The Princess’ Shadow Guard – Chapter 27
by Little PandaYou Must Take Good Care of Yourself
The carriage veered off the main road and came to a stop in a dense, overgrown forest.
Only after Cao Yun lit an oil lamp and opened the carriage door to let the two women step down was Ming Qin, who had been curled up beneath the seats, finally able to stand. She tilted her neck, her joints cracking throughout her entire body.
Noticing that Song Shuqing and Cao Yun seemed to have a great deal to say to each other, Murong Yan considerately excused herself on the pretext of not wanting to stand for long and retreated back into the carriage. This left some private space for the three comrades from the Shadow Guard Camp to catch up.
Only now could Ming Qin finally catch her breath. Seizing the opportunity, she asked her shixiong and shijie in a flurried voice, “What’s going on? Where is everyone else?”
“The situation in the Capital is dire. Lin Yan and our martial uncles took the other apprentice shadow guards and split them up into small groups to flee and hide before the Crown Prince could purge the Shadow Guard Camp,” Cao Yun said hurriedly, his expression far from optimistic.
“Master and Shiniang1 will be responsible for protecting the Eleventh Prince, while the rest of the Shadow Guards have melted into the city streets to provide backup from the shadows as the situation develops.” He turned to look at Song Shuqing, who nodded as if confirming something.
Cao Yun fell silent for a moment, then sighed and looked straight into Ming Qin’s eyes, his tone grave. “Qinqin, listen closely. The things Shiniang gave you are the imperial decree left by His Majesty the Emperor before his death appointing the Eleventh Prince to the throne, as well as the tiger tally. Both are of critical importance.”
He took a deep breath. “Your mission is to take those items and protect the Commandery Princess as you head to the Northern Borders. Remember! You must ensure the Commandery Princess meets with the Prince of Yu in person.”
Ming Qin didn’t show much of an outward reaction. She simply nodded obediently and repeated, “Protect the Commandery Princess and get her safely to the Northern Borders, and let her meet the Prince of Yu with the imperial decree and the tiger tally. No problem.”
Protect the Commandery Princess safely to the Northern Borders.
Protect the Commandery Princess safely to the Northern Borders.
It was simple, not complicated at all.
In fact, this was what she had wanted to do all along.
Ming Qin looked up at the two of them and asked, “Then what about you, Shixiong and Shijie? Where are you going?”
Seeing Cao Yun hesitate, Song Shuqing spoke up in his stead. “I’ll disguise myself as the Commandery Princess. Cao Yun and I will leave a trail of false clues to buy you time, and we’ll see if we can whittle down the Crown Prince’s pursuing forces while we’re at it.”
“How can that be?!”
Ming Qin argued loudly. Luring the enemy and facing ambushes was always fraught with danger; it ought to be handled by her, since she possessed the highest level of martial arts. “It should be me who—”
“Absolutely not!”
Cao Yun cut her off and said firmly, “We don’t have any guarantee of success either. You must remain by the Commandery Princess’s side as her final line of defense.”
Without giving Ming Qin a chance to speak again, he drew a map from his robes and spread it on the ground. “We’ll head north by water routes. If it comes to combat on boats, the Crown Prince’s forces may be numerous, but they won’t have much of an advantage. We can stall them for a while.”
Ming Qin’s mouth felt dry. She watched as Cao Yun pointed directly to a corner of the map. “You’ll take the Commandery Princess west first, then head straight north. We’ve already coordinated with the prefect of this region. He is trustworthy, and he’ll send men to escort you to meet the Prince of Yu.”
Seeing that Ming Qin refused to answer, Cao Yun stared directly into her eyes and said, “Qinqin, the key to this entire operation lies with you. Your resolve must remain unshakable. If we succeed, everyone back in the Capital will be safe. Do you understand?”
Once Ming Qin gave a slow nod, Cao Yun gathered the map and walked over to the carriage to tinker with it. In moments, the once-luxurious carriage took on a worn, dusty, and completely unremarkable appearance. He then led out two pre-arranged horses from the woods, transferring the bundles from their backs into the carriage.
Song Shuqing looked at the silent Ming Qin and patted her shoulder. “You can’t stop him. This is the best way.”
“But… it’s too dangerous,” Ming Qin said, her expression gloomy.
Song Shuqing chuckled. “It’s a bit strange for you to say that now. Is your mission any less dangerous? As Shadow Guards, we walk on the edge of a blade. You and I both know this is a job where we could lose our lives at any moment. Every breath we take is snatched from the jaws of death.”
She paused, then whispered in Ming Qin’s ear, “Besides, don’t carry too much of a burden. Cao Yun is doing this because he wants to pay back the life he owes you.”
“Owes me?” Ming Qin was bewildered, having absolutely no idea what her shijie was talking about.
“Yes, owes you.”
Song Shuqing had no intention of giving Ming Qin a hint. She simply changed her tone. “But don’t worry, you still have me. I don’t plan on dying this early.”
When He Jingshou and Song Shuqing first heard of Cao Yun’s plan, they had understood that despite the danger, it was indeed the safest course of action.
