The Princess’ Shadow Guard – Chapter 17
by Little PandaIn Martial Strength, the Shadow Guards Are the Strongest
When Ming Qin arrived, she smelled a sour odor in the room and found Murong Yan lying uncomfortably on the couch, her entire body drenched in cold sweat.
“Oh no!”
Ming Qin touched the woman’s forehead; it felt abnormally warm. She hurriedly carried her to the bed, then found a towel and cold water to carefully wipe her forehead.
Seeing Murong Yan trembling all over with an unnatural flush on her cheeks, Ming Qin felt a wave of vexation that she hadn’t arrived sooner. Noting how late it had grown outside, she anxiously set down the towel, intending to go out and look for medicine.
“Ah Qin… Ah Qin,” the woman on the bed called out weakly.
Ming Qin quickly stepped forward. “I’m here. I’m right here.”
“Ah Qin, don’t go.” Murong Yan weakly grasped the sleeve of the girl before her.
“But… the medicine?” Looking at the hand gripping her own, Ming Qin glanced out the window with some hesitation.
Murong Yan forced her eyes open with great effort, the rims of her eyes slightly red. “Ah Qin, stay with me, all right?”
The woman before her looked so delicate and pitiable that Ming Qin couldn’t find it in her heart to refuse. She nodded slightly, removed the other’s prosthetic limb, and tucked her under the covers.
Only when the woman saw her agreement did she let out a sigh of relief, closing her eyes to fall back into a deep sleep.
Knowing Murong Yan loved cleanliness, Ming Qin swiftly tidied up the room and cracked open a window to let in fresh air. From time to time, she replaced the towel on her forehead with a fresh, cold one.
About four shichen1 later, Murong Yan finally stopped sweating and slowly woke up.
Ming Qin gently cradled Murong Yan’s neck and patiently fed her water.
Drops of water spilled from the corner of the woman’s lips, trickling down her slender neck and disappearing into the collar of her robe, which draped over her collarbones.
Wiping away the stray water droplets with her thumb, Ming Qin waited for Murong Yan to gather her bearings before asking with concern, “How did you suddenly end up like this? Weren’t you perfectly fine yesterday?”
Murong Yan’s expression remained calm, yet a sliver of disgust was concealed in her voice as she said indifferently, “I merely encountered a disgusting viper.”
Seeing Ming Qin immediately look up and warily scan the surroundings, she pressed her lips together and added, “Don’t worry, the viper has already slithered away.”
Only then did Ming Qin look back at Murong Yan, reassured. With an utterly straightforward expression, she said, “If another viper comes next time, just tell me. I’ll squeeze it to death for you.” She spoke as if it were the easiest task in the world.
Hearing Ming Qin’s words, Murong Yan, whose face had been clouded all day, could not help but let out a soft laugh. Warmth bloomed in her chest. Curiously, she asked, “Ah Qin, just how strong is your martial prowess in the Capital?”
She had no doubt about the strength of someone who could scale Cangyue Tower with ease, but she didn’t know how Ming Qin compared to the other experts of the Capital.
“Extremely strong,” Ming Qin replied without a moment’s hesitation. She tilted her head and thought for a moment. “When it comes to martial strength, the Shadow Guards are the strongest.”
Although her master had once pointed at her nose and roared that she was as straightforward as a stupid donkey2, and had even claimed during strategy lessons that her brain was smaller than chicken dung, those were things he only said off the training grounds.
When they sparred on the martial grounds, her master always said she was a born hunter—possessing a wild wolf’s sharp instinct for danger and a grizzly bear’s fearless, life-defying fury.
If she became too absorbed in a fight, she would often lose track of her own strength, leaving her colleagues howling in pain.
Around the camp, the shidi and shimei who didn’t know her well would walk a wide circle around her.
“But if we’re comparing me to all the experts in the Capital…” Ming Qin pondered, then said cautiously, “I’m probably on par with Xiao He, the Crown Prince’s Guard Commander, and Luo Junyan, the Commander of the Imperial Guard.”
She had seen the two from a distance when she once accompanied her master into the palace. Blessed with a beast’s intuition, Ming Qin had felt a rare, inexplicable shiver run down her spine—a sensation that had filled her with intense excitement.
