The Princess’ Shadow Guard – Chapter 21
by Little PandaHas the Rouge Been Ruined? (First Kiss)
Ming Qin searched the entire Shadow Guard Camp and only found what Murong Yan wanted in the evening, at the place of a Martial Uncle who specialized in disguise.
The enthusiastic Martial Uncle rummaged through a wooden chest, pulling out some strange bottles and jars, then looked at Ming Qin’s hair and said, “Your hair is so jet-black, what do you need black bean paste for? Don’t tell me you’re helping an old person dye their hair?”
Ming Qin shook her head and said, “No, it’s for a friend of mine. She’s not even thirty yet.”
“Is that so?!”
The Martial Uncle exclaimed, then his expression grew worried as he said earnestly, “Then your friend is likely suffering from excessive worry that has taxed her mind and spirit. Little Martial Niece, you must persuade her. This is not good for her health. If it’s just minor sorrows and small pains, she should let them go if she can. Excessive contemplation is not conducive to longevity.”
What Murong Yan had experienced could hardly be summarized by the four words ‘minor sorrows and small pains,’ and it wasn’t something an outsider could comment on.
Ming Qin didn’t know how to answer and could only scratch her nose in silence. She then placed the items the Martial Uncle handed her into a cloth bag, thanked him solemnly, and hurried to Cangyue Tower.
Strangely, when she went upstairs, she didn’t see Murong Yan lying on her usual couch by the window, but sitting in front of a dressing mirror hidden by a screen.
“Ah Qin, give me the things.”
A fair hand reached out from a gap in the screen. Ming Qin tilted her head and passed the cloth bag over. “Wait outside for a while,” Murong Yan said softly.
Ming Qin sat obediently on a stool, her eyes sweeping over the tea and snacks on the table. They were all her favorites. She couldn’t help but lick her lips and start eating.
By the time the table was cleared and she was full and a little drowsy, Murong Yan still hadn’t come out.
Just as Ming Qin let out her ninth yawn, the sound of rustling fabric came from behind the screen.
“Ah Qin.” Murong Yan, walking out slowly from behind the screen, smiled helplessly. “Eating too many sweets will give you a toothache.”
She looked up, about to retort, but her entire body stiffened, petrified.
Murong Yan had always been beautiful; Ming Qin knew this.
Whether it was the graceful and elegant her on horseback when they first met, the languid and charming her leaning on the couch toying with a tea set, or the beautiful her panting lightly and calling her name while sick.
But none of those instances were like this moment, a beauty that made her almost forget to breathe.
It made her clearly understand that 『they』 were merely remnants of the Murong Yan from back then.
Remnants of the 『Murong Yan』 who had caused a sensation at a Spring Festival poetry gathering, whose talent and beauty were unparalleled, who was enfeoffed as Commandery Princess Chongwen, and who had stunned the entire capital.
Her skin, already like white jade, was not powdered. Only a faint touch of rouge1 was spread across her cheeks, adding a healthy color to her originally somewhat sickly face.
Her eyelids carried a hint of peach, the corners of her eyes lightly flicked upwards with a brush, bewitching and alluring. Her perpetually pale lips were not coated with the usual deep red lipstick2, but were instead meticulously outlined in a vivid red, with a layer of crack-preventing oil brushed on top.
Just this.
It was merely this, yet it was as if winter had passed and spring had come, with peonies in full bloom, causing all other flowers to pale in comparison, not daring to compete with their splendor.
Her once somewhat sunken cheeks had been nourished over the past half-year and were no longer gaunt, now appearing full of life. Her every frown and smile was like a painting, a poem.
When she spoke, that drop of vivid red on her lips was enough to make one’s heart tremble.
Her hair, which had been streaked with a few silver strands, was now dyed jet-black and simply styled into a single-spiral bun3, secured with a pure gold hairpin. Atop it sat two large red peonies spun from palace gauze4, their petals interwoven with gold thread, as if blooming upon her dark tresses.
Her white outer robe was embroidered with vines in deep, ink-green silk thread, which grew and spread from the draping wide sleeves, climbing over her slender shoulders, the graceful vines winding their way to her back.
