Is It Forbidden to Bully the Heroine of the Novel? - Chapter 78

Chapter 78

She had rehearsed it in her mind countless times, a strike to kill. Murong Qing only glared at her for a moment before quickly losing his breath and dying with his eyes open. Supported by a heart full of hatred, Song Muyun accomplished all this, but she suddenly panicked at the moment of his death.

This was her first time killing someone, killing the person she hated. She did not regret killing him, but what if someone found out?

Song Muyun suddenly became very afraid, her hand holding the dagger trembling.

Until Jiang Yao found her and saw this scene.

The dark guard mentioned that Muyun was heading to the Cold Palace, and Jiang Yao could hardly believe it. What would she do in the Cold Palace, a desolate and cold place? What would this frail woman do there?

Driven by the worry at the bottom of his heart, fearing his wife was deceived by someone, especially since he had previously offered to accompany her but she refused, thinking about it, there indeed seemed to be something wrong. Thus, Jiang Yao still went to the Cold Palace to look for her, never expecting to see this scene upon arrival.

Song Muyun’s hands were trembling, her eyes filled with tears. Clearly, she had just stabbed someone to death, rendering them breathless, yet she somehow appeared very pitiful, as if she was the one who had been bullied.

Jiang Yao felt an inexplicable tightness in his chest, frowned, and quickly walked over. In Song Muyun’s extreme panic, he grabbed her hand, the one that had almost touched the blood.

Song Muyun suddenly looked up and saw Jiang Yao’s face, and all her strength drained away instantly.

Already somewhat scared, she became even more frightened at this moment and let go of her grip. Murong Qing’s gradually cooling and stiff body thudded to the ground. Her eyes, full of tears, looked at Jiang Yao timidly. After a moment, she threw herself into Jiang Yao’s arms, her body trembling slightly, obviously very scared.

Despite being so scared, she still did it. Jiang Yao closed his eyes deeply and then spoke through gritted teeth, “Song Muyun! Have you lost your mind? Daring to assassinate a prince in the palace!”

This was a capital offense, even though she had prepared to take the lives of both of them, she had never thought of making a move inside the palace.

How could she dare?

Jiang Yao was completely shocked but still firmly held the trembling woman who kept burrowing into his arms.

Song Muyun was obviously terrified, her tears nearly soaking through Jiang Yao’s clothes. With a voice muffled by sobs, she asked, “How did you know I was here? Did someone see me?”

Jiang Yao was also afraid of this; he feared someone had seen her. If the matter was exposed, what should they do?

“It was my dark guard who saw you heading this way. I didn’t ask anyone else.”

Jiang Yao’s care for Song Muyun was obvious to all. Seeing Song Muyun leaving alone, his dark guard couldn’t help but pay extra attention, which eventually led them to find her.

“You really can do anything.”

Holding the person in his arms, Jiang Yao managed to say this after a long while, his eyes and eyebrows filled with helplessness. Song Muyun silently hugged him tighter, sniffed her nose, and slowly calmed down her panicked emotions, then whispered an apology.

It was at this moment that Murong Chun was brought over.

Seeing Murong Chun fainting on the dark guard, Jiang Yao was so shocked that he couldn’t close his mouth.

Muyun… What was she trying to do?

Was she planning to kill two princes in a row?

Jiang Yao was momentarily considering the chances of successfully seizing the throne.

Thinking this, Song Muyun stabilized her emotions, stepped back from Jiang Yao’s embrace, and looked at Murong Qing’s corpse with a flash of hatred in her eyes, which quickly turned into panic. She was terribly scared but forced herself to endure, holding back her fear, and instructed the dark guard to bring Murong Chun over and place him on Murong Qing, making him hold the dagger.

After doing all this, the young girl turned to look at Jiang Yao, almost crying out in fear. Even though she hated Murong Qing, she had never killed anyone before. Despite being bullied by so many people, she had never taken a life herself.

