The Princess’ Shadow Guard – Chapter 13
by Little PandaThe Power of a Younger, Straightforward Gong
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, several fully fledged Shadow Guards visited their Master’s house to share a reunion dinner.
With Lin Yan and Cao Yun away on missions, the only familiar face for Ming Qin was Song Shuqing.
Although the meal paled in comparison to the food boxes she had eaten at Murong Yan’s, the ever-grateful Ming Qin still ate her shimu’s cooking without batting an eye.
After helping Song Shuqing finish her portion as well, Ming Qin let out a satisfied burp and stood in the courtyard, watching her shijie and Master play chess.
“Qinqin, once the New Year is over, there is a new mission for you,” Ming Qin watched as her Master, holding a white piece, lifted his wide sleeve and said.
“Do I have to leave the Capital again?” Ming Qin asked, walking over to the chess table.
Placing his piece, “Not so,” He Jingshou said, stroking his beard. “It is a daily duty to protect the Eleventh Prince.”
Entering the palace to guard a prince? Ming Qin scratched her head in confusion.
Most of the missions previously assigned to her involved delivering letters outside the city or performing assassinations. Master had always worried that if she entered the Imperial Palace, she might accidentally offend some noble, so he had always assigned palace-related tasks to shimu or Cao Yun.
Even if the entire Shadow Guard camp went through a full rotation, she estimated it would never be her turn. Why would they suddenly entrust her with the duty of protecting an imperial heir today?
“This is His Majesty’s wish,” He Jingshou said, his hands never pausing as he played. “The Eleventh Prince is ten years old, and from the sixth day onward, he must attend the Imperial Academy. Secretly protecting him will be your new mission.”
Seeing that Ming Qin was still somewhat perplexed, He Jingshou gave her a sidelong glance. “Do not worry. Though it is called a ‘daily’ duty, it is actually only for half a day. It won’t get in the way of you visiting the Commandery Princess.”
His Majesty the Emperor had no intention of snatching away Commandery Princess Chongwen’s favorite, and He Jingshou certainly did not want to receive another of the Commandery Princess’s letters—seemingly gentle, yet dripping with threats between the lines.
“Oh, no!”
He Jingshou cried out, staring at the chessboard in vexation and clutching his head, trying to shift his piece.
Seeing the old man’s face fall, Song Shuqing said with a beaming smile, “How dare you lose focus, Master? A true gentleman doesn’t take back his moves.” As she spoke, her hand came down to place a piece.
He Jingshou stared at the hopeless defeat, his face filled with resignation. “I should never have taught you chess in the first place. And I shouldn’t have bothered trying to be some ‘gentleman’ either.”
“Don’t say that, Master. Besides me, who else would play chess with you? …Isn’t that right, Qinqin?” Song Shuqing looked at Ming Qin, who was standing nearby.
Ming Qin nodded honestly and said bluntly, “After all, everyone says Master is a terrible chess player1. Only shijie is willing to play with you.”
“You… you two…!” He Jingshou glared and puffed his beard in rage. He looked back and forth between the grinning Song Shuqing and the earnest, honest Ming Qin, utterly at a loss as to whom he should direct his anger at.
Song Shuqing smiled and stretched out her hand. “Master, this is your hundred and fourteenth defeat against me. You have to accept your defeat when you make a bet, you know.”
He Jingshou looked around cautiously before reluctantly pulling out a pouch of copper coins and handing it to Song Shuqing, looking thoroughly aggrieved. “…You absolutely must not tell your shiniang.”
“Absolutely, absolutely.” Song Shuqing hefted the pouch in her hand, looking thoroughly satisfied. She then turned to Ming Qin and said, “Qinqin? How about a game with shijie? It’s been a long time since we played.”
Ming Qin hastily shook her head with vigor. “No, no, absolutely not.”
While her own chess skills were decent, she relied almost entirely on intuition to attack, rarely calculating the variations.
Song Shuqing, however, excelled at calculating multiple steps ahead, employing unorthodox tactics to create complex board states. The moment her opponent made the slightest slip and showed a weakness, she would viciously tear into them like a hunting hound.
