Forbidden to Bully the Storybook’s Heroine – Chapter 55

To Be Close

Jiang Yao looked down at her and didn’t speak. The little lady wants to accompany me to the battlefield, huh? But the battlefield is so dangerous and grueling. The little lady’s body is so delicate and precious, how could I bear to take her there?

But Song Muyun, as if she knew what Jiang Yao was thinking, immediately added, “I’m not afraid of danger. If you leave me in the Capital to worry about you all alone, that would truly make my life worse than death.”

Jiang Yao flicked her on the head again, displeased. “Didn’t they say your literary talents were outstanding? Why are you using words so carelessly?”

Is that how you use ‘life is worse than death’?

Song Muyun sullenly buried her head in Jiang Yao’s chest. She hadn’t used it carelessly. She just didn’t want to leave Jiang Yao. The farther away she was, the more anxious and miserable she became, her entire body screaming with the desire to see her. What’s more, she was going to a place as dangerous as a battlefield. If she didn’t take her along, she was afraid she’d worry day after day, her longing reaching its absolute peak. It really would be better than being dead.

Jiang Yao doesn’t know about my feelings, which is why she’d say something about leaving me behind. Once Jiang Yao finds out, maybe she’ll accept me, maybe she’ll even like me. When that time comes, I’ll beg Jiang Yao to take me with her wherever she goes and never leave me behind.

“Not talking again? Fine, let’s go down. I’ll put some more medicine on you so it heals a little faster,” Jiang Yao said.

Song Muyun pressed her lips together and said in a small voice, “Then you put some on, too. The scar on your back is so long.”

“Tsk, this scar of mine? This scar is from eight hundred years ago. Even putting medicine on it now won’t get rid of it.”

It was too much trouble. Jiang Yao was too lazy to bother.

But Song Muyun lifted her head and shot her a coquettish glare. “I don’t care, you have to put it on. What’s the harm in trying?!”

To prevent her from getting angry, which she wouldn’t be able to coax her out of, Jiang Yao could only raise her hands in surrender. “Alright, alright. We’ll try it. If you want to try, we’ll do as you say.”

Her eyes were full of warmth and indulgence, making Song Muyun’s legs and waist go soft.

Jiang Yao, with the person in her arms, flew down from the roof and then took her hand to lead her back inside.

“Hasn’t your temper been getting bigger and bigger?”

“It has not. You’re not allowed to say my temper is big.”

She never used to get angry with Jiang Yao. The fact that she did now was only because she had grown greedier; step by step, she couldn’t help but want to test Jiang Yao’s limits.

Fortunately, she had almost no limits when it came to her.

She refuses to believe that a Jiang Yao like this doesn’t like her even a little bit. If she really doesn’t like me…

Song Muyun sniffled, her eyes suddenly turning a little red.

Jiang Yao rummaged through chests and cupboards again to find that bottle of ointment. When she turned her head, Song Muyun had already removed her top, leaving only her inner trousers, and was obediently lying face down on the bed.

Her upper body was clad only in a snow-colored dudou¹, which pressed against her fair, delicate skin, making it impossible to tell which was whiter.

Jiang Yao silently swallowed. Without saying a word, she dipped her fingertip into some scar-removing ointment and applied it to the tender pink scar on her back.

Her skin was delicate, but she wasn’t the type to scar easily. As long as she applied the medicine every day, the scars would eventually fade.

There weren’t as many scars on her back as on her front. After Jiang Yao finished with her back, she gently patted Song Muyun’s rounded shoulder. She turned over on her own, her face flushed for some reason. Just as Jiang Yao was about to ask, she saw Song Muyun place a fair, jade-like hand on the nape of her own neck. The next moment, the knot of the dudou tied there quietly came undone, and she took the dudou off.

Jiang Yao experienced a full-on pupil earthquake². “What are you doing!!!”

They had applied medicine before, but—but they had only ever lifted the dudou or inner shirt. When had it ever been like this? She had actually taken her dudou right off!

That patch of white, tinged with a faint pink, nearly blinded Jiang Yao. She hurriedly turned her head away, a hint of panic in her expression, and she couldn’t stop her feet from taking two steps back.