If she ever had the fortune of exchanging blows with them at full strength, it would surely be a desperate, death-defying duel on the precipice of life and death. The mere thought of it made Ming Qin unable to help but tremble slightly.
Hearing this, Murong Yan couldn’t entirely conceal the astonishment that flickered across her face.
Leaving the Commander of the Imperial Guard, Luo Junyan, aside, she knew only too well how formidable the Crown Prince’s running dog, Xiao He, was. It was truly shocking that someone as young as Ming Qin possessed a combat strength that could rival his.
“However, if we’re talking strictly about qinggong3,” Ming Qin said, a proud, somewhat childish grin spreading across her face, “Ming Qin stands at the absolute top in all of the Capital.”
Looking at her face, Murong Yan couldn’t help but let out a soft pfft of laughter, which made Ming Qin a little anxious. “It’s true! My qinggong is universally acknowledged by my shixiong and shijie as the absolute best!” After all, not just anyone could carry a food box and move about so freely on this slippery, sheer Cangyue Tower.
“Yes, yes, yes, I know. Ah Qin is extremely strong,” Murong Yan coaxed her, her voice laced with laughter.
Her mood had brightened considerably, and she felt her physical state improving along with it.
Outside, the sky was gradually turning the color of a fish’s belly. Ming Qin twirled her fingers with a trace of guilt and said, “I have to go. The Eleventh Prince must be waiting for me.”
“I know. Go on, then,” Murong Yan said, patting Ming Qin’s leg reassuringly, her eyes signaling that her body was no longer in any danger.
“I’ll come back later.” Even after saying it, Ming Qin remained somewhat worried, but a glance at the sky forced her to steel herself and make a swift departure.
Once Ming Qin had gone, Murong Yan let out a sigh of relief and called her attendants to help her bathe and change her clothes.
Her sweat had completely soaked through her inner robes earlier, and the cold, sticky sensation was bothering her immensely.
Soaking in the bath barrel, Murong Yan watched the flower petals floating on the surface of the water.
I wonder if Ah Qin smelled my sweat just now, she thought with vexation as she watched the rising steam.
“You’re late,” the Eleventh Prince questioned Ming Qin, crossing his arms at the side gate of the Imperial Academy.
“My apologies.” Looking down at the boy, who didn’t even reach her chest yet wore an expression of extreme gravity far beyond his years, Ming Qin bowed politely to apologize.
“I’m not sharing today’s lunch with you, then,” Murong Wan said, turning his head away while secretly stealing glances to see her reaction.
As if struck by a bolt from the blue, Ming Qin lowered her head and looked up at him with pitiful eyes.
Murong Wan slowly added, “Unless…”
Ming Qin hadn’t eaten breakfast today, let alone found time to buy lunch. Hearing a potential turn of events, she immediately pressed, “Unless what?”
Murong Wan cleared his throat a few times. “Unless… you accompany me into the palace today to meet Imperial Father.”
Seeing Ming Qin’s bewildered expression, he hurriedly added, “Of course, I’ll go inside by myself. But can you wait for me outside? This is the first time Imperial Father has summoned me alone…”
Murong Wan nervously clutched his sleeves.
“Sure!” Hearing that it was nothing difficult, Ming Qin readily agreed.
The boy quietly breathed a sigh of relief. “Then it’s a promise!”
And so, after school let out in the afternoon, Ming Qin followed Murong Wan back to the Imperial Palace. While Murong Wan entered the Imperial Study, she sat on the roof outside, swinging her legs in boredom as she waited.
Just as she was debating whether the clouds on the horizon looked more like roasted duck or roasted goose, a faint rustling sound suddenly drifted into her ears.
“…What on earth are they doing…”
“…The Crown Prince will lay the blame…”
Two men in the distance were speaking in hushed, lowered voices.
Ming Qin blinked, startled. Then, she stealthily trailed after them, holding her breath to listen closely.
“…How am I supposed to explain this to the Crown Prince?” a guard clad in iron armor said anxiously.
Beside him, a eunuch nervously wiped sweat from his brow with a handkerchief, explaining, “…The Shadow Guards never leave His Majesty’s side. Attempting anything within the palace is truly too difficult.”
“What a waste of all the silver the Crown Prince poured into you. A bunch of rice buckets4,” the guard muttered with clear irritation.
