The Princess’ Shadow Guard – Chapter 60

Could it be that you have seen Ah Qin? (Crown Prince’s assist?)

At night, Murong Yan sat before the bed, quietly letting a serving girl comb her hair. The corner of her eye glanced at her nearly faded fingertips.

“Did you all help me apply koudan​¹ while This Palace was in a coma?” she asked casually, her mind elsewhere. The girl behind her, however, froze.

            

“This… this humble one… we humble ones did indeed help the Commandery Princess trim her nails.” The young serving girl glanced at the sister standing beside her and responded in a fluster, her tone still trembling slightly.

“Quite thoughtful of you.”

Murong Yan merely thought the girl was overly nervous and paid it no mind. After her hair was put up, she simply dismissed everyone in the room.

            

She was still not used to the touch of outsiders. Alone, she took off her outer robe and undid the leather strap on her right knee.

How long has it been since I experienced phantom pain?

It seems the last time I felt that kind of grinding suffering was a long time ago, before I was all alone.

            

Although the phantom-like pain had already disappeared from her leg, it seemed to have merely transferred to her heart… otherwise, how could one explain the lingering emptiness in her chest, the pressure that felt like it could suffocate her at any moment.

Looking at the incomplete leg, Murong Yan reached out a finger to lightly touch the stump. Ugly, disgusting.

If it were the her of the past, even looking at it would make her feel resentful and uncomfortable. Even when putting on or taking off the prosthesis, it was always with a hurried glance.

            

Now, however, she could look directly at the place she once detested so incomparably. Even stroking it carefully did not feel repulsive.

Why?

She asked herself, but was amused to laughter by the answer in her heart, which could not have been more obvious.

            

It could only be because of Ah Qin.

She had always so gently rubbed the skin that was chafed red and swollen by the leather strap. Her slightly coarse palm was forever scorching hot, and her clear eyes would stare straight, never holding a trace of disgust within them.

Murong Yan recalled the enchanting time the two of them had in the horse carriage and could not help but close her eyes.

            

How cunning she was back then, using the Ah Qin who was completely obedient to her, making her feel such tender love for me, so easily sending myself to the peak.

Every inch of skin that touched Ah Qin felt as if it had been burned by a great fire, scalding hot. The nerves in every place trembled excitedly, clamoring for more, bringing her an unparalleled pleasure.

Could it be that it was precisely because of that stolen beauty back then that Heaven was angered and snatched Ah Qin away from my side?

            

Is it because happiness always has a fixed amount, and if one draws it in advance, one must use endless future suffering to repay it?

The snow outside grew heavier and heavier. The dilong​² and the silver thread charcoal​³ in the fire stove made the room feel as warm as a sunny day. Hu’er, who had just eaten a chicken, was prostrated under the bed, snoring comfortably. But the temperature in Murong Yan’s heart was not the least bit higher than it was outside.

Her thoughts churned.

            

Self-blame, doubt, sorrow, and anger mixed together, causing the woman to toss and turn.

It was not until just before the sun rose that she could no longer hold on and fell into a deep sleep.

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On the day she carried the Emperor’s imperial edict and stepped into the Ministry of Justice​⁴, although Murong Yan was draped in a snow-white fox fur cloak, the outer shirt underneath was a festive true red.

            

Holding a paper umbrella painted with bright red peonies, the woman and the beast, on a day of fine, fluttering snow, went with the newly appointed Minister of Justice, Mu Gun​⁵, to the dungeon.

“His Majesty has already instructed this subject that the handling of the deposed Crown Prince is to be fully managed by Commandery Princess Chongwen. Everyone in the Ministry of Justice, from top to bottom, will listen to the Commandery Princess’s orders,” Mu Gun said respectfully, lowering his head.

“How is the deposed Crown Prince in the prison?” Clenching the paper umbrella in her hand, Murong Yan asked as she looked at the dungeon’s entrance.

