Forbidden to Bully the Storybook’s Heroine – Chapter 82

Mentioning the War Angers Someone Again

The flower street¹ was as brightly lit as day. You could guess flower riddles or release flower lanterns², and the young lady was having a wonderful time. She took Jiang Yao to guess flower riddles, and as a girl who had studied since childhood, she was very clever, winning several beautiful lanterns. The two then went to release the flower lanterns together. They each wrote their wishes on them, placed them by the wishing river³, and with a push of their fair hands, watched them slowly float away.

Song Muyun watched her flower lantern drift into the distance, her expression gentle. She and Jiang Yao each carried a beautiful lantern. Suddenly, she asked with a smile, “What wish did you make? Can you tell me?”

The girl’s slender phoenix eyes⁴ looked over. Afraid she wouldn’t say, she reached out and tugged Jiang Yao’s sleeve, shaking it coaxingly.

If it were the past, Jiang Yao would have told her without hesitation, but now…

After experiencing possession by a soul from another world, she was starting to believe in supernatural oddities.

“It won’t come true if I say it out loud. Yun’er, you’re not allowed to ask.”

She wrapped an arm around Song Muyun’s slender waist and guided her back.

Seeing that she refused to say, Song Muyun huffed petulantly and turned her head away. “Then I won’t tell you what I wished for either!”

She seemed a little peeved. Jiang Yao pretended not to notice, lowering her head to stroke the woman’s soft, long hair, her eyes still smiling.

When she was with Song Muyun, she was always happy. Even if they did nothing at all, just being this close made her happy.

Jiang Yao’s hold on Song Muyun tightened.

As they stood like this on the brightly lit street, Song Muyun blushed shyly, but ultimately said nothing, silently letting her be.

After strolling for a long time, Jiang Yao found a wonton⁵ stall that also sold dumplings and asked Song Muyun if she wanted to eat.

The young lady hesitated only for a moment before nodding obediently.

Jiang Yao asked again, “Do you want dumplings or wontons?”

Muyun’s voice was soft and delicate, sounding rather refined. “I want wontons.”

“Alright. One bowl of wontons and one bowl of dumplings.”

“Right away! Patron⁶, please have a seat for a moment.”

“Have a seat.”

Jiang Yao completely wiped down the stool and table before letting Song Muyun sit, and then took some hot water to scald the bowls and chopsticks.

Soon, a bowl of wontons arrived first. Jiang Yao handed Song Muyun her chopsticks and spoon, and Song Muyun obediently lowered her head to blow on the piping hot wonton soup.

Then, she carefully scooped up a fresh pork wonton, blew on it meticulously for a long while before daring to put it in her mouth and bite off half. The juices from the fresh pork burst in her mouth. Song Muyun’s eyes lit up, her expression quite pleased. “This place is delicious too.”

“Mm, if it’s good, then eat more.”

When told to eat more, she shook her head again, saying methodically⁷, “I can’t eat that much. Can you help me eat some in a little while?”

She looked at Jiang Yao with expectant eyes, though she knew Jiang Yao wouldn’t refuse her.

Sure enough, Jiang Yao just ruffled her hair and agreed easily.

This feeling of being indulged made Song Muyun very happy.

With a smile in her eyes, she lowered her head to eat her wontons. She thought to herself that she must have had a stroke of great luck to have met Jiang Yao.

Jiang Yao was so good to her, doting on her and pampering her more than anyone else.

The Song family used to be the strictest about rules; she wasn’t allowed to do anything she wanted.

But ever since coming to Jiang Yao’s side, Jiang Yao would let her do things, would do them with her. She could do whatever she wanted.

It’s wonderful…

Jiang Yao lowered her head, barely managing to hide the smile that was threatening to spread across her lips.

A bowl of dumplings was also served quickly. Jiang Yao gave it a casual stir to let the heat dissipate, then began to eat in big mouthfuls.

Although she ate in large bites, she made no noise, and to an outsider, she even looked somewhat dashing.