“Why is His Highness the Crown Prince suddenly in such a rush?” The eunuch was somewhat perplexed. “His Majesty’s health is deteriorating by the day… surely the day he ascends the dragon throne is just around the corner.”
“Shh! Keep your voice down.”
The guard pressed a forefinger to his lips to hush the eunuch, warily scanning their surroundings for fear that anyone might overhear such treasonous talk. In a low whisper, he said, “His Highness the Crown Prince threw a massive temper tantrum yesterday at everyone around him, and now he’s keeping a close eye on our progress in the palace.” He then pointed to a bruise on his own face.
The eunuch replied with some sympathy, “You must have your hands full, serving such a volatile master as His Highness the Crown Prince.”
“Indeed. Yesterday he looked like he wanted to devour people alive, yet today he’s suddenly in high spirits, picking out a birthday gift,” the guard said, his voice laced with helplessness.
“Oh? Whose birthday is it that warrants such attention from the Crown Prince?” The eunuch’s curiosity was piqued.
“You only entered the palace three years ago, so it’s natural you wouldn’t know,” the guard replied as if it were obvious. “The one the Crown Prince holds closest to his heart is naturally Commandery Princess Chongwen.”
Only after the two had parted ways did Ming Qin turn and walk back toward the Imperial Study.
She had heard every word of their conversation clearly, and she wasn’t at all surprised that the Crown Prince was attempting to make a move within the palace.
With her shimu and other Shadow Guards taking turns to stand watch, Ming Qin wasn’t actually very worried.
It was the other matter they had mentioned that caught her attention.
“Ming Qin!” Murong Wan ran out of the Imperial Study, skipping and bouncing as he approached her, cutting off her train of thought.
Only when he grew close did Murong Wan abruptly stop in his tracks to hastily collect his composure, struggling to press down the wide grin tugging at the corners of his lips.
“Eleventh Prince, what did His Majesty the Emperor say to you?” Ming Qin asked with concern.
“Imperial Father asked about my performance at the Academy, and he even praised me,” Murong Wan said, keeping his face stiff, though the pride in his voice was impossible to hide.
Ming Qin smiled and patted the boy’s shoulder. “That’s wonderful! His Majesty the Emperor is surely very proud of you.”
As if in distaste, Murong Wan dodged her hand and jogged a few paces ahead. “Naturally,” he replied, his tone full of self-assured pride.
Yet with his back turned to the woman behind him, the small boy didn’t let her see his slightly reddened eyes.
The author has something to say:
Hi! Here’s the long-awaited text of Chapter 17.
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Regarding the sensitive censorship system of this green app, I’ve thought long and hard and come up with a method.
The plot won’t boldly speed down the highway in racing cars (I’m no race car driver, after all), but there will still be some baby strollers.
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Because honestly, the dynamic between our two leads has so much tension no matter what they do, and I really love writing the fine details.
It’s highly likely that even if I only write about things above the neck, this green app will still jump at shadows.
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If even the baby strollers end up getting locked down, I’ll see if I can make some cuts in the main text.
Then please leave a comment on that chapter, and I’ll post some of the finer details in the comments section.
That way, we can better guarantee everyone’s reading experience.
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This is the best solution I can think of right now. But I’m not entirely sure if it’ll work. (If it really doesn’t, I’ll have no choice but to change platforms (cries)).
I’ll have to trouble everyone when the time comes.
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P.S. Can anyone guess what’s in the next chapter? I reckon it’ll be a bit sweet!
Footnotes
- A shíchén (时辰) is a traditional Chinese unit of time equivalent to two hours. Thus, four shichen is approximately eight hours.
- Chūnlǘ (蠢驴), meaning 'stupid donkey', is a common traditional Chinese insult used to mock someone's foolishness or obstinate stubbornness.
- Qīnggōng (轻功), literally 'lightness skill', is a traditional Chinese martial arts technique that allows practitioners to move with extreme speed, leap great heights, and glide across surfaces with gravity-defying agility.
- Fàntǒng (饭桶), literally 'rice bucket', is a derogatory Chinese slang term for an utterly useless, incompetent person who does nothing but consume food.
I like this little Prince as well he’s adorable. I assume he’ll end up becoming emperor
Thanks for the chapter!!!