Forbidden to Bully the Storybook’s Heroine – Chapter 39

Looking at Huace¹

The back courtyard was the residence of many women and xiaoguan²; it did not belong to Song Muyun alone. But in broad daylight, they were probably all busy taking clients outside, so the entire rear courtyard was so quiet one could hear the sound of leaves falling.

Jiang Yao brought Jiang Ru in, then herself flopped down on the soft couch with practiced ease and could not bring herself to get back up.

After coaxing Song Muyun for so long, she already felt utterly exhausted.

She needed a break.

Seeing her own jiejie³ lie straight down on someone else’s bed without a word, Jiang Ru jumped in fright. She hurried to grab her sister’s arm to pull her up and quietly reminded her, “Jiejie, Muyun-jiejie hasn’t invited you to sit yet. Get up, this is very rude.”

She was a little girl who cared about proper etiquette.

Jiang Yao did not want to get up. She looked over at Song Muyun. Song Muyun covered her lips and laughed softly, then pulled Jiang Ru’s hand over. “Ru’er⁴ also sit. She’s tired, just let her lie there.”

She invited Jiang Ru to sit on a chair. At first, she wanted to let her sit on their rocking chair, but Jiang Ru felt too restrained and sat too straight, so the rocking chair was actually not comfortable for her.

Song Muyun wanted to go sit somewhere else, but had barely taken two steps before Jiang Yao hooked her by the belt and dragged her down onto the couch.

Her face flushed red as she pushed at Jiang Yao. “Aiya, what are you doing, Ru’er is still here.”

“It’s just lying down for a bit. So what if Ru’er’s here?”

Song Muyun could never win in a tussle with her, so she could only bury her face in Jiang Yao’s arms and let her hold her.

Jiang Ru watched, dumbfounded. The Capital really was different from other places—this was how women got along with each other here?

Then she thought of something and spoke up, addressing Jiang Yao who was lying in a tangle with someone on the couch.

“Jiejie, so you usually live here?”

Jiang Ru could not help looking around, taking in the room. It did not look as nice as where they lived in the Jiang Residence, but there was a beautiful jiejie here.

Jiang Yao answered, “Mm. Your Muyun-jiejie doesn’t dare sleep alone at night, so I keep her company.”

Burying her face in Jiang Yao’s arms, Song Muyun lightly punched her once and did not dare lift her head, afraid they would see how red her face had become.

Why did Jiang Yao like to talk nonsense so much—who, who doesn’t dare sleep alone at night?

She absolutely did not…

Thinking this, she pushed her head further into the other woman’s embrace and wrapped an arm around her waist. Even with Jiang Ru present, she still wanted to touch her. Why was that…

Clearly they were both women, but she had an intense urge to touch her.

Or being touched by her would be fine too.

Light shimmered in Song Muyun’s eyes. She secretly raised her head to look at Jiang Yao.

Jiang Yao simply pressed that head back into her arms and would not let her sneak a peek.

Jiang Ru was always observant and sensitive. She could not shake the feeling that something was off about her jiejie and Muyun-jiejie. They seemed very close—an intimacy different from that between ordinary people. If one had to describe it… it was a bit like those two jiejie she had just seen in the corridor.

Only after Jiang Yao had rested enough did she finally let Song Muyun sit up.

The clothes of both of them were a bit rumpled. Song Muyun sat in front of the dressing table and smoothed her hairpiece back into a sleek and shiny coil. Then she stood, somehow produced the chessboard that had been put away yesterday, and asked,

“Ru’er-meimei⁵, do you know how to play chess?”

Since Jiang Yao had brought Jiang Ru over to have fun, she could not just focus on herself and Jiang Yao and leave Jiang Ru sitting there with nothing to do.

So… she would just leave Jiang Yao with nothing to do. Jiang Yao was the one she treated the best, she would not get angry.

Jiang Ru answered softly, “A little. Muyun-jiejie, do you want to play with me?”

“Mm, just to pass the time.”