She finished her bowl of shepherd’s purse and fresh pork dumplings⁸ in a few bites, took out a handkerchief to gently wipe the corner of her mouth, and waited for Song Muyun to be unable to eat any more.

She didn’t have to wait long. Song Muyun soon couldn’t eat another bite and looked up at Jiang Yao with a pair of watery eyes.

Jiang Yao’s heart softened out of habit. She pulled the bowl over, took her chopsticks and spoon, and ate directly from it.

After finishing their late-night snack, the two stood up and returned to the Jiang residence together.

It was already late at night, and Song Muyun was finally starting to feel tired.

Not long after they returned and lay down, the young lady was already sprawled on the bed, hazy with sleep and about to drift off.

She had been teased by Jiang Yao three times today. Although she had taken a nap in the afternoon, she had been out walking for so long in the evening. Her whole body was sore and weak, especially her feet, which had been walking nonstop and were the most exhausted.

She was so drowsy she could barely keep her eyes open. Jiang Yao sat by her feet, silently lifted that pair of jade feet⁹ that had toiled half the night, and placed them in her palms, kneading them with just the right amount of pressure.

Her feet were exquisitely beautiful, fair, tender, and soft, and felt very comfortable to knead.

Song Muyun’s whole body relaxed, and she whimpered contentedly as she was massaged.

After taking good care of her, Jiang Yao released her hands, tucked the pair of jade feet properly into the blankets, went to wash her hands, and then returned to bed to hug her wife’s soft body to sleep.

Song Muyun was comfortable and sleepy, but without a familiar person holding her, she couldn’t quite fall asleep.

The moment Jiang Yao returned and wrapped her arms around her, her little head started to nod, and she fell asleep instantly.

The two slept in each other’s arms. The next day, they were woken up by a knocking on the door that sounded like a sudden storm¹⁰.

A vein throbbed¹¹ on Jiang Yao’s forehead. First, she heard the thump, thump, thump of the knocking, followed by that bastard Sima Jushan¹² yelling at the top of his lungs.

“Jiang Yao, time to get up and practice! Godfather asked me to supervise you, so don’t think you can slack off! Are you trapped in an abode of love¹³ in there? If you don’t come out, I’m coming in!”

She was genuinely afraid the blockhead¹⁴ would just push the door open. Just as she was about to get up, the person in her arms was also woken by the noise.

Song Muyun opened her drowsy, sleepy eyes, not yet knowing what was happening. She looked at Jiang Yao in a daze, her body unconsciously snuggling closer, pressing against her arm.

“Why is it so noisy? Is something important happening today?”

With that, she burrowed into Jiang Yao’s embrace, rubbing against her ingratiatingly and mumbling that she was sleepy.

Jiang Yao held her and soothed her, telling her to go back to sleep; she would handle the noise outside.

Song Muyun buried her face in Jiang Yao’s chest and nodded, though it was unclear if she had heard properly.

She was still incredibly sleepy.

Jiang Yao carefully lifted her out of her arms, placed her on the pillow, and pulled the blanket up to wrap her snugly. She threw on some clothes and then strode out menacingly.

Sima Jushan, getting no response, was just about to gather his strength and yell again when the door suddenly opened.

Jiang Yao stood there, her expression cold, a whip in her hand. Without any nonsense, she closed the door, walked out, and pointed the whip at Sima Jushan. “If you make any more noise, I’ll beat you until you shut up.”

She had gotten up in a hurry, only putting on clothes without even tying her long hair into a topknot¹⁵. Sima Jushan’s eyes widened, and he guiltily touched the corner of his mouth. “No way, you were actually still sleeping? Didn’t you used to get up really early?”

He remembered that Jiang Yao used to wake up very early to practice. Why was she still asleep so late now!

Well, he couldn’t be blamed for that; how was he supposed to know!

At that thought, Sima Jushan was about to act all righteous, but one cool glance from Jiang Yao made his courage instantly wither.

He had been suppressed by Jiang Yao since they were children. When his father saw that he couldn’t beat Jiang Yao, he would only get angry and would never help him. As a result, although he dared to act despicably in front of Jiang Yao, when she was truly angry, he wouldn’t dare to make a peep.

“My wife is sleeping. Make another sound and I’ll break your hands!”

Jiang Yao glared at him fiercely.

Sima Jushan took a sheepish step back, his eyes darting left and right guiltily. “How can you call this noisy? Godfather asked me to supervise your training. And that wife of yours, she sleeps for way too long, you…”

He trailed off, managing to shut his mouth in time.

The reason was none other than Jiang Yao nearly lashing his leg with the whip. Luckily, it only struck the ground, leaving a faint white mark that was terrifying to look at.

She hadn’t had enough sleep and was extremely irritable. If it weren’t on her Master’s account, she would have already started hitting him.

“Don’t you dare say a bad word about her.”

Jiang Yao’s voice was cold, and so was her gaze.

Sima Jushan had almost never seen her like this. He was so startled that he started to tremble, finally realizing just how much she liked that Song Muyun. Even saying a few words was not allowed.

“Alright, alright! I won’t say any more, okay?”

Today, Sima Jushan wore black and red martial attire¹⁶, his long hair still tied in a ponytail. Unmarried, he was full of youthful spirit¹⁷. He flicked his long ponytail and said, “Since she’s your wife, you have to let me meet her, right? I can be considered half a big brother¹⁸ to her. From now on, I’ll have her back in the capital.”

Sima Jushan was incredibly smug, clearly thinking highly of himself.

Jiang Yao shot him another extremely annoyed look. “Who needs you to have her back? I’m not that useless yet. Scram, stop bothering me.”

“Why are you trying to kick me out? I’m really here on Godfather’s orders to supervise your training!”

Jiang Yao clutched her forehead, a headache coming on.

She really didn’t want to deal with him, but knowing her father, this was exactly the kind of thing he would do.

“Wait here.”

“Oh.”

Jiang Yao went back inside, quickly combed her hair into a simple style that wouldn’t easily come undone, and came out again.

Sima Jushan, bored from waiting, had long since ordered the maids in her courtyard to set out a tea set and pastries for him. He was eating and drinking while he waited.

“Are you treating my place like your own home?”

Jiang Yao stood before him, looking down at him.

Sima Jushan said righteously, “We are martial siblings¹⁹, as close as real siblings. Your home is my home, so why should I be polite!”

Jiang Yao was speechless.

So shameless. Even more shameless than me. Impressive.

“Get up. Spar with me.”

Jiang Yao was expressionless.

Sima Jushan spat out most of the tea he had just drunk. Thankfully, Jiang Yao dodged quickly. Otherwise, if it had gotten on her, she would have thrown him out no matter what!

“Wait, I have to fight you?”

The man, his mouth full of tea, pointed at himself in disbelief.

Jiang Yao nodded, the corners of her eyes tilting up. “That’s right, you. Didn’t Father send you here to be my sparring partner?”

Sima Jushan was speechless.

“No, I’m very certain Godfather only told me to supervise your training…”

“Oh, but I want you to spar with me.”

…

A quarter of an hour later, Sima Jushan was on the ground, his sword falling from his limp hand with a crisp clatter. “No more, no more! I can’t beat you.”

At first, he hadn’t wanted to admit he couldn’t beat Jiang Yao, but after being repeatedly struck down by her sword, he finally had no choice but to concede.

“Get up. Again.”

“Are you trying to kill me? I already told you I can’t beat you.”

He looked at Jiang Yao with something approaching horror. At this moment, in his eyes, Jiang Yao was no different from a monster.

But Jiang Yao, as if oblivious, tapped her sword impatiently with her finger, urging him to get up and pick up his weapon.

Sima Jushan was speechless.

Damn it, if I’d known, I wouldn’t have come here so early to get tortured!

