Chapter 4: She Loves Me So Much

Jiang Yang reassigned the two original mummies and replaced them with two honest and diligent sailors, instructing them not to mistreat the beautiful merman.

This job was much better than rowing. The ocean-going ship was frighteningly large, with each oar requiring several dozen people working together to move it. It was exhausting to the point of nearly breaking one’s hands, and still not satisfactory. It was better to train a merman; if the training succeeded, they might even get a good position.

Jiang Yang said this merman didn’t like harsh treatment. Fine, they would use gentle methods! For the sake of their future work, the two new sailors harbored ulterior motives and racked their brains to build a good relationship with the merman.

After dealing with this, Jiang Yang returned to her room: “How long until we reach Nalong Kingdom?”

Lan Qian said, “Second Young Miss, the winds and waves have been strong these past few days, slowing the ship’s progress. It looks like it will take another half month to arrive.”

Half a month… Jiang Yang collapsed onto the soft couch. So boring.

Lan Qian knelt by the couch with a grin and said, “If Second Young Miss is bored, why don’t we go sea fishing at the stern?”

“Not interested.” Jiang Yang turned over. She had tried sea fishing when she first boarded the ship. It felt novel at first, but after fishing a few times, it lost its appeal.

Moreover, the sun at sea was terribly harsh. Without sunscreen, the intense UV rays would redden her face and make it peel in just one day. It was torture.

She had thought that transmigrating to a matriarchal country, with such a noble identity, she should be here to enjoy life.

But before she could rejoice for long, she discovered there was no such good fortune. Great clans had no concept of brotherly or sisterly affection; the eternal theme was power struggles.

It was still acceptable among women, at least they were upfront about it. The infighting among men was truly brutal.

Her legitimate and illegitimate brothers, in order to compete for a good wife-master, fought viciously. Drowning, disfigurement, ruining voices – it was as ugly as scenes from “Empresses in the Palace,” “Palace Schemes,” or “War and Beauty.” Her daily entertainment at home was watching these men compete.

As for her and Jiang Qingzhou… Although they shared the same father, Jiang Qingzhou was deep and cunning, and held military power. If she were to act like other transmigrators, reciting a few poems by Li Bai or Du Fu to gain a reputation as a talented woman and overshadow the eldest daughter, she might not live to adulthood – at least not with all limbs intact.

So in recent years, she simply gave up. Study? Study my ass! The brothel was her eternal home.

Finally, she earned the reputation of a notorious prodigal. Her elder sister no longer guarded against her, and there was even a hint of sisterly affection. But she was still too naive; even though she had given up, with one word from the damn emperor, she still had to work miserably to earn money for her.

She understood now that even after transmigrating, a working person was still a working person.

However, this job was the kind where failure meant execution. The wage slave shed bitter tears.

Just then, Angry Bird flew back. Whether it had experienced the harshness of society or something else, Angry Bird’s feathers were all puffed up; Angry Bird had become Exploding Bird.

Jiang Yang habitually picked it up by its claws and shook it: “Where did you go wild?”

Angry Bird furiously spewed out curses, its wings flapping so hard they nearly fell apart.

Lan Qian stroked its feathers and said, “Second Young Miss, Hua Xiao’s feathers are all wet, it must have been hit by waves.”

“Hit by waves and still able to fly back?” Jiang Yang teased.

“Hua Xiao is a spirit bird trained by the Eldest Young Miss. Our Lingnan only has two of these, always kept in the military to transmit military intelligence. It can soar for thousands of miles. Knowing your sea journey would be long, the Eldest Young Miss specially allocated one for you,” Lan Qian explained.

Jiang Yang fiddled with its explosion-like wings, mercilessly mocking: “These little wings, like a chicken’s, can fly for thousands of miles?”

Angry Bird: “Beep—Beep—Beep—”

Finished playing with Angry Bird, Jiang Yang casually tossed it to Lan Qian: “I’m going to take a nap. Don’t disturb me. Wake me for dinner.”

“Yes!”

Angry Bird was still cursing. Lan Qian pinched its beak with both hands: “Little one, stop fussing. If you keep this up, Second Young Miss will continue to dangle you and throw you into the sea.”

Angry Bird shut up, glaring resentfully at Jiang Yang.

*

At night, Jiang Yang tossed and turned in bed. Damn, she had napped for too long.

Jiang Yang rubbed her messy hair and lifted the blanket. Lan Qian was sleeping behind a small partition not far away, smiling so much in some sweet dream that drool was flowing out.