Song Muyun set the chessboard on the table and then shooed Jiang Yao. “Go sit over there. I’m going to play chess with Ru’er-meimei now.”

Jiang Yao: …

She asked sincerely, “If you two are playing chess, what am I supposed to do?”

Even her eyes were filled with such genuine earnestness that no one could bear to leave her out.

Song Muyun paused, then softened her expression, tugged on Jiang Yao’s sleeve, and said quietly, “You can sit by and watch us play, how about that?”

Her voice was soft and gentle, but the words themselves were not gentle at all!

What did she mean, sit by and watch you play?

How was that reasonable?

Was I being excluded?

Jiang Yao was completely lost. Jiang Ru stood up and said gently, “Jiejie, Ru’er can teach you how to play chess.”

“T-Then forget it. I can’t learn these bookish things. You two play, you two play. Tsk, Song Muyun, do you have any storybooks here? If you won’t keep me company with them, you should at least give me some to read. And don’t give me any of those bookish Shiji⁶ and poetry collections.”

Jiang Yao turned her head as she spoke.

Song Muyun nodded and looked out a storybook for her. She had bought them especially to keep Jiang Yao from getting bored.

When together with Song Muyun, storybooks always seemed to lose their charm.

Jiang Yao had said she wanted to read, but in reality, after flipping through a couple of pages she grew lazy and lost interest. She sat at Song Muyun’s side and watched the two women full of scholarly air play chess.

After one ke⁷, Jiang Ru’s expression gradually relaxed a bit. Song Muyun placed the white piece in her hand onto the board and said with a smile, “I lost. Ru’er-meimei, your skill is impressive.”

Joy filled Jiang Ru’s eyes, yet there was no trace of pride. She only said, “Thank you, Muyun-jiejie, for going easy on me.”

She was good at chess herself and of course could tell that Song Muyun had been step by step feeding her chess pieces⁸. Perhaps she had wanted to cheer her up and had purposely lost.

Still, winning really did make one happy.

Song Muyun laughed softly and shook her head. “You played well, Meimei.”

The two of them modestly praised each other back and forth, leaving Jiang Yao utterly confused. Finally, she broke in impatiently, “You both played well, stop arguing about it. Do all scholars like being so polite to each other?”

People who trained in martial arts were different. Skill was skill, a win was a win and a loss was a loss.

Song Muyun shot her a coquettish glare, annoyed at her lack of tact, but did not argue back.

The game finished, Jiang Ru saw Jiang Yao cradling a book and scooted over, saying she wanted to read it too.

She had loved books since childhood. Back at the Bianguan⁹, she would go to the book stall every few days, and the shopkeeper there all knew her.

Jiang Yao glanced at the title written on the page: 《The Prince’s Pursuit of Love》.

Just from the title it sounded awful. She did not know how on earth Song Muyun had picked this one. She had just flipped through the opening pages and found it terrible too.

Of course, the main point was, Ru’er was a girl who read serious books. Jiang Yao could not lead her astray, or her father¹⁰‘s family law¹¹ would fall on her own head.

So she could only put the book away and gently decline. “Ahem, this is a storybook. Your Muyun-jiejie has poetry collections here. I’ll go get you one?”

She made the suggestion, but Jiang Ru’s eyes were already stuck to the storybook. “A storybook? I’ve never read a storybook before.”

After speaking, she lifted a pair of round eyes that sparkled bright and clear at Jiang Yao. “Jiejie, could you let me read it?”

Jiang Yao: …

“But you scholars like reading those more cultured things, don’t you?”

She was baffled.

Song Muyun, gentle and mild, came to help. “Let her see it. Don’t you make me read storybooks with you all day long?”

Her tone grew even more tender, enough to make Jiang Yao want to drown in it.

“All right, you can take a look first. But don’t take the stories inside as real. These storybooks are written to trick young girls like you who don’t understand the world yet.”

Most storybooks were biased toward men’s perspective and always made her want to roll her eyes.

Jiang Ru nodded and took the storybook, then sat to one side to read, perfectly well-behaved.

