The Princess’ Shadow Guard – Chapter 19
by Little PandaKilling the Princess Consort of Yu
Ming Qin had spent this entire spring in high spirits. Even though the bitter heat of midsummer had now arrived and the cicadas chirped with a deafening roar, she remained radiant and full of life.
Murong Wan was a bit awkward, but he was exceptionally easy to get along with and a truly good child. Her master and shixiong1 were busy to death and didn’t have time to lecture her, and the street thugs in the market no longer harassed the vendors.
Best of all was Murong Yan!
Not only did she always let Ming Qin eat from her food box, but she would also stroke her head and let her nap with her head resting on her lap.
No matter what Ming Qin said, whenever she snapped out of her daze, she’d find Murong Yan smiling gently at her. If she had any worries, Murong Yan would patiently offer advice.
Just recently, after hearing that she always lost whenever she played chess with her shijie2, Murong Yan had personally guided her through chess manuals step-by-step, allowing her to finally snatch a victory from her caught-off-guard shijie.
“Well, look at you! Now that you’ve got a backer, you come to bully your shijie?” Song Shuqing questioned, raising an eyebrow.
“This isn’t bullying at all!” Ming Qin laughed triumphantly, then exclaimed in awe, “The Commandery Princess is truly amazing. She predicted every single move you were going to make next, Shijie.”
Song Shuqing snorted. “You little turncoat, prioritizing a pretty face over your shijie. I won’t let you win so easily next time.”
Although she’d always underestimated Qinqin’s chess skills and had only left an opening this time, the fact that Commandery Princess Chongwen could pin down her habits and see the path to victory just by reconstructing the game with Qinqin was truly alarming.
“Good Qinqin, when’re you going to introduce Commandery Princess Chongwen to me?” Song Shuqing asked, propping up her chin.
Ming Qin looked at her warily, saying nervously, “What’re you planning, Shijie? I’m telling you, you absolutely can’t bully the Commandery Princess!”
Song Shuqing sighed dramatically. “Qinqin, you ungrateful little thing. Once you have a beauty, you don’t want your shijie anymore. I’m only looking for the Commandery Princess to play chess—who would dare bully her?” She pointed at her slender arms to show how weak and delicate she was.
Besides, only her silly fool of a shimei3 would think Commandery Princess Chongwen was completely harmless.
This was what they called 『built-in filter4』, wasn’t it?
“Oh, right! Tomorrow, after classes let out at the Imperial Academy, Master wants you to secretly enter the palace to guard the Eleventh Prince.” Getting down to business, Song Shuqing wiped the smile from her face, her expression turning serious. “After this, I’ve got another mission that’ll take me away from the Capital, so I must entrust this to you. The prince’s guard duties will be temporarily handed over to Cao Yun.”
“Why suddenly enter the palace? Is there something important happening?” Ming Qin asked in confusion.
Song Shuqing hesitated as if she wanted to say more, but in the end, she merely shook her head. “Be careful tomorrow. If you run into the Crown Prince, remember to be on your guard and absolutely don’t act on impulse. Think carefully before you do anything.”
The next day, a masked Ming Qin spotted her long-unseen shimu5, Gu Yun, up on the beams of the Imperial Study.
Her shimu’s exposed eyes curved into a warm smile, showing faint crow’s feet, as she waved cheerfully at Ming Qin.
Ming Qin also smiled and waved back, seemingly not at all surprised to see her shimu here.
As a fellow Shadow Guard, Gu Yun was not only highly skilled in using poisons, but she was also an expert in concealed weapons. She was often at His Majesty the Emperor’s side, carrying out the duty of protecting him from the shadows.
The two gestured back and forth silently on the beams. Below them, His Majesty the Emperor was warmly inquiring about the Eleventh Prince’s schoolwork like an ordinary father, making for a harmonious atmosphere.
After about one stick of incense6, Ming Qin heard a commotion outside, and her spine instantly stiffened.
Gu Yun’s eyes also grew alert. She reached into her sleeve, grasping her concealed weapons, ready to strike at any moment.
“His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived!” shouted the eunuch at the door.
A moment later, two figures slowly walked inside.
The leading youth had a face that could barely be called handsome, but his complexion was deathly pale and completely bloodless. A jade hairpin neatly secured an emerald-encrusted crown atop his pitch-black hair, and his purple robe was embroidered with nine dragons in gold thread. He stepped through the door with impeccable posture and an arrogant aura.
The man behind him wore armor, with a scar running from his forehead down to his jaw across the left side of his face. He followed silently, half a step behind the youth.
After entering the Imperial Study, neither of them made any move to bow to the Emperor on the dragon throne. They simply stood there, their eyes drifting around carelessly.
A heavy silence descended, causing the still-young Murong Wan to swallow nervously.
After a long while, Murong Xiao spoke up, seeming bored, “Has Imperial Father summoned this prince today for some rare matter?”
His voice was soft, yet sticky.
“Crown Prince, your Eighth Brother in Qiongzhou… is dead.” The Emperor stared at Murong Xiao and spoke slowly, as if in a final struggle, trying to catch even a sliver of guilt on his child’s face.
“Is that so? How truly heartbreaking.” Murong Xiao feigned shock, pressing a hand to his chest, but the corners of his mouth curled slightly upward as he said in a flippant tone, “But why would little Eighth Brother have been in Qiongzhou?”
“Are you not the one who knows best why he was sent to Qiongzhou?” the Emperor said, grinding his teeth as he suppressed his mounting rage.