As she turned slightly, she revealed a magnificent display of bright red peonies embroidered on her back.
The fine, dense stitches were so realistic it seemed the blooming flowers might at any moment burst from the woman’s slender back, ready to leap forth with her every move.
A few red petals seemed to fall with the sway of her trailing skirt, making one want to cherish and protect the flower before them all the more.
The Quju5 underneath was dark red. Unlike the ornate complexity of the outer robe, it was simply bound with white silk embroidered with red flowers, a section of which hung down in front, swaying with every step.
There was no cloying scent of powder in the air, only the fragrance of peonies that silently followed her as she approached, making one automatically clear a path for her audacious beauty.
Beauty that could topple cities; this was it.
Ming Qin gazed at her, her heart in turmoil, filled not only with overwhelming shock but also with endless sorrow.
Did you see?
Her beauty.
Hurry and open your eyes to see!
So beautiful, isn’t she!
A beauty that could captivate all living beings, like a celestial being descended to the mortal realm.
She should be looked up to by all, cherished in the hearts of those around her.
This is the supremely talented and beautiful Commandery Princess Chongwen, Murong Yan!
She should have lived a free and happy life, her prime blooming ever more brilliantly.
Not have her branches broken, imprisoned in a high tower as if in shackles, cruelly deprived of her air and sunlight, slowly choked to death as they watched her wither.
Unforgivable.
Whether it was the mad Crown Prince, the incompetent Emperor, or even my own helpless self, this world that treated her so harshly—unforgivable.
“Ah Qin, come.”
Although she had been aware of her own beauty since she was young, seeing Ming Qin’s stunned face still made Murong Yan a little happy. She called out gently, “Support me, my legs hurt.”
Pulled from her thoughts, Ming Qin heard this and hurried forward, supporting her by the hips and carefully lifting her high. “Don’t force yourself.”
Murong Yan looked down at Ming Qin’s worried expression, reached out to touch the earring on the other’s ear—which had once been her own—and pointed cheerfully at the qin in the corner. “Carry me over there.”
Ming Qin carried her, helping Murong Yan sit properly in her lap. With one hand, she took a handkerchief and wiped the dust from the qin; with the other, she wrapped an arm around her waist so she could sit steadily before the instrument.
“Although dancing for Ah Qin is impossible, playing the qin is still possible.”
Murong Yan plucked a few notes with one hand, then placed both hands on the strings. “But I haven’t played in a long time. I’m afraid my hands are a bit rusty.”
She plucked the strings, drawing out the notes.
Ming Qin didn’t understand music.
She had always felt that all qin music sounded equally dull, just a few strings bouncing back and forth.
Only now did she realize how terribly wrong she had been.
At this moment, she still didn’t understand music.
But she felt she could hear the sorrow conveyed by the qin in Murong Yan’s hands.
It began with a few lonely, single notes, which then slowly deepened.
As the notes layered upon one another, she could almost feel the strength in the player’s fingers, the resentment and grief continuously accumulating.
It was as if she was venting all her dissatisfaction and pouring out all her grievances, a chest full of sorrow and indignation that seemed ready to erupt in the next second.
Ding!
A sharp, piercing sound cut through the air, as if to stop it all.
A string had broken.
Murong Yan’s impassioned notes stopped abruptly, her hands frozen in mid-air.
The broken string lashed out like a whip, striking her arm and leaving a long red mark. Only a few strings remained, vibrating softly.
As if on the verge of tears.
“Does even the qin refuse to follow my heart?” Murong Yan lamented in a low voice, her expression somewhat desolate.
Suddenly, she felt a coolness on her neck. She turned her head to the side and, for the first time, saw Ming Qin’s tear-streaked face.
“Ah Qin?”
A rare look of panic appeared on Murong Yan’s face. She clutched her sleeve, wanting to wipe away Ming Qin’s tears, but was pulled into a tight embrace. “Ah Qin? What’s wrong?”
Ming Qin shook her head, unwilling to speak. She was just silent, gently touching the red mark on Murong Yan’s arm and tying a handkerchief around it for her.
