The Princess’ Shadow Guard – Chapter 17
by Little PandaTerms of Martial Strength, the Shadow Guards Are the Strongest
When Ming Qin arrived, she was met with a sour smell in the room and the sight of Murong Yan lying uncomfortably on the daybed, covered in a cold sweat.
“This is bad!”
Ming Qin touched the woman’s forehead. It was unnaturally warm. She quickly carried her to the bed, then found a towel and a basin of cool water to gently wipe her brow.
Seeing Murong Yan trembling, an unnatural flush on her cheeks, Ming Qin cursed herself for not coming sooner. It was already dark outside. Anxious, she set down the towel, about to go out and find medicine.
“Ah Qin… Ah Qin,” the woman on the bed called out weakly.
Ming Qin hurried to her side. “I’m here. I’m right here.”
“Ah Qin, don’t go.” Murong Yan’s hand weakly clutched at the sleeve of the person before her.
“But… the medicine?” Seeing the woman’s grip on her, Ming Qin hesitated, glancing at the window.
Murong Yan forced her eyes open, the rims slightly red. “Stay with me, Ah Qin. Please?”
The person before her was so fragile and pitiable that Ming Qin’s heart softened. She could only nod slightly, removing her prosthetic limb and tucking the quilt in more snugly.
Only when she saw Ming Qin agree did the woman seem to let out a sigh of relief, closing her eyes and falling back into a stupor.
Knowing Murong Yan’s love for cleanliness, Ming Qin efficiently tidied the room, opened a window a crack for ventilation, and periodically replaced the cool towel on her forehead.
After roughly eight hours,1 Murong Yan’s sweating gradually subsided, and she slowly regained consciousness.
Ming Qin gently supported Murong Yan’s neck, patiently helping her drink some water.
A droplet escaped the corner of the woman’s lips, tracing a path down her slender neck and disappearing into the fabric of her clothes over her collarbone.
Ming Qin wiped the trace of water away with her thumb. Once Murong Yan seemed to have recovered a little, she asked worriedly, “How did this happen so suddenly? Weren’t you fine yesterday?”
Murong Yan’s expression was calm, but her tone held a thread of disgust. She said simply, “I just ran into a disgusting venomous snake.”
Seeing Ming Qin’s head snap up to vigilantly scan the surroundings, she pursed her lips and added, “Don’t worry, the venomous snake has already slithered away.”
Only then did Ming Qin relax and look back at Murong Yan. With a completely earnest expression, she said, “Next time there’s a venomous snake, you tell me. I’ll help you crush it to death.” She said it as if it were the easiest thing in the world.
Hearing this, Murong Yan, whose expression had been gloomy all day, couldn’t help but laugh. A warmth spread through her heart. Then, she asked curiously, “Ah Qin, just how strong are your martial arts in this Capital?”
She had no doubt about the skill of someone who could so easily scale Cang Yue Tower, but she didn’t know how Ming Qin compared to the other experts in the Capital.
“Very strong,” Ming Qin answered without hesitation. She tilted her head and thought for a moment. “In Terms of martial strength, the Shadow Guards are the strongest.”
Although her Master had once pointed at her nose and cursed her for being as stubborn as a stupid donkey, and had said her brain was smaller than chicken droppings when she was learning military strategy, those were things he only said off the training grounds.
When they sparred on the training grounds, her Master always said she was a natural hunter, with a wolf’s keen sense for danger and a grizzly bear’s fearless, death-defying ferocity.
If she got too immersed in a fight, she would often lose her sense of proportion and beat her colleagues until they cried out piteously.
In the camp, the shidi and shimei who didn’t know her well would give her a wide berth.
“If we’re talking about all the experts in the entire Capital,” Ming Qin mused, then said cautiously, “I’m probably on par with the Marshal of the Crown Prince’s Guard, Xiao He, and the Commander of the Imperial Guard, Luo Junyan.”
She had seen the two of them from a distance once when she accompanied her Master into the palace. Ming Qin, with her beast-like intuition, had felt a rare, inexplicable shudder rise from the bottom of her heart. The feeling excited her.
If she had the good fortune to test her skills against theirs with all her might, it would surely be a life-or-death struggle on a razor’s edge. The thought sent a shiver of anticipation through her.
But hearing this, Murong Yan’s face showed unconcealed surprise.
