she detested Murong Qing all the more.

Damn it, I have to find a chance to beat him up, that shameless thing.

Song Muyun was afraid Jiang Yao would really go and beat Murong Qing, stirring up trouble. Holding the tanghulu in one hand, she used the other to tug on Jiang Yao’s sleeve, speaking softly from her embrace, “It’s alright. The Seventh Prince didn’t say anything, nor did he frighten me. It was just me having a nightmare, and I’m a coward, that’s why I was too scared to sleep.”

She looked so well-behaved and sensible, inspiring such pity. Jiang Yao frowned, deeply worried in the end. “Do you have a nightmare the moment you fall asleep?” she asked.

Song Muyun nodded lightly, then rested her head on Jiang Yao’s shoulder, her tone a little aggrieved. “The dream was pitch-black. I couldn’t find you. It was so scary. I didn’t sleep well all night.”

The pitiful tone in her words made Jiang Yao’s heart soften uncontrollably. Pitying her, she gently rubbed her back and lowered her head until their foreheads touched. She wasn’t feverish, just cool to the touch. She said, “I’m sorry for making you unable to find me.”

To coax her, she took the blame upon herself.

Song Muyun shook her head, refuting for her. “You don’t need to apologize. It was only a dream. I’m just a coward.”

Jiang Yao skipped past this topic. She looked up and saw her pale face; her once rosy lips were now so dry they looked about to peel, making her heart ache. “Don’t be afraid. It’s only a dream. Dreams are the opposite of reality. What you dreamed will never happen. I will always be here. I will not let you be unable to find me.”

Jiang Yao promised, her mind already considering whether she should leave two people by Song Muyun’s side, lest she be bullied by Murong Qing when she wasn’t around.

Song Muyun seemed to have been coaxed a little. At the very least, her thin, slender body was no longer trembling. Nestled in Jiang Yao’s embrace, her voice was consistently soft and delicate, perfectly befitting her ladylike demeanor. “Mm, then you must not lie to me. You have to be here.”

The woman who had been so cold and aloof when they first met could actually be this clingy to her.

A strange sense of satisfaction rose in Jiang Yao’s heart. Then, she felt it was very inappropriate. What the hell are you so satisfied about? Can’t you see how scared she is? Hurry up and keep comforting her!

Jiang Yao criticized herself inwardly for a bit, then lowered her head and asked the one shrinking in her arms, “Do you want me to lie down with you for a while?”

Before she had arrived, Song Muyun was curled up on the bed, not daring to sleep, afraid that the moment she did, she would fall back into that dark, heavy nightmare. But now that she was here, the fear in her heart was inexplicably dispelled by a degree. Light shone in, and a faint drowsiness washed over her. She blinked her eyes and nuzzled against Jiang Yao’s chest. “Okay. If you stay with me, I won’t be afraid.”

Jiang Yao’s whole body trembled. She silently hugged Song Muyun tighter. Those words were truly comforting. What does she mean, she won’t be afraid if I stay with her? Doesn’t that mean she finds me very reliable, that I can protect her?

Song Muyun, you’ve got good taste!

Jiang Yao’s heart was filled with delight. Without a second word, she took off her outer clothes completely, leaving only a red dudou⁷ embroidered with lily flowers, and lay down in the bedding with the person in her arms.

Song Muyun was still a bit dazed, not expecting her movements to be so swift. In just a few breaths, she had stripped.

A moment later, with a bit of shyness, she lowered her head and buried it in the crook of Jiang Yao’s neck. Her scorching breath spilled across Jiang Yao’s skin, bit by bit. Her moist lips nearly touched Jiang Yao’s snow-white neck. The person in her arms held her and said, “Sleeping like this, is it okay? It seems I’m not as scared like this.”

Jiang Yao did not hesitate much. She raised a hand to circle Song Muyun’s slender waist. Her clothes were thin, just a single inner robe, so she had to carefully tuck the corners of the quilt for her to avoid her catching a cold. Once that was done, Jiang Yao finally replied, “Alright. You can sleep. I will stay here and watch over you.”

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The author has something to say:

I’m here, I’m here. I repent QAQ. When you’re playing games with a friend, it’s really embarrassing to say you don’t want to play anymore, especially when you keep losing. I was afraid she’d think I was calling her a noob QAQ

The “brothel” in the summary has been changed to “music hall.” You can’t write about brothels. This is my first time writing this genre, so I didn’t know QAQ

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