Seeing her retreat, Song Muyun’s eyes darkened, though her expression didn’t change. “Didn’t you say we were applying medicine? I have a spot here, too, that you usually miss.”

Her voice was very soft, a little sweet and delicate, and she was even complaining to her.

Jiang Yao still didn’t dare to look at her. She took a deep breath. “Then—then you don’t have to get so completely naked.”

How is this not supposed to make me feel awkward?

I don’t even dare to look her in the eye!

But Song Muyun acted as if it were nothing at all. Her voice was soft and gentle. “What’s the big deal, Jiang Yao? We’re both women. Even if you see my body, it’s fine.”

She said it softly.

Jiang Yao swallowed. For the time it takes to drink a cup of tea³, heaven and man did battle inside her⁴. Then she decided that what she said made sense.

We’re both women, why be so concerned…

Song Muyun was urging her again. “Hurry up. The wind is making me cold.”

Jiang Yao could only grit her teeth and turn back. Her eyes were met with high-rising things like white steamed buns⁵, with a pink peach blossom perched on top.

She silently averted her eyes again. Damn it, why are they so much bigger!

Song Muyun’s hands gradually wrapped around her own shoulders, her voice carrying a hint of complaint. “Aren’t we putting on medicine? I really do feel cold, I’m not lying to you.”

“Oh, oh, I know.”

Jiang Yao quickly replied and walked over. Not wanting her to be cold, she could only try her best not to look at those high and perky things, instead looking down at Song Muyun’s flat, white abdomen as she gently applied the cool ointment upwards.

After applying it for a long time, still on her lower abdomen, Song Muyun poked her. “Hey, aren’t you going to put any on up here? There’s some here, too.”

She took Jiang Yao’s hand and guided it to her high chest. Only then did Jiang Yao see the faint scar there. It must have been grazed by the tip of a whip. Such a fragile place; even a light graze must have been extremely painful.

Her eyes were filled with a heartache that was about to overflow.

Seeing her like this, Song Muyun felt a little happy. Only with Jiang Yao by her side could she forget all that pain.

“Does it hurt?”

“It won’t hurt if you touch it.” A trace of shyness was hidden in the girl’s voice, and her jade-white ears were completely red. Only her face maintained a normal expression.

Her hand was pulled, pressing Jiang Yao’s entire palm against her. The person who had just been dazed was instantly jolted awake—more awake than if she’d been punched. She quickly pulled back the hand that was cupping half of the roundness, but even so, the cool, soft feeling in her palm lingered.

How… how can it be so soft?

Jiang Yao’s face turned red, a rare sight.

“What’s with all this touching? What kind of injury stops hurting just from a touch? You’re talking nonsense.”

Song Muyun’s bright eyes looked at Jiang Yao. “We’re both women, what’s wrong with a little touch? Are you shy, Jiang Yao?”

Jiang Yao: …

The little lady who used to blush after just a few words or a couple of touches had suddenly become like this. She was having a hard time handling it.

She was indeed a little shy, but that wasn’t the point. Forget it, Muyun is right. We’re both women. It’s perfectly normal to see each other’s bodies. When we were little, I even scrubbed Ru’er’s back. I don’t think I felt anything was wrong back then.

Whatever, Jiang Yao thought, clearing her throat. “Stop messing around. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can rest.”

It was actually still very early, too early to sleep, but it was better than facing a naked Song Muyun like this.

Song Muyun also knew not to push too hard, and she was just as shy in her heart. She blinked her pretty eyes and said no more.

A searing heat kept rising to her cheeks. Jiang Yao tried her best to ignore it. She dipped her fingertips in the cool ointment and silently applied it to the wound, bit by bit.

The high-rising white steamed buns kept invading her line of sight, including the tender pink peach blossom on top.

It’s beautiful. Every part of her is beautiful.

That little scar was finally treated. The ointment quickly seeped into her skin. Jiang Yao urged her to get up and get dressed, and Song Muyun finally, obediently, put her clothes back on, letting one breathe a sigh of relief.

Having such a beauty lie exposed before my eyes is extremely trying, even if we’re both women.

“Your turn. Hurry up, I’ll put the medicine on for you.”

