The Princess’ Shadow Guard – Chapter 47
by Little PandaYou Are the Person Ming Qin Treasures Most
Murong Yan met the new Emperor at the spring-end palace banquet.
As imperial kin and the legitimate daughter of the Prince of Yu, she and Murong Can sat not far from the head table.
Wine flowed freely and every man in the great hall was drunk. Looking at the lavish dishes before her, Murong Yan’s expression remained merely indifferent — she sat in silence, drinking tea.
“Yue’er, today is our birthday. Smile a little more!” Murong Can reeked of wine, his face flushed red. Seeing his sister so out of place, he leaned over warmly. “Shall I have everyone celebrate for you?”
Before she could answer, the man raised his cup, stood, and called out. Several fellow military officers grinned and stumbled forward, bowing with clumsy clasped-hand salutes, bellowing in rough voices.
“Commandery Princess sister! Ten thousand years of boundless longevity1!”
“What ‘sister’ — so rude! It is Commandery Princess! Commandery Princess, auspicious birthday, joy and good health!”
“Hey hey hey! You stole my line, what am I supposed to say now… A hundred years of marital harmony! Commandery Princess, a hundred years of marital harmony!”
“Old Wei! Are you crazy! My sister has not even married yet, harmony with who!?”
Watching the chaotic tangle of men before her — boisterous, certainly — Murong Yan felt only loneliness. Unbidden, her mind drifted back to last year’s birthday.
In that tiny room meant for only two, the brilliant specks of light cupped in warm palms had been more dazzling, more heart-stirring, than this brightly lit, magnificent hall.
She lowered her head and took a sip of tea, as if to press down the sourness welling up in her chest.
Deep into the night, apart from Murong Yan, everyone remaining at the banquet was a man — and most were rough men accustomed to army camps. Several jars of wine in, the lot of them were already slurring improper jokes.
Murong Yan was not angered by it — only mildly irritated. When Murong Can rose with his cup for his third round of toasting, she quietly slipped away from the table.
It had been nearly ten years since she last entered the Imperial Palace.
Back then, her right leg was still whole, and she — young, not yet knowing restraint — had relied on her superficial beauty and modest literary talent to win the crowd’s affection. High-profile and ostentatious, she had come and gone freely through this vast palace complex.
Had someone told her younger self that such a flamboyant display would attract catastrophic trouble, the reckless young girl probably would not have believed it.
The flowers and trees in this courtyard were, surprisingly, no different from her memories.
The people, however, had changed a great deal.
She walked slowly along the cobblestone path, leaning on her cane. The air was damp, carrying the fragrance of plants breaking through the soil.
She drew a deep breath — and unexpectedly came face to face with a small, slight figure.
“Your Majesty.” Murong Yan cupped her hands2 and made to kneel in salute, but the boy stopped her.
“Don’t! Do not bow to me.” Murong Wan wore a robe somewhat too large for him. He reached out in a fluster, the pearls dangling from his crown clinking together. “Ah… rise! Quickly, rise.”
The woman straightened and stood there quietly, her slender and lonely silhouette seemingly more fragile than the willow branches behind her. Murong Wan, who had also left the banquet early, spoke with some hesitation in his still-youthful voice: “I… no… We, We know your health is poor. You need not bow to Us.”
“Your Majesty has just ascended the throne, with countless matters to trouble you — that you would still concern yourself over this subject’s health is truly this subject’s failing.” Murong Yan kept her eyes lowered, her posture respectful but her tone flat.
“No! It is no trouble at all!” The boy waved his hands hastily. “It is because Ming Qin told me, that I…”
The woman’s head snapped up. “Ah Qin… spoke of me to Your Majesty?”
“She did.” Murong Wan nodded. “When we were at the Imperial Academy, we always chatted over our midday meal. Every four or five sentences from Ming Qin would circle back to Commandery Princess Chongwen.”
“Ah Qin… what did she say about me?” Murong Yan’s voice was thick and astringent.
The boy tilted his head, thinking, then scratched his head with a shy laugh. “Ming Qin… always said you were beautiful. The most beautiful and the most powerful woman in all the world.”
He recalled the two of them sitting along the corridor — the woman eating the meals delivered by the imperial kitchen, gesturing animatedly, beaming with joy.
“Whenever Ming Qin found something good to eat outside, she would share a little with me. But if there was not enough, she would refuse me righteously — no matter how much I stomped my feet… she would not give me any.”
A rare, boyish grin broke through Murong Wan’s precociously solemn expression. “She always said it was saved for Commandery Princess Chongwen.”
“You are the person Ming Qin treasures most.”
Murong Yan squeezed her eyes shut and tilted her head back, trying to seal back the surging heat, and said in a trembling voice, “She… is also the person I treasure most.”
The attentive, sensitive boy thoughtfully offered a handkerchief, but she refused it.
“Ming Qin will come back.” He clasped his hands behind his back, turning to gaze at the towering palace walls. “We promised each other we would each win on our respective battlefields.”
In the night, the silhouettes of the young Emperor and the frail Commandery Princess shared an indescribable loneliness.
The sentencing of the rebel faction was set for early summer.
Though the deposed Crown Prince had not been captured, his maternal clan and the corrupt officials who had attached themselves to his faction were rounded up in one sweep.
