Forbidden to Bully the Storybook’s Heroine – Chapter 9

The Seventh Prince Wants to Steal Someone!

People came and went in the outer rooms, creating a bit of a clamor, but Jiang Yao paid it no mind. She continued pulling Song Muyun closer to look at the storybook in her hands, though she was no longer reading as quietly as before. Now, she was cursing as she read.

“Who wrote this? It’s such garbage. The male lead treats the female lead like that, and she can still fall for him?”

“Is the female lead blind? You can’t be like this in the future. If a man ever bullies and humiliates you like this, you must not fall in love with him.”

Jiang Yao emphasized.

Song Muyun didn’t know why she was always saying these things. If there was anyone who bullied and humiliated her, it was only Murong Qing. Was Jiang Yao afraid she would fall for Murong Qing?

Why would she be afraid? Could it be that Jiang Yao… likes Murong Qing?

Song Muyun gently pressed her lips together. If she herself was unworthy of Murong Qing, then Jiang Yao and Murong Qing were the difference between clouds and mud¹. How could a hypocrite like Murong Qing possibly be worthy of her?

She’s brought up Murong Qing several times, asking if I could like him. She must be afraid that I like him. If she didn’t like Murong Qing, why would she be afraid of me liking him?

Song Muyun’s thoughts ran into a dead end. She lightly bit her lower lip, her mind growing hazy. The more she thought about it, the more she felt Murong Qing was unworthy of such a dashing and valiant², yet gentle and kind, woman.

Jiang Yao poked her snow-white face. “What’s wrong? What are you thinking about?”

She’s not thinking about Murong Qing, is she?

That would be terrible.

The poke brought Song Muyun back to her senses, a trace of confusion still lingering in her beautiful eyes.

“Miss Jiang, I would never like a man like that.”

Regardless of whether Jiang Yao liked Murong Qing or not, she had to make her own position clear. She couldn’t let Miss Jiang think she was trying to compete with her.

Song Muyun’s expression was earnest, causing Jiang Yao to let out a sudden sigh of relief. She reached out and rubbed the fluffy back of the girl’s head, her voice carrying a hint of doting affection as she said, “Good girl.”

The little fairy was stunned by the coddling. She turned her head slightly to the side without a word, but the tips of her ears had turned red.

Before they knew it, it was wushi³. Jiang Yao climbed up from the rocking chair, stretched her stiff limbs, and reached out to pull Song Muyun up as well. “I’m going to order some food. You wait here for me.”

“What would Miss Jiang like to eat? I can go order.”

Song Muyun gently followed, but Jiang Yao shook her head in refusal. “No need. Just sit here and wait for me.”

She walked out of the room, casually grabbed a chore boy, and ordered the dishes she wanted. Seeing him nod hastily and head for the kitchen, she returned to her room, quite satisfied.

However, just as she reached the entrance, she found the door to the private room she had booked wide open. A man’s sarcastic voice drifted out from within. “Miss Song, you truly have some skills. First, you latched onto This Prince, and now you’ve latched onto someone else. Having fallen into a pleasure house, do you truly see yourself as a lowly woman? Could it be that Lord Song only taught you these fickle ways of a cloudy mind and watery heart⁴?”

Jiang Yao nearly had to roll her eyes to the heavens⁵. Just as she was about to step inside and curse out Murong Qing for showing up on his own, she heard a sharp slap.

She was stunned. Fearing that Murong Qing had dared to strike Song Muyun, she rushed in, only to see Murong Qing clutching half of his face, staring at Song Muyun with wide, disbelieving eyes.

Jiang Yao: Suddenly, I feel so much better.

The sound of her entering startled the two of them. Murong Qing looked from Song Muyun to Jiang Yao in disbelief, but ultimately directed his fury at Song Muyun first. “You dare hit me? Can you bear the crime of striking a prince?!”

Song Muyun ignored him, her gaze instead falling on Jiang Yao. A flicker of grievance actually crossed her eyes.

Jiang Yao looked at Murong Qing, feeling a wave of annoyance. What an actor. He’s one way outside and a completely different way inside the Yueshang House.

The speed of his face-changing⁶ was astonishing.

Tsk, whatever. I can’t be bothered with him.

Jiang Yao raised a hand, beckoning to Song Muyun with a lazy and leisurely air.

Song Muyun immediately scurried over to her side, her eyes misty as she looked at her, appearing as if she had been bullied. It truly made Jiang Yao’s heart ache.