She still remembered the scar on Jiang Yao’s back. Every time she saw it, it was a shocking sight.

Jiang Yao had already agreed, so she had no choice but to lie down. In total, she only had this one conspicuous scar on her body. She didn’t much care about it herself, but Song Muyun did.

Remembering that dark scar, Song Muyun’s thin lips pressed together tightly, her willow-like brows furrowing. She knelt to the side, making room for Jiang Yao, and then used the same medicine to carefully apply it to the wound from top to bottom, not missing a single corner. She was so meticulous that Jiang Yao was starting to feel restless.

“Just smear it on casually. I’m sleepy,” she urged.

Soon, both of them were lying on the bed, holding each other and chatting about nothing in particular.

Until there was a knock on the door. Jiang Ru’s voice, not too loud and not too soft, came from outside. “Jiejie, Muyun-jiejie, may I come in?”

“Ru’er is here.”

Jiang Yao, who had just lain down, climbed up again. At her side, Song Muyun let out a soft cry. “Hey, you’re pulling my hair.”

Jiang Yao hastily backed away a little.

Song Muyun wasn’t upset, though. Instead, she clung to her body, rising with her, and then threw herself into her arms. She was held by her and rubbed her shoulder against her in a subtle way. “Why is Ru’er here?”

“I don’t know. I’ll go open the door.”

“Mm, then I’ll go with you.”

“You get up first.”

Song Muyun seemed especially clingy today, leaning on her shoulder and only getting up after she was told to.

Jiang Yao got up after her and first called out to the person outside. “Ru’er, wait a moment.”

With that, she quickly straightened her clothes and even had a cloak⁶ hastily draped over her by Song Muyun before she could go open the door.

Jiang Ru was holding a tray, her clothes and hair neat. It was clear she hadn’t rested yet.

“It’s so late, why did you come over?” Jiang Yao’s expression was always gentle with her family.

“Is it late? I just came back from the Eighth Highness’s place. Jiejie’s prey was all left in the woods, so she had me bring some food over for you.”

Jiang Yao looked down. On the tray was a whole duck, its skin looking crisp and its meat tender, smelling richly of roasted fragrance.

“Tsk, how can I accept this? Come on, hurry inside.”

Though her words said she was embarrassed, Jiang Yao’s hands were quick to pull Jiang Ru inside.

Song Muyun stood behind them, a smile on her lips. She had put on an outer robe, and even though it was another woman in front of her, she covered her own exquisite figure tightly, not revealing an inch. She then raised a hand to pour a cup of tea for Jiang Ru, her voice soft. “Ru’er-meimei just came back from the Eighth Highness’s place?”

She glanced at Jiang Yao, expecting her to say something. After all, an unmarried man and woman had been alone in a room together, and had stayed until evening.

Murong Ci has a crush on Jiang Yao, after all.

But Jiang Yao acted as if she hadn’t heard a thing. She twirled a dagger in her hand, then proceeded to carve the duck meat, picking up a piece of crispy skin with a bit of tender meat and tossing it into her mouth.

“Tastes good. Thank the Eighth Prince for me.”

“Mm. The Eighth Highness’s injuries are severe, and she only has a young servant to attend to her, so I stayed to talk with her for a while. I lost track of time and it got late.”

She had suddenly noticed the sky had darkened and, afraid of being scolded by her sister upon her return, had rushed to leave. But the Eighth Highness had called her back and ordered someone to bring her the freshly roasted duck. She had thought the Eighth Highness hadn’t eaten enough and was getting it for herself, never imagining it was prepared for her sister.

Jiang Yao nodded. “Since you and the Eighth Highness get along so well, and she’s injured now and can’t get out of bed with no one to keep her company, you can go chat with her when you’re bored. She’ll surely understand all that talk about poetry and songs.”

A vein throbbed on Song Muyun’s temple. When it came to her, any slightly out-of-line action would make Jiang Yao call a halt and back away. How come when it came to her sister, something so obviously against the rules, she said nothing at all?

How could she be so biased!

Song Muyun was not happy. Her whole face fell. Jiang Yao cut a piece of duck meat and brought it to her lips. The room was lit by only a single, dim lamp, so she didn’t notice anything, saying casually, “Try it. It’s good.”

