The Princess’ Shadow Guard – Chapter 14

His Majesty the Emperor is Truly a Good Person

After the New Year, Ming Qin began accompanying the Eleventh Prince to the Imperial Academy​¹ every morning. Her guard duty for the day would only end after the midday lessons were over and she had escorted the prince back to the palace.

The Eleventh Prince had no study companions, and palace attendants were not permitted to enter the Imperial Academy. Thus, aside from Ming Qin protecting him in secret, the Eleventh Prince was always utterly alone.

            

Watching the old grandpa—with his stark white beard and a back so stooped it nearly touched the ground—lecture so passionately that saliva flew everywhere, Ming Qin squatted on the roof and idly counted the flecks of spit he sprayed out.

She looked at the Eleventh Prince, whose back was ramrod straight, and felt a little admiration. How did he manage to listen so attentively without dozing off?

When the morning lesson finally ended, the Eleventh Prince rose. Ming Qin, who was yawning so hard tears streamed from her eyes, quickly concealed her presence and followed him.

            

She watched the Eleventh Prince eat alone from a food box​² of imperial cuisine delivered by a palace attendant. Squatting in the distance and gnawing on a steamed bun, Ming Qin’s stomach rumbled.

I want to go find the Commandery Princess soon.

Murong Yan was a light eater, so half of the dinner sent by the maids would end up in Ming Qin’s stomach. The food was all prepared by the palace’s imperial chefs, and the taste was so good that even the somewhat picky Ming Qin cleaned her plate every time.

            

From a distance, a noisy group of youths dressed in lavish clothes approached.

The tall youth in the lead shot a sidelong glance at the boy eating alone. As he passed, he swung his sleeve with force. The food box crashed to the ground with a clang, its contents of rice, fish, and meat spilling everywhere.

What a waste. Ming Qin frowned.

            

“Well, well, if it isn’t the Eleventh Prince, Murong Wan? I thought it was some little mouse. My apologies, my apologies.” The youth’s words were flippant as he gave an exaggerated, mocking bow, causing the crowd behind him to snicker.

Murong Wan’s chopsticks were frozen in mid-air. He remained silent.

His mother had been of humble birth, merely a serving girl before she became pregnant with him. After his mother’s death, he had grown up alone in the rear palaces. Even though he was an imperial heir, he had no backing. The servants who attended him were inevitably negligent, and he had often gone hungry, which was why he was so small and thin for his age.

            

“Hey! Are you a mute? I’m talking to you!” The arrogant youth stomped on the hem of Murong Wan’s robe, his insolence brazen.

“Are you prepared for the Tutor’s​³ assessment later, Zhang Yurong?” Murong Wan asked coolly.

Ming Qin tapped her head. So this was Zhang Yurong, the youngest son of the current Lord Imperial Uncle.

            

No wonder he was so arrogant. She had heard her Master say that as the doted-on youngest son of the Lord Imperial Uncle, Zhang Chi, he was spoiled rotten and utterly tyrannical. If you ran into him, you were supposed to run away, fast.

“None of your business!” Zhang Yurong’s expression grew tense. Failing the assessment meant getting a beating with the plank, and the old fossils at the Imperial Academy were impervious to reason. Otherwise, when would he ever have to suffer a beating?

“Just you wait for me at the Martial Arts Hall this afternoon!” Zhang Yurong spat, then led his followers away to go hug the Buddha’s feet.​⁴

            

Ming Qin was still on the roof beam, lamenting the spilled food, when Murong Wan silently packed up his things and walked back to the schoolroom.

The assessment was on recitation. Watching Murong Wan fluently recite a long string of things she couldn’t understand, Ming Qin nearly started clapping from her perch on the beam.

Could this Eleventh Prince be a genius?

            

Ming Qin was surprised at how easy this mission was. She didn’t have to suffer the wind and sun or miss meals, nor did she have to live a life of killing and licking blood from a knife’s edge. She could even clock off at a set time.

And from her observations these past few days, the Eleventh Prince was exceptionally well-behaved and quiet. He studied diligently, didn’t stir up trouble, and never tried to sneak out of the Imperial Academy. He was completely different from the protection targets her shixiong and shijie had described.

This must be one of those so-called ‘cushy jobs’​⁵ that all the Shadow Guards fought over. It shouldn’t have landed in her lap.

            

His Majesty the Emperor is truly a good person, Ming Qin thought.

It wasn’t until she followed the students to the Martial Arts Hall that Ming Qin felt a little troubled.

Watching the Eleventh Prince get beaten black and blue, she didn’t know if she should step in to help.

            

Zhang Yurong’s huge fists fell on Murong Wan. He had been struck three times with the plank by the Tutor today, and the sight of Murong Wan’s calm and composed face infuriated him. He took advantage of the training at the Martial Arts Hall to vent all his anger on the skinny Murong Wan under the guise of a spar.

“You think you’re so great? Once my cousin the Crown Prince becomes emperor, there’ll be no place for you to wander around,” Zhang Yurong cursed as his fists fell relentlessly.

Murong Wan was powerless to resist, merely shielding his head in silence.

            

“You mongrel mixed with lowly blood, how dare you dream of coming to the Imperial Academy,” Zhang Yurong spat, not yet satisfied. “Your mother was a filthy servant to have given birth to a vile spawn like you.”

Murong Wan was on the ground. When he heard those words, his eyes turned bloodshot. Seizing a moment of carelessness from Zhang Yurong, he bit down hard on his calf. “Don’t you talk about my mother!”

“You! You dare bite me?” Zhang Yurong kicked furiously at Murong Wan, trying to make him let go.

            

“Don’t you dare insult my mother!” Murong Wan’s nose was bleeding, but he gritted his teeth and said in a muffled voice, “I’m a mongrel, but that great Crown Prince in your heart shares half my blood. What does that make him!”

The people with Zhang Yurong swarmed forward and dragged Murong Wan off, and the whole group started kicking him as he bled freely.

Though some in the distance looked on with pity, the thought of the Lord Imperial Uncle’s power and Zhang Yurong’s tyranny kept them from daring to intervene.

            

Ming Qin was a little confused. The order she had received was to guard the Eleventh Prince, which meant ensuring Murong Wan’s life. Right now, the Eleventh Prince was being beaten by a group of people. It might hurt a little, but a squabble between children wouldn’t be fatal.

That said, the pure malice radiating from that group toward the Eleventh Prince was real. They truly wanted to hurt him.

If that was the case, should she intervene?

            

But if she were to intervene, should she capture Zhang Yurong and the others, or kill them?

If she tied them up and brought them back, she felt her Master would be displeased. But if she killed them, she felt her Master would be even more displeased.

Why would His Majesty the Emperor give her such a difficult task? Ming Qin fretted. If only shijie were here. Shijie would definitely know what to do.

            

While Ming Qin was wrestling with her dilemma, Zhang Yurong had already led the others away, leaving Murong Wan all alone.

Seeing the Eleventh Prince lying filthy on the ground, his hands covering his face as his muffled sobs grew louder, Ming Qin felt herself growing restless.

Screw it. I’ll just take the scolding.

            

Ming Qin leaped down from the tree. Unsure how to comfort him, she squatted beside Murong Wan and offered him a handkerchief. “Here.”

Murong Wan’s eyes widened at the sudden, silent appearance of the masked woman in black. He hastily tried to hide his tears and scrambled backward. “Wh-wh-who are you?”

“This subordinate is Ming Qin, ordered by His Majesty the Emperor to protect the Eleventh Prince,” Ming Qin replied, stuffing the handkerchief into Murong Wan’s hand.

            

“That’s impossible.” Murong Wan clutched the handkerchief, tears mixing with blood and dirt to trace paths down his face. He shook his head wretchedly. “Father-Emperor would never send a Shadow Guard to protect me.”

Ming Qin tilted her head. “But I’m not lying to you.”

“Then if you were here to protect me, why didn’t you do anything just now?” Murong Wan questioned, full of disbelief, as he wiped his face with the handkerchief.

            

“The Eleventh Prince’s life was not in danger just now,” Ming Qin said honestly, reaching out to indicate Murong Wan’s nose still had blood.

Murong Wan was so angry he almost laughed. He was about to ask the woman before him what exactly counted as his life being in danger when his stomach chose that inopportune moment to rumble.

Hearing the sound, Ming Qin pulled a few steamed buns from her robes and handed them to the embarrassed Murong Wan.

            

Ming Qin propped up her cheek, watching Murong Wan wolf down her snack. She thought to herself that she would have to buy something else to tide her over before going to see the Commandery Princess later. Otherwise, she might just eat up all of the Commandery Princess’s dinner.

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The author has something to say:

I’ll take this opportunity to explain something to everyone.

            

The Commandery Princess’s name, Murong Yan’s 『灩』, is pronounced the same as 『焰』 (yàn, flame). It refers to the look of water brimming and overflowing.

(Reference the Southern Liang Dynasty poem by He Xun, 〈Passing by the Former Residence of Minister Fan〉: 「The old pond’s water shimmers and gleams (liànyàn), the setting sun’s glow is vast and hazy.」)

I like this character because while its pronunciation is the same as fire’s 『flame』, it’s actually used to describe the rippling of water.

            

This contrast of 『at first glance, you think it’s fire, but upon understanding, it’s actually water』 is very interesting. I feel it’s a lot like the Commandery Princess herself~ (laughs)

Ming Qin’s 『沁』 (qìn) means to seep into, to permeate.

(You can reference the Tang Dynasty poem by Sun Xin, 〈A Poem on a Cold Well, Written for the Imperial Examination〉: 「In the immortal court a well was first dug, its sacred fluid seeped out (qìn) to form a spring.」)

            

As for whose heart Ming Qin has seeped into, whose bones she has permeated, I won’t say any more. (gives you a look that says ‘figure it out for yourself.’)

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LP: Re-translated on June 13, 2025

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