The Princess’ Shadow Guard – Chapter 3
by Little PandaI Thought We Were Friends
After the Double Ninth Festival, besides pastries, Ming Qin successively brought Murong Yan meatballs from Wang Ji, buns from Tingyu Pavilion, and baked flatbread from Grandpa Wang on South Street.
Of her ten-day rest period, she spent seven of them at Cang Yue Tower.
Murong Yan was never annoyed when the young Shadow Guard suddenly appeared at her window. She would just calmly accept the things from her hands without a word.
Watching Murong Yan pick up her chopsticks and elegantly savor the food, Ming Qin would stand at a distance with her hands behind her back, hoping to discern some different expression on that indifferent face.
Through her observations over these few days, Ming Qin discovered that Murong Yan liked sweets but couldn’t handle spice. Compared to meat, she preferred vegetarian dishes.
When she encountered a food she liked, she would squint her eyes as if in enjoyment.
If the food was too spicy, she would stick out the tip of her tongue to press against her upper lip, the corners of her eyes turning red.
When she ate something that didn’t suit her taste, she would expressionlessly put down her chopsticks and silently drink her tea.
At wu shi1, Ming Qin left her room, wondering what kind of food she should bring the Commandery Princess before she left the Capital for a mission tomorrow.
Her shixiong,2 Lin Yan, walked toward her along the corridor, followed by her shijie,3 Song Shuqing. Their eyes lit up when they saw Ming Qin. Lin Yan clapped her on the shoulder and asked, “Qinqin, heading out?”
Ming Qin nodded. Before she could speak, Song Shuqing exclaimed, “Qinqin’s all grown up, she doesn’t hang out with us anymore. On the Double Ninth Festival a few days ago, Master said we were all going to Tingyu Pavilion for dinner, and you were even late!”
Her exaggerated expression made it seem as if the sky were about to fall.
Ming Qin seemed long accustomed to it and simply smiled. “So where are shixiong and shijie going today?”
Lin Yan replied, “I have an arrangement with Master to go to the tavern for a few drinks. As for your shijie…” He paused, his face filled with disgust as if he’d thought of something unspeakable.
“The Flower Street, the Flower Street! Qinqin, want to come?”4 Song Shuqing loudly finished his sentence, turning to ask Ming Qin.
“Don’t you even think about corrupting Qinqin! What business does a girl have going to the Flower Street?” The mere thought of Song Shuqing’s absurd antics made Lin Yan’s stomach cramp.
“What’s wrong with the Flower Street? The girls there are fragrant and soft, and their zither playing is lovely.”
Song Shuqing’s tone was frank and shameless. Instead, she shot Lin Yan a look of contempt. “You old-fashioned fossils. It’s not like you go there any less, is it? What? Only men are allowed to go to the Flower Street to listen to music? Don’t you understand women’s rights? Women’s rights?”
“What nonsense are you spouting now?” Lin Yan’s head ached, choked by her bizarre logic. “And what the hell is a ‘women’s spring’?”
Already used to Lin Yan’s nagging and Song Shuqing’s nonsense, Ming Qin had no desire to get involved in their war. As she was walking briskly toward the camp gate, Lin Yan turned his head to remind her, “Qinqin, don’t stay out too late. You have to set out early tomorrow morning to rendezvous with Cao Yun.”
Ming Qin nodded to show she remembered, and Lin Yan turned back to plunge into the noisy debate with Song Shuqing.
The work of a Shadow Guard was extremely high-risk, with a considerable attrition rate.
Of the disciples their Master had trained over the past ten years, the only ones at about Ming Qin’s level who were still alive were her shixiong Lin Yan and Cao Yun, and her shijie Song Shuqing.
The four of them cherished one another, treating Ming Qin, the youngest, like a blood sister.
In their leisure time, the group would occasionally play flower cards together. The straightforward Ming Qin could never outwit her cunning shixiong and shijie, and could only pay them back during martial arts spars. When an assignment came to an end and they had a long leave, her shixiong and shijie would often take their rewards to go ‘live it up.’
Ming Qin had tagged along a few times. Her shixiong drank, so she drank too, but the wine was bitter and harsh, and the dizzy feeling it produced was something she really couldn’t get used to.
She had also followed her shijie to the Flower Street to listen to people play the zither, but the melodious music just made her drowsy.
Her shijie told her not to just listen to the zither, so she turned to studying the peanuts on the table. But perhaps they had been sitting out for too long; they were soft and not fragrant at all, utterly disgusting.
What happiness was there to be found in taverns and on Flower Street?
She didn’t like them one bit.
Ming Qin looked at a vendor selling glutinous rice balls. The soft, sticky spheres of various colors had just come out of the steamer. They were skewered on bamboo sticks and drizzled with a gleaming, golden osmanthus honey. The sight was enough to make one’s mouth water.5
By the time she came back to her senses, she was already holding three skewers of glutinous rice balls packed in a split bamboo tube.
Thinking of the Commandery Princess squinting her eyes in satisfaction, Ming Qin eagerly headed for Cang Yue Tower. Compared to taverns and Flower Street, this was true happiness.
When she stepped onto the windowsill, the sight that greeted her was the Commandery Princess sleeping soundly on the chaise lounge.
The woman’s hair was unbound, and her body was curled up, covered by a thick fox-fur pelt. Even so, her frail frame still trembled with the cold wind blowing in.
Several classic books were scattered beneath the lounge, their pages clearly creased—so abused that a famous collector would probably have a heart attack upon seeing them.
Ming Qin quietly set down the glutinous rice balls and gently closed the window behind the Commandery Princess.
She was about to leave, but hesitated.
After a pause, Ming Qin turned back and added some charcoal to the brazier beside the tea table. It was clearly high-quality silver thread charcoal,6 yet it still made a faint crackling sound as she stirred it.
The sudden noise in the silence woke the sleeping woman. Ming Qin guiltily met the Commandery Princess’s open eyes. Just as she was about to apologize, the Commandery Princess waved her hand dismissively and sat up, rubbing her temples.
Using the boiled water and the tea leaves from the table, Ming Qin mimicked Murong Yan and brewed a cup of tea, offering it to the Commandery Princess as if to curry favor.
Murong Yan, having just woken, was silent. After she had gathered herself, she took a sip of the tea Ming Qin offered.
But she spat it out the moment it entered her mouth.
“Are you trying to poison this palace?”
Ming Qin jumped in fright, hastily clarifying, “No! I’m really not!”
With that, she was about to pick up the teacup Murong Yan had used, ready to test it for poison herself.
“The tea you brew is truly awful.” For once, Murong Yan’s voice carried a strong emotion, full of disgust and disbelief. “This isn’t tea at all. It can only be called twig-steeped water!”
Murong Yan took the tea set herself. She casually tossed the remaining twig water in the pot out the window, then skillfully added water and tea leaves, observed the color, and smelled the aroma. The whole set of motions was as smooth as flowing clouds and running water.
The brewed tea was poured into two white porcelain cups. She slowly pushed one of them toward the person sitting opposite her.
Drinking her own handiwork, the sweet fragrance entering her throat, Murong Yan revealed a satisfied expression. Only then did she gesture for the petrified Ming Qin to sit and drink.
Ming Qin came to her senses and carefully lifted the cup for a sip. This was the second time she had tasted tea brewed by the Commandery Princess herself.
To be honest, she couldn’t tell the difference between this and her own leaf water at all.
She might have her own opinions when it came to food, but when it came to the art of tea tasting, she could only offer shallow answers like ‘very bitter’ and ‘less bitter.’
Terrified that Murong Yan would ask for her thoughts on the tea, Ming Qin hurriedly presented the glutinous rice balls she had just bought. “Osmanthus glutinous rice balls from Tianhe Street. I waited in line for a long time.”
Murong Yan carefully examined the honey-drizzled rice balls and took a bite straight from the bamboo tube.
The fragrance of osmanthus filled her mouth, wrapped in a slippery tenderness. The sweet taste made the Commandery Princess squint in satisfaction. Seeing this reaction, Ming Qin was overjoyed; it hadn’t been a waste to spend a whole evening deciding what to bring today.
Murong Yan had just finished one skewer when she unhurriedly began to wipe her fingers, no longer looking at the remaining rice balls.
Ming Qin was a little puzzled. “Does the Commandery Princess not like them?”
“Not at all,” Murong Yan replied. “This snack is acceptable.”
Hearing the Commandery Princess’s words, Ming Qin was even more confused. “Then why…”
Murong Yan cut off Ming Qin’s question, licked the residual honey from her lips, and explained, “Glutinous rice is not good for the spleen and stomach. One should not eat too much of it.”
Looking at the shocked Shadow Guard, Murong Yan raised an eyebrow. “You eat delicacies from all over the Capital without any restraint. Have you never had indigestion?”
“Never.” Ming Qin shook her head honestly. “My constitution is very good.”
She thought for a moment more, then said in a proud tone, “One time, my Mistress made a whole table of dishes for the New Year. The next day, my shixiong and shijie all had stomachaches. I was the only one who was still as lively as a dragon and fierce as a tiger.”
Murong Yan found this a little amusing and took a sip of tea to hide the smile at the corner of her lips.
Ming Qin looked at the bamboo tube and naturally took the remaining glutinous rice balls, finishing them off in a few bites. But Murong Yan was looking at her strangely, her brow slightly furrowed.
“What is it?” Ming Qin chewed diligently, her cheeks puffed out.
Murong Yan was about to speak, but seeing her slow-witted expression, she shook her head as if giving up. She only said pointedly, “It seems that not only is your spleen and stomach as strong as an ox, but your heart is quite large as well.”
“Why do you say the same thing as my Master?” Ming Qin said, her voice muffled, completely missing the hidden meaning in Murong Yan’s words.
“Oh, right!” Suddenly remembering something, the Shadow Guard slapped her thigh. “I can’t come anymore for a while.”
She finally swallowed the food in her mouth. “My rest days are over. I’m leaving the Capital tomorrow.”
