The Princess’ Shadow Guard – Chapter 41
by Little PandaAh Qin Did Not Lie to Herself
The horse galloped through the snow, the sky frozen and the earth bitter cold. Murong Yan clutched the tiger cub to her chest, her hands gripping the reins tight, keeping her body from losing what little warmth remained.
Her teeth chattered ceaselessly—whether from the biting winter or the ice within her heart, she couldn’t tell.
Her thoughts seemed frozen solid. Only the same voice raged in her skull, again and again.
Ah Qin. Ah Qin.
I don’t want to go alone!
I don’t want you to stay behind alone!
I’m not afraid. Truly, I’m not afraid.
I would rather die together with you, stay by your side, than be parted from you.
Murong Yan wanted to scream, to howl, but the grief and fury clogged her throat and not a sound escaped.
In truth, held in Ah Qin’s arms, she hadn’t feared the pursuers behind them at all.
The thought of death that had always haunted her hadn’t stirred a single ripple in her heart.
Only when she saw the blood coating her hands, only when Ming Qin said she would stay behind to hold off the enemy—only then did Murong Yan feel a terror unlike anything she had ever known.
Her heart felt as though it had shattered, pain piling upon pain until it threatened to tear her apart.
She wanted to stop. She wanted to turn back.
If she could close her eyes in that warm embrace, she would go willingly.
But Murong Yan’s hands on the reins didn’t dare to move.
“Be good, Yanyan.”
“Be good.”
That voice—gentle yet commanding—echoed in her mind, as if sensing her reluctance, soothing her fraying consciousness over and over.
Murong Yan could only press forward.
She didn’t know how long had passed. The horse had grown too exhausted to run, managing only a brisk walk through the heavy snow.
The long ride had drained what little strength Murong Yan had left. She trembled, thighs straining to grip the horse’s barrel, fighting to keep her balance—but her damaged body couldn’t hold.
No matter how tightly she gripped the reins, her body tilted inexorably to the left.
I can’t do it, Ah Qin.
Look!
Without you behind me, I can’t even ride a horse.
Without you beside me, I’m nothing.
Let it end, Ah Qin.
Let it end.
Murong Yan released her stiff grip on the reins and closed her eyes, feeling the weightlessness of an imminent fall.
But the expected pain and impact never came. A pull on her right leg held her firmly in place, keeping her from tumbling off.
She looked down at her right leg. Ming Qin had used the black hair cord to bind her lower leg tightly to the stirrup, so that with the prosthetic limb secured, she couldn’t pull free or slip off easily.
Looking at her right leg, even in this moment, Murong Yan couldn’t help but cover her face and laugh.
Always like this.
Ah Qin, always like this.
Always weaving herself into a net to catch her just before she hit the bottom of the abyss.
So gentle, yet so commanding.
How could she not obey her?
What choice did she have left?
Warm tears slipped through her fingers, drop by drop.
A large furry head poked out from inside her robes, bright eyes staring up in bewilderment at the woman who was both crying and laughing.
The cub’s rough tongue licked away the tears on Murong Yan’s cheek. It let out thin, whimpering chirps from its throat, as if comforting its beloved woman, telling her not to cry anymore.
Looking at this beast that was seven parts1 like its master, Murong Yan couldn’t help but bend down and kiss its head.
Ah Qin did not lie to her.
Ah Qin was right—she could always tell when Ah Qin was lying.
Every expression, every tone of voice, every movement, the slightest trace of a clue—she could read the truth from any of them.
And this time, Ah Qin had told her she wouldn’t die.
She hadn’t lied.
Murong Yan tried to make herself believe it.
Her tears had dried, leaving only the stains behind.
The woman summoned her strength, gripped the reins once more, and rode on, ever northward.
Murong Yan had collapsed from exhaustion on horseback. She woke in a warm bed.
Soft quilts and finely furnished surroundings—sights she hadn’t seen in nearly two months.
In this unfamiliar room, she felt the clothes on her body. The coarse commoner’s cloth had been replaced with silk garments befitting her rank—someone had changed her while she was unconscious. But she couldn’t find any of Ming Qin’s belongings on her person.
Murong Yan snapped fully alert. She threw off the quilt and tried to swing out of bed, but without her prosthetic limb, she fell hard.
The crash drew a startled cry from beyond the door. A kindly-faced woman of about sixty hurried in and saw Murong Yan on the floor, reaching to help her up.
“Stop!” Murong Yan looked up, her eyes cold. “Who are you?”
The woman halted at once and bowed respectfully. “Greetings, Commandery Princess Chongwen2. This old woman3 is Hu Xianghe, wife of Su Wen, the Prefect of Qingzhou. My husband entrusted me with Your Highness’s care.”
“This palace4 is already in Qingzhou?” Murong Yan pushed herself up against the bed frame with effort, her eyes still guarded.