Seeing that she was staying put, Jiang Yao let her be, stretched lazily, and stood up. “Then I’ll go outside and practice archery for a while. Are you staying in here to read or do you want to come out and watch me practice my sword?”

She still had that ruanjian¹² wrapped at her waist. Thinking of how her father scolded her every day for being idle and irresponsible, she felt she really should practice. Even if she could not amaze everyone else, she should at least amaze her father and make him look at her with new eyes.

Naturally, Song Muyun wanted even more to follow her. At those words, she instinctively took a step forward and grabbed Jiang Yao’s sleeve. A light breeze brushed their faces and her voice softened further. “I’ll watch you practice your sword.”

She did not often have a chance to see Jiang Yao practice, so it felt quite novel.

The long sword in Jiang Yao’s hand flashed with a silvery gleam. Every strike carried an extremely fierce momentum. Song Muyun had been settled early onto a small stool and sat watching, eyes hardly daring to blink.

Everyone in the Song Family studied letters. This was the first time she had seen someone wield a sword, and with such exquisite skill, making one feel that not a single move could be missed.

By the time one full set of sword moves was done, it was getting late and the sun had sunk quite a bit.

Jiang Yao straightened up and sheathed her sword. Song Muyun immediately stood and ran over in small steps, pulling out a snow-white, clean handkerchief from her bosom and carefully dabbing away the fine sweat beads on Jiang Yao’s forehead.

Jiang Ru happened to see this scene from inside the room. It felt a little familiar. She thought for a while before remembering—that was how her mother used to wipe sweat for her father after he finished practicing with the saber.

“Ru’er, let’s go. I’ll walk you back home first.”

Jiang Yao called toward the room. Jiang Ru quickly answered, “Coming, Jiejie.”

Then she put the storybook away and ran out.

“I’ll send Ru’er back first, then come back for you?”

Jiang Yao asked.

Song Muyun kept that gentle, faint smile hooked at her lips and nodded at her words. “Mm. I’ll wait for you.”

The Jiang family’s carriage was still parked outside. Jiang Yao led Jiang Ru into it, and the carriage started heading back toward the Jiang Residence.

“Jiejie, are you and Muyun-jiejie very close?”

Jiang Ru tilted her head, her bright eyes full of curiosity.

“Mm. Your Muyun-jiejie has had a miserable life, so I often come here to protect her.”

“A miserable life?”

She seemed to think of something, and her expression sank. “Does Muyun-jiejie have no parents? I saw that she lives there alone.”

If she had parents, how could they let their child live in a place like that? And Jiejie would definitely have taken her to pay respects to Uncle¹³ and Aunt¹⁴ first.

“Mm. Her father passed away, and her mother was exiled.”

Jiang Yao did not intend to hide it, nor was there any need to. A little asking around would tell anyone these things.

“So Muyun-jiejie has no family now?”

A hint of heartache crept into her expression, and she went on, “Back at the Bianguan, there were also many people with no parents or relatives, living by themselves and often bullied by others. It’s really pitiful.”

Jiang Yao smiled and shook her head. “Muyun is not pitiful. She has me with her, after all. I won’t let anyone bully her.”

Jiang Ru’s eyes seemed born to shine. She looked at Jiang Yao with complete admiration. “Really? Jiejie, you truly are the kindest person Ru’er has ever met. Having a jiejie like you is Ru’er’s good fortune!”

Jiang Yao: …

T-There’s no need for that.

Being praised so much left Jiang Yao a bit embarrassed. She rubbed her nose and looked down without speaking. She was not that kind. At the start, she had only wanted to protect the Jiang family.

Under Jiang Ru’s worshipful gaze all the way home, she felt as if she were sitting on pins and needles.

As soon as they reached the Jiang Residence, she immediately jumped out of the carriage and reached up to help Jiang Ru down.

Having already escorted her all the way to the gate, it would not be any trouble to walk her back to her courtyard as well.