The moment she finished speaking, she was met with a glare.

Jiang Yao: …

I’m sure I didn’t do anything just now.

“What’s wrong? Don’t you like roasted duck?”

Song Muyun didn’t say she disliked it. She stretched her neck and bit the piece of duck into her mouth, but she remained silent, ignoring Jiang Yao.

Jiang Ru looked at the two of them, baffled. Noticing they were both only wearing outer robes, she seemed to remember something. “Are Jiejie and Muyun-jiejie about to rest? Did I come at a bad time?”

Jiang Yao was still feeling like a two-zhang tall monk unable to touch his own head⁷. Song Muyun, however, remained gentle with Jiang Ru. “It’s fine. We couldn’t sleep anyway. How was your chat with the Eighth Prince today?”

She brought up Murong Ci again and shot a subtle glance at Jiang Yao, hoping she would say something.

Jiang Yao had no idea what she was getting at and thought she had said too much and made her unhappy. So she simply stopped talking and lowered her head to eat her roasted duck.

Seeing this, Song Muyun bit her lip, even angrier.

That Eighth Prince is a man, and he can be alone in a room with Ru’er, yet we’re both women, and Jiang Yao is so guarded with me!

Hmph!!!

Jiang Ru chuckled and lowered her head. “The Eighth Highness has a gentle and courteous temperament. We had a very pleasant conversation.”

“That’s good. In the future, if you need something and can’t find me, you can go find the Eighth Prince.”

Jiang Yao was Jiang Ru’s elder sister. If she didn’t say Jiang Ru’s actions were improper, then she, an outsider, certainly couldn’t. She could only curse Jiang Yao for being biased in her heart.

Jiang Ru didn’t stay for long before getting up to leave, likely feeling tired after all.

After seeing her off, Jiang Yao took off the rabbit-fur cloak from her back and set it aside, her posture becoming even more unrestrained as she ate the roasted duck.

Song Muyun sat to the side, watching her with eyes full of resentment.

Jiang Yao: …

She quickly lost her appetite. She forced herself to look up at Song Muyun, her lips even glistening with a bit of oil.

Normally, Song Muyun would have long since taken a handkerchief to wipe it for her. But now, Song Muyun didn’t move an inch, staring intently into her eyes.

Jiang Yao: …

I can’t eat. I can’t eat another bite. “My ancestor⁸, if you have something to say, can you just say it? Don’t torture me like this.”

If you have something to say, just say it. Why do you keep staring at a person? It’s so scary.

Song Muyun was displeased, letting out a delicate huff. “How am I torturing you? Am I not even allowed to look at you?”

Jiang Yao pressed a hand to her aching forehead. “When you stare at me so intently like that, I think I’ve made you angry again somehow,” she asked tentatively.

Song Muyun pressed her lips together and didn’t speak. And just like that, Jiang Yao knew. Fine, it was me. I made the little lady unhappy.

“I didn’t say you can’t look. If you want to look, you can look however you want. But don’t keep things bottled up inside, hm?”

She could tell something was on her mind.

Not too stupid, then.

Song Muyun thought to herself, but still remained sullenly silent, her gaze shifting elsewhere, no longer staring straight at her.

Jiang Yao secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, I can eat in peace. Whatever it is, we can talk about it after I’ve eaten. The oil will get cold soon.

She ate a few pieces herself and occasionally passed a piece to Song Muyun. Song Muyun wasn’t happy, but she would accept it with a cold face, her cheeks stuffed full.

So cute.

Jiang Yao hadn’t eaten much that evening. A single rabbit didn’t have much meat to begin with, and she had given most of it away. That meal had only served to tide her over. This was the main course.

The roasted duck was finished quickly. Jiang Yao took out a handkerchief to wipe her greasy mouth, then leaned back in her chair, physically and mentally exhausted. Her eyes were lifeless as she exclaimed, “I’m tired.”

Song Muyun glanced at her, her voice neither warm nor cold. “You can get tired from eating a little something?”

Jiang Yao’s heart felt like dead ashes. She looked up at the thick roof beams. “The thought of having to coax you later makes me tired.”

