The Princess’ Shadow Guard – Chapter 19
by Little PandaMing Qin had been in high spirits all spring, so much so that even as the summer heat arrived with its deafening cicadas, her cheerful energy hadn’t faded one bit.
Murong Wan was a bit awkward but a very good, easygoing kid; her Shifu and Senior Brother were so busy they had no time to lecture her; and the hooligans in the market had stopped harassing the vendors.
But the best of all was Murong Yan!
Not only did she always let Ming Qin eat from her food box, but she would also pat her head and let her nap with her head pillowed on her lap.
No matter what Ming Qin said, she would always find Murong Yan smiling gently at her. If she had any troubles, Murong Yan would patiently offer her advice.
Most recently, after hearing that Ming Qin always lost when she played Go with her Senior Sister, Murong Yan had personally gone over the game records with her, move by move. This finally allowed her to snatch a victory from her ever-unprepared Senior Sister.
“Well, well. Found yourself a backer and now you’re coming to bully your Senior Sister?” Song Shuqing asked, raising an eyebrow.
“This is not bullying at all!” Ming Qin laughed triumphantly, then added with an astonished sigh, “The Commandery Princess is just too incredible. She predicted every single move you were going to make next, Senior Sister.”
Song Shuqing snorted. “You little thing, forgetting your Senior Sister the moment you see a beauty. I won’t let you win so easily next time.”
Though I always underestimated Qinqin’s Go skills, which is how she found an opening this time, she thought, this Commandery Princess Chongwen is truly unnerving. Just by reviewing the game with Qinqin, she was able to grasp my habits and see the path to victory.
“My dear Qinqin, when are you going to introduce me to Commandery Princess Chongwen?” Song Shuqing asked, propping her head up with her hand.
Ming Qin looked at her warily. “Senior Sister, what are you planning?” she said nervously. “I’m telling you, you’re not allowed to bully the Commandery Princess!”
Song Shuqing sighed dramatically. “Qinqin, you heartless little thing. You don’t want your Senior Sister anymore now that you have a beauty. I’m just looking for the Commandery Princess for a game of Go. Who would dare bully her?” She pointed to her own slender arms to feign weakness.
Besides, only her foolish junior sister would think Commandery Princess Chongwen was completely harmless.
This must be what they call 『seeing things through its own filter2』, huh.
“Right! After classes let out at the Imperial Academy tomorrow, Shifu wants you to enter the palace secretly and guard the Eleventh Prince.” Speaking of serious matters, Song Shuqing’s smile vanished, her expression turning stern. “There’s another mission after this that requires me to leave the capital, so I’ll have to rely on you. For now, Cao Yun will take over the prince’s protection.”
“Why am I suddenly going to the palace? Is something important happening?” Ming Qin asked, confused.
Song Shuqing seemed to hesitate as if she had more to say, but then she just shook her head. “Be cautious tomorrow. If you run into the Crown Prince, remember to be on your guard and, more importantly, don’t be impulsive. Think thrice before you act.”
The next day, a masked Ming Qin spotted her Shimu, Gu Yun3, on a beam in the Imperial Study. It had been a long time.
Her Shimu’s exposed eyes were crinkled into a smile, faint crow’s feet at the corners. She waved happily at Ming Qin.
Ming Qin smiled and waved back, seemingly unsurprised to see her Shimu here.
Gu Yun was also an imperial shadow guard. In addition to her mastery of poisons, she was an expert in hidden weapons and was often responsible for secretly protecting His Majesty the Emperor.
The two of them gestured silently back and forth on the rafters. Below them, His Majesty the Emperor was as warm as any ordinary father, asking the Eleventh Prince about his studies. The atmosphere was harmonious.
After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn4, Ming Qin heard a commotion outside. Her back instantly straightened.
Gu Yun’s gaze sharpened, her hand slipping into her sleeve to grasp a hidden weapon, ready to strike at a moment’s notice.
“His Highness the Crown Prince arrives!” the eunuch at the door announced.
A moment later, two figures slowly walked in.
The young man in the lead had a face that could barely be called handsome, his skin a deathly, bloodless white. A jade hairpin set with a jadeite crown was neatly fixed in his jet-black hair. He wore a purple robe embroidered with nine dragons in gold thread and strode arrogantly through the door.
Following a half-step behind him was a man in armor, a scar running from his forehead to his jaw across the left side of his face. He followed the young man in silence.
After entering the Imperial Study, neither of the two bowed to the Emperor on the Dragon Throne. They simply stood there, their gazes drifting about with casual indifference.
A heavy silence fell, making the young Murong Wan so nervous that he swallowed hard.
After a long moment, Murong Xiao spoke as if bored. “Father Emperor, for what reason has Gu been summoned today? It is a rare occasion.”
His voice was soft, yet cloying.
“Crown Prince, your eighth brother in Qiongzhou… is dead,” the Emperor said slowly, staring at Murong Xiao as if in a final, desperate struggle, trying to find a trace of remorse on his own son’s face.
“Is that so? How truly heartbreaking.” Murong Xiao feigned surprise, placing a hand over his heart, but the corners of his mouth quirked up as he spoke in a flippant tone. “But whatever was Eighth Brother doing in Qiongzhou?”
“You, more than anyone, should know why he was sent to Qiongzhou, shouldn’t you?” the Emperor bit out, barely suppressing his rage.