But just as they were passing through a wide open area on the way, they heard a rough voice ring out from there. “Archery! The most important thing is the strength in your arm! Your Highness the Eighth Prince, you are clearly a man, so why is your arm strength as soft and weak as a woman’s! If you go onto the autumn hunt like this, won’t you disgrace His Majesty, disgrace Her Majesty the Empress? Straighten your arm!”

Following the voice, Jiang Yao and Jiang Ru looked over and saw the Eighth Prince Murong Ci not far away, drenched in sweat, in a horse stance and holding up two shidunzi¹⁵.

Jiang Ru let out a soft cry and instinctively grabbed Jiang Yao’s sleeve, nervously saying, “Aiya, why is Daddy¹⁶ punishing the Eighth Prince? That’s against the rules, isn’t it?”

After today, she was no longer sure about the Capital’s rules. So she looked up and asked.

The corner of Jiang Yao’s mouth twitched. “It… probably is against the rules…”

“If it’s against the rules, that won’t do. Will His Majesty punish Daddy because of this?”

Jiang Ru was only sixteen, innocent and naïve.

“He won’t. His Majesty won’t bother with such a small matter.”

“If he won’t bother, that’s good—but no, that’s still not right. How can Daddy punish someone at will; what did the Eighth Prince do wrong? I have to go see.”

Jiang Yao did not even have time to grab her. Standing behind, she thought, And you said I’m kind—you’re the kindest of all.

Thinking that, she hurried after her, and saw that Jiang Ru had already gone up to support the Eighth Prince’s arm that was holding the shidunzi. Because she had run in a rush, her hairpins and jewelry had swung into her own face. Looking toward Jiang Zhi, she said, “Daddy, did the Eighth Prince commit a wrong for you to punish him like this?”

Jiang Zhi looked at his daughter and then at his niece behind her, a little surprised. “Why are you two back so early?”

He had planned to send the Eighth Prince away before they returned!

“It’s getting late, so I brought Ru’er back first.”

After Jiang Yao finished speaking, she turned to look at the Eighth Prince, who looked as if he had just been fished out of water, and forced down a laugh as she asked, “Your Highness, how is your training going? Any improvement?”

Murong Ci turned his head with difficulty, a trace of grievance in his eyes, though his mouth still said, “Thank you for your concern, Young Miss Jiang. Longhu General¹⁷ teaches very well. I-I’ve improved a lot.”

He spoke with great difficulty. His legs looked like they could barely hold him up, trembling constantly and occasionally lurching forward.

Getting no answer to her earlier question, Jiang Ru’s brows knit in worry and she asked again, “I asked you, Daddy, are you punishing the Eighth Prince?”

Jiang Zhi rubbed the bit of mustache at his lips, a flicker of guilt crossing his eyes before he denied it without hesitation. “Of course not. Why would Daddy punish the Eighth Prince? Daddy is just trying to build up his strength a bit so his arm will be stronger, that’s all.”

Murong Ci’s face was flushed red. Breathing heavily, he still managed to say, “Th-Thank you for your concern, Second Young Miss. The General… truly is not punishing me. P-Please don’t misunderstand the General on my account.”

As soon as he finished, he could no longer hold on. The two shidunzi fell to the ground with a pair of heavy thuds. He himself staggered forward a couple of steps and nearly fell, only saved by Jiang Ru catching him.

Up ahead, Jiang Zhi blew out his mustache and glared, reaching out to yank Murong Ci back. “Let your daddy support him. With those thin arms and legs of yours, how could you hold him up? You’re tired from the whole day. Have your jiejie take you back to your courtyard to rest.”

Dragged about, Murong Ci saw stars and reeled. Jiang Ru cast him a worried glance, but knew that as a girl she truly should keep a bit of distance from men. So she nodded obediently. “Understood. Daughter will go back now. Daddy, remember to send the Eighth Prince out properly. Don’t let anything happen to him in our residence.”

Her words were meant as concern, but they sounded a bit like a curse.

Jiang Yao shot a sidelong glance at the Eighth Prince, whose legs could barely stay straight.

Since his precious daughter had spoken, Jiang Zhi had no choice but to grumble out an answer. “Don’t worry, Daddy will send him out properly. The Eighth Prince’s stamina really is too poor, he can’t last even one ke. Will you still be coming tomorrow?”

