The Princess’ Shadow Guard – Chapter 49
by Little PandaThe Like of Giving Birth to Sons and Raising Daughters (Shijie’s1 cp2 Appears)
Looking at the person sitting opposite, whose chopsticks had already not moved for half the day, whose eyes were empty, staring blankly at the food before them, Song Shuqing sighed, somewhat helpless.
“Qinqin! Qinqin!” The slightly older woman waved her sleeve, and seeing her Shimei3 not reacting, she blew air towards her face.
“Hm!?” Ming Qin trembled a little, returned to her senses, and tilted her head, asking with some confusion, “Shijie, what is it?”
“Hurry up and eat, don’t space out,” Song Shuqing pushed the roast chicken that Ming Qin loved to eat in front of her, gesturing.
Ming Qin dazedly nodded and complied, and after shoveling a few mouthfuls of rice, she once again drifted off.
Song Shuqing really had a headache; her Shimei had frequently fallen into this dazed state ever since arriving in Shu Di.
She originally did not mind it, but the disasters caused by Ming Qin’s spacing out included but were not limited to: almost burning down the entire tea house when lighting an oil lamp, giving a customer a whole bag of copper coins from the entire cabinet when making change, and also mixing two different types of tea leaves together when organizing new stock.
If it were not for the fact that her own conversations with her Shimei were still relatively normal, she would have thought Qinqin had been hit on the head by someone and lost her wits.
Sighing and putting down her bowl and chopsticks, Song Shuqing grabbed Ming Qin’s collar and dragged her out of the tea house, “Let’s go! Shijie will take you out to relax.”
“Eh! Are we going to listen to music again?”
Ming Qin mumbled, but she still obediently allowed the woman to drag her along, “But, Ah Yun-ge said there is no extra silver to spend this month.”
“Who cares about that rigid, stinky old man!” Smoothly grabbing a packet of tea leaves from the cupboard, Song Shuqing locked the door of the tea house, “We’re going to find Zi Yan4.”
“But, Shijie, you are also twenty-nine, the same age as Ah Yun-ge.” Ming Qin stood obediently to the side, saying bluntly, “If Ah Yun is an old man, you are also an old woman.”
Hearing these words, the woman rolled her eyes, “Qinqin! You are also twenty-four, why are you still so bad looking at eye color5.”
Without waiting for Ming Qin’s reply, she executed qinggong6 and leaped onto the roof, the person behind her following suit.
Two figures leaped under the moonlight in the dark night, speeding towards a tall building with red lanterns lit not far away.
Zi Yan was a qinglou7 huakui8.
She was a woman whom Ming Qin and Song Shuqing had unintentionally saved from a few unreasonable skins9 while idly wandering the main street when they had just returned to Shu Di.
To be more precise, it was Ming Qin who had struck and driven away those few scoundrels, while Shijie had merely stood to the side with her arms crossed, saying things that made those men so ashamed they had no place to hide.
Song Shuqing beautifully called this teamwork.
『You are responsible for the physical attacks, I am responsible for the magical attacks, that’s just right.』
When that woman returned to her senses from the shock, suppressing her panic and trembling as she spoke to thank the two, hesitating, not knowing how to express her gratitude, before the exhausted Ming Qin could even speak, Song Shuqing, who was cooling off on the side, her eyes lit up and she directly grasped her hand.
『Do you… play the qin10 well?』
The woman seemed somewhat taken aback by this sudden question, but only said faintly, 『It is passable.』
『No need for a gift of thanks, if you have time, just let us listen to you play the qin.』
Extremely shameless.
Basically to the extent of looting a burning house11.
But with the back and forth of half a spring and summer, the two also became familiar, and from then on, whenever Song Shuqing had her silver docked by Cao Yun, she would listen to Zi Yan play the qin for a short half-shichen12 when she was free.
The two women with nimble skills flipped over the eaves, if seen by others they would only say these two ‘former’ shadow guards were lecherous thieves desiring to take liberties with the huakui.
Lightly, she knocked on the window frame.
“Enter.”
A low, melodious voice responded, letting the two who heard it push open the window and enter.
Zi Yan raised her head to look at the visitors, her face did not show any particular expression, just faint, as clear and cold as an autumn night.
With her back straight, she sat with proper posture before the qin, draped in a beautiful outer robe that did not match her serene face, the wide purple coverlet embroidered with dancing flower petals, resting on her thin shoulders, elegance and bewitching beauty colliding, faintly revealing a disharmonious magnificence.
“Zi Yan, have you missed me.”