Jiang Yao frowned as he watched her actions, understanding her plan. He really wanted to scold her, but with time pressing, he could only help her clean up the mess now.

He walked over, grabbed Murong Chun’s hand, which was holding the dagger in Murong Qing’s chest, then pulled it out and made a forceful move to cut elsewhere, causing fresh blood to flow out. After deliberately creating a few non-fatal wounds, he took the dagger and stabbed it deep into the most lethal part of the heart, cold blood splattering on Murong Chun’s face.

Jiang Yao knew how to move to avoid the blood. They stood up, clean and unscathed.

He asked for Song Muyun’s entire plan.

Song Muyun’s eyelashes trembled, not daring to hide anything from him, and laid it all out, “I, I forged Murong Chun’s handwriting, sent a letter to Murong Qing, asking him to meet here, and even used my own name. I wanted to kill him and then frame it on Murong Chun.”

Jiang Yao: …

“You really dare.”

His gaze was complex, always thinking his little wife was somewhat timid, but never expected her not only to be not timid but also so bold.

That was a prince, killed just like that.

Truly audacious.

Jiang Yao watched her for a long while without saying anything, then sighed heavily and went to the dry well to pick up a stone. He used Murong Qing’s somewhat stiff hand to hold the stone and smashed it hard on Murong Chun’s head, then took out a black pill from his pocket and fed it into Murong Chun’s mouth.

The pill was colorless and tasteless, dissolving immediately upon contact with water. After ensuring the pill had dissolved, he stood up and said through gritted teeth, “Alright, let’s leave it to fate. Come on, let’s go wash our hands.”

His hands were covered in dust from holding Murong Chun’s hand, naturally needing a wash.

At this moment, Song Muyun was exceptionally obedient and followed Jiang Yao with a guilty expression.

With a dark guard clearing the way outside, they didn’t meet a single palace servant on their way out.

Jiang Yao washed his hands in the lake water and then walked back hand in hand with Song Muyun.

Despite their extremely intimate posture, he didn’t say a word to Song Muyun.

Song Muyun wanted to speak, but after opening her mouth a few times, she closed it again, her eyes watery and pitiful. After a while, she called out to Jiang Yao in a very soft voice.

Jiang Yao still didn’t turn around or respond, knowing she was upset, Song Muyun lowered her head, looking somewhat dejected.

After washing their hands, the two found a few people who were chatting leisurely outside and joined them.

Some people like to admire flowers,

and naturally, there are those who do not. They had sneaked out to play early.

Jiang Yao encountered them on the way and brought Song Muyun over without a word, heading in the direction of the banquet. He explained that Muyun had gone out to use the restroom but had accidentally lost her way, so he came to find her.

Most unmarried young ladies are naive and kind-hearted. Seeing Jiang Yao’s gentle demeanor, they immediately nodded in understanding, sharing their own stories of getting lost in the palace during their first visit.

Jiang Yao smiled and tried to appear as gentle as possible. He usually hung out with military officers and rarely interacted with young ladies.

Especially those from the capital.

They are easily frightened.

Oh, right, he had once waved his whip at a certain banquet and scared a noble lady to tears. Since then, he has kept his distance from noble ladies of the capital, except for Muyun, who had to approach him to save the Jiang family, trying hard to show goodwill.

“Did I hear that Miss Jiang used to live on the border?” a young lady asked curiously.

Jiang Yao responded, “Hmm, I returned to the capital in recent years.”

“Wow, is the border fun? Are there lots of interesting things that we don’t have in the capital?” a young lady in pink asked, full of imagination.

Jiang Yao paused, a strange look in his eyes, before saying, “The border… is very poor. The people have no money, every piece of clothing is patched, there are no interesting things, and it’s very cold. Many people freeze to death in the winter.”

The group of noble ladies, untouched by worldly concerns, were stunned, exchanging glances, and no one dared to speak for a while. Finally, the leader, a young lady in green, asked with a puzzled expression, “How can they freeze to death? Don’t they have coal fires?”