Setting aside the Commander of the Imperial Guard, Luo Junyan, she was well aware of the strength of the Crown Prince’s dog, Xiao He. That Ming Qin, so young, could possess the power to rival him truly astonished her.
“However, if we’re talking purely about qinggong…” Ming Qin broke into a childish, proud smile. “In the entire Capital, Ming Qin is number one.”
Looking at her face, Murong Yan let out a chuckle, which made Ming Qin a little anxious. “It’s true! My shixiong and shijie all agree my qinggong is the best!” Not just anyone could come and go from this slippery Cang Yue Tower so freely while carrying a food box.
“Alright, alright, I know. Ah Qin is very strong,” Murong Yan said, half-coaxing, half-laughing.
Her mood had lifted considerably, and she felt her body had recovered a little as well.
Just then, the sky began to turn fish-belly white.2 Ming Qin wrung her fingers guiltily and said, “I have to go. The Eleventh Prince will be waiting for me.”
“I know. Go on,” Murong Yan said, patting Ming Qin’s leg reassuringly and giving her a look to show that she was fine.
“I’ll come back later.” Ming Qin was still a little worried, but a glance at the sky told her she had no choice but to grit her teeth and leave quickly.
Once Ming Qin was gone, Murong Yan finally let out a sigh of relief and called for attendants to help her bathe and change.
Her under-robe was soaked with sweat, and the cold, sticky feeling had been bothering her immensely.
Soaking in the tub, Murong Yan watched the flower petals float on the surface of the water.
Did Ah Qin smell my sweat just now? she wondered, vexed, as she watched the steam rise.
“You’re late.” The Eleventh Prince stood at a side gate of the Imperial Academy, arms crossed as he questioned Ming Qin.
“My apologies.” Ming Qin looked at the boy who barely reached her chest yet was putting on the airs of a grown-up,3 and she bowed her head obediently.
“I’m not sharing my lunch with you today.” Murong Wan turned his head away, sneaking glances at the woman’s reaction.
As if struck by a bolt from the blue,4 Ming Qin lowered her head, her eyes looking utterly pitiful.
Murong Wan said slowly, “Unless…”
Ming Qin hadn’t eaten breakfast and hadn’t had time to buy lunch. Hearing a glimmer of hope, she immediately asked, “Unless what?”
Murong Wan cleared his throat a few times. “Unless… you accompany me to the palace to see Father-Emperor today.”
Seeing Ming Qin’s confused expression, he hurriedly added, “Of course, I’ll go in by myself, but can you wait for me outside? This is the first time Father-Emperor has summoned me alone…”
Murong Wan nervously clutched his sleeves.
“Alright!” Hearing it wasn’t a difficult task, Ming Qin readily agreed.
The boy quietly breathed a sigh of relief. “Then it’s a deal!”5
So, after classes ended that afternoon, Ming Qin followed Murong Wan back to the palace. While he went into the Imperial Study, she waited on a nearby roof, legs dangling idly.
As she was pondering whether the clouds in the sky looked more like roast duck or roast goose, a faint rustling sound drifted to her ears.
“…what are they doing…”
“…His Highness the Crown Prince will blame…”
Two men were speaking in hushed voices in the distance.
Ming Qin paused, then quietly followed them, holding her breath to listen closely.
“…How am I supposed to explain this to the Crown Prince?” a guard in iron armor said anxiously.
A eunuch beside him nervously wiped away sweat with a handkerchief, explaining, “…His Majesty is never without his Shadow Guards. It’s truly difficult to make a move in the palace.”
“A waste of all the silver the Crown Prince spent on you lot. A bunch of useless rice buckets.”6 The guard’s tone was irritated.
“Why is His Highness the Crown Prince in such a hurry all of a sudden?” the eunuch asked, confused. “His Majesty’s health is getting worse and worse… it’s only a matter of time before he ascends the Dragon Throne.”7
“Hush! Keep your voice down.”
The guard pressed a finger to his lips, shushing him, and glanced around warily, terrified that someone might overhear such treasonous words.8 He then whispered, “His Highness the Crown Prince suddenly threw a huge tantrum at his attendants yesterday. He’s keeping a close watch on the progress in the palace.” He then pointed to a bruise on his own face.
The eunuch said sympathetically, “It must be exhausting, following a temperamental Crown Prince.”
“Tell me about it. Yesterday he looked like he was about to eat someone alive, but today he was suddenly in a great mood, picking out a birthday gift,” the guard said with a helpless tone.
“Oh? Whose birthday is it to be worthy of so much of the Crown Prince’s attention?” the eunuch asked curiously.
“You’ve only been in the palace for three years, so of course you wouldn’t know.” The guard’s tone was matter-of-fact. “The one the Crown Prince cares about most is, naturally, Commandery Princess Chongwen.”
Ming Qin waited until the two had separated before turning back towards the Imperial Study.
She had heard their conversation clearly, and it was no surprise that the Crown Prince was plotting something in the palace.
With her mistress and the other Shadow Guards taking turns to stand watch, Ming Qin wasn’t actually too worried.
It was the other thing the two men mentioned that had caught her attention.
“Ming Qin!” Murong Wan came out of the Imperial Study, skipping towards her and breaking her train of thought.
As he got closer, he abruptly stopped, flustered, and composed himself, trying his best to flatten the grin that was spreading across his face.
“Eleventh Prince, what did His Majesty the Emperor say to you?” Ming Qin asked with concern.
“Father-Emperor asked about my performance at the academy, and he praised me,” Murong Wan said with a straight face, but his tone couldn’t hide his delight.
Ming Qin smiled and patted the boy’s shoulder. “That’s wonderful! His Majesty the Emperor must be proud of you.”
Murong Wan dodged Ming Qin’s hand as if he found it distasteful and trotted a few steps ahead. “But of course.” His tone was full of self-assurance.
But with his back to the woman behind him, the small boy didn’t let her see that his eyes had turned a little red.
The author has something to say:
Hi! This is the long-awaited Chapter 17.
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Regarding the sensitive review mechanism of this green app,9 I’ve been thinking hard about a solution.
Of course, the plot won’t be going full throttle down the highway like a race car10 (I’m not a race car driver anyway), but there will still be some ‘doll’s cars’.11
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Because honestly, the personalities of these two protagonists are such that no matter what they do, the tension is always high, and I love describing details.
It’s very possible that this green app will make a mountain out of a molehill even if I only write about things above the neck.
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If the ‘doll’s car tires’ still get slashed (i.e., if the chapter is still locked), I’ll see if I can cut things from the main text.
Then, I’ll ask everyone to leave a comment in that chapter, and I’ll post some of the small details in the comment section.
That way, I can better ensure everyone’s reading experience.
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This is the best method I can think of for now. But I’m not sure if it’s feasible. (If it really doesn’t work, I might have to switch platforms (crying)).
I’ll have to trouble you all when the time comes.
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PS. Have you guessed what the next chapter will be about? It’ll probably be a little sweet.
LP: Re-translated on June 16, 2025
Footnotes
- The original text is 四个时辰 (sì ge shíchén). A shichen is a traditional Chinese two-hour period, so four shichen is eight hours.
- 鱼肚白 (yúdùbái), literally ‘fish-belly white,’ is a classic literary description for the pale, greyish-white color of the sky at dawn.
- The original is 老气横秋 (lǎoqì héngqiū), a four-character idiom describing a young person who acts overly serious or mature for their age.
- The original is 晴天霹雳 (qíngtiān pīlì), a four-character idiom that literally means ‘a thunderclap on a clear day,’ used to describe a sudden and shocking event.
- The original is 一言为定 (yī yán wéi dìng), a four-character idiom meaning ‘one word and it’s settled,’ or ‘that’s a promise.’
- The original insult is 饭桶 (fàntǒng), literally ‘rice bucket.’ It’s a common term for a useless person who only consumes resources without contributing anything of value.
- The Dragon Throne (龙椅 lóng yǐ) is the throne of the Emperor of China and a symbol of his imperial power.
- The original is 大不敬 (dà bùjìng), which was a specific and serious crime in imperial China, referring to any act or speech that showed disrespect towards the emperor or the imperial family.
- A common way Chinese webnovel authors refer to their publishing platform, Jinjiang Literature City (jjwxc.net), which is known for its green-colored branding and strict content censorship.
- ‘Driving a race car’ is slang for writing explicit, R-rated content. The author is saying she won’t be writing anything that explicit.
- ‘Doll’s car’ is slang for mild, suggestive, or romantic but not explicit content.
I like this little Prince as well he’s adorable. I assume he’ll end up becoming emperor
Thanks for the chapter!!!