He had no choice but to climb back to his feet and continue sparring.

The spring sunlight was gentle and warm, not at all harsh, but Sima Jushan was still sweating profusely, looking as if he’d been fished out of water.

They were both using swords, but Jiang Yao’s sword was simply toying with him. She wouldn’t win, but he couldn’t dream of winning either.

Damn, this is exhausting. Someone save me.

Just as he was thinking this in despair, he thought he heard the creak of a door opening. The person in front of him, who had been toying with him with her sword, instantly sheathed it in its scabbard.

The speed of it left Sima Jushan stunned.

He subconsciously looked toward the doorway. Standing there was a delicate woman in a plain dress, her eyes like a misty pool as she looked over softly.

The sight left him dumbfounded.

Having guarded the city with his father for many years, he had never seen such a stunningly beautiful woman. Oh, wait, he had, on the street the other day. But he felt that… she was even more beautiful today. A plain dress suited her best.

As he stood there in a daze, he heard Jiang Yao’s voice. Unlike the impatience she used with him, it was now incredibly gentle.

“Why did you come out? It’s chilly, you should have put on another layer.”

He watched, wide-eyed, as Jiang Yao walked over and pulled the woman into her arms.

The woman didn’t struggle, obediently relaxing in Jiang Yao’s embrace and even lifting her head to kiss her.

Sima Jushan belatedly realized that Jiang Yao’s wife was such an absolute beauty. It was shocking!

How on earth did a brute like Jiang Yao manage to find such a rare beauty for a wife?

Sima Jushan was indignant and cried out in his heart that the heavens were blind.

The next moment, Song Muyun’s gaze fell on him. Her voice was polite but carried a trace of distance. “Jiang Yao, this is…”

She had seen him yesterday and only remembered that his words were unpleasant.

Jiang Yao also looked at him. Sima Jushan’s body, already exhausted from sparring, suddenly trembled. He saw her shift her gaze back to the beauty in her arms and say, “This is the Great General’s son I told you about yesterday, Sima Jushan. You can just call him Sima.”

Sima Jushan awkwardly clasped his fist in a salute to Song Muyun.

His attitude was a bit off, not like on the street when he had said those unpleasant things. After returning the salute, Song Muyun bewilderedly hid behind Jiang Yao.

Jiang Yao’s face darkened. She finally remembered that the reason her shixiong²⁰ had never married was that he liked extremely delicate women who would depend on him. But her Master had always wanted him to marry a female general so they could spar and support each other in the future. Neither would listen to the other, and the matter had been dragged out until now.

“If you look again, I’ll kick you out!”

Jiang Yao frowned, her expression furious.

Sima Jushan immediately straightened up. “I’m not looking, I’m not looking! Look at how angry you are. Would I really covet your wife?!”

The two were practically childhood sweethearts. Jiang Yao knew his preferences very well. To avoid any misunderstanding, Sima Jushan immediately clarified.

“Get out. And don’t just walk into my courtyard whenever you please from now on!”

Jiang Yao ground her teeth, seething with anger.

“Fine, fine, I’m going! Isn’t it enough that I’m leaving?”

If he stayed any longer, he would probably get a real beating. Sima Jushan scurried away.

Song Muyun was still a little baffled. She quietly tugged on Jiang Yao’s pinky. “What’s wrong? Don’t be angry. A visitor is a guest, you should be more polite.”

“Hmph, I was polite enough. Didn’t you say he spoke ill of you the other day? So just ignore him, be good.”

She rubbed Song Muyun’s ear.

Song Muyun nodded obediently. She hadn’t wanted to pay any attention to that person anyway. She didn’t know what was wrong with him; the other day he had vaguely implied she wasn’t worthy of Jiang Yao, and today he just stared at her. In any case, she didn’t like him.

…

“Jiang Yao, when I woke up just now, I didn’t see you.”

The young lady looked up at Jiang Yao, her eyes clear, as if holding shattered stars.

Jiang Yao understood and immediately began to explain. “You were half-asleep and forgot, didn’t you? Sima Jushan was knocking on the door outside. It was too noisy, you couldn’t sleep soundly, so I went out to tell him to shut up.”

Song Muyun leaned against Jiang Yao’s chest, still a little dissatisfied. “Then why were you gone for so long? The bed got cold.”

She couldn’t warm the bed by herself, and Jiang Yao had still left her to go outside.

Hmph, truly unreasonable.

She secretly blamed Jiang Yao in her heart, but her face still showed a hint of dependence.

It was as if she hadn’t been able to kiss and hug Jiang Yao for a long time. Both yesterday and today, she had been very clingy, unwilling to leave Jiang Yao’s side for even a moment.

“Father sent him to supervise my training, so I practiced for a while.”

“No wonder you’re all sweaty.”

Song Muyun took out a lightly scented handkerchief and gently wiped Jiang Yao’s temples.

Jiang Yao held her hand and brought it to her lips for a kiss. “I’ll have to spend more time practicing recently. War has broken out in the Northwest²¹. If nothing unexpected happens, I’ll be going.”

She had decided to go the moment she got the news. She was already eighteen this year. Before, she wasn’t in a hurry, but now she was anxious to build up some assets to marry her wife. She couldn’t very well marry her without an official rank.

Song Muyun knew that Jiang Yao was on the path of a military general, and she had mentioned that she would join the army if war broke out, but…

After a moment’s hesitation, a small, fair hand tugged on Jiang Yao’s sleeve. “Then what will I do?”

She had already made up her mind; she would always follow Jiang Yao. They were in a wife-wife relationship, and she couldn’t bear to be apart from Jiang Yao for years on end.

However, she hadn’t expected Jiang Yao to say without a second thought, “You’ll wait for me at home, of course. If things go smoothly, I’ll be back in a few months.”

Song Muyun’s slender phoenix eyes narrowed instantly, a dangerous edge to her voice. “What did you say?”

Jiang Yao, completely oblivious, repeated herself. “I said, you wait for me at home. I’ll be back soon.”

The next second, a scent pouch²² was suddenly thrown at her chest. The little fairy²³‘s eyes were red-rimmed as she glared at her and threw out, “You bastard!”

She went inside and slammed the door with a bang.

The door was shut tight right in front of Jiang Yao, nearly hitting her pert nose.

Jiang Yao was speechless.

Damn it, my wife suddenly blew up.

Jiang Yao subconsciously tried to push the door open, but a cold voice came from inside. “You dare come in and see what happens.”

…

She didn’t dare. She didn’t dare at all.

She immediately took two proper steps back. A moment later, she knocked on the door again, restrained and careful, calling to the person inside, “Muyun, when can I come in?”

The person inside was flustered and exasperated. “Don’t come in! Don’t ever come in again! I don’t want to see you!”

The words were like a thunderclap on a clear day²⁴, stunning Jiang Yao. Her wife doesn’t want to see her anymore? And told her to never come in again?

Silence fell outside. Song Muyun, both angry and anxious, thought, Did she leave? She left before I was even coaxed? She just left?!

The more the young lady thought, the angrier she became, but she was also afraid that she had really left. She suddenly flung the door open again, only to meet the eyes of a pensive Jiang Yao right outside.

Jiang Yao froze again. The next second, seeing the door about to be slammed in her face once more, she acted with the speed of a quick eye and deft hand²⁵, slipping half her body inside.

She looked at Song Muyun in the room with an expression of utter innocence.

Song Muyun was furious and glared at her. “Get out! I don’t want to deal with you!”

“You say you don’t want to deal with me, but then why did you open the door just now? Were you afraid I’d left?”

Jiang Yao was quite confident, her face showing her certainty.

Song Muyun had indeed been afraid she had left, but she didn’t want to tell her that. Feeling both angry and wronged, she pouted, and her eyes instantly filled with tears.