The young lady’s eyes were full of genuine confusion. She seemed to really not understand.

Jiang Yao’s lips curled into a wry smile and explained, “The border is close to the barbarian lands. Many merchants don’t like to do business there because it’s easy to get robbed, leading to increasing poverty in the area.”

Some young ladies, upon hearing this, puffed up their cheeks in indignation, “Oh my, how can it be like this? Isn’t there anyone to stop them, allowing them to rob our Great Jin’s citizens?”

“They are not our countrymen. After robbing, they just run away, and it’s hard to manage unless Great Jin intends to wage war.”

This statement silenced the young ladies.

They were young ladies kept in the inner chambers, where their elders still adhered to the three obediences and four virtues for women, forbidding them from hearing too much about court affairs, so naturally, they knew little.

Hearing for the first time that the border was like this, they all felt somewhat sad.

They easily sympathized with the people living in hardship at the border.

“Then, can’t Great Jin go to war?”

They only knew that Great Jin was a powerful country with the most territory in the world, how could it be bullied like this?

But Jiang Yao shook his head, “War would drain resources and bring more suffering to the people.”

The noble ladies fell silent again, Song Muyun standing by Jiang Yao’s side, looking up at him. The woman seemed to be glowing, so bright she couldn’t open her eyes.

Someone eagerly asked, “Then, if we have no choice but to go to war, would we win?”

Jiang Yao stroked Song Muyun’s hand with his fingers, his lips curving into a bold and unrestrained smile, without hesitation, “Of course, if there is a war, I will also go.”

He would also go, so they would definitely win.

This was Jiang Yao’s confidence.

He had been on the battlefield since he was fourteen.

He was quite familiar with their capabilities, if not thoroughly.

The young ladies immediately looked at him with admiration.

For the first time being looked at by so many people, Jiang Yao, who had just been confident, immediately felt embarrassed. Why are they all looking at him like this?

Was that last statement too ostentatious?

“You’re so amazing. Can we call you Jiang Yao? You’re really going to the battlefield.”

Jiang Yao felt somewhat nervous, glanced back at Song Muyun, and somehow felt more at ease, nodding slightly, “You can call me anything. If there’s a chance, I naturally have to go to the battlefield to protect our country.”

He felt somewhat embarrassed saying this, as if he was trying to show off something among the young ladies.

Song Muyun quietly watched them praise Jiang Yao. She always knew Jiang Yao was an exceptional person. If the young ladies of the capital didn’t like him, it must be because they didn’t understand him. If they did, no one would dislike him.

Fortunately, she understood Jiang Yao before everyone else.

Even if Jiang Yao wasn’t hers, she still felt fortunate for herself.

The young ladies’ eyes shone with naive admiration, “Then you’ll be a great general in the future!”

Jiang Yao quickly demurred; it was all speculative, and if he accepted, it would seem too arrogant.

But then they turned to Song Muyun, their excitement growing, “Then wouldn’t Muyun become the wife of the great general?”

Jiang Yao paused, suddenly realizing, that wasn’t wrong.

The wife of a great general, how prestigious. He should try harder.

Song Muyun, hearing this, immediately blushed, wishing she could bury her head in her chest, her voice tinged with shyness, “You guys, don’t talk nonsense.”

Song Muyun had also chatted and played with these young ladies before, maintaining a not too distant relationship. She hadn’t expected them to speak so bluntly. What, a general’s wife? That was so embarrassing.

“How can this be nonsense? Everyone in the capital knows you two are a couple. If Jiang Yao becomes a general, wouldn’t you be the general’s wife?”

The leading young lady in green said again, her eyes filled with friendly teasing.

What couple? Song Muyun never knew that even the prim and proper noble young ladies could speak such words. She quietly hid behind Jiang Yao, clutching the back of his clothes, lowering her head, her cheeks flushed like peach blossoms, unable to meet anyone’s gaze.

Although Jiang Yao was angry with her, he still shielded her at this moment, his expression inevitably helpless, “Muyun is shy. Just talk to me, don’t tease her.”

