The Princess’ Shadow Guard – Chapter 9
by Little PandaI Do Not Pity You (Reconciliation)
Ming Qin strode rapidly through the snow. The collar of her hastily donned black night-walking clothes was askew, and her loosely tied sash fluttered wildly in the wind behind her. Having just bathed, the tips of her hair were still slightly damp.
Unable to suppress the leaping joy in her heart, Ming Qin pushed off the ground with her toes. Like a nimble cat, she scaled Cangyue Tower in a single bound.
With reckless abandon, she pushed open the tightly shut window and eagerly vaulted inside.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Murong Yan stared at the intruder, her eyes wide with shock. With one hand holding up the hem of her skirt to reveal a pale thigh, and the other holding her prosthetic limb1, the woman turned entirely to stone.
Catching sight of the woman on the bed with her bare leg exposed, Ming Qin strode toward her, completely oblivious. “Commandery Princess, I have something important to tell you! I—”
In a panic, the woman dropped the half-removed prosthetic. Her usually pallid skin flushed a deep pink with shame and indignation.
“You! You…” Murong Yan’s chest seized up, unable to force out a single word. Suddenly, she broke into a violent fit of coughing. Off-balance from her missing limb, her body pitched forward, threatening to tumble off the bed.
“Commandery Princess!” Ming Qin lunged forward and dropped into a crouch, catching Murong Yan to prevent her fall. She allowed the woman to rest her chin against her shoulder while the Shadow Guard’s hand patted her back in steady, soothing rhythms.
Once Murong Yan finally caught her breath, she looked at the Ming Qin who was holding her so gently. A stomach full of anger sat lodged in her throat, leaving her unsure of how to voice it. With no other outlet, she simply bit down hard on Ming Qin’s neck.
Ming Qin did not dare let go. She remained perfectly still.
She allowed the woman to exert as much force as she pleased. A moment later, Murong Yan’s muffled voice drifted up from her embrace through gritted teeth. “Why have you come back?”
“I have something important to tell you.” As if terrified the woman wouldn’t listen to the end, Ming Qin slightly tightened her arms, completely disregarding Murong Yan’s stiffened posture.
“I need to tell you. I do not pity or sympathize with you! Every time I come looking for you, it is because seeing you brings me joy. I very much want to see you, and it isn’t for any other reason!”
Ming Qin shouted the straightforward words at the top of her lungs. Then, she lowered her head and adopted the tone of someone lodging a grievance. “It was Master who said I wasn’t allowed to come see you. I can’t disobey Master’s orders.”
Murong Yan lowered her eyes. Her expression was unreadable as she asked in a muffled voice, “Then why have you come over now?”
“I really, really wanted to see you, but Master said no. Master is so annoying! My chest hurt terribly, and I couldn’t even eat.” Ming Qin pouted, looking incredibly wronged. “Later, Shijie came looking for me out of worry. She told me that I actually could see you! She said she would help me talk to Master.”
“Is that so…” Murong Yan murmured.
Feeling a slight tremor against her shoulder, Ming Qin assumed Murong Yan was cold. She hurriedly lifted her onto the bed and went to stoke the charcoal in the brazier.
Sitting quietly, Murong Yan watched the busy figure. “What did your Shijie say to you?”
As Ming Qin bustled about the room, fetching water and adding charcoal, she relayed every word Master and Shijie had said to Murong Yan without missing a single detail. Entirely ignorant of how to conceal anything, the honest Shadow Guard spilled all of He Jingshou’s concerns and Song Shuqing’s scheming calculations.
Listening to it all with a calm face, Murong Yan laughed at herself in her heart.
She was nothing but a prisoner; where would she find the energy to stir up the winds and clouds2 of the Capital?
Ming Qin returned and fell to both knees in front of Murong Yan. Raising her hands, she immediately reached for the buckle on her right knee, preparing to help her remove the prosthetic completely.
Feeling unfamiliar fingers brush against her residual limb, Murong Yan’s entire body jerked, and she violently shrank back.
“What are you doing?” Her voice trembled slightly as she desperately tried to hide her leg beneath the quilt.
“Helping you take off your prosthetic,” Ming Qin answered, her expression perfectly normal as her hands deftly undid the leather straps. “Otherwise, it’ll be uncomfortable when you sleep.”
Ming Qin placed the removed prosthetic under the bed. Rubbing her palms together to warm them, she gently pressed a heated palm against Murong Yan’s right leg, massaging the amputation site that had grown slightly red and swollen from the tight straps.
Murong Yan watched her movements, biting her lip. Her mouth felt incredibly dry.
After a long time, she asked hesitantly, “Do you… not find it ugly?”
The person beneath her looked up, but Murong Yan didn’t dare meet her eyes.
“Not at all,” Ming Qin answered briskly, her eyes bright. “The incision is clean, and it healed beautifully. The doctor who operated on you must have had excellent medical skills!”
