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Ah Qin, I still want (water)
“What did you say?!”
Murong Xiao roared with bloodshot eyes.
His normally impeccable crown was askew, hanging loosely on one side. With a flick of his hand, he swept everything off the table in front of him. The inkstone filled with ink heavily crashed to the floor, staining the hems of the robes of those kneeling.
Like venting his fury, the man picked up a jade pot next to him and hurled it into the crowd, the breaking fragments cutting through the fine clothes of several individuals. Afterwards, Murong Xiao pulled the man leading the group by the hair and crouched to meet his gaze, his tone sinister, “What did you just say? Say it again?”
The tearing pain from his scalp drained the color from the kneeling man’s face. Struggling to control his trembling body, yet with clear thoughts, he spoke, “This subordinate was acting under your orders to retrieve Chongwen Princess from Cangyue Tower. The guards and maids there noticed nothing unusual, but when this subordinate arrived, the Princess was nowhere to be seen, and only an iron hook used to secure a rope to the window was found—it’s feared that she has been kidnapped.”
“The Princess has been kidnapped? Then why aren’t you chasing after them?” Murong Xiao raged, his arm muscles bulging as he smashed the man’s forehead against the ground three or four times with ferocious force. The violent impact sent chills down the spines of the others kneeling.
With fresh blood obscuring his vision from his forehead, the man struggled to open his eyes and painstakingly replied, “This subordinate… has dispatched men… to search every nook and cranny of the capital for the past two days…, but the Princess remains unfound. I fear she may have already left the city…”
“You’re saying she left the city?”
Murong Xiao flung aside the man beside him, indifferent to his pained moaning on the ground, and muttered to himself, “My sister left the city? Impossible, that cannot be.”
An elderly man among those kneeling spoke up, “Your Highness, it is feared that the Princess might have been kidnapped by operatives from the Shadow Guard Camp.”
“Shadow Guard Camp?”
Murong Xiao looked at the elder prostrate at his feet, “Zhang Chi, why would my sister…”
His eyes suddenly widened as if a thought struck him, and he gnashed his teeth, murmuring to himself, “Damn it! That cursed shadow guard, that accursed woman wearing my sister’s earring!”
The man’s hair was disheveled, barefooted, his entire demeanor emanating a terrifying madness.
“Zhang Chi!”
He bellowed, “Send people out of the city, bring back my sister and that godforsaken woman to me! If you can’t find them, none of you shall live.”
“Your Highness!”
Zhang Chi, under immense pressure, spoke up, “Your Highness, the matter of utmost urgency is to locate the Eleventh Prince to ensure that you can ascend to the throne without any concerns. At present, many military commanders have yet to declare allegiance, and as for the Chongwen Princess… it’s truly not…”
“Silence! How dare you, an old fool, talk back at me!”
Murong Xiao glared fiercely at his uncle, “I am the legitimate heir; ascending to the throne is my rightful duty. But if I cannot have my sister by my side, what use is the throne to me! Get out, all of you get out and do not show your faces before me until my sister is found!”
Watching as the crowd scattered like birds and beasts, the hall lay empty and desolate. Murong Xiao slumped despondently on the dragon throne, gasping for air, and clutching his head in agonized thought.
Why did my sister flee? Why would she rather escape with a lowly person than stay by my side?
Why? What is the reason?
Had I known this would happen, I should have cut off her remaining leg back then.
It was I who sent an assassin during the autumn hunt to kill my father, the Emperor.
Never did I expect that my sister, having just ended her mourning period, would accompany my father. Nor did I anticipate that to protect my father, she would step in front of an assassin, causing the poison-drenched sword meant for the Emperor to strike her leg instead, leading her to an unavoidable amputation.
Ah, I so loved watching my sister dance; without a leg, she could dance no more.
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Those damn things!
Those ignorant fools!
I personally whipped the corpses of those assassins thousands of times, but even then, looking at my sister who nearly died, I still felt no relief.
However, precisely because of this incident, that damned Marquis Changping actually took the initiative to call off the engagement.
That’s right, this is how it should be! That man, soft and lacking self-awareness, doesn’t deserve my sister!
It’s also a stroke of luck that the engagement was annulled; otherwise, I wouldn’t have another chance to eliminate the Princess Consort of Prince Yu.
Eight years ago, I exchanged a leg for my sister’s freedom from belonging to another man.
Now, if I were to cut off the remaining leg, could it be that I could keep my sister by my side forever?
When my sister returns, I’ll construct an even larger cage.
Having clipped my sister’s wings to prevent her from flying away, she will remain forever within my grasp.
Ah, there’ll be no need to feed other women contraceptive soup anymore, no longer restrained by the chains of propriety, finally able to touch the sister I’ve been longing for in my heart.
A glimpse of madness flickers in Murong Xiao’s eyes as he entertains these thoughts.
On the fourth day of Ming Qin driving the carriage, aside from occasional short rests, the journey continued relentlessly day and night.
The farther away from the capital, the more it amounted to an extra thread of safety.
The bumpy road caused the small carriage to rock from side to side.
Unable to help herself, Ming Qin turned back and lifted the small window, speaking to the person inside, “We’ll hit the official road soon. Tonight, let’s find an inn to rest our heads.”
The person inside didn’t respond immediately. After a moment, a weak voice came through, “Don’t worry about me; just follow the plan and stick to the original route, Ah Qin.”
Ming Qin dismounted from the carriage in anxiousness and upon opening the door, saw Murong Yan struggling to rise. Her face was pale with shades of bruising under her eyes, and her cracked lips still bore traces of sour bile she had just vomited.
Taking the wooden basin from the carriage, Ming Qin unhesitatingly cleaned out the filth, speaking in a dry tone, “It’s not because of you… it’s because the horse needs to rest, and… moreover, I need sleep.”
Racking her brain for reasons, Ming Qin simply couldn’t bear to see Murong Yan tormented by the hardships of the journey any longer.
“Ah Qin, I’m really alright.”
Murong Yan remembered that this person in front of her once said she could go seven days and nights without sleep on a mission, but now she was clumsily searching for a baseless excuse.
“No way! I’ve already said both the horse and I need to rest, and… if you get sick, it will only slow us down!” Ming Qin spoke harshly, but her actions were gentle as she supported the woman’s head to give her water.
Worry filled Ming Qin’s eyes; not only did the bumpy carriage ride cause dizziness in Murong Yan, it also greatly aggravated the discomfort of her amputated leg.
The coarse dry food was worlds apart from anything the noble princess had eaten before, but she did not utter a single word of complaint. Instead, she often assured Ming Qin not to worry about her.
After taking a sip of water, Murong Yan turned her head away, refusing to drink any more no matter how much she was coaxed.
“You know I wouldn’t mind,” said the shadow guard with a tone of grievance.
Ming Qin was well aware that Murong Yan’s reluctance to drink more water stemmed from not wanting to trouble her with going to help her relieve herself.
When traveling in the wilderness, unlike at Cangyue Tower, where everything is designed for Murong Yan’s independent use, every time she needed to relieve herself, Ming Qin had to half-hold her to accomplish it.
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Occasionally, when Murong Yan was too weak and lacked the strength, Ming Qin had to place her hand on her lower abdomen and press gently, even helping her with the final cleaning.
Not drinking water for a long time is also why Ming Qin was so anxious to find an inn.
“But I mind, Ah Qin.”
With an effort to keep her voice steady, Murong Yan spoke, but her eyes betrayed an unstoppable sorrow, “I would mind.”
Having escaped the cage she thought would lead to freedom, she now found even her most basic physiological needs a bother to Ming Qin.
She detested this.
Whether it was the sounds she made or the feeling of losing control in front of Ming Qin, every moment from beginning to end filled her with shame.