Song Shuqing was the first to flip over the window and enter, looking at the seven large characters ‘Free Qin Music Player’ written brightly above the woman’s head before her, she revealed a fawning smile, took out the tea leaves in her hand and shook them, “I have missed you very much, look what I brought for you.”
“I have not.”
Looking at the packet of tea leaves purloined from their own shop, before Ming Qin had time to say anything, the woman sitting before the qin spoke first, “Whatever you brought will just be drunk by yourself anyway.”
“Eh! Good Zi Yan, how can you be so heartless.” Song Shuqing skillfully took a cushion for herself and Ming Qin and started to brew tea, complaining cheekily on the side, “Damn it, good intentions bitten by a dog13!”
Zi Yan did not respond to the person’s indignation, but merely nodded towards the younger shadow guard who was a bit further away.
Ming Qin gave her a silly smile, and also leaned against the wall and sat down.
She liked coming to Zi Yan’s place.
It was not because she liked music, but rather the slight frown on the woman’s face when she played the qin and her indifferent attitude towards Shijie, which would occasionally make her feel as if she had returned to Murong Yan’s side.
When not speaking, both of their faces exuded the gentleness belonging to a Jiangnan14 woman, their bodies slender, yet both held their necks ramrod straight, heads held high, their indifferent expressions occasionally leaking a trace of apathy towards their surroundings and mockery of the ways of the world.
But when they lowered their heads to play the qin, their expressions held an unstoppable sorrow, the woman who had fallen into a qinglou seemed to be protesting the mockery of fate, expressing her helpless grief.
Truly.
Excessively similar.
Listening to the sound of the qin and drinking tea, Ming Qin zoned out, only feeling as if she had returned to the capital city.
Returned to the night Murong Yan had displayed her magnificence for her once more.
It is unknown how much time passed, the last note fell, Song Shuqing stood up to pour tea for Zi Yan, clapping her hands sycophantically and saying, “That was wonderful! Wonderful! The world’s number one qin player is none other than you.”
Raising her eyes, Zi Yan faintly glanced at the cheering woman, drank her tea silently without much care, then looked at Ming Qin in the corner, who was staring blankly with empty eyes, and gestured towards her with her chin at Song Shuqing.
Song Shuqing turned her head, “Qinqin. Qinqin, come back to your soul!” She waved her hand in front of Ming Qin, and then threatened, “If you don’t come back to your senses I’m going to pinch your ear.”
Hearing her Shijie’s words, Ming Qin jumped up, not noticing the jade jar15 that rolled out of her sleeve, and vigilantly covered her only remaining left ear, saying aggrievedly, “You promised not to pull my ear when I grew up!”
Looking at the pitiful appearance of her one-eared Shimei, Song Shuqing poured her tea, softening her voice to console her, “Just kidding, I just saw you were spacing out again.”
The white jade bottle rolled to the side of Zi Yan’s qin, the huakui reached out to pick up the jade jar, and was about to return it to Ming Qin, but was suddenly as if attracted to it and began to examine it closely.
She could not help but open the jade jar and sniff it, Zi Yan opened her mouth and asked the young shadow guard who was drinking tea with her head down, “Qinqin, have you already been betrothed to another?”
Raising her head, Ming Qin’s eyes were somewhat puzzled as she shook her head.
“Then… perhaps, someone’s heart is pleased with you?” Zi Yan looked at the fragrant ointment16 in her hand, and asked tentatively.
Ming Qin once again shook her head, her face full of bewilderment.
Song Shuqing looked back and forth between the two, propped up her head and asked the huakui, “What? Is there something strange about that jade jar?”
“Not at all. It’s just…” Zi Yan was a bit hesitant, and changed her way of speaking to Ming Qin, “Does Qinqin know who gave you this item? Are they from Jiangnan?”
“I know, the Commandery… her mother is indeed from Jiangnan.” Ming Qin put down her teacup, her gaze meeting Song Shuqing’s strange expression.
“In my hometown, this handmade fragrant ointment is a love token a woman gives to her beloved. I was thinking that it doesn’t look like you made it, if the person who gave you this item is indeed from Jiangnan…”
Zi Yan paused, sniffed the thing in her hand again, and then the corners of her lips raised slightly as if in understanding.
“I think she is pleased with you.”
“Moreover, I’m afraid she wants to declare to everyone that your belongingness is entirely hers, that kind of domineering affection.”
The fragrant ointment in her hand emitted a rich peony fragrance, as if wanting to crush and devour all other flowers and grasses that came near, its rampant scent seeming to warn all who coveted this mountain forest that it possessed absolute sovereignty.