“…”
Murong Yan opened her mouth. She didn’t quite understand why she needed to feel so nervous around the fiercely straightforward Ming Qin. Taking a deep, helpless breath, she rubbed her forehead. “I meant… don’t you think I’m very different from normal people?”
“Of course you’re different!” Ming Qin looked at the woman, her face clearly showing that she thought the question was bizarre. “You are the most beautiful person I have seen in my entire life! How could ordinary people possibly compare to you!?”
Watching Murong Yan subconsciously rest a hand on her right leg, Ming Qin scratched her head and added, “Your wound is a medal of battle. If you feel that your leg makes you different from others, then it’s a good kind of different. It proves that you are both brave and strong!”
The Shadow Guard camp was never short of people who had suffered irreversible injuries from their missions. Although it forced them to retreat to the second line, they were all deeply proud of the wounds on their bodies. They would always boastfully show off their scars to Ming Qin, painting vivid, dramatic tales of how grueling the mission had been and how narrowly they had survived.
The wounds on their bodies were proof of their loyalty and valor.
Watching Ming Qin’s earnest face as she animatedly shared the story of how Martial Uncle Wang heroically sacrificed his right arm to defeat a multitude of enemy spies before retiring with glorious rewards, Murong Yan couldn’t help but laugh softly.
Her chest grew a little warm.
Forget it, she thought. It isn’t exactly my first day knowing how foolish she is.
In Ming Qin’s eyes, Murong Yan was probably just like those martial uncles and shixiong she spoke of—shining brightly.
Lost in her thoughts, Murong Yan looked at the endlessly chattering Ming Qin. She extended both hands and ordered, “Carry me to the desk.”
The latter obediently complied, even making sure to stack a few extra cushions on the stool when setting her down.
Murong Yan gracefully picked up a wolf-hair brush3 and began to write. Ming Qin merely tilted her head to stare at the inkstone, quietly supporting her from the side.
Once the ink was dry, Murong Yan handed the letter over to Ming Qin.
“Take this back to your Master,” she said with a soft scoff. “I hope he knows what’s good for him.”
If it was for this person, she didn’t mind lending a helping hand at the very end.
Ming Qin obediently tucked the letter into her sleeve, then bent down to scoop Murong Yan up and carry her back to the bed.
The person in her arms traced the bite mark on her neck with her fingers. “Does it still hurt?” she asked softly.
“It doesn’t hurt at all. It feels like a tickle.” Ming Qin tucked the quilt around Murong Yan. As if to assure her not to worry, she casually patted her own neck. “You don’t have much strength. When you smashed me with that earthenware pot before, it didn’t hurt at all either.”
Murong Yan looked at the person before her and couldn’t hold back a laugh. Covering her mouth, she asked, “Does that mean I’ll have to smash you with a few more in the future?”
“No, no, no, that pot was incredibly expensive! The cooks at the camp haven’t wanted to look at me for days. If you smash another one, I really won’t have any food to eat.” Scratching her forehead, Ming Qin looked at the frail woman in the bedding with a slight panic.
A few breaths later, she thought it over and spoke with an expression of grand sacrifice. “If you really want to smash things, I’ll go buy a bunch more for you to play with. But you still need to eat and put on some weight before you’ll have the strength for it.”
“I want to eat bamboo shoot buns. From Listening to Rain Pavilion,” Murong Yan said flatly.
“Okay!” Ming Qin nodded in agreement.
A moment later, as if seeking sudden confirmation, she asked in a low voice, “So… I can still come find you in the future, right?”
After a long pause, Murong Yan spoke. “As long as you want.”
As long as I am here.
Early the next morning, Ming Qin happily charged into Yelan Court and found He Jingshou, who was currently busy tormenting a fresh crop of Shadow Guard trainees.
“Good morning, Master.” Ignoring the agonized groans of the others, Ming Qin waved her hand with exceptional vigor.
He Jingshou’s expression turned somewhat strange the moment he saw her. He led Ming Qin out into the corridor. “Qinqin, Shuqing has told me everything.” He paused. “Why didn’t you tell me it was the Commandery Princess who saved you?”
“Because right when I was about to tell Master, Master told me, 『Do not talk back!』” Ming Qin said honestly, even mimicking He Jingshou’s angry beard-stroking gesture.
The man rubbed his forehead, utterly speechless. He felt a flash of annoyance at his own hasty failure to ask for details back then.
Ming Qin pulled a letter from her sleeve and handed it to the man before her. “This is what the Commandery Princess asked me to give Master.”
Taking the letter with some suspicion, He Jingshou began to read in silence. As his eyes swept over the page, his brow furrowed deeper and deeper. The moment he finished, he used his inner energy to shatter the letter into fine dust.