“Yes, Your Highness arrived the day before yesterday.” Hu Xianghe kept her head bowed submissively. “My husband asked me to inform Your Highness that the Prince of Yu has been notified. Once Your Highness is ready, we will send you to reunite with him.”
Hu Xianghe’s words stirred not the slightest ripple in Murong Yan’s heart. She sat back on the edge of the bed, her expression still cold. “Where are this palace’s belongings?”
The older woman retrieved a wooden box from the corner and handed it to her. Murong Yan rifled through it at once.
She found the black hair cord and gripped it tightly, fighting to suppress the emotion that threatened to overwhelm her at any moment. She checked the rest of the contents—the oil paper packet was still sealed and intact—and let out a small breath of relief.
“Where is this palace’s little tiger cub?” the woman asked suddenly, looking up at Hu Xianghe standing to one side.
“…My husband feared the beast might endanger Your Highness’s safety, so he had it locked up.” Evidently not expecting the Commandery Princess to ask about a tiger, Hu Xianghe hesitated before answering. “It bit many people.”
When Su Wen and his servants had found Murong Yan unconscious, they’d tried to untie her and bring her to the residence to recover. But the little beast in her arms had leapt down from the horse like a mad thing, swiping its paws and letting out raw, childish growls, baring its fangs at anyone who dared approach her.
When they carried the Commandery Princess away, it fought even harder—straining against the iron chain binding it and ignoring the lashes of the whip, lunging desperately toward Murong Yan. Su Wen had no choice but to order the cub locked in an iron cage.
“That tiger belongs to this palace.” Murong Yan spoke softly, but her tone brooked no argument. “Return it to this palace.”
Hu Xianghe bowed and withdrew to give orders.
By the time the little tiger—still snarling and baring its teeth at everyone around it—was brought in on a rope, Murong Yan had already affixed her prosthetic limb.
At the sight of the familiar woman on the bed, the roaring furball lifted its head and let out a pitiful wail. It yanked free of the servant holding its rope and bounded toward her.
While the others watched in alarm, Murong Yan’s face softened with tenderness. She lifted the cub onto her lap, slipped off its rope, and bent to kiss its big head.
The little beast only licked Murong Yan’s cheek gently, as if checking whether the woman its master had entrusted it to protect was truly unharmed.
“Tell Su Wen that this palace is ready to see the Prince of Yu.”
Gathering herself, Murong Yan looked up at Hu Xianghe with the poise and authority befitting a Commandery Princess, and gave her order in a calm voice: “We depart at once.”
The author has something to say:
This chapter is from the Commandery Princess’s perspective. Ming Qin will reconnect in about six or seven chapters (reconnect, not reappear in person, mind you…)
Let me reiterate—despite a few bumps along the way (all right, I admit it, there’s real angst ahead, the kind that gave me writer’s block for days), this book is genuinely a happy ending!
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The two of them need a little catalyst for their relationship, especially with Ming Qin being so dense…
You’ll see the deep, heart-wrenching feelings they have for each other going forward. Feel free to recommend this to friends who also love reading, so they can suffer with you (?)
(I’ll write for a while, start feeling bad, then run off to write my sweet campus romance, and come back to continue this—back and forth like this until my brain splits in two.)
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The story has officially entered its second half.
Director: Ming Qin, you’re going offline for a bit. Go eat your boxed lunch.
Commandery Princess: Don’t go, don’t go.
Footnotes
- A Chinese expression of resemblance — seven parts out of ten means roughly seventy percent similar.
- A royal title for the daughter of a Prince of the First Rank in the Chinese imperial system, ranking below an Imperial Princess.
- A humble first-person pronoun used by elderly women in traditional Chinese society.
- A formal self-referential pronoun used by high-ranking women of the imperial court, literally meaning 'this palace.'
El tigre cumplió con la orden de qingqing de proteger a yanyan :3 ya el peque es su hijo XD hace buen trabajo
Qing qing espero que estés vivo! Necesito que estés vivo!
El tigre cumplió con la orden de qingqing de proteger a yanyan :3 ya el peque es su hijo XD hace buen trabajo
Qing qing espero que estés vivo! Necesito que estés vivo!
Thank you translator for posting the update daily, love all your works!
Qin Qin you can do it!!
Thanks for the chapter!
Ahhh! I have only waited one chapter and yet the wait is too long! Where is Ming Qin???
she’s finally at her home! I hope the scum prince GETS what he deserves and, thanks for the chapter!!
Thank you translator for posting the update daily, love all your works!
Qin Qin you can do it!!
Thanks for the chapter!
Ahhh! I have only waited one chapter and yet the wait is too long! Where is Ming Qin???
she’s finally at her home! I hope the scum prince GETS what he deserves and, thanks for the chapter!!