Ming Qin scratched her head, somewhat doubtful, “This… is impossible, right? You must be mistaken? Commandery… that person couldn’t possibly be pleased with me.”
“Wait…”
Song Shuqing, who had already understood the whole story upon hearing this, looked at her dull-witted Shimei and, unable to bear it, couldn’t help but speak up, “Wait, Qinqin… you… could it be you still don’t know that the Commandery Princess likes you?”
“Ah?” The person with a scar on her face blinked her pure eyes, seeming to not quite understand.
“Not the like between a ruler and a subject, nor the like between friends,”
Song Shuqing looked at her ignorant Shimei and really didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, speaking bluntly, “But the kind of like where the Commandery Princess wants to pounce on you, wants to marry you, is unwilling to let others be too intimate with you, and if you were a man might tie you to the bed day and night to give birth to sons and raise daughters! Do you understand?”
She was really speechless to the extreme.
“You are truly a piece of wood to the point of being a national treasure-level thousand-year-old divine wood.”
Unable to help herself, Song Shuqing said helplessly to the already petrified Ming Qin, “The Commandery Princess likes you so obviously, you didn’t notice at all?”
Then she seemed to suddenly think of something and sucked in a breath, “Wait, don’t tell me, you were left hanging on by a single breath to protect the Commandery Princess, and then after your injuries healed you still haven’t communicated with her until now?!”
Seeing the person before her hemming and hawing, Song Shuqing felt her head begin to ache again.
Judging from the secret reports from the capital city, the new emperor had smoothly ascended the throne with the support of Prince Yu.
There was no news of the Commandery Princess Chongwen committing suicide, nor were there rumors of the Commandery Princess Chongwen transforming into a great demon lord vowing to burn the world as a funeral pyre, so Song Shuqing had thought Ming Qin might have already known, and had also corresponded with the Commandery Princess.
Unexpectedly…
She reached out and grabbed Ming Qin’s left ear, twisting it half a circle and scolding, “She likes you, eh, likes you to the point of going crazy, do you know that, to her right now your life and death are unknown, how sad must she be!”
“But… but…”
“I have already properly completed my guard duty, so I just thought there was no need to…” Ming Qin, who felt no pain, for some reason was still afraid of her Shijie, explaining aggrievedly.
“I told you to be proper, not to properly sacrifice yourself and then pat your butt and leave, eh, at least let her know you’re still alive!” Song Shuqing held her forehead, scolding without relief, “You stupid donkey!”
Ming Qin’s face flushed red, standing at attention ramrod straight like a child who had done something wrong, letting her Shijie, who was half a head shorter than her, reprimand her.
Zi Yan, at the side, heard the conversation between the two, feeling as if she had unintentionally learned some imperial secret, took a sip of tea to suppress the shock in her throat, and opened her mouth to say, “However, what does Qinqin think?”
“Does Qinqin also hold the same feelings for that person?”
The author has something to say:
Let me tell everyone, this beautiful huakui, is Shijie’s cp (applaud and welcome!)
However, she will only appear once or twice in the main text, the story about her and Shijie is reserved for the fanwai17.
I know some people might be a bit concerned about dual purity18 or whatever, but this cp is not (although I personally believe it won’t affect my depiction of their relationship in any way, but I’m still explaining it to everyone here.)
Considering the special nature of the profession, forcing a dual purity or whatever is a bit too far-fetched, and Shijie, who has memories of the 21st century, doesn’t care at all whether her wife is ‘clean’ or not.
So when the time comes for the fanwai, I will specially mark it, people who mind it can just not read it. It will not affect the reading of the main text.
But actually I feel that no matter who it is, even if they are a prostitute, they are qualified to long for love, after all, many times people are often not in control of their own lives, especially in chaotic times, I hope everyone can understand, and can be gentle.
Wishing everyone a pleasant day in advance.
LP: Re-translated on August 19, 2025
Qinqin, you donkey!
Footnotes
- 师姐 | shījiě | Literally “senior sister apprentice.” A term used to respectfully address a female peer in a sect, school, or organization who joined earlier than oneself. It denotes a close relationship similar to that of an older sister.
- cp | No Pinyin | An abbreviation of the English word “couple.” It is modern internet slang used to refer to a romantic pairing of characters in a work of fiction, also known as a “ship.”
- 师妹 | shīmèi | Literally “junior sister apprentice.” The counterpart to Shijie, this term is used to address a female peer in a sect, school, or organization who joined later than oneself. It denotes a close, familial relationship.
- 紫嫣 | Zǐ Yān
- 看眼色 | kàn yǎnsè | Literally “to look at the color of the eye.” An idiom that means to be perceptive, to read a social situation, take a hint, or understand unspoken cues from others’ expressions and behavior.
- 轻功 | qīnggōng | Literally “light skill” or “lightness skill.” A fictional martial arts technique in Wuxia stories that enables practitioners to move with superhuman speed and lightness, allowing them to leap great distances, scale walls, and travel across rooftops as if flying. It is a common trope in the genre.
- 青楼 | qīnglóu | Literally “green/blue-green mansion/tower.” An elegant term for a high-class brothel or house of courtesans in ancient China. These establishments were often places where arts such as music, poetry, and dance were performed, and the courtesans were typically skilled in these arts in addition to providing companionship.
- 花魁 | huākuí | Literally “flower queen” or “best of the flowers.” The title given to the most beautiful, talented, and renowned courtesan in a qinglou. A huakui was often a celebrity figure, admired for her skills in the arts as much as for her beauty.
- 泼皮 | pōpí | Literally “unreasonable skin.” A colloquial term for a ruffian, hooligan, scoundrel, or local troublemaker who engages in harassment and petty crime.
- 琴 | qín | In this context, it specifically refers to the guqin (古琴), a seven-stringed plucked zither. It is one of China’s most ancient and revered musical instruments, traditionally associated with scholars and literati for its subtlety and refinement.
- 趁火打劫 | chèn huǒ dǎ jié | A four-character idiom (chengyu). Literally “to loot a burning house.” It means to take advantage of a crisis or someone’s misfortune for one’s own personal gain. It describes an opportunistic and morally questionable action.
- 时辰 | shíchen | A traditional Chinese unit of time. One shichen is equal to two modern hours. “小半個時辰” (xiǎo bàn ge shíchen) means “a short half-shichen,” indicating a period of time a bit less than one hour.
- 好心被狗咬 | hǎoxīn bèi gǒu yǎo | A common saying, literally “good intentions are bitten by a dog.” It is the Chinese equivalent of the English proverb “no good deed goes unpunished,” used to express frustration when an act of kindness is met with ingratitude or suspicion.
- 江南 | Jiāngnán | Literally “South of the River,” referring to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. It is a geographic and cultural region of China known for its prosperity, beautiful water-town scenery, and its historical association with arts, literature, and refined, gentle culture.
- 玉罐 | yù guàn | Literally “jade jar” or “jade pot.” A small, often ornate container made from jade. Such vessels were typically used to store valuable or precious items like high-quality medicine, cosmetics, or fragrant balms due to jade’s association with purity and preservation.
- 香膏 | xiāng gāo | Literally “fragrant paste” or “fragrant ointment.” A type of solid perfume, balm, or pomade made from flower petals, herbs, and other aromatic ingredients. It was applied to the skin for personal scent and was often handmade, making it a personal and sometimes intimate gift.
- 番外 | fānwài | Literally “extra/outside story.” These are extra chapters or side stories in a novel that are separate from the main plot. They often explore the backstories of side characters, events after the main story’s conclusion, or alternative scenarios.
- 雙潔 | shuāng jié | Literally “double clean” or “dual purity.” A term used in online fiction communities to describe a story where both main characters in a romantic couple are virgins and have no prior romantic or sexual history. It is a popular trope or tag for readers who prefer such character dynamics.
Goodlawd Ming Qin 😭😭
Goodlawd Ming Qin 😭😭
What does CP mean? Also aww she finally knows, I guess she thought the princess didn’t really care and that’s why she didn’t contact her? But that seems strange.
The princess is adorable with that perfume being so possessive, when did she give it to Ming qin.
Song shu Qing was really needed here, I hope they’ll reunite in the next chapter.
Thanks for the chapter!
Hey, my bad mistranslation. I went ahead and fixed the mistake. Totally slipped my mind to double-check the title.
Oh, CP actually stands for ‘couple’, which is basically the same thing as ‘shipping’.
Thank you for the chapter! I hope these two CP’s meet again and, it was kind of refreshing because this scene are quite happy and peaceful.
What does CP mean? Also aww she finally knows, I guess she thought the princess didn’t really care and that’s why she didn’t contact her? But that seems strange.
The princess is adorable with that perfume being so possessive, when did she give it to Ming qin.
Song shu Qing was really needed here, I hope they’ll reunite in the next chapter.
Thanks for the chapter!
Hey, my bad mistranslation. I went ahead and fixed the mistake. Totally slipped my mind to double-check the title.
Oh, CP actually stands for ‘couple’, which is basically the same thing as ‘shipping’.
Thank you for the chapter! I hope these two CP’s meet again and, it was kind of refreshing because this scene are quite happy and peaceful.