Angry Bird was still awake, tirelessly glaring at her. Indeed a hybrid with an owl, not sleeping even in the middle of the night.

She slowly got up and pushed open the window. The moonlight tonight was quite nice; the sea moon was a spectacular sight, gentle and vast.

Jiang Yang had lived in an inland city all her life and had never seen the sea. Her understanding of the sea was limited to short videos, with heavy filters added and slightly melancholic music. It was quite artistic. Now when she closed her eyes, it was as if the music was playing in her ears again.

Hm? The music seemed to be really in her ears. Was she having auditory hallucinations?

Jiang Yang opened the door and listened carefully. It wasn’t a hallucination; someone was really singing, and it was a man’s voice.

Men were not allowed on ships at sea, for fear that women couldn’t control themselves. But where was this voice coming from?

Jiang Yang quietly went downstairs. The tune of this song didn’t resemble any local melody from the matriarchal country, but it was very ethereal and distant, just like the legendary singing of sea spirits.

Sea spirits… Jiang Yang walked to the merman training room. The sound was indeed coming from inside. As expected of a merman.

The two sailors guarding the door had fallen asleep. There was a small gap in the doorway, through which Jiang Yang saw the beautiful merman with his back to her, singing towards the moon. The song was soft and beautiful with a hint of melancholy, like the gentle sound of ocean waves. The clear, soft moonlight fell on his body, and his thick, moist long hair was also tinged with a layer of bright white in the moonlight.

As the song ended, the lingering melody seemed to still echo in her ears.

“Well sung.” Jiang Yang applauded, casually taking off the white jade bracelet on her hand and throwing it at the merman, saying grandly: “A reward from this young lady.”

The merman was startled by her voice, turning back in shock and surprise, instinctively catching the bracelet she threw. His eyes, clear as jade and glass, looked at her in confusion.

Jiang Yang: “…” Oh no, she was used to rewarding performers in brothels and had treated the merman like a male courtesan.

To fully play the role of a prodigal, she often frequented male courtesan houses and gentleman’s clubs, frequently spending lavishly. When she ran out of money, she would casually take off a jade pendant or bracelet or something.

When she had no money left, she would ask her parents, or if worse came to worst, ask Jiang Qingzhou. After all, the Jiang family was wealthy. Well, that’s how she played.

The more money she spent, the more secure she felt. My dear sister, do you see? Your little sister is hopelessly indulging in beauty, not only not studying but also not very smart. I won’t pose a threat to you, rest assured, rest assured.

Chi Mei looked at the white jade bracelet Jiang Yang had thrown to him. The color was very beautiful, like the lustrous color of pearls. When gently tapped with a fingernail, it could produce a crisp and pleasant sound.

“For me?” Chi Mei held the white jade bracelet with delight, his dark, bright eyes looking at her, sparkling like stars in the night sky.

“Uh… I guess so.” Jiang Yang smiled guiltily, thankful that the merman didn’t know what ‘reward’ meant.

“Thank you.” Chi Mei pressed his lips together, the corners of his mouth slightly raised.

Though his face was cool and aloof, why did his smile look so soft and sweet? Jiang Yang leaned against the doorframe, watching him cherish the white jade bracelet, unconsciously smiling as well.

Chi Mei was about to put it on his wrist when he suddenly remembered what his brother had told him before.

‘When human females pursue males, they especially like to give jade items, such as jade hairpins, jade pendants, jade bracelets as tokens of love. If the male accepts these, it means he agrees to be together, just like how mermaid females offer coral and seaweed when courting.’

No wonder she had saved him and protected him before. So… Chi Mei’s fair cheeks flushed a light red, his fingers tightly gripping the jade bracelet.

But… Chi Mei lowered his head, shy and troubled. But he was a prince of the merman race and couldn’t marry humans.

Although Jiang Yang was very beautiful, very powerful, and had saved him, wearing only a frost-white single garment, casually leaning against the doorframe in the moonlight, she had a strong attraction.

The sea breeze lifted the hem of her clothes and her long hair, the messy strands fluttering around her brows and eyes, making her look both heroic and beautiful. Although all merpeople were beautiful, no mermaid could compare to Jiang Yang.

If only she were a merman too, Chi Mei thought sadly.

“Why aren’t you putting it on?” Jiang Yang asked, noticing his sudden pause.

Sure enough, she was already getting impatient.

Chi Mei’s bright, obsidian-like pupils flickered shyly as he said bashfully, “…This isn’t right… It’s… it’s too fast…”