Gritting his teeth, Murong Ci was in such pain from his aching arms and legs that could hardly stand that he instinctively wanted to refuse. But… it also made him aware of how weak his martial arts truly were.

Which past emperor wasn’t skilled in both letters and arms?

Since he had ambition, he had to endure hardship no matter how bitter or tiring it was. Motherfucker, when I become emperor I’ll abolish this rule. Damn it.

Murong Ci forced himself to stand straight and, with trembling hands, bowed to Jiang Zhi. “Thank you, General, for today’s instruction. I… still want to come tomorrow. I’ll trouble the General again!”

There was a hint of surprise in Jiang Zhi’s eyes, but in the end he nodded, quite satisfied. The boy had perseverance and could endure hardship. That was acceptable.

Jiang Ru could not shake the feeling that her daddy was especially strict with the Eighth Prince. She had never seen Daddy train his own soldiers like this—making someone hold such heavy shidunzi while in a horse stance. It was truly frightening.

When she was little, her daddy had wanted to teach her martial arts and made her practice the horse stance. She had lasted less than the time for one zhan¹⁸ of tea before collapsing to the ground, and she still remembered that aching feeling.

She could not help looking at Murong Ci with a sense of shared misery.

Remembering that she had been the first to rush over and show him concern, Murong Ci gave Jiang Ru a gentle, faint smile. Jiang Zhi found the sight an eyesore and urged Jiang Ru, “Why aren’t you going back yet? A young girl shouldn’t be loitering about outside. Go back to your own courtyard and play, let your jiejie keep you company.”

Jiang Ru drew out her voice in a little whine. “Aiya, I know, Daughter is going, Daughter is going.”

She turned to look at Jiang Yao. Jiang Yao had her hands tucked behind her head, looking extremely careless. “Thanks for taking over my job, Second Uncle. I’ll leave the Eighth Prince to you then. His Highness wants to make a splash at the autumn hunt and take first place in one stroke. There’s no need for you to go easy on him.”

Murong Ci: …

There has never been a past grudge between us and no recent enmity either. Why do you have to hurt me like this?

After that, she paid no more attention to the complicated pain hidden in Murong Ci’s expression for fear she would laugh out loud. She first sent Jiang Ru back to her courtyard and naturally did not know that in the end it took four people to carry the Eighth Prince out of the Jiang Residence.

On the way, Jiang Ru was still worried. “Jiejie, is it really all right for Daddy to do that? Will the Eighth Prince hold a grudge against him?”

Jiang Yao waved a hand carelessly. “It’s fine, it’s fine. The Eighth Prince is very magnanimous. He won’t get upset over such a small thing. If it had been the Seventh Prince today, he very likely would truly bear a grudge in his heart.”

Hearing that the Eighth Prince was magnanimous, Jiang Ru relaxed with a relieved nod. Then, hearing the Seventh Prince mentioned, she could not help asking, “Is the Seventh Prince very petty?”

“Hmph, the Seventh Prince is extremely narrow-minded. If you run into him, just stay far away. He always puts on a virtuous face and loves tricking young girls the most.”

Jiang Ru always listened to Jiang Yao and trusted her deeply. When Jiang Yao said the Eighth Prince was magnanimous, she believed it. When Jiang Yao said the Seventh Prince was petty and liked to trick young girls, she nodded too, firm and resolute. “I’ll remember. I’ll stay far away from the Seventh Prince from now on!”

Jiang Yao ruffled her hair in satisfaction and praised her. “Mm, very good.”

Seeing the Hengwu Courtyard¹⁹ ahead, Jiang Yao stopped and said, “We’re almost there. You go on back first. Jiejie still has something to do. If you’re afraid to sleep alone tonight, have Cuizhu come keep you company, all right?”

She coaxed her gently.

Jiang Ru looked up at her, somewhat understanding. “Is Jiejie going to see Muyun-jiejie?”