“Ah Qin, I’m the one who got hurt, what are you crying for?” Murong Yan asked, somewhat amused, as she watched the other’s eyes inexplicably well up with tears again. With her free hand, she caressed Ming Qin’s face.
“It’s so painful…” Ming Qin said in a low voice.
Murong Yan is in so much pain.
“Ah Qin, don’t cry. Getting hit by a string doesn’t hurt as much as it looks.”
Murong Yan tried to comfort Ming Qin. Seeing that she was still a little down, she attempted to distract her, asking, “Does Ah Qin now understand the appeal of a beautiful woman?”
Ming Qin nodded. “I think I now understand why so many people would spend a fortune just to win a smile from a beauty.”
If it were to bring Murong Yan happiness, I would gladly be crushed to pieces.
Hearing her answer, a happy smile spread across Murong Yan’s lips.
She knew she was born exceedingly beautiful. In the past, if she had wished it, she could have used her looks to make any man in the world do anything for her. But she had also once hated this face, wishing she could take a hairpin and tear it off in front of a mirror.
Now, just for Ming Qin’s one comment about not understanding a beauty’s appeal, she was willing to temporarily reclaim her former glory. And seeing the dazed look on her face, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride.
It’s really too childish.
Murong Yan felt both helpless and amused at herself.
Looking at Ming Qin’s still-reddened eyes, “Ah Qin,” Murong Yan sighed, “my makeup is not yet complete.”
Ming Qin looked at the flawless face before her, confused. “Not complete?”
“Not complete,” Murong Yan said resolutely, her hand covering Ming Qin’s cheek. “I need Ah Qin’s help.”
“Alright,” Ming Qin agreed at once. “How can I help?”
“Close your eyes, and don’t you dare open them,” the woman’s breathy voice was a little husky.
She obediently closed her eyes. The rich fragrance of peonies filled her nose. She never doubted the woman’s words.
A moment later, a faint, moist, and cool sensation touched her lips.
Ming Qin didn’t know what it was. Resisting the curiosity that made her want to open her eyes, she only felt that it was like silk, making her involuntarily lick it.
The person in her arms trembled, then her body relaxed, allowing Ming Qin’s tongue to enter, as if venturing into an unguarded realm.
Her mouth and nose were filled with the scent of flowers. She felt something firm, and another presence, soft and wet. Ming Qin suddenly realized what she was doing.
She had seen it in the brothels before.
With a whoosh, her face began to burn uncontrollably. She quickly opened her eyes and pulled back, seeing the person before her panting lightly, a trace of her saliva at the corner of their mouth.
Ming Qin felt that she had taken liberties with the Princess, like a damned, despicable scoundrel. She stammered, trying to speak, “I… I… I…”
“Has my rouge been ruined?”
Murong Yan licked her lips and asked calmly, but the crimson blush on her cheeks betrayed her thoughts.
Ming Qin’s eyes quickly swept over the other’s vermilion lips, then her gaze drifted out the window as she stammered, “No… no…”
“Then, only now is it complete.”
The author has something to say:
(Covers mouth, not daring to speak)
LP: Re-translated on June 22, 2025
Footnotes
- 胭脂 | yānzhi | A type of ancient Chinese cosmetic, used as blush or lipstick.
- 口脂 | kǒu zhī | An ancient form of lipstick, often made from animal fat and mineral pigments, stored in small containers.
- 單螺髻 | dān luó jì | A type of ancient Chinese hairstyle where the hair is coiled into a single, shell-like bun on top of the head.
- 宮紗 | gōng shā | A high-quality, fine silk gauze traditionally produced for and used by the imperial court.
- 曲裾 | qū jū | A style of robe from the Han dynasty, characterized by a triangular front piece that wraps around the body.
Just. Wow. 🙊
Lol 🤣 MQ’s naivety had no chance against MY’s experience.
Lol murong is sneaky
Demn, miss my bebe
Thank you for the chapter!! They finally kissed. Although, im still waiting for the death of that scum prince.
thanks for the chapter!!!!
😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
I didn’t expect the princess to move this fast. Now I wonder what will happen next lol
Thank you so much for the chapter <3