Protected by him, Song Muyun became even more bashful, peeking out from behind Jiang Yao, her cheeks pink and barely looking before Jiang Yao pressed her head back.

The noble ladies thought, it seemed like every time they saw them, Jiang Yao was protecting Muyun behind him. How nice.

Women are indeed more reliable than men.

Several noble ladies couldn’t help but think this.

When Murong Ci came out for a stroll with Jiang Ru, and saw Jiang Yao chatting with the noble ladies, she raised an eyebrow in surprise, “Your sister is chatting with people?”

She had known Jiang Yao for not too short a time and had the impression that Jiang Yao didn’t have many friends.

Jiang Ru looked up, a trace of joy flashing across her face, and she smiled, “So my sister is here. Shall we go find her? Will you come too?”

In her eyes, wherever her sister was, was the most attractive place! She had followed her sister since she was little and was very used to it.

Murong Ci thought she still liked Jiang Yao a bit more, “I promised to accompany you for a walk, naturally I can’t leave halfway. Let’s go, I’ll come too.”

Jiang Ru wanted to say it was okay, she could go find her sister by herself, but looking at the beautiful face of the Eighth Prince, indistinguishable between male and female, she somehow didn’t say those words.

She just nodded softly.

Walking up together, she then called out warmly, “Sister, sister-in-law, hello to all the young ladies.”

Jiang Ru slightly bowed.

The young ladies also returned her bow.

When the young ladies saw Jiang Ru coming, they all eagerly asked her, “You came just in time, we were about to talk about you. Your father is stationed at the border, is it very hard?”

“Are the people there really poor, without even clothes to wear?”

“Can the Dragon Tiger General defeat those barbarian tribes?”

“Yeah, they keep stealing our stuff.”

Jiang Ru was startled by the very enthusiastic and uninhibited noble ladies, but they looked at her so eagerly that after a moment, she responded one by one, “Yes, it’s very hard, he often gets injured, it is very poor, my mother and I often distribute porridge, whether to go to war or not depends on the court’s orders.”

Based on the idea of not wiping them out to prevent the other side from getting desperate and causing a mutually destructive situation, every time they surrender, we stop fighting, demand some of their precious goods, and then let them go.

They always remember the benefits but not the lessons, recovering after a few years and then attempting to invade again, only to be beaten back, and so the cycle continues…

The young girl’s delicate body suddenly stiffened, her eyes uncontrollably filled with mist, as if she was about to cry the next second. She was angry, the kind of angry that made her not want to be touched. She never thought she would anger her, especially since at the beginning, she didn’t even want to tell her about it. Yes, it’s understandable to be angry; such a significant matter and she didn’t say a word, hiding it from her, and letting her find out on her own…

Song Muyun couldn’t muster a single word to argue on her behalf, only lowering her head, feeling somewhat dejected.

After the Hundred Flowers Banquet, back in the carriage, Jiang Yao completely cooled her demeanor, letting go of Song Muyun’s hand and sitting a bit further away. Jiang Ru and Jiang Huai, who were sharing the carriage with them, saw this scene and were scared into silence, not daring to make a sound.

Jiang Huai glanced at Jiang Ru, wondering what happened, why they were angry with each other.

Jiang Ru was also clueless and bewildered. Everything seemed fine during the banquet; her sister even served her sister-in-law food. Why were they angry all of a sudden?

Song Muyun lowered her head to hide her reddened eyes, tears already dyeing her eyelashes cluster by cluster.

She thought, she had never angered Jiang Yao before, but as soon as she arrived, she made Jiang Yao angry. And so severely at that. She didn’t know if she could appease her, feeling uneasy inside.

Jiang Ru, shrinking her neck, sat quietly for a while but couldn’t stand the silent atmosphere in the carriage. She took the initiative to sit next to Jiang Yao, “Sister, are you in a bad mood?”