Ming Qin couldn’t reveal the details of her mission, so she really couldn’t tell the Commandery Princess any more. “But I’ll bring back delicious food next time! I promise!”
The hand with which Murong Yan was toying with her teacup suddenly paused. Hearing Ming Qin’s earnest promise, she said calmly, “You don’t have to bring anything for this palace.”
Her expression was indifferent, her tone suddenly icy. “You have no reason to come to this Cang Yue Tower, nor do you need to report your comings and goings to this palace.”
“But…” Ming Qin was flustered, not understanding why the Commandery Princess seemed annoyed. She wrung her hands so tightly her knuckles turned white. “I thought we were friends.”
Hearing these words, Murong Yan’s usually calm face was, for a rare moment, stunned.
“Aren’t we?” Ming Qin tilted her head and asked. “My Master told me that people who want to see each other, and who are happy when they’re together, are friends.”
As if afraid Murong Yan wouldn’t understand, Ming Qin slowed her speech to explain, “I want to see the Commandery Princess, and I’m very happy every time we meet. So I come to Cang Yue Tower. Is that reason not good enough?”
She carefully observed the expression of the woman before her. “Or does the Commandery Princess not want to see me?”
“Mm,” Murong Yan belatedly responded, raising her cup as if to appear calm.
As if afraid Ming Qin would misunderstand, she added, “We can be friends.”
She tried to drink, but didn’t notice that her cup was already empty, leaving her holding it awkwardly in the air.
“If you want to come, then come.” In the end, Murong Yan put down the teacup in compromise.
Hearing this, the tension in Ming Qin’s brow eased, and she broke into a joyful smile. “That’s great!” She considerately poured boiling water into the teapot.
“Your name, Ming Qin…” Murong Yan began, her tone a little hesitant. “How is it written?”
Using the water on the table, Ming Qin traced the characters on its surface.
“‘Ming’ like the sun and moon. That surname is quite rare.” Murong Yan tilted her head in thought.
“It’s not my surname.” Ming Qin waved her hand, wiping the marks from the table with her sleeve. “I don’t have one. My Master found me when I was about to drown in a lake, at the turn of day and night, and gave me the name on a whim.”
Her tone was light, as if she didn’t care at all.
Murong Yan, however, felt a little guilty. She cleared her throat. “Murong Yan.” She introduced herself, though Ming Qin probably knew her name already.
“My name is Murong Yan.” She dipped her finger in the water and wrote it, stroke by stroke.
As you shi approached,7 after Ming Qin had left, Murong Yan looked at the half-open window, resting her forehead on her hand in thought.
Although she already knew this Shadow Guard was straightforward and frank, to dare call a Commandery Princess a friend… she truly didn’t know if the girl was impulsive and reckless, or audaciously daring.8
She impatiently dismissed the servant girl who came to deliver her evening meal. Murong Yan lay down lazily, toying with a white jade hairpin in her hand.
When Ming Qin said she couldn’t come anymore, her heart had indeed skipped a beat. It felt stuffy, a little unpleasant.
She had truly been in this cage for too long. A single sentence from a mere Shadow Guard could sway her mood.
Murong Yan laughed at herself.
She tucked the fox-fur pelt tighter around herself, but still felt a little cold.
Whether she really comes back or never returns again, it doesn’t matter, Murong Yan told herself calmly.
Right. Nothing matters.
LP: Re-translated on May 30, 2025
Footnotes
- Wu shi (午时) is the Hour of the Horse in traditional Chinese timekeeping, corresponding to 11 AM to 1 PM.
- Shixiong (师兄, shīxiōng) means “senior martial brother” – a fellow male disciple who is senior in training rank.
- Shijie (师姐, shījiě) means “senior martial sister” – a female fellow disciple who is senior in training rank.
- Flower Street (花街, huā jiē) is a euphemism for a red-light district or entertainment quarter with courtesans and performers.
- The original phrase is 食指大动 (shízhǐ dàdòng), literally “the index finger moves greatly.” It’s an idiom that means one’s appetite has been greatly whetted.
- Silver thread charcoal (银丝炭, yínsī tàn) is a premium, smokeless charcoal known for burning cleanly and providing consistent heat.
- You shi (酉时) is the Hour of the Rooster in traditional Chinese timekeeping, corresponding to the hours of 5 PM to 7 PM.
- The original phrase is 胆大包天 (dǎndà bāotiān), which literally means “guts so big they wrap the heavens.” It describes someone who is incredibly bold or audacious.
Thank you for the chapter!!
My heart is so soft for these two. Ming Qin’s bright personality like the sun in contrast to the cool personality of Murong Yan like the moon.
I am really a sucker for the intellectual yet physically weak and simple yet physically strong pairings in Baihe.
I really feel for the princess myself. The only differences are that she has a missing leg while I can only wish that mine was, and her mind is more clear than mine is most of the time (enough painkillers to kill Andre the Giant will do that to you). Even her outlook on life is the same. If I had a Ming Qin in my life, I’d never give her up