Song Muyun: …

She stood up in a huff. “Who wants you to coax them? If you don’t want to, then don’t! It’s not like I care!”

She was only wearing her inner clothes with an outer robe draped over them. Now at the bedside, she only needed to shrug off the robe to lie down and sleep.

The little lady wrapped herself in the quilt, turning her back to Jiang Yao.

Jiang Yao knew it would be like this. She stretched her muscles, sighed deeply, and resigned herself to her fate. She went back to the bed and lay down behind Song Muyun.

Song Muyun had stolen the entire quilt, leaving Jiang Yao with nothing to cover herself.

She poked the little lady’s back. “Are you angry?”

The little lady silently scooted forward, away from her, and didn’t speak.

“It’s not that I don’t want to coax you. Aren’t I here coaxing you now? Don’t be angry, okay?” Jiang Yao’s voice was soft and gentle.

Song Muyun buried her head in the quilt, leaving only the dark back of her head visible. Her voice came out muffled. “Who wants you to coax them? I don’t want you to coax me.”

“If I don’t coax you, are you planning to ignore me forever?”

She understood Song Muyun to some extent, and it was clear she had guessed right.

Song Muyun’s body stiffened slightly, but she still didn’t speak.

“Little ladies just have big tempers. Alright, I’m here to coax you now, aren’t I? What will it take to make you happy? Tell me. If you keep it bottled up and make me guess, I’ll never be able to figure it out.”

Jiang Yao was very self-aware about her own brain. If Muyun didn’t say it, she could die trying and still never guess why she was upset.

Hearing this, Song Muyun finally turned around, her eyes looking at Jiang Yao mournfully.

“Ahem, what is it? Tell me, hm?” Jiang Yao asked.

Song Muyun was holding in her anger, her gaze lowered, her whole person exuding an air of dejection. She suddenly asked, “Jiang Yao, do you hate me?”

Jiang Yao froze. “Where did that come from? What did I do to make you think I hate you?”

Keeping such a beautiful fairy at home, I don’t have enough time to adore her. How could I possibly hate her?

“I just feel like you hate me. Today, when we were bathing and when you were putting medicine on me, you wouldn’t even look at me once, and you kept trying to back away. Do you hate me?”

The little fairy’s eyes were red, her expression aggrieved and utterly sad.

Jiang Yao, who had just snapped out of her daze, froze again. She felt that Song Muyun’s words were truly hard to understand. She pondered for a good while before frowning. “How is that possible? It’s just—it’s just that, although we’re both women, I still feel that I shouldn’t… shouldn’t stare at your body. That kind of behavior is quite rude, so I was just exercising a little restraint. How could that be related to hating you?”

No, the truth is I saw her fair, naked body and felt a little shy. But how could a tough, iron-willed woman be shy? She was too embarrassed to tell the truth, so she stammered out an excuse for herself.

Song Muyun’s eyes were downcast, looking only at the strands of Jiang Yao’s hair on the pillow. Her voice was cold. “Let me ask you, we are both women, yet you feel that looking at my body is rude behavior. If you’re so proper, why did you allow Ru’er to stay in the Eighth Prince’s room until nightfall?”

They, a man and a woman, can overstep boundaries, yet you, a woman with a woman, what kind of propriety are you observing? It’s so annoying!

Song Muyun was filled with frustration, so angry she was biting her lip, her eyes shimmering with water.

Jiang Yao’s eyes widened. She stared at Song Muyun for a full quarter of an hour, still not understanding the connection between the two matters.

“No, that Eighth Prince—hey, that’s not right either. Ru’er has always had a sense of propriety. Nothing would happen even if she stayed until night. I’m not worried about her, so… so there’s nothing to say. If you’re unhappy, I can talk to her about it tomorrow?”

Jiang Yao had been about to say that Murong Ci was a woman and wouldn’t try to steal Jiang Ru’s heart, which is why she allowed it. But she couldn’t. Although she trusted Muyun, she had promised the Empress she wouldn’t tell anyone else about this matter.

Song Muyun: “Who asked for that!”

She was even angrier. Jiang Yao is a block of wood. She can’t understand what I want at all. And she calls me stupid. Clearly, she’s the stupid one. The stupidest.

Jiang Yao looked completely lost. She asked cautiously, “Then what do you want?”

Seeing that she still didn’t get it, Song Muyun knew she couldn’t ask for anything more. She could only say huffily, “What could I want? I want you to hold me!”

The meaning of her words changed so quickly that Jiang Yao didn’t react for a moment, letting out a bewildered “Huh?”

Song Muyun thought she was still hesitating. She pressed her lips together, her voice growing smaller, suddenly tinged with a bit of pity. “I don’t care. You have to hold me right now. I just want you to hold me.”

Half of her face was still buried in the quilt. Jiang Yao couldn’t see her full expression, but just from those shimmering eyes, a wave of tenderness suddenly washed over her.

She didn’t hesitate for long. Hearing only the words “hold me,” she quickly moved forward and wrapped her arms around the person, quilt and all.

Who knew that Song Muyun still wasn’t satisfied, continuing her demands. “Get inside and hold me.”

The quilt was too thick; she couldn’t feel the warmth of her body.

“Oh.”

Jiang Yao was being very obedient now, doing exactly as she was told. She immediately slipped in from the edge of the quilt.

And held the person inside who wasn’t very warm.

“Why are you so cold? Is the quilt too thin?” she asked casually.

Song Muyun buried her head in her chest and shook her head. “No. I have a bit of a cold syndrome. My body is cool all year round. When you’re not here, it can’t get warm.”

Jiang Yao: …

So without me, the little lady can’t even sleep well?

Looks like I’ll have to pick a husband for her in the future who knows some martial arts. People who practice martial arts are warm-bodied; he’ll be good for warming her bed.

Jiang Yao’s thoughts at this moment were exceptionally rosy.

She rubbed her hands on the person’s back, quickly warming her entire body up, before looking up to ask, “Still cold? Now that I’ve held you, are you not angry anymore?”

Song Muyun burrowed into her neck, her hot breath hitting her skin. She said softly, “I’m not cold anymore. Then next time, can you not be so proper with me? It feels very distant.”

Jiang Yao: “I was afraid of offending you.” My act of shyness was mistaken by the little lady as being distant. Damn it.

I feel like I already treat Song Muyun very well, better than anyone else around me. How could she possibly feel that we’re distant?!

Song Muyun looked at her, countless emotions hidden in her eyes, and slowly said, “We’re both women, and I was the one who initiated it. It doesn’t count as an offense. You have to learn to accept me. You’re not allowed to deliberately not look at me, and you’re not allowed to not touch me or avoid me. If I were a man, it would be one thing to be treated like this by you. But I’m a woman. When you distance yourself from me like this, it makes me feel like you hate me.”

How could it be that serious? Jiang Yao thought. I was just a little embarrassed, so sometimes I didn’t dare to look at her. In her eyes, that became distancing myself and hating her?

“I don’t hate you, and I never wanted to distance myself from you,” Jiang Yao stressed.

“And I wasn’t not looking at you, I was just afraid of being too rude. But since you don’t think it’s rude, then I’ll listen to you. Don’t be sad.” She raised a hand to cover those misty eyes.

She also knew she couldn’t win an argument against Song Muyun. After all, the moment she felt wronged, she would cry golden beans⁹ for her to see, whereas she could pinch her own thigh raw and still not be able to squeeze out a tear. It was better to just take a step back and agree. Anyway, all Song Muyun wanted was just to be a little closer.

Hearing this, Song Muyun knew she had given in. The eyes hidden in her palm secretly curved into a smile. Then she raised her own hand to pull Jiang Yao’s away and stuffed herself into her embrace. “What’s there to be rude about? We’re both women, just helping each other scrub our backs and apply medicine. It’s very normal. Don’t make me feel like you dislike me, okay?”

“My body is covered in scars. You won’t look at me. Is it because you think my body is ugly?”

Jiang Yao was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when she heard this and suddenly shuddered. She hugged the person tighter and immediately began to refute it. “How could that be? What part of you isn’t beautiful? You’re not allowed to improperly belittle yourself.”

She hugged the person’s waist tightly, giving it a silent squeeze or two.