The confident Jiang Yao was no longer confident. She fumbled with the scent pouch in her hand, completely at a loss. She was in a frantic fluster as she tried to coax her, closing the distance to pull her into an embrace and patting her back again and again. “Don’t cry, don’t cry. What’s wrong? Did I say something to make you angry?”

This person still doesn’t know why I’m angry! This made her want to cry even more!

Song Muyun lifted her red, watery eyes and glared at Jiang Yao again. Then, she unceremoniously used her sleeve to wipe her tears, finally asking in a hoarse voice, “You’re going to war, and you’re going to leave me in the capital?”

Jiang Yao affirmed again without hesitation, “Of course. The battlefield is dangerous, and I’m afraid I won’t have the time to protect you. It’s more reassuring if you stay in the capital.”

And then Jiang Yao was kicked out. Before being kicked out, the scent pouch in her hand was even confiscated!

As Song Muyun snatched the pouch, she said fiercely, “I’m never making you anything again! Now get out!”

She didn’t stop until she had chased her all the way out of the courtyard.

In the process of trying to coax her, Jiang Yao naturally figured out where she had gone wrong, but Muyun was already thoroughly enraged and wouldn’t listen to a word she said. If she didn’t leave, she would cry.

Helpless, she had no choice but to leave first.

Sima Jushan, who had been waiting outside the whole time, had excellent hearing and had long since heard the commotion inside. Now, he leaned against a tree with his arms crossed, a little gleeful at her misfortune. “What’s this? Had a fight with your wife?”

Jiang Yao shot him a cool glance, then nimbly climbed up a large, shady tree outside and lay down on a branch, her eyes constantly peeking toward her room, hoping to see some movement.

Sima Jushan was not a peaceful person. Seeing her go up, he immediately followed, found a spot to lie down, and poked Jiang Yao curiously.

Jiang Yao said impatiently, “If you have something to say, spit it out.”

“Hey, what did you say? I think I heard your wife crying.”

The person who had been lying on the branch with her eyes closed a second ago suddenly sat up, frowning at Sima Jushan. “Why are you so focused on her? That’s my wife. I’m warning you, if you dare to have any ideas, even Master won’t be able to save you.”

It wasn’t that Jiang Yao had never beaten Sima Jushan. On the contrary, she had beaten him many times. It was just that Sima Jushan was never convinced; if he wasn’t beaten for a few days, he’d climb the roof and remove the tiles²⁶. So she was used to threatening him with a beating. If he didn’t listen, she would actually beat him.

How would Sima Jushan dare have any designs on her person? At first, he was just attracted by the woman’s delicate appearance. Now that he understood she belonged to Jiang Yao and didn’t need his protection at all, he didn’t dare to think about it anymore.

Besides, you can’t go around poaching²⁷ from your own camp, right?

Jiang Yao would beat him to death.

“No, no, no! I swear, I really don’t have any ideas! I was just curious and wanted to ask you. Maybe I could help you think of a way to coax her?”

The young man sat on the branch opposite Jiang Yao, propping himself up with his hands.

Jiang Yao glanced at him and saw the faint glee still on his face, as if to say, Hurry up and tell me, let me have a laugh. She snorted coldly and lay back down. “I don’t need your help. I can coax her myself.”

She lay on the tree branch outside for a short while before there was a noise in the courtyard. She immediately sat up to look and saw the window of her room open. A slender woman stood there, her brows knitted as she gazed into the distance. After a moment, as if in anger, she raised her hand as if to smash something, but then paused. In the end, she threw a flower outside and closed the window.

The slight frown on Jiang Yao’s face relaxed, and the corners of her mouth lifted gently. She jumped down from the tree and started walking away.

Sima Jushan was momentarily stunned, then quickly chased after her, calling from behind, “Hey, where are you going?”

“To buy something to coax my wife. She’s about to cool down. I have to get back before she starts missing me.”

Otherwise, she would just be getting over her anger only to become unhappy again.

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The author has something to say:

Ahhhh, so late, I repent QAQ

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