Playing chess with Song Shuqing was always a painful ordeal that made Ming Qin’s head throb, and she never got anything out of it. Since it was the New Year, she had no desire to flatten her coin pouch like this.
According to her shijie, defeating her in a game of chess was simply as easy as 『a piece of cake』2.
Although she didn’t quite understand her shijie’s nonsense, Ming Qin guessed she meant that swallowing her whole during a game was an incredibly easy thing to do.
“Sigh, how boring.”
Song Shuqing listlessly toyed with the black piece in her hand, when her gaze suddenly swept over the garnet on Ming Qin’s right ear. Her eyes lit up. “Oh! Qinqin, why are you suddenly wearing an earring? Besides, this luster and craftsmanship… it must have cost a fortune.”
“The Commandery Princess gave it to me.” Ming Qin subconsciously touched her earlobe. “Is this earring really that expensive? I really ought to return it to the Commandery Princess.”
Song Shuqing laughed silently to herself. She turned her head to look at He Jingshou, giving him a deeply meaningful, half-smiling look. The latter looked back, utterly bewildered by her expression.
Looking at her dense Master, who utterly failed to grasp her meaning, Song Shuqing sighed, then turned back and patted Ming Qin’s shoulder. “Since the Commandery Princess gave it to you, how could she possibly take it back? You should keep it.”
“But…” Ming Qin was still a bit hesitant.
“The Commandery Princess is of noble birth, so gold, silver, and precious jewels are everyday sights to her. Compared to expensive gifts, I think she must care about other things much more, don’t you?” Song Shuqing spoke slowly, observing Ming Qin’s expression as she tried to guide her.
“Now that you mention it, shijie, I should bring the Commandery Princess some rare and interesting little trinkets instead!” Ming Qin clapped her hands, as if suddenly enlightened.
“Shijie, what do you think of crickets?”
He Jingshou, who was drinking tea, choked in alarm at Ming Qin’s words. A few drops of tea sprayed from his mouth as he coughed awkwardly.
Song Shuqing slapped her forehead, speechless. She let out a sigh. “If you brought me crickets, I would slap you flat against the wall first, let alone the Commandery Princess.”
“The Commandery Princess isn’t as mean-spirited as you, shijie,” Ming Qin retorted. Then, she clutched her head in frustration. “Then what on earth should I give her?”
He Jingshou was terrified his youngest disciple would actually gift crickets to the Commandery Princess. Just as he was about to speak, Ming Qin was called away by her shimu in the kitchen to help out.
Watching Ming Qin’s retreating figure, He Jingshou said dryly to Song Shuqing, “I think I understand what you mean now. The Commandery Princess really does have it rough.”
“Right?” Song Shuqing said with a trace of pity. “Even though Qinqin is our precious darling, she really is a massive blockhead in some matters. To think she actually won the Commandery Princess’s favor. Could this be the power of a younger, straightforward gong3?”
Though He Jingshou didn’t quite understand that last part, he simply remained silent, signaling his agreement.
It wasn’t until the fifth day of the New Year that Ming Qin saw Murong Yan again.
The food box in her hands was packed full of various treats, which Ming Qin took out and arranged on the table one by one.
“This is peanut crisp made by Granny Li. She secretly slipped it to me when I went to the market today.”
Ming Qin introduced it to Murong Yan like a child displaying her treasures. Next, she took out a cloth pouch embroidered with orchids and opened it. “This is rice candy given to me by Miss Jiang. Wow! Miss Jiang’s embroidery is so beautiful.”
Unaware of how Murong Yan’s lips had thinned, Ming Qin babbled on, “And this is a scallion pancake sent by Brother Fang. The sesame seeds on top are so fragrant! Eat it quickly while it’s hot.”
She handed over a scallion pancake wrapped in oilpaper. It released a fragrant aroma, but Murong Yan did not take it, merely staring at Ming Qin with a flat expression.
“What is wrong?” Seeing the woman’s unusual behavior, Ming Qin asked with some concern.
Murong Yan suddenly smiled and said, “Ah Qin is indeed highly popular. Otherwise, why would so many people send you treats?”
“Yes! They are all very good to me,” Ming Qin replied straightforwardly.