Song Muyun’s body trembled heavily, an inexplicable moisture appearing in her eyes. Her voice was barely steady, clear and pleasant, but if one listened closely, the ends of her words were trembling. “If I’m beautiful, why didn’t you look at me once? If I didn’t ask you to, you wouldn’t look at me. Isn’t that because you find me ugly, an eyesore?”

She kept putting herself down in a hundred different ways, which made a bit of anger rise in Jiang Yao’s heart. She lifted the person out of her embrace, stared into those eyes covered with a thin layer of mist, and said seriously, “I have never disliked you, and I have always thought that every part of you, from head to toe, is beautiful. If you say such things again, I’ll get angry.”

Song Muyun looked up, just as seriously looking into Jiang Yao’s eyes, her breath like an orchid¹⁰ as she asked softly, “Then will you be closer to me in the future?”

Didn’t I just agree to that?

Jiang Yao didn’t want to argue with her and promised again, “Mm, I will.”

“Good. I believe you.”

She nuzzled Jiang Yao’s face. They were already close enough, much closer than most friends. But a greedy thought had sprouted in her heart. She felt it wasn’t enough.

As they talked, a bit of sleepiness finally set in. Jiang Yao and Song Muyun held each other and gradually drifted off to sleep. Perhaps because a major event had occurred, the palace was very quiet. No one dared to disturb anyone else, with only the occasional shasha sound of grass and trees rustling in the wind.

A night passed. The next day, just as the sky was beginning to lighten, Jiang Yao woke up.

The person in her arms was still sleeping soundly, her face buried in her chest, flushed and red. You could poke a dent in it.

The female lead really has the prestige¹¹ of a female lead. This skin is as tender as water.

Jiang Yao reached out and kneaded it, but who knew that this one knead would wake the person up.

Song Muyun’s eyes were hazy with sleep. She barely managed to prop herself up on Jiang Yao’s shoulder, her voice muffled. “What is it? Is it time to get up?”

“Mm, I’m going hunting. The wild pheasant I didn’t get yesterday, I’ll get it for you to eat today, okay?”

A jolt went through Song Muyun. Those hazy eyes instantly cleared up quite a bit. “You promised yesterday that you would take me with you.”

She still remembered and suspected that Jiang Yao was trying to go back on her word.

Jiang Yao was helpless. “Fine, I’ll take you. I never said I wouldn’t.”

“Then what should I wear today?”

Song Muyun followed Jiang Yao to the wardrobe, looking at all her floor-length dresses, feeling that none of them were suitable for hunting.

Jiang Yao was putting on her wrist guards. Hearing her, she looked up, squinted her eyes for a careful look, and pointed to a vermilion dress. “Wear that one. The color is bright, so it won’t show dirt as much.”

Fairies mostly wore light colors. If she got scraped by a branch outside, it would look terribly dirty.

“But this color is so red, won’t it be too conspicuous?” Song Muyun clutched the edge of the dress, hesitating.

Jiang Yao took the dress, stuffed it into her hands, and raised an eyebrow. “You being out and about with me is already very conspicuous. It’s just a piece of clothing. Besides, you look good in red. I like it.”

She persuaded her with a few lines, but it was mainly that last phrase—”I like it”—that made Song Muyun obediently take the dress to the side to change.

She didn’t avoid Jiang Yao. Instead, she began to change right in front of her. Although her pretty face was bright red, she thought to herself, I’ll have to get used to it eventually. If I do this every day, maybe Jiang Yao will get used to it too.

Jiang Yao finished putting on her wrist guards and looked up to see that Song Muyun hadn’t gone behind the screen to change. She was truly startled. She was about to look away, but then she remembered her promise to be closer to her and forced herself to stay put.

She watched as she removed her inner shirt, revealing a fair, slender back with inky black hair cascading down it. Then she changed into the brightly colored vermilion dress, which made her cheeks seem to have a bit more color. Her slender waist twisted slightly as she looked at Jiang Yao with a gentle, faint smile. “I’m ready.”

“Mm. Put this on.”

Jiang Yao stiffly handed over a red, soft-furred brocade cloak. The wind was strong outside. She was usually careless, but she always remembered to protect Song Muyun well.

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The author has something to say:

Yaoyao (silly smile): Get close to wifey, hei hei¹², get close to wifey

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