He looked down at his beloved disciple, who was waiting so earnestly. Taking a deep breath, He Jingshou asked hesitantly, “…Qinqin, what do you think of Commandery Princess Chongwen?”
“The Commandery Princess is wonderful! She is very gentle and smart. I like her a lot!” Ming Qin answered without a second of hesitation.
Seeing that his star pupil was just as foolishly straightforward as ever, He Jingshou tried a different approach. “As your master, what I mean is, how does the Commandery Princess treat you?”
Ming Qin still didn’t pause. “The Commandery Princess treats me very well. We are friends.”
The man stared wide-eyed, momentarily lost for words. Looking at his thick-headed donkey of a disciple who had already been completely coaxed over by the Commandery Princess, he pinched his beard and let out a sigh of resignation.
“Forget it, forget it. This isn’t something I, as your master, can control anyway. In the future, if Qinqin has no missions and wants to see the Commandery Princess, then go to Cangyue Tower and keep her company.”
Hearing those words, the fiercely loyal Ming Qin acted as if she had just received the greatest gift in the world. She jumped up happily, agreeing again and again, before hurriedly taking her leave from Master and skipping off to buy bamboo shoot buns.
Watching Ming Qin’s joyous, retreating figure, Song Shuqing—who had been lying languidly on the ceiling beams the entire time—spoke up in a slow, breezy voice.
“How nice. I want to be friends with the beautiful Commandery Princess, too.”
He Jingshou threw a glance at the lazy woman and let out a heavy harrumph. “That is only because Qinqin has a sincere nature that makes people like her; that is why Commandery Princess Chongwen treats her well. If it were you, you little fox4, even if the Prince of Yu had ten daughters, it still wouldn’t be your turn.”
“Oh my! I’m a little fox, which means Master, you must be an old fox!” Song Shuqing giggled softly, then sighed in admiration. “Qinqin really is quite something.”
“Ah.” Hearing those words drift down from the beam, He Jingshou sighed, his tone growing heavy. “But for a Qinqin who understands nothing of the ways of the world, whether Commandery Princess Chongwen’s favor is a blessing or a curse remains unknown.”
“Eh, is that so?”
Song Shuqing couldn’t help but raise her voice, her tone bright and cheerful. “I actually think that having encountered someone as lovably simple as Qinqin, the Commandery Princess is quite to be pitied.” Her eyes held a playful, teasing smile.
Seeing He Jingshou’s face full of doubt, Song Shuqing’s expression remained endlessly intriguing. “No wonder Master always makes Shiniang angry. You really don’t understand a woman’s heart at all.”
Song Shuqing dropped down from the beam, softly humming a little tune.
“After all, a pure-hearted child who understands nothing is the most ruthless.”
The author has something to say:
Hi! Forest is broadcasting here —
In the beginning, I only started writing this because I couldn’t stand Ming Qin and Murong Yan’s story running around in my head and keeping me awake at night. I was so annoyed that I just started writing out of pure frustration. I originally thought I’d write about twenty chapters and be done, but later my OCD flared up, and I got incredibly nitpicky about the emotional depictions and the logical progression of the plot. The more I wrote, the more there was to write, and the more I fell in love with these two little paper characters.
Right now, just my drafted backlog has reached thirty chapters, to the point where I can steadily update once a day. Looking at how things are going, excluding extras, the story will probably end up around fifty to sixty chapters?
Now that I’m writing the middle-to-late sections of the story, I actually feel a little sad that their tale will eventually end, but I have absolutely no intention of padding the word count and dragging this book out into some bloated epic. (My body is even screaming at me to finish it sooner because it wants to sleep!)
Saying all this is really just to let everyone know: 『I will properly finish writing this story, don’t worry.』
Also, you can look forward to the upcoming developments. After all, there are many chapters ahead that had me writing and thinking they were super sweet and super spicy, making me giggle foolishly or smile like a creep (so embarrassing). So when you all read them, you’ll probably let out a knowing smile, too.
As always, thank you for reading. I hope you enjoy it.
Footnotes
- A wooden prosthetic (jiǎzhī) designed to replace an amputated limb.
- An idiom (jiǎonòng fēngyún) literally translating to 'stir up the winds and clouds,' meaning to orchestrate political turmoil, manipulate events, or cause sweeping changes in the balance of power.
- A traditional Chinese calligraphy brush (lángháo) made from weasel hair, traditionally referred to as 'wolf hair.' It is known for its firm tip and is highly prized by scholars.
- A 'little fox' (xiǎo húli) is a term for someone who is sly, mischievous, and cunning, much like the 'old fox' (lǎo húli) archetype of an experienced schemer.
why is ming qin like this lmao
La hermana mayor sabe mucho, y tiene mucha razón, aunque espero que nuestro pequeño qin qin sepa, he nuestra princesa no es amable con cualquiera
Lol the sister spitting facts, also I’m happy she finally got permission from her master to visit the princess