Looking at his son’s hypocritical face and the utter indifference beneath it, the aging Emperor was left utterly chilled. Finally unable to hold it in, he roared in fury, “To get what you want, you’ve gone far too far!”
“Too far?” Murong Xiao stared the Emperor down like a venomous snake eyeing its prey, asking coldly, “Then is it far enough for Imperial Father to decide to give this prince what belongs to this prince?”
“The moment you ordered the murder of the Princess Consort of Yu eleven years ago,” the Emperor panted slightly, his eyes filled with sorrow as if witnessing some heartbreaking scene, “it was destined that you would never obtain what you desire.”
Up on the beams, Ming Qin’s breath, which had been steady and suppressed all along, faltered slightly upon hearing this. Her grip on her sword tightened.
Below, Murong Xiao widened his eyes at the Emperor, shouting as if his father had said something utterly preposterous. “If this prince had not killed the Princess Consort of Yu to force Jiejie into mourning, would Imperial Father not have betrothed Jiejie to someone else?”
Then Murong Xiao frowned as if recalling something, his eyes turning dark. Gritting his teeth, he squeezed out his next words, spitting them out one by one: “This prince kept begging you—begging you to give Jiejie to this prince—but you never agreed! It’s because of you that this prince had to resort to such means, that this prince had to lock Jiejie away, and that Jiejie hates this prince!”
His voice grew increasingly frenzied.
Ming Qin’s pupils dilated in shock at the Crown Prince’s words. The killing intent she had been desperately suppressing in her heart threatened to erupt, but upon meeting her shiniang7‘s warning gaze, she could only grit her teeth and hold it back.
“You madman…” The Emperor slammed his hand on the desk, his entire body trembling as he began to cough violently.
Murong Xiao laughed, completely untroubled by the Emperor’s accusation. As if thinking of his ultimate masterpiece, his eyes turned bloodshot, brimming with excitement and madness. “But… it’s almost time.”
Stepping forward to stroke the dragon throne, Murong Xiao wore a look of utter satisfaction, his voice cold and viscous. “This prince will soon become the most noble person under heaven. Naturally, no one will be able to stop me then. Isn’t that right, Imperial Father?”
He reached out, intending to touch the Emperor’s neck, which had flushed red from coughing.
『Clang!』
Suddenly, a sharp clash of metal rang out. The man behind the Crown Prince drew his sword, deflecting a throwing knife aimed at Murong Xiao’s hand from above. The knife’s trajectory skewed, plunging halfway into the wooden desk. Its poisoned blade shimmered with an eerie purple light.
Holding his sword, the man warily shielded the Crown Prince behind him, his eyes locked onto the beam where Gu Yun was hiding.
“Calm down, Xiao He.” Even though the atmosphere was incredibly tense, Murong Xiao’s voice remained freezing cold and devoid of warmth. “They don’t dare kill this prince.”
Murong Xiao stepped back unhurriedly, then suddenly turned back, a discordant smile stretching across his face. “This prince is in an exceptionally pleasant mood after seeing Imperial Father today.”
He paused, then flashed a grotesque grin that split almost to his ears. “Seeing that Imperial Father isn’t far from his grave… this prince is truly too excited to contain himself.”
From beginning to end, he never once looked at Murong Wan, who was trembling slightly in the corner.
Once Murong Xiao and Xiao He left, the Emperor slumped back against his chair as if all support had been cut away, suddenly looking incredibly aged.
After murmuring a few words to comfort Murong Wan and barely holding himself together until the boy had left, the Emperor leaned wearily against the soft cushions and closed his eyes to rest.
A moment later, He Jingshou and Gu Yun suddenly materialized on either side of the Emperor. The man spoke respectfully, “Your Majesty, why must you put yourself through this?”
The Emperor remained silent, eyes still closed, before finally asking, “Do you think your disciple will tell Chongwen what she heard today?”
He Jingshou and Gu Yun exchanged a glance. He said with some uncertainty, “This subordinate is truly in the dark regarding the depth of the Commandery Princess’s relationship with Ming Qin, so… I cannot say for certain.”
“If we can deepen Chongwen’s hatred for the Crown Prince, our plan will have an extra layer of certainty,” the Emperor said, coughing weakly several times. “Do you resent Us for scheming against your disciple?”
“How would this subordinate dare?” He Jingshou and Gu Yun hurriedly knelt. “Everything is for the great cause.”
The author has something to say:
Regarding shijie’s pairing, I think there’ll be one. Currently, I’m planning to put it in a small extra.
After all, she’s the ultimate wingwoman for our donkey-brained Shadow Guard and obsessive Commandery Princess, so she deserves a wonderful ending!
Footnotes
- Shīxiōng: A traditional term of address used by a junior disciple for an older or senior male fellow disciple within the same sect or martial lineage.
- Shījiě: A traditional term of address used by a junior disciple for an older or senior female fellow disciple within the same sect or martial lineage.
- Shīmèi: A traditional term of address used by a senior disciple for a younger or junior female fellow disciple within the same sect or martial lineage.
- Zì dài lǜjìng: Modern slang used to describe seeing someone in an idealized, perfect light, ignoring any flaws or dangers.
- Shīmǔ: A term of address for a disciple's master's wife, carrying a respectful maternal connotation.
- Yī zhù xiāng: 'One stick of incense' is a traditional Chinese measurement of time, roughly equivalent to fifteen to thirty minutes.
- Shīniáng: A traditional term of address for a disciple's master's wife, emphasizing her role as a maternal figure within the martial sect.
O damn here comes the scheming and twists part of the plot c: