Is It Forbidden to Bully the Heroine of the Novel? - Chapter 14
Chapter 14
Exploited
As evening approached, Jiang Yao carefully escorted Song Muyun back to Moonrise Pavillion, reminding her before she left, “Eat the candy quickly or it might melt.”
Song Muyun’s fingers, which resembled white jade, were still holding the candy. She nodded slightly, “I understand. Thank you for today, Miss Jiang.”
Jiang Yao waved her hand dismissively, “No need for such formality. Just call me Jiang Yao from now on. Well, I’ll be on my way. Get some rest, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Jiang Yao took a few steps, then turned to wave at Song Muyun once more.
The slight curl at the corner of Song Muyun’s lip indicated that she was in a good mood.
Suddenly, elegantly dressed Yan Jin approached from a distance, her brows slightly furrowed, a hint of concern in her expression. When she saw Song Muyun, her eyes lit up and she hurriedly glanced behind her before asking urgently, “Miss Jiang, has she left yet?”
Song Muyun’s brows furrowed in confusion as he looked at Yan Jin, “She just left. Why are you looking for Miss Jiang… Yao?”
Those two words lingered on her tongue, inexplicably carrying a hint of sweetness.
Yan Jin’s delicate eyebrows furrowed even more, her words tinged with concern, “The Seventh Prince is inside. He asked me to wait for you to get back, and when you did, he wanted you to go in. I had hoped that if Miss Jiang Yao was there, she might be able to protect you. But now this…”
Moonrise Pavillion was full of unfortunate women who naturally sympathised with each other. Many sisters pitied Song Muyun for her fall from grace and the countless humiliations she had suffered at the hands of Murong Qing.
After Murong Qing left several times, she couldn’t even stand up. How could people not be worried about her?
Upon hearing the mention of the Seventh Prince, Song Muyun’s slender body wrapped in blue robes subconsciously trembled. After a moment, she touched the Red Butterfly Tassel Hairpin in her hair, delicately pulled it out and tucked it away, her expression turning cold, “Thank you, Sister Yan Jin. I’ll go there now.”
Seeing that she was about to leave, Yan Jin grabbed her hand, “Or should I ask Miss Jiang Yao to come back? She probably hasn’t gone far…”
Over the past few days, Song Muyun had enjoyed some good times, completely relying on Miss Jiang’s protection.
If Jiang Yao were present, perhaps the Seventh Prince would restrain himself a little.
But Song Muyun shook her head, her demeanour cold and distant, seemingly indifferent to what she might face later.
“It’s all right. No need to call her. Just ask Sister Yan Jin to bring me some hot water later.”
She lowered her head, her words making her intentions clear – she intended to face the Seventh Prince alone.
Knowing her background as a former official’s daughter, Yan Jin sensed a hint of pride and reluctance to seek help from others. Despite her attempts to persuade Song Muyun, she had no choice but to agree, “Very well… just don’t confront the Seventh Prince today. It’s better to avoid trouble.”
Song Muyun remained silent, walking with her slender waist turned inward. She didn’t want to bother Jiang Yao with this matter. Although the Seventh Prince wasn’t that great, he was still a prince and a potential future emperor. Jiang Yao was so kind, and she didn’t want Jiang Yao to confront the Seventh Prince on her behalf. At most, she would take a beating; Murong Qing would not do anything to her.
Ever since she arrived in Moonrise Pavillion, Murong Qing had told her that she was unworthy of his attention.
As Yan Jin watched Song Muyun’s departing figure, she felt both unbearable and helpless, unable to stop her. She instructed the maid beside her to buy some medicine from the pharmacy and went to Song Muyun’s small room to heat water in preparation for what was to come.
Song Muyun entered Murong Qing’s room alone and found only him inside. She remained calm and cold, unlike the slight intimacy she had shown with Jiang Yao earlier. Murong Qing gritted his teeth; he had admired Song Muyun for a long time, but had received no response from her. She always remained distant while Jiang Yao had become so close to her in just a few days. He heard that they even went to the Treasure Pavilion together?
He couldn’t stand that.
A dark light flashed in Murong Qing’s eyes. He extended his hand towards Song Muyun, a sinister smile playing on his lips as he softly said, “Come here.”
Song Muyun’s heart grew colder. Her expression unchanged, she stared at him coldly, standing at the door without moving until Murong Qing lost all patience, the smile on his lips gradually fading…
—
Jiang Yao returned home, but was immediately summoned by her father.
Jiang Heng’s study was always kept locked, the room shrouded in darkness. When Jiang Yao entered, he lit the lamp.
“Father, why did you call me? I’ve just come back from outside and I’m exhausted.”
Jiang Yao casually pulled a chair over and sat down, crossing her legs as usual.
Jiang Heng glanced at her, but remained silent. In the quiet study, the tapping of his fingertips on the table made crisp sounds. Somehow, Jiang Yao felt a little uneasy and quietly uncrossed her legs to sit properly.
Several candles were lit in the room. Jiang Heng returned to his desk, looked at Jiang Yao and asked slowly, “Did you… visit the Song family’s young lady today?”
He had begun to investigate the matter. Initially accused of withholding information about local disasters that led to a lack of aid, the Emperor’s wrath fell on him. He found it strange.
Everything seemed too smooth in the investigation. Almost all the evidence was out in the open. How could Song Yunqian have held this position if he was so stupid?
But at that time, the emperor was furious about the matter. Anyone who spoke in Song Yunqian’s favour was implicated. He couldn’t say much and had to think about it in secret.
What Jiang Yao had said about Murong Qing and Song Muyun made him even more suspicious.
Song Muyun was supposed to be taken to the Entertainments Bureau, so why did she end up in Moonrise Pavillion? Moonrise Pavillion was not under royal control, but someone influential seemed to be involved. Why did the Seventh Prince insist on sending Song Muyun there?
Furthermore, why did the Seventh Prince torment Song Muyun every day once she was there?
For some reason, he felt that Song Yunqian must have offended some prince in order to be framed, and even his daughter was not spared.
Jiang Yao, who was close to her father, told him almost everything. She immediately revealed what she knew.
“The Seventh Prince once admired Song Muyun and wanted to make her his concubine. But when she refused him, he began to hate her and can’t bear to see her happy!”
That was what she had learned from her dreams. It was almost certain. And remembering it made her angry again. What was wrong with Murong Qing? If he really liked someone, would he ask her to be his lover? It was absurd.
The more Jiang Yao thought about it, the more she felt that Murong Qing was not a suitable match. He wasn’t worthy of any woman, such a shame.
Jiang Heng’s mouth twitched in disbelief. He asked again, “You said that the Seventh Prince once admired the Song girl and wanted to marry her? Then why is he torturing her now and imprisoning her in Moonrise Pavillion?”
“As I said, Murong Qing harboured hatred out of love, and felt embarrassed by the rejection, so he hated Song Muyun,” she replied.
It sounded unbelievable, but it was true.
Jiang Heng fell silent for a moment, then raised his voice with a hint of doubt, “Is the Seventh Prince such a narrow-minded person?
Was he incapable of accepting the slightest rejection from others?
Jiang Yao rolled her eyes inwardly, “Do you understand now? Otherwise, why do you think I keep cursing him? He’s a disgrace, always pretending in front of others, but ridiculing me behind my back.”
These words contained a lot of Jiang Yao’s personal speculations. After all, Murong Qing always put on a big show out there, especially when he coveted her father’s prestige at court. He appeared to be very gentle to her, but she felt that it was fake. When she saw Murong Qing’s smiling face, she thought it was the most artificial thing ever. Annoyed by his hypocrisy, she often added fuel to the fire by saying bad things about him in front of her father.
In the past, Jiang Heng had dismissed her childishness as a joke. But now he was inclined to believe a little.
The Seventh Prince was indeed a two-faced, shallow and narrow-minded person.
“Father, why did you call me here all of a sudden? Have you found out? Are you going to ban Murong Qing from entering our house?” She had long been unhappy about Murong Qing’s unhindered presence in the Prime Minister’s residence.
Jiang Heng lifted his head to look at her and furrowed his brow, “Didn’t I tell you? Don’t exaggerate, don’t give anyone a reason to talk.”
When her father became stern, Jiang Yao instinctively shrugged her shoulders, immediately admitting her mistake and avoiding another scolding from her father.
Then Jiang Heng, apparently having received the answers he was looking for, motioned for her to leave: “It’s getting late. It’s time for your martial arts training. Go quickly.”
Jiang Yao:…
“Did you call me just to talk about this?”
“Just to ask. Since you don’t like reading and insist on martial arts, hurry up. Don’t disgrace the Jiang family by being all brawn and no brains.” He changed the subject without mentioning the matters regarding the Seventh Prince and Song Muyun.
Jiang Yao shrugged, stood up and replied with a raised chin, “Understood. I’ll leave now. I won’t let anyone think that you raised an incompetent daughter.”
She knew that her father had plans of his own. He was much smarter than she was, and he managed the things she couldn’t. This time would be no different.
She was sure that her father had been taken by surprise in her dreams, deceived by Murong Qing, leading to such a miserable end. Now, with her subtle reminder, her father would wake up and Murong Qing wouldn’t be allowed to climb higher by stepping on the Jiang family.
Jiang Yao’s eyes showed a hint of cold. She returned to the courtyard to practice martial arts, even though her dynasty had not officially banned women from doing so. It was unusual, but her father had set a path for her to become a military leader, and she couldn’t afford to disappoint him.
After practising for a few hours, Jiang Yao, exhausted, took a hot water bath and soon fell asleep on the soft and comfortable bed.
The next day, she set off as usual to Moonrise Pavillion alone, picking up two freshly steamed buns along the way, intending to share them with Song Muyun.
Author’s note:
The author is in tears, shouting out loud, “Why is this taking so long? I was about to finish it, and suddenly I got my period. I don’t know if any of you suffer from menstrual pain. It was so painful that I almost threw up. My friend even told me that the painkillers take two hours to work! Isn’t that a death sentence for me?