The new Emperor was magnanimous, unwilling to implicate entire extended clans. Only the clan leaders were executed in the public market; the remaining family members were stripped of rank, reduced to commoners, and exiled from the Capital, barred from holding office for three generations.
Murong Yan had no desire to go to the streets and stain herself with the blood of a pack of scum. But as she rode in a carriage back to Cangyue Tower, she happened to catch sight of that fine-robed young lord she had once encountered in a mountain town.
A far cry from the arrogant profligate who had once harassed women — now the man’s figure was haggard and defeated, his eyes hollow. A scar, as if gouged by a wild beast’s claw, ran from his right cheek down to his jaw.
He sat in a wooden wheelchair, his legs bent at unnatural angles, and beneath his sleeve, his left hand was missing.
Along the way, common folk hurled rotting vegetable stalks at him. Shackled among the rest, he was driven out of the city by guards’ shouts.
The Second Young Master of the Vice Minister of Personnel — who had once injured Ming Qin and been arrogant to the extreme — was now in such a dejected and destitute state.
Murong Yan merely glanced at him indifferently before letting the carriage curtain fall. Murong Can, sitting across from her, asked with some concern, “Yue’er, do you really want to go back to that tower?”
With the deposed Crown Prince’s fall, Murong Yan no longer needed to serve as a hostage, imprisoned by anyone.
His sister could well go live in the Prince of Yu’s Mansion in the Capital. If she disliked living with the rest of the mansion’s household, she could also reside in Changning Palace, once bestowed to her by imperial decree.
If she were willing, he could even set aside his military duties for a time and take her traveling across the realm to enjoy the mountains and waters — so his sister need not wallow in this Capital with its man-eating memories.
There was clearly no longer any reason for her to return to Cangyue Tower.
Murong Yan’s expression remained unchanged at his words. She only gently touched the stone on her earlobe, lowered her eyes, and murmured, “She will get lost…”
“Hm?” Murong Can did not quite understand, tilting his head.
In her mind flashed the image of Ming Qin poking her head out from the window ledge every time — always wearing a brilliant smile, bright eyes sparkling.
She said again, “If I am not there, she will get lost.” And then said no more.
If she did not stay in this place that connected the two of them, then if foolish Ah Qin returned, she would likely panic and not know where to look for her.
She had to stay there, and wait.
Just as she had been a year ago, waiting every day for Ah Qin to arrive.
The author has something to say:
Next chapter Ming Qin reconnects～ Where will she appear? (Genuinely curious)
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P.S. Favorites broke nine hundred! (Happily scattering petals and setting off firecrackers!)
I am actually quite surprised that after dropping off the newcomer chart, my favorites are still growing a little, since I do not have much exposure and do not know how to use social media apps…
This story is clearly not the kind of genre the platform favors, yet it is still holding its own so well — I am truly very proud of it!
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Does this mean I can be a little more greedy and look forward to the day it breaks one thousand favorites? (laughs)
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If you enjoy this story, please recommend it to more and more people!
I really want to know how far Yanyan and Ah Qin’s story can go — whether it can, at the very least, slightly prove that the stories readers enjoy reading are not necessarily the officially promoted ones, and that reader-chosen stories can still break through the current monotony of platform genres.
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I am deeply grateful to every dear person who loves this story. Every bit of encouragement and love you have given me, I hold in my heart, and I cherish our encounter～
I hope everyone is happy and joyful at the end of 2022, ready to welcome the brand-new 2023.
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As always, praying for you.
Footnotes
- 万寿无疆 | wanshou wujiang | Traditional blessing wishing boundless longevity, conventionally reserved for the Emperor; here used boisterously for a birthday toast.
- 拱手 | gongshou | Traditional Chinese gesture of respect: cupping one hand in the other before the chest, used in greetings and formal salutations.
Thank you for the chapter! We’re waiting for you to be together again! And still wondering where her wife is..
Pleas ming qin come back 😭
I like that getting murong Yan on the throne was not the main conflict and we got it over with pretty quick although I’m sure the crown Prince will still be a problem for a while
Me too! I love that the focus is them and not the nonsense power struggle crap.
And ohgawd, the ending of this chapter gave me deep feels. 😫
Thank you for the chapter! We’re waiting for you to be together again! And still wondering where her wife is..
Pleas ming qin come back 😭
I like that getting murong Yan on the throne was not the main conflict and we got it over with pretty quick although I’m sure the crown Prince will still be a problem for a while
Me too! I love that the focus is them and not the nonsense power struggle crap.
And ohgawd, the ending of this chapter gave me deep feels. 😫
Aaagh, I swore I wasn’t going to look at the damn author notes but I literally couldn’t help seeing that one first sentence. Screw these stupid authors who feel they have to spoil the story in every damn stupid author note.
And there better be some damn good explanation as to why they’ve been separated for almost a year. Like this better be some amazing writing to make me believe there was no way they could have been reunited sooner. A few weeks is what I expected, a couple months maybe, but almost a year? We’ll see
Going to make a quick prediction before reading the next chapter. It just came to me, one thing that would make sense for them not seeing each other in so long would be the shadow guard having memory loss. Something something, when she came to she didn’t remember anything or some crap like that. Anyways, that’s my prediction LOL