Murong Qing pointed an angry finger at Jiang Yao. “Why are you here too?!”

Jiang Yao casually took Song Muyun’s hand and led her to sit down at the table. “If you can be here, why can’t I? Go on, what happened?”

She asked the question, but her eyes were on Song Muyun.

Song Muyun pressed her lips together and said in a small voice, “He insulted me, and he insulted my father.”

Murong Qing’s face was grim as he looked at Jiang Yao. “Can’t you see this bitch hit me first?!”

Jiang Yao’s brow slowly furrowed. What is wrong with the people who write these storybooks? Do they never pick a decent male lead? A man who spews such filth can actually be the main character?

She felt a bit displeased.

She spoke lazily, “But it was clearly you who started by not speaking human words⁷ first, wasn’t it?”

Murong Qing: ???

What is Jiang Yao talking about?

“Jiang Yao, have you taken the wrong medicine⁸?!”

She actually said he wasn’t speaking human words. Has Jiang Yao gone mad???

Jiang Yao raised a hand to pour herself a cup of tea, managing to spare Murong Qing a sidelong glance. “Your Highness, the Seventh Prince, I haven’t even asked yet. This is the private room I booked. What are you doing here?”

Murong Qing’s face alternated between shades of green and white. He hadn’t touched Song Muyun yesterday and had come today specifically with instruments of punishment, only to find that Song Muyun had already been requested by someone else.

The Song family had displeased his Father Emperor, so how did someone dare to request Song Muyun? Weren’t they afraid of displeasing his Father Emperor as well?

The displeasure from not having dealt with Song Muyun yesterday, combined with the anger of having her snatched away today, had prompted Murong Qing to come and see just who was so bold!

He never expected it to be Jiang Yao again.

She fought him for someone yesterday, and she was doing it again today.

Murong Qing had a strange, bad premonition. Don’t tell me I’m going to run into Jiang Yao every single time from now on?

He did his best to suppress the thought and looked at Jiang Yao with a cold face. “This Prince merely heard that someone was bold enough to request the daughter of a convicted official, so I came to have a look.”

Jiang Yao leaned against the table, propping her face up with one hand as she tilted her head to look at Murong Qing. “Is Your Highness, the Seventh Prince, talking about yourself? The one who comes to this Yueshang House every day to request Song Muyun is you, not me. This is my first time requesting her. Don’t you go slandering people.”

Murong Qing was rendered speechless, his expression growing even uglier. He could only skip past the topic, asking with a barely concealed trace of anger, “Miss Jiang has taken a liking to Song Muyun as well?”

Song Muyun sat to the side, her head lowered, looking rather docile.

Jiang Yao gave a faint hum of agreement. “I find her service agreeable. What about it?”

“The other women at Yueshang House are no worse than Song Muyun. Must you fight with This Prince over one person?”

He was a prince. Logically, no one should dare to snatch a woman he had his eye on. It had always been this way, but then Jiang Yao had appeared out of nowhere.

“I haven’t taken a liking to the other women, only to her. I must ask Your Highness, the Seventh Prince, to cut your love⁹.”

She was also getting annoyed with Murong Qing. So shameless. I was here first, I requested Song Muyun first, so what is Murong Qing doing over there, barking like a dog¹⁰?

Murong Qing couldn’t understand. “Women who come to a pleasure house mostly request for xiaoguan¹¹. Why do you insist on requesting a woman?”

Jiang Yao: “This young miss feels like it. What’s it to you? Get out, stop standing there and keeping me from my lunch.”

Her tone was not pleasant. Murong Qing’s face darkened, but he ultimately didn’t want to tear face¹² with her. Deciding to yield to her one more time, he turned and left. The delicious dishes that had been blocked outside were finally able to be brought in.

Jiang Yao patted the back of Song Muyun’s pale, delicate hand. “Eat up. Don’t mind him, he’s ruining This young miss’s appetite. Here, try this vinegar fish.”

She looked as though she gave him no false colors¹³, not at all like someone who was fond of Murong Qing…

As Song Muyun thought this, her gaze fell upon the vinegar fish in the small Qingyu¹⁴ bowl. For a moment, she actually felt that Miss Jiang treated her better than she treated Murong Qing.

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The author has something to say:

The Author: I’m just sayin’, is it possible your feeling wasn’t wrong?

I was supposed to update yesterday, but my other account just finished a story, and I wrote more than I planned, so this one was delayed by a day, my bad. I’ll be focusing on this book from now on.

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