“Ah Qin seems to be well-liked wherever she goes!” Hearing this, Murong Yan’s smile grew even brighter. “Could it be that everyone who sees Ah Qin becomes her friend?”
Though Murong Yan was smiling, her tone was ice-cold. Oblivious as ever, the big-hearted Ming Qin explained, “That’s not true. Not everyone is my friend. For instance, those rotten thugs in the market aren’t my friends.”
At the thought of them, Ming Qin huffed, her cheeks puffing up in anger. “Previously, a group of local thugs loved to stir up trouble in the market. Seeing that Granny Li was a widow with a thriving business, they kept threatening her for money. They also saw how pretty Miss Jiang was and constantly tried to take liberties with her. So, I taught them a lesson!”
Murong Yan’s face remained unreadable as she asked casually, “Is this Miss Jiang very pretty?”
Still angry, Ming Qin found this sudden question somewhat baffling. She tilted her head and thought about it. “Miss Jiang is quite good-looking, but she isn’t as pretty as shijie, and she certainly isn’t as pretty as you.”
Her expression finally softening a fraction, Murong Yan smoothed her sleeves. “Is that so? And how did you get to know Brother Fang?”
“A horse was startled in the market a while ago. I happened to be passing by, so I saved Brother Fang’s son and calmed the horse down.”
Speaking of this, Ming Qin became furious again, saying heatedly, “Speaking of which, are the people of the Capital Prefecture completely useless4? They don’t care at all about the safety of the common people, only busy picking sides and acting as the Crown Prince’s dogs! It’s utterly absurd! Next time I see them, watch me slice them to pieces!”
Watching Ming Qin’s fuming face, Murong Yan finally relaxed her thin lips, speaking in a soft, consoling tone. “Ah Qin, do not let yourself get worked up over them; it will harm your liver.” Her slender fingers pinched a piece of peanut crisp, and she began to eat it slowly.
“Oh, right! Starting tomorrow, I have to accompany the Eleventh Prince to the Imperial Academy to study. I’ll only be able to come find you after the hour of the Rooster,” Ming Qin suddenly said to Murong Yan while chewing her scallion pancake.
“The Eleventh Prince?” Murong Yan repeated, her expression as if she were searching her memory.
She had actually seen him once when he was still in swaddling clothes.
“I heard that the Eleventh Prince’s mother passed away three years after giving birth to him. With no maternal family to support him, he barely managed to survive and grow up alone in the back palace,” Ming Qin said, swallowing the food in her mouth.
“Blessings and misfortunes are closely intertwined,”
Murong Yan said with a trace of bitterness. “Had his mother not been of humble birth and completely non-threatening, they would never have allowed him to live.” Her voice was soft, carrying a hint of emotion. “To think he has actually survived in peace to the age where he can attend the Imperial Academy.”
“I will fulfill my duties as his guard well,” Ming Qin said, as if making a promise. Seeing Murong Yan lost in thought, she assumed the woman was worried about the Eleventh Prince’s safety.
Staring at Ming Qin’s earnest face, Murong Yan snapped out of her thoughts and smiled gently. “I know.” She then held out both arms. “Ah Qin, hold me.”
Ming Qin reached out and took Murong Yan into her arms, her hand gently stroking the woman’s slender back. “Are you tired? Shall we go to bed?”
The woman shook her head, leaning her head against the crook of Ming Qin’s neck. Looking down, Ming Qin could see the black hair cord tied to her hairpin, draping into her long hair, which was shot through with strands of silver. “Just a little while is fine. Let me rest.”
Ming Qin said nothing, only patting her back gently, over and over.
Footnotes
- A colloquial term, chòuqílǒuzi, literally meaning a 'smelly chess basket', used to describe an exceptionally poor chess player.
- An anachronistic English idiom used literally in Chinese translation by Song Shuqing, which the historically situated Ming Qin interprets as literally eating a physical cake.
- Modern internet and slash romance slang. Niánxià refers to the younger partner in a relationship, while zhíqiú gōng denotes a direct, straightforward partner who aggressively pursues their love interest.
- Literally 'eating dry rice', chī gānfàn is a common Chinese idiom used to describe someone who is useless, incompetent, or fails to earn their keep while consuming resources.
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