“Mm. That place is dangerous. I don’t feel safe leaving her there alone.”

The little girl agreed. From the licentious sights she had seen, Muyun-jiejie, a lone woman in a place like that, indeed was not very safe.

“Then Jiejie, go quickly. I can go back by myself. Don’t worry about me.”

Jiang Yao nodded, left the Jiang Residence, and did not immediately return to Yueshang House. Instead, she turned on her heel and quietly sneaked off to the Meng Residence.

Meng Lichu²⁰, who had just apparently corrupted the Prime Minister’s eldest daughter, was in her courtyard sighing to herself, with two beautiful maids at her side. Every now and then she would reach out and grope them.

The maids all had flushed faces and lowered heads, but none of them dodged. It looked like they were already used to it.

Jiang Yao easily located Meng Lichu’s courtyard. In a few moves she had leapt up onto the wall and was crouching there, a tangren²¹ bought on the way clamped between her teeth. It tasted cloyingly sweet—something only very young girls liked to eat. Song Muyun was one of them.

Meng Lichu practiced martial arts. Her skills were not especially great but passable. One moment she was still groping the curvy maid by her side; the next, she sensed a faint gaze on her.

The hand pinching the maid’s chest froze. Afraid of being overheard, the maid was still breathing lightly.

Bit by bit, Meng Lichu raised her head and finally saw the person standing on the wall.

Both of the other girl’s eyes were curiously fixed on her, tongue lazily licking at the candy.

Meng Lichu almost exploded on the spot. This was the second time—this was the second time Jiang Yao had caught her flirting with a woman!

And it was happening twice in the same day!

All interest instantly vanished. Hands shaking, she pulled back, then said, “Y-You two go now.”

Her mind was already racing—why would Jiang Yao show up here? Was she here to see me?

Oh, that much was obvious.

But why was she here—did she find me dirty and come to lecture me?

Still crouching up there, Jiang Yao was waiting for Meng Lichu to invite her down. Instead, she watched Meng Lichu’s expression grow more and more terrified over whatever she was imagining.

Jiang Yao: ?

She tipped her chin at the person below. “Meng Lichu, are you not going to invite me down to sit for a while?”

Meng Lichu: …

Since the name had already been called, she had no choice but to face death with a smile. With a fawning grin, she said, “Young Miss Jiang is here. Please, come down and sit. We just parted at Yueshang House—did you need something from me?”

Jiang Yao swung herself down from the wall with neat agility. Treating herself as anything but an outsider, she casually found a shidunzi to sit on, poured herself a cup of tea, and bit into the sugar with a loud crunch as she drank.

The tea was already somewhat cold. Perfect—Jiang Yao liked cold tea.

After downing one cup of cold tea, she turned her attention to the delicate pastries on the table, picked up two pieces to try. If they were good, she would bring some back for Muyun.

Meng Lichu had been sitting there tense, waiting for Jiang Yao to speak. Who knew that Jiang Yao would just eat and drink, with no intention at all of opening her mouth first.

So she was forced to bare her teeth in another smile and be the one to start. “Young Miss Jiang, to what do I owe this sudden visit? Do you have any instructions for me?”

The two of them were both martial artists; it was not as if they had never fought before, but the result…

Meng Lichu did not want to think about it. Her face twisted in pain at the memory. She only wanted to send this bringer of calamity away as fast as possible.

Having just eaten a plum blossom–shaped pastry and then a peach blossom–shaped one, Jiang Yao suddenly commented, “A little too sweet.”

Meng Lichu: …

If it’s too sweet, why are you eating so much of it!

She really wanted her father to come and throw this person out, but no. If Father came, he would probably just tell her to treat Jiang Yao well.

Meng Lichu felt utterly hopeless.

“Jiang Yao, if you’ve got something to say, just say it. If I’m going to die, at least let me die quickly, all right?”

She stared hard at Jiang Yao. At this moment, she only wanted to know why Jiang Yao had come looking for her!

Jiang Yao also felt that they had exchanged enough pleasantries and it was time to get to the point.

She did not hesitate and spoke plainly. “There’s still something I don’t understand about how two women can enjoy themselves. Can you explain it to me in detail?”

Meng Lichu’s expression slowly cracked. It had never occurred to her that Jiang Yao would make a special trip over just to ask about this?

Seeing her silence, Jiang Yao even urged her on. “What’s wrong, is it that hard to answer? But you all seem to know very well.”

Although that Young Lady Yan²² from the brothel had seemed even more knowledgeable, Jiang Yao was too embarrassed to ask Yan Jin and afraid Yan Jin would secretly tell Song Muyun. So she had come to ask Meng Lichu instead.

Meng Lichu’s shattered expression gradually reassembled itself, though her voice was still stiff. “H-How… how detailed do you want to know?”

In Jiang Yao’s view, when one had a question, the more detail one knew the better.

That was exactly what she thought, and exactly what she said. Watching, she saw Meng Lichu swallow hard.

Then Meng Lichu said, “Young Miss Jiang, please wait for me a moment.”

“Mm, no rush.”

Feeling that since she had come to trouble someone at their own place, she ought to be patient, Jiang Yao stayed where she was and waited.

Meng Lichu went inside. A short while later, she came out carrying dozens of blue-covered booklets. Jiang Yao’s gaze shifted between her and the books, one eyebrow lifting. “What’s this…”

“Young Miss Jiang can take a look first. You might understand once you see them.”

No matter how careless she was with her mouth, she could not bring herself to talk about bed matters with a straight face. Better to just show her the huace.

Curious, Jiang Yao picked one at random. On the cover there were still black-ink characters: 《Chungui Ji》²³.

A storybook?

Just from the title, it did not sound like anything proper.

Flipping open the book, the very first page made Jiang Yao’s pupils contract. It was not a storybook at all!

Inside were drawings of women’s hairpins and silks, of phoenixes in harmonious pairs, of rounded shoulders—and most importantly… of two women, clothes half-open, pressed together.

Jiang Yao fell silent and kept turning the pages. Some odd urge to see more pushed her on. Even though from the bottom of her heart she thought these huace were utterly vulgar and obscene, she still could not put them down.

…

At Yueshang House, taking advantage of the time before Jiang Yao returned, Song Muyun went to find Yan Jin, who had just finished with a client and lay resting.

Yan Jin sat at her dressing table, brushing her glossy, smooth black hair stroke by stroke. Song Muyun knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

She pushed the door open and entered, seeing Yan Jin wiping away the makeup on her face.

Yan Jin only wiped the rouge from her lips before lazily speaking. “Well now, this must be your first time visiting my room, huh, Muyun? What brings you here?”

She turned her head to look at Song Muyun, one snowy-white arm thrown carelessly across the dressing table, her body leaning against it, exuding pure seduction.

Having grown up reading the Four Books and Five Classics²⁴, Song Muyun had never seen anything like that. A faint blush climbed her cheeks and she ducked her head, too shy to look directly. Her voice was as soft as a mosquito’s buzz. “I-I just wanted to ask… what were you doing in the room with that woman today? Why did you say that women can also… enjoy themselves together?”

Yan Jin blinked, surprise flitting across her face. “Don’t tell me you really haven’t… played with Young Miss Jiang before?”

Song Muyun did not understand what “played” referred to here. Her beautiful phoenix eyes were full of confusion. One look and Yan Jin knew—damn, she really hadn’t.

A noble lady like Young Miss Jiang ought to be the one who played the wildest. Everyone in the house knew: the higher someone’s status, the more tricks they usually had in bed. Yet Jiang Yao had done nothing but simply keep Song Muyun on silver.

Such fortune naturally stirred envy.

Envy aside, Yan Jin could not be bothered with wasted words. She reached under her pillow and pulled out two huace, giving Song Muyun a sultry look as she handed them over. “Take a look first. If there’s anything you don’t understand, ask me.”

Huace: 《The Female Fuma’s Affairs》²⁵

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The author has something to say:

Reading little dirty comics at the same—time—in different places!

Sorry for being late.

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