If it were Jiang Huai who asked, Jiang Yao wouldn’t even bother, but since it was Jiang Ru, she reluctantly responded with a grunt from her nose.

Then silence ensued again. Jiang Huai, always the naughtiest and least favored in the family, dared not speak a word, keeping his head down.

Jiang Ru found it unbearable. When she saw a pastry shop outside the window, her eyes lit up, forgetting her manners, the hairpins clashing with a crisp sound, “Sister, there’s the Hibiscus Pavilion outside. I’ve heard their hibiscus cakes are delicious. Do you want to buy some for sister-in-law?”

She knew her sister often bought pastries for her sister-in-law, sometimes even including her share.

Hearing her mention Song Muyun, Jiang Yao immediately snorted coldly, “No, what’s there to eat.”

Her anger was so evident that even Jiang Huai was taken aback by the interaction.

They were really arguing, it seemed.

But it had nothing to do with him. He was too scared of getting hit to say anything.

Song Muyun, clutching a handkerchief, tightened her grip until her knuckles turned white, barely holding back her tears for a while before speaking up with a hoarse voice, “No need, I… I don’t feel like eating.”

Not eating pastries was fine as long as Jiang Yao would just pay her some attention. She would listen to anything Jiang Yao said.

Seeing her lowering her head like that, obviously having cried again, Jiang Yao thought to herself, cry, cry, cry, is that all you know? Can crying solve the problem?

Why not come over and beg me not to be angry instead of crying over there!

Crying is useless!

Crying won’t make me any less angry!

Jiang Yao thought, her expression growing colder, making Jiang Huai feel like he wanted to flee the carriage.

Jiang Ru tried to mediate between them, “Sister, why are you upset? Can you tell Ru?”

“Heh.”

Jiang Ru only heard a cold laugh.

…

She braced herself and added, “Sister, is there a misunderstanding between you and sister-in-law? It might be better to clear it up.”

“Heh.”

Another cold laugh, Jiang Ru looked at Jiang Huai, signaling she couldn’t handle it anymore and wanted him to say something.

Jiang Huai quickly retreated into the corner, not looking at her, showing his refusal with his actions.

Jiang Ru: …

At this point, Song Muyun seemed to finally adjust her emotions, holding back the tears about to spill, raised her head, her eyes still slightly red, “It’s okay, I’ll explain to Jiang Yao when we get back, you don’t have to worry about us.”

Perhaps because it was difficult to discuss with others around, Jiang Ru, understanding, nodded. The next second, Jiang Yao snorted again and turned away, not paying much attention to Song Muyun.

Song Muyun’s palm was marked with red from her own clutching, her lips also bitten to a noticeable red.

Not until they alighted from the carriage did Jiang Yao finally pay her some attention, emotionlessly helping her down before attempting to withdraw her hand, which was unexpectedly not released, firmly held in place.

Jiang Yao was stunned, looking up to see Song Muyun’s firmly pursed lips, stubborn eyes, and the grip on her hand tight and painful.

Jiang Yao fell silent for a moment, looked away but didn’t pull her hand back, greeted their parents, and went back to her own courtyard, bringing along the person who refused to let go.

Once inside, Jiang Yao stopped, and Song Muyun, following closely behind, didn’t notice and bumped into her.

Jiang Yao hissed softly, thinking when had she become so careless?

Song Muyun, covering her forehead, heard her cry of pain and hurriedly reached out to her back, anxiously, “Did I hurt you? I’m sorry, I didn’t notice you stopped. Does it hurt? Do you need some medicine?”

Are you made of iron, bumping into me requires medicine? The hand touching her back was caught by her and emotionlessly taken down.

Song Muyun shrank her shoulders, a strand of hair helplessly falling beside her face. The woman bit her red lips, her eyes filled with tears, seemingly scared, not daring to speak first.

After a long silence, the maid, instructed not to disturb them, Jiang Yao looked at Song Muyun, finally speaking coldly, “Why didn’t you tell me about such a big matter?”

She began to question.

Song Muyun clenched her hands tightly, her expression fragile yet somewhat aggrieved. Jiang Yao thought to herself, what’s there to be aggrieved about? I almost lost my wife, I’m the one who should feel wronged, okay?

“Don’t stay silent. If you don’t speak up, I’m going to stay with Murong Ci tonight.”

She mentioned staying with Murong Ci as a threat because Murong Ci was a woman, and it was a place Muyun couldn’t reach, using this to pressure her.

Sure enough, this statement made the silent young girl react.

Song Muyun suddenly looked up, her eyes watery and red, her voice carrying a slight nasal tone, becoming stubborn, “You’re not allowed to go. You can’t go to him!”

Jiang Yao scoffed, “Then speak up. Why did you deliberately hide this from me?”

The handkerchief in the young girl

‘s hand became crumpled from her fidgeting, her lips bitten to the point of bleeding. Jiang Yao smelled a faint scent of blood. Before she could speak, the crumpled handkerchief was thrown at her face. Jiang Yao was hit and confused, wasn’t she the one who was angry?

Why was she the one getting hit?

Jiang Yao, incredulous, glared at Song Muyun.

Song Muyun’s eyes suddenly filled with tears, her reddened eyes also glaring at Jiang Yao, “You don’t understand anything. I had to kill him. I had to!”

She seemed to lose control of her emotions suddenly.

Jiang Yao was dumbfounded, both by her sudden tears and her loss of control.

Finally, looking outside, she frowned deeply, “Keep your voice down. Do you want everyone to hear? I didn’t say you couldn’t kill him. What I’m asking is, why didn’t you tell me about such a big matter, insisting on hiding it from me and secretly doing this?”

Song Muyun’s fingers remained tightly clenched, she lowered her head slightly and sniffled, thinking of killing Murong Qing, her voice carrying a mix of hate, stuffiness, blame, and fear, “What if I told you and you wouldn’t let me go? What if you thought I was too ruthless?”

Jiang Yao frowned, feeling that the weeping young girl in front of her had some misunderstandings about her, “Why wouldn’t I let you go? Even if you didn’t go, the Emperor wouldn’t spare their lives. I was still not planning to let them off; I had already thought about avenging you. I was just worried you’d be scared and didn’t tell you. Also, it’s not like I’ve never killed anyone. With what they did to your family, how could I think you’re too ruthless? What on earth have you been thinking about all day?”

Jiang Yao poked Song Muyun’s forehead, making her stagger back a few steps, but she didn’t hold her head and cry, nor did she scream in pain. She looked up, her eyes filled with emotion, suddenly becoming joyful, “Really? You really wouldn’t think that way about me? You were really planning to help me?”

Jiang Yao noncommittally responded, “So you just don’t trust me, suspecting me?”

Perhaps Song Muyun was a bit happy hearing her words, but she was still not very pleased, feeling a suffocating anger that she couldn’t vent, her expression cold.

The slight smile that had just appeared on her lips immediately disappeared. The young girl hunched her shoulders, not daring to look at her.

She was being too fierce now. She tried to change the subject, asking in a tiny voice, “I saw you gave Murong Chun something. What was it?”

Jiang Yao was impatient, even rolling her eyes, but still replied, “A medicine that would make him temporarily foolish, making others think Murong Qing had hit him into stupidity. During their conflict, he mistakenly killed Murong Qing. Alright, let’s not talk about other things. What else are you hiding from me? Say it all at once.”

Her face was naturally fierce; she looked beautiful when smiling, but very intimidating when serious. Song Muyun instinctively wanted to avoid her, but looking up, with the doors and windows closed, there was no escape. The only thing she was hiding from Jiang Yao now was that matter, the one where she took the place of her beloved…

Song Muyun hesitated, afraid that if she said it out loud, Jiang Yao would no longer like her. She was bound to leave sooner or later, but she couldn’t accept even a hint of disgust from Jiang Yao.

Looking pitifully at her, then at herself, unmoved, cold and heartless.