Originally, Cao Yun had wanted to carry it out alone, likely prepared for a journey of no return. In the end, Song Shuqing had managed to convince him to let her join him.
『You’re a grown man all by yourself. Like hell the Crown Prince’s men would think you’re the Commandery Princess and chase after you.』
『…』
『I have to be there for this plan to even have a chance of working.』
『But…』
『Don’t worry. If things get too dangerous, I’ll abandon you and run.』
Song Shuqing had confidence in herself.
She believed she could carve out a path to survival even in the most perilous situations.
And naturally, she would bring Cao Yun along with her.
Surely someone who had lived two lives should understand how to survive better than someone who had only lived one, right?
“So, instead of worrying about my brilliant self, you’d better worry about yourself.”
Song Shuqing raised an eyebrow at Ming Qin, then sighed and murmured, “You must take good care of yourself…”
For some reason, her usually sharp sixth sense sent a faint tremor of unease through her.
Ming Qin misunderstood her meaning slightly. Thumping her chest, she promised, “Shijie, don’t worry! I’ll definitely carry out this mission. I won’t shrink from ten thousand deaths to protect the Commandery Princess and the imperial decree.”
She wore an expression that suggested she was ready to go to her death heroically at any second.
Looking at the massive idiot in front of her, Song Shuqing could only sigh.
She stared with helpless exasperation at the girl in front of her and said, “Never mind the imperial decree. But if you sacrifice yourself to protect the Commandery Princess, you might as well not protect her at all.”
She had a feeling that the Commandery Princess would either follow her into the grave, or turn into some misanthropic arch-demon—the kind with wings that spat fire and burned everyone to a crisp.
She shuddered at the mere thought of it. She wanted to say more, but hearing Cao Yun call out to urge her along, she hurriedly instructed, “Anyway, the Commandery Princess and you, the imperial decree and the tiger tally—no matter which one, every single one must stay safe.”
Taking her horse’s reins, Song Shuqing swung herself into the saddle.
Exhaling a plume of white mist into the frigid air, she cast one final look at her shimei2, raising her eyebrows with casual flair. “Qinqin, do you still remember where we said we’d go after we retired and collected our pensions when we were little?”
Ming Qin tilted her head in thought, then smiled knowingly and nodded vigorously.
“Then see you then!”
Raising her whip, Song Shuqing rode away with Cao Yun without looking back. The sound of galloping hooves gradually faded into the distance, leaving only silence behind.
Staring blankly as their retreating figures vanished from sight, Ming Qin took a deep breath. “It’s my turn now.”
Ming Qin opened the carriage door. Murong Yan sat patiently on the seat, wrapped in her fox fur coat, with two bundles left by Cao Yun sitting at her feet. Inside, they had meticulously packed daily necessities for the two of them, along with several sets of ordinary civilian winter clothes, dry rations, a dagger, and a few bulging pouches of loose silver and copper coins.
After taking stock of their supplies, Ming Qin looked up at Murong Yan, whose gaze was clear. “We need to travel as far as possible over the next few days,” she said apologetically. “We won’t be able to stay at any inns for the time being. I’m afraid you’ll have to endure some hardship.”
“I’ll be fine.”
The woman shook her head and reached out a cold hand to touch the warm cheek of the girl in front of her, her voice gentle. “Don’t worry, Ah Qin. This is already wonderful.”
“I will protect you,” Ming Qin said, pulling the fox fur coat tighter around her for fear she might catch a chill. In her heart, the vow felt as solemn as a blood oath.
“I promise.”
The author has something to say:
I originally chose the “sweet story” tag, but let me tell everyone first—just as the synopsis says, there will be a little (?) hardship in the middle, since it is still a drama-oriented novel after all.
But it’s absolutely a HE, so please rest assured~
P.S. Regarding the Crown Prince, I seem to have made his character a bit too well-rounded and successful (?)
There are still a few things left to address. For the sake of character relationships and plot progression, he won’t be written out until Chapter 62.
I’ve cut or modified some descriptions that everyone might not like, but I still kept some of the Crown Prince’s scenes because he still has a role to play.
(The Crown Prince’s life and death to some extent determines the length of this book, so…)
He will do one more villainous thing later. If everyone is really angry with him, just think of him as a little 2D paper character. Please don’t get so angry at him that you ruin your health!
If you really get angry, there is nothing I can do. I am super bad at comforting people, so I can probably only choke up and say, “Don’t be mad~” or something like that (dammit! Why do I sound so useless!).
Anyway, don’t be angry~ Be happy!
While this is more dramatic, wouldn’t it have made more sense to break her out earlier?
As she exhaled mist in the cold air, she gave her junior sister a final glance and raised an eyebrow, asking, “Do you remember when we were young and talked about where we’d retire with our pensions?”
—
That line Song Shu Qing said brought feels. the parting of bestfriends T_T
As she exhaled mist in the cold air, she gave her junior sister a final glance and raised an eyebrow, asking, “Do you remember when we were young and talked about where we’d retire with our pensions?”
—
That line Song Shu Qing said brought feels. the parting of bestfriends T_T
Thank you for the update 😊
Thank you for the update 😊