Seeing the utter indifference beneath his son’s false facade, the aging Emperor felt nothing but a chilling disappointment. He finally lost his composure and roared, “To get what you want, you have gone too far!”
“Too far?” Murong Xiao’s eyes fixed on the Emperor like a viper on its prey. “Then is it far enough for Father Emperor to finally decide to give Gu what belongs to Gu?” he asked coldly.
“When you ordered the death of the Princess of Yu eleven years ago,” the Emperor said, his eyes filled with sorrow as if witnessing a heartbreaking scene, his breath coming in short gasps, “it was sealed that you would never get what you want.”
Up on the beam, Ming Qin’s steady, suppressed breathing became ragged at his words. Her hand tightened on her sword.
Below, Murong Xiao’s eyes widened as he stared at the Emperor, as if his father had said something utterly absurd. “If Gu had not killed the Princess of Yu back then and let Sister go into mourning, wouldn’t Father Emperor have betrothed Sister to someone else?” he cried out.
Then, as if a thought struck him, Murong Xiao’s brow furrowed and his eyes turned sinister. He spat out each word through gritted teeth, “Gu begged you, begged you to give Sister to Gu, but you never agreed. You made me resort to such methods. You made me lock Sister away. You made my sister hate Gu.”
His voice grew more and more agitated.
Ming Qin’s pupils trembled upon hearing the Crown Prince’s speech. The killing intent she had been desperately suppressing threatened to erupt, but she caught her Shimu’s warning gaze and could only grit her teeth and hold it back.
“You madman,” the Emperor slammed his hand on the table, his whole body trembling as he broke into a fit of violent coughs.
Murong Xiao laughed, completely unconcerned by the Emperor’s accusation. As if recalling his greatest masterpiece, his eyes grew bloodshot, gleaming with a mix of excitement and insanity. “But. It will be soon.”
Stepping forward to caress the Dragon Throne, Murong Xiao’s face filled with satisfaction. “Gu will soon become the most honored person under Heaven,” he said, his voice cold and viscous again. “Naturally, no one will be able to stop me then. Isn’t that right, Father Emperor?”
He reached out, his hand moving toward the Emperor’s neck, which was red from coughing.
CLANG!
A piercing screech of metal on metal rang out. The man behind the Crown Prince had drawn his sword and swatted away a small dagger that shot down toward Murong Xiao’s hand. The dagger’s trajectory was altered, and it embedded itself halfway into the wooden table. Its poisoned blade glinted with an eerie purple light.
The swordsman, Xiao He, shielded the Crown Prince behind him, his eyes fixed warily on the beam where Gu Yun was hiding.
“Calm down, Xiao He,” Murong Xiao said, his voice still icy and devoid of warmth despite the tense standoff. “They don’t dare kill Gu.”
Murong Xiao walked back unhurriedly. He suddenly turned his head, a discordant smile on his face. “Seeing Father Emperor today has brought Gu great pleasure.”
He paused, then his smile widened into a grotesque grin that seemed to stretch to his ears. “Seeing that Father Emperor is not far from his grave, Gu is simply too excited to contain himself.”
From start to finish, he never once looked toward the corner where Murong Wan stood, trembling slightly.
Once Murong Xiao and Xiao He had left, the Emperor seemed to lose all his strength, slumping wearily against the back of his chair. He suddenly looked incredibly old.
He murmured a few words to soothe Murong Wan, and after mustering the strength to see the boy off, the Emperor leaned against a soft pillow and closed his eyes to rest.
After a while, He Jingshou and Gu Yun suddenly appeared on either side of the Emperor. The man spoke respectfully, “Your Majesty, why must you put yourself through this?”
The Emperor kept his eyes closed and did not answer. Then he asked, “Do you think your disciple will tell Chongwen what she heard today?”
He Jingshou and Gu Yun exchanged a look. “This subordinate is truly not clear on the depth of the relationship between the Commandery Princess and Ming Qin,” He Jingshou said, sounding uncertain. “So… I cannot be sure.”
“If we can deepen Chongwen’s hatred for the Crown Prince, then the plan will have another layer of assurance,” the Emperor said, letting out a few weak coughs. “Will you two resent Zhen5 for scheming against your disciple?”
“How would this subordinate dare,” He Jingshou and Gu Yun said, hurriedly kneeling. “Everything is for the sake of the greater good.”
The author has something to say:
Regarding Senior Sister’s CP6, I think she will have one. I’m currently planning to put it in a short side story in the extras.
After all, she is the best wingman for the donkey-headed shadow guard and the paranoid Commandery Princess. She deserves a great ending.
LP: Re-translated on June 19, 2025
Footnotes
- 豫親王妃 | Yù qīnwáng fēi | Princess of Yu. ‘A wangfei’ (王妃) is the official wife/consort of a ‘qinwang’ (親王), a prince of the first rank.
- 『自帶濾鏡』 | zì dài lǜjìng | Lit. “comes with its own filter.” Internet slang for seeing someone or something through a biased lens, usually an overly positive one (like rose-tinted glasses).
- 古芸 | Gǔ Yún
- 一炷香 | yī zhù xiāng | A traditional Chinese unit of time, approximately 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the incense stick.
- 朕 | zhèn | The imperial “I”; used exclusively by the Emperor.
- CP | Couple Pairing | A term used in fandoms to refer to a romantic relationship between two characters.
O damn here comes the scheming and twists part of the plot c: