The Princess’ Shadow Guard – Chapter 29
by Little PandaOnly Playing Tricks on This One Person (Little Fox)
Ming Qin drove the carriage onto the official road, and seeing the sky growing dark, she found an inn.
She patted the sturdy horse to let it rest well, then handed a tip to the stable boy whose cheeks were flushed red from the cold. Wrapping a scarf twice around Murong Yan’s neck, Ming Qin draped the simple cloak given by Cao Yun over her, securely fastening the hood before finally leading the woman into the inn.
There weren’t too many people inside, but a merchant caravan heading toward the Capital seemed to be dining in the first-floor hall. Several men shouted at one another in gruff voices, the air thick with the reek of alcohol.
Ming Qin silently stood in front of Murong Yan to block the stares of onlookers, then called out to a middle-aged woman lounging behind the counter with her legs up. “Proprietress! Give us your best room.”
“Aya.”
The proprietress turned around, sizing up the two simply dressed women. Sensing they might not have much money, she offered a perfunctory response. “Our rooms are all quite decent, you know. If it’s just you two girls, there’s really no need to stay in the very best one.”
“Proprietress,” Ming Qin said expressionlessly. She pulled out a small pouch filled with copper coins, tossed it onto the counter, and lightly tapped it with her knuckles. “My young lady has a frail constitution and must have the best room. Please make the arrangements.”
Hearing the heavy, clinking sound of the pouch, the proprietress instantly beamed with joy. “Of course, of course! That’s easily done.”
Sweeping up the money, she called for an errand boy to lead them upstairs.
As the young man led the way, Ming Qin unobtrusively wrapped her arm around Murong Yan to support her, gently helping her up the stairs since walking was difficult for her.
Once they entered a spacious room, she turned and instructed the boy to prepare hot water and food, slipping him a few copper coins. The boy went downstairs to fetch everything, practically walking on air.
She closed the door.
Ming Qin carefully inspected the surroundings. She felt the bed, looked out the window, and finally let out a long sigh of relief. “It’ll do.”
She lit the stove, then stepped forward to help the woman undo her hood. “But compared to Cangyue Tower, it’s still far too lacking. You’ll have to make do.”
“I don’t mind.”
Murong Yan looked up at the frowning Ming Qin, giving her a reassuring smile before asking, “But how is it that Ah Qin knows the ins and outs of these inns so well? Is it because Shadow Guards often have to stay at them when going on missions outside the Capital?”
“How could that be?”
Ming Qin shook her head, her face calm as she hung up the discarded cloaks and added some charcoal to the stove. “Shadow Guards fight for every second. Most of our missions require us to ride thousands of li1 at a gallop. Even after the task is complete, we have to return to report as quickly as possible. Sometimes when things are especially urgent, we swap horses but not riders. There were several times I was so exhausted that I dozed off in the saddle, and in the end, I had to tie myself to the horse so I wouldn’t fall off.”
Shijie always said that the power of intelligence lies in speed. If information isn’t delivered immediately, the advantage is lost, and the intelligence becomes completely worthless.
“Besides,” Ming Qin smiled, “if Master found out that any Shadow Guard was using mission funds to stay at an inn, he’d probably be so furious that his beard would not only turn white but might fall off entirely!”
She didn’t know about the other Shadow Guards, but she had certainly never done such a thing herself.
“However,” Ming Qin tilted her head, “if it’s an escort mission, putting up at inns is quite common.”
“Ah Qin has served as an escort for others before?” Murong Yan sat on the soft daybed, narrowing her eyes as she asked.
“A few times.”
Ming Qin nodded, but her tone turned slightly complaining as if she had recalled some major nuisance. “Most of the time, I was helping my shixiong and shijie protect high-born children of government officials. They were all so difficult to please! They wanted to stop for a rest after walking for barely half an hour, complaining about this and that. It was bad enough that they loved to run off wildly, but they also loved to vent their anger on their guards. You’re much more well-behaved than them!”
“Oh? So Ah Qin thinks I’m well-behaved?”
Murong Yan laughed as if highly amused, a touch of life returning to her face, which had been pale for days.
“Of course,” Ming Qin said with a firm nod as she set down a travel pack and began sorting through it. “You don’t make a fuss. When you can’t walk, you obediently let me carry you. You don’t try to snatch my maps, and you don’t kick me while forbidding me from fighting back.”
Murong Yan furrowed her brows. She thought that if she were Ming Qin, she wouldn’t have such a good temper; she’d likely have thrown such a recalcitrant escort target into a forest to feed the wild wolves.
She asked again, “What about the other times you went on solo escort missions?”
“Actually, there was only that one time. It was to escort a mad imperial physician from the Capital to Jingzhou.”
Ming Qin reminisced as she squatted down to remove Murong Yan’s shoes and socks. “That old man had a real fiery temper. Once he started researching herbs, he wouldn’t hear a thing even if the Lord of Thunder2 itself struck, nor would he eat. There were several times when I was in a rush and had no choice but to grab him by his waistband and carry him off along with his pile of jars and bottles. His mouth was always running, muttering about… ‘Asian Hippo…crates,’ ‘the Eastern Breaking Bad,’ and how he wanted to make some ‘peni… tree’? It completely boggled my mind.”
“Is that so? He really was an eccentric, then.” Murong Yan lay on her side, watching the other’s animated expression as she listened quietly.
“He certainly was an interesting fellow. Oh, right! Here, this is for you.”
As if struck by a sudden thought, Ming Qin pulled a thumb-sized wooden box from her sleeve and handed it to Murong Yan. The box had a groove at the bottom and a small aperture at the top, its surface polished smooth. “This is what that old man gave me when we parted. See here? If you point this at someone and press right here, a toxic needle will shoot out.”
Ming Qin demonstrated the mechanism, then scratched her head sheepishly. “But… I forgot to ask that old man for the antidote, so you’ll probably have to be… a bit careful when using it.”
Murong Yan found the clever little contraption intriguing as she examined it, but she made to return it to Ming Qin. “Such an ingenious tool should be kept for your own self-defense, Ah Qin.”
Ming Qin pushed the woman’s hand back and insisted, “I’ve carried it for years and never had a use for it. Besides… my own strikes are probably faster than this toxic needle anyway. If you keep it, it’ll give you some peace of mind.”
Hearing this, Murong Yan didn’t decline further and tucked the wooden box into her sleeve.
Just then, the boy knocked on the door to deliver the water. Once he left, Ming Qin rolled up her sleeves, poured the scalding water into the tub, and went downstairs to fetch some cold water.
Once she had prepared the towel and the soap ball3, she tested the water temperature and left the room.
After four consecutive days of grueling travel by carriage, Murong Yan walked to the tub with difficulty, shedding her clothes as she went. Leaning against the edge of the wooden tub, her hands trembled as she struggled to remove her prosthetic limb. Supporting herself with her arms, she slowly lowered herself into the water. Only when the hot water completely enveloped her body did the fastidious Murong Yan finally let out a sigh of relief.
She wasn’t a petulant person, and she knew their situation was perilous and everything was limited. Thus, no matter how grueling the journey was, she had never complained.
She knew full well how thoughtful Ming Qin had been and how she had done everything in her power for her. Perhaps it was only because Ming Qin was by her side that she, who had never traveled such a grueling distance under such harsh conditions, was able to hold on.
Ah Qin.
Whenever she thought of the Shadow Guard’s bright, sparkling eyes when looking at her, and that warm embrace, Murong Yan felt her heart stir.
Recalling how Ming Qin’s fingers had grazed her as she cleaned her while they were in the wild, a sudden wave surged within her. Swept away by the tide, she couldn’t help but tilt her head back, biting her lower lip to suppress the fractured, breathless cry rising from her very core.
“Ah Qin…”
She meticulously washed her body. The warm water flowed over every part of her body, flushing her pale skin a delicate rose. Wisps of steam condensed on her eyelashes, forming tiny beads of moisture that veiled her eyes in a soft mist.
As the warmth slowly built up, her toes curled slightly, almost as if stung by the heat. When the heat peaked, her frame tensed in a brief tremor before she went entirely limp, like a bowstring suddenly released.
The clear water mingled with translucent dew.
Reclining in the tub, the woman panted softly, the sudden peak leaving her a little drowsy. But rather than dwelling on the sensation, she felt an even more urgent desire to see the person in her mind.