Even though Ming Qin considerately closed her eyes every time and more than once suggested covering her eyes and blocking her ears, the sense of shame still enveloped her deeply.
In truth, Murong Yan detested this feeling of powerlessness, as if no matter what, she couldn’t shake the sensation of being trapped.
She abhorred from the bottom of her heart the need to be so dependent on someone else.
Or rather, it was fear.
She was grateful to be able to rely on Ming Qin to escape, and willing to accept Ming Qin’s protection, but now, to need Ming Qin even for something as minor as relieving herself, she suddenly felt like a burden.
Yes, a burden.
A heavy burden, one that could be cast aside at any moment.
Murong Yan, who normally cared little for the opinions of others, for the first time feared becoming someone who would be abandoned, all because of Ming Qin.
Is Ah Qin truly willing to do all this for my sake? Or is it because this is simply a 『mission』 from the Shadow Guard Camp?
Which of these actions are done voluntarily by Ah Qin, as a 『person』? And which are compelled by the duties of being a royal shadow guard?
How long can Ah Qin, as a 『person』, tolerate me? Will she leave once the mission ends?
What exactly am I in Ah Qin’s eyes? Am I Murong Yan, or am I Chongwen Princess? Or perhaps, like she once said, am I in her eyes no different from a pancake or a piece of candy?
Now, I have nothing at all, unable to offer anything to win back Ah Qin—no wealth, no beauty, no status, nothing…
Murong Yan’s thoughts were chaotically hysterical, but they were interrupted by the sensation of something cool and moist against her lips.
Her mind went blank all of a sudden as the sweet taste of water was transferred from a mouth to hers, as if nectar from heaven was moistening a nearly parched field of flowers.
Ming Qin carefully fed her the water from her own mouth, gently as if worried about making the person in her arms choke, and then nonchalantly licked the slight sourness from the corner of her mouth.
Just now, she observed Murong Yan becoming lost in thought, unresponsive to her gentle calls, her eyes filled with anxiety and endless sorrow.
She didn’t know what was troubling the woman, but she disliked seeing Murong Yan like this.
“I’ve said that I don’t mind your troubles; no matter how you change, I won’t mind, so you shouldn’t mind either, alright?”
With a frown, Ming Qin spoke in a tone that was both complaining and concerned, and then looked at the shocked face of the person in her embrace, “Don’t refuse to drink water, your body can’t bear it.”
“Ah Qin…” Murong Yan gently touched Ming Qin’s brow.
Did Ming Qin just kiss her?
For the first time, did she take the initiative to kiss her, who is now nothing but a burden?
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She also said that no matter how she changes, she wouldn’t mind it, all the while still worrying about her health.
Do these things mean that Murong Yan is not just a burden?
That she is very important.
『Murong Yan』 is very important to 『Ming Qin』.
Pushing aside the complex thoughts in her head, Murong Yan felt a softness in her heart, her eyes reddened as she softly murmured, “Ah Qin, I want more.”
Tilting her head slightly, “Want more?” Ming Qin took a sip of water and lowered her head again.
Feeling the person in front of her blocking her lips, she swallowed the sweet nectar.
While gently stroking Ming Qin’s hair, Murong Yan contemplated.
What she wanted wasn’t water.
But this was fine too.
LP: Re-translated on February 06, 2024
Awww they’re just too cute
omg the prince vomits. this guy is beyond gross.
and ming qin is now also a certified nurse! poor Murong Yan though. when i put myself in her situation and my crush is wiping me down there after nature’s call, i would cry inside!
I can’t stomach the crown prince’s thoughts, uugh. Men.
omg the prince vomits. this guy is beyond gross.
and ming qin is now also a certified nurse! poor Murong Yan though. when i put myself in her situation and my crush is wiping me down there after nature’s call, i would cry inside!
I can’t stomach the crown prince’s thoughts, uugh. Men.
Awww they’re just too cute