Murong Yan forced her eyes open and reached out for the prosthetic limb resting nearby, wanting to get out before the water grew cold. Her fingertips barely caught its strap when her body slipped, sending her tumbling back into the tub. The prosthetic limb hit the floor with a heavy clatter.
At the sound of the crash, Ming Qin, who had been waiting on the roof, flipped down in an instant. Pushing open the window, she called out in panic, “Are you alright?!”
She rushed to the woman, whose face was tight with pain, and hastily lifted her out of the water. Wrapping her in the towel, she laid her on the bed. Her throat was tight with worry as she asked in a raspy voice, “Are you hurt?”
Looking at the person who’d burst in so suddenly, Murong Yan hid the turbulent waves in her heart and the slyness in her eyes, groaning softly, “Ah Qin… it hurts.”
Ming Qin was frantic with worry. Grabbing the medicinal liniment, she parted the towel to check her. “Where? Where did you hit yourself?”
“Here.” Murong Yan lightly pointed to her waist. “It hurts.”
Seeing the red mark on her pale skin, Ming Qin found it painfully glaring. She felt a wave of self-reproach—why had she left Murong Yan all by herself, causing her to get hurt?
Pulling the blanket to partially cover her, Ming Qin poured some liniment onto her palms and began to gently rub the reddened skin, coaxing her all the while, “It won’t hurt soon. Yanyan is so good.”
Murong Yan did not find the smell of the liniment pungent in the slightest. The warm fingertips sent a wave of sweet weakness through her waist, as if prolonging the pleasure from moments ago. The sensation utterly intoxicated her.
She loved the way Ah Qin called her like this.
Unlike her usual vibrancy and easygoing nature, Ah Qin’s voice when saying 『Yanyan』 was always filled with a profound tenderness mixed with a hint of indulgence. It was as if even if she asked for the stars in the sky, the girl would agree without a second thought.
But Ah Qin usually avoided calling her something so intimate. Only when she seemed to be in pain, injured, or wronged would the girl unconsciously utter it, soothing her feelings and indulging her whims.
Murong Yan had once asked Ah Qin during a meal why she didn’t use this form of address more often. Ah Qin had thought about it for a long time, then tilted her head and stammered out an explanation she couldn’t even clarify herself.
『Because… It feels like once I say it, you aren’t the Commandery Princess anymore.』
Ah Qin didn’t understand.
But Murong Yan did.
Because she understood, she only yearned more for the day when Ah Qin would say it of her own accord.
The day she would no longer be Commandery Princess Chongwen.
“Yanyan, does it still hurt?” Ming Qin bit her lower lip, concern written all over her face.
Murong Yan nodded, lowering her gaze to hide the smile in her eyes as she murmured, “Ah Qin, it still hurts.”
“It’s alright. Once I’m done rubbing the medicine in, it won’t hurt anymore. Yanyan is so good,” Ming Qin coaxed softly, her hands growing even more gentle as she applied the liniment.
Feeling the warmth at her waist, Murong Yan closed her eyes.
Ah, I really am quite devious.
Will the heavens ever forgive someone so cunning?
But what can I do?
I feel absolutely no remorse.
This will be the last time. Just let me play tricks on this one person one final time.
Please forgive me.
Footnotes
- A traditional Chinese unit of distance, with one li equivalent to approximately 500 metres.
- Leigong, the mythological Chinese god of thunder, who punishes mortals with storms and lightning.
- A traditional soap ball made from Chinese honeylocust pods, used as a natural cleansing agent in ancient China.
😳
😳
I was like “is she…??” And yep lol good for her
I was like “is she…??” And yep lol good for her
CN novels are always so good at disguising … “Scenes” using flowery words/descriptions 😆
CN novels are always so good at disguising … “Scenes” using flowery words/descriptions 😆
Gotta get past the censorship somehow lol
o la la ~
o la la ~
Did she just???😳😳
satisfy hereselfffffff??😳😳
Did she just???😳😳
satisfy hereselfffffff??😳😳
Why yes, yes she did…
One could say that Ah Qin makes Yanyan *влажный*
What’s with all these modern people being isekaid into this world? That’s two now, the senior sister and the crazy old physician