            

“…This, the deposed Crown Prince has not opened his mouth at all since being sent to the Ministry of Justice.”

Pausing slightly, Mu Gun continued, “The order this subject received at the time was to treat the deposed Crown Prince like any other ordinary prisoner, with no need for special favorable treatment, merely to ensure his wounds do not worsen until the Commandery Princess arrives.”

“Wounds?” Murong Yan spoke, her expression a little puzzled. “Were they injuries sustained during his capture?”

            

“This subject is not clear about that. The deposed Crown Prince was captured by the Shadow Guard Camp and was only sent over a few days ago.” Mu Gun gestured for his subordinate to open the iron gate, shuddering as if thinking of some bloody scene. “Perhaps the Shadow Guard Camp’s interrogation was a bit heavy. The wounds are somewhat horrifying. Commandery Princess, please be careful in a moment, and do not be frightened.”

With no reaction to Mu Gun’s worry, Murong Yan closed her paper umbrella, using its frame as a cane, and walked step by step into the semi-underground prison.

Several prisoners saw that the person who had come was actually a woman and could not help but press themselves thirstily against the bars, extending their hands to grab, their mouths even emitting a continuous clamor of filthy words.

            

Before Mu Gun and the other guards could speak to stop them, the tiger following behind the woman suddenly leaped forward. It opened its snow basin-like large mouth and threatened the several filthy men clinging to the bars.

The tiger’s roar seemed particularly terrifying in the narrow and gloomy dungeon. The prisoners, who had been arrogant just a moment ago, fearfully retracted their hands and retreated, not daring to make another sound.

As if giving a reward, she rubbed the beast’s soft head. Murong Yan gestured for Mu Gun to continue leading the way. The sound of the wooden cane tapping the ground was very prominent in the silent underground.

            

It was not only the prisoners who were frightened by Hu’er’s ferocity. Mu Gun’s face turned pale as he quietly took out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat, and then he led the group to the depths of the dungeon.

Gesturing for one of the guards to open the cell ahead, Mu Gun said, “Commandery Princess, ahead is the iron cell holding the deposed Crown Prince.” He glanced at Hu’er, who was sniffing east and west, with some alarm and tried hard to calm his mind. “Do you need me to send people in with you?”

“There is no need.” Murong Yan patted the soft fur of the tiger beside her. “Just let him follow This Palace.”

            

“Then… I will leave a few men outside the cell. If the Commandery Princess has any matter, you can just command them.” Looking at the beast guard who was several times more formidable than a human, Mu Gun nodded and made the arrangements.

When the rusty iron door opened, it emitted a 『ga』 sound. The guard hung the oil lamp he was carrying on the wall, and the yellow light illuminated the originally dark cell.

『Da』

            

『Da』

Murong Yan, holding the bamboo umbrella, walked in. Hu’er alertly followed behind the woman, raising its head to sniff the damp, cold air.

In a corner, under a filthy blanket, a man’s figure squirmed, accompanied by the clanking sound of shackles.

            

His long hair was scattered and looked greasy from not having been washed for a long time. The coarse hemp prison uniform on his body could not even cover his shoulders, and of course, it was even less able to fend off the cold of winter.

Murong Xiao’s eyes were tightly closed, as if whoever had come had nothing to do with him.

His originally straight nose bridge seemed to have been broken and was somewhat crooked. The two sides of his face were not quite symmetrical, and were both blue and purple.

            

The right trouser leg was empty with nothing in it, seeping bloody water. All the fingernails on both his hands had been pulled off, revealing the red flesh underneath.

On the back of his hands, there also seemed to be several holes that had been pierced by long nails, typical holes caused by interrogation.

Looking at such a wretched man, Murong Yan was inwardly unmoved, and even could not help but mock herself.

            

The person who completely destroyed my entire life is huddled there—miserable, weak. Doesn’t this appearance make the me who was struck down by him back then seem all the more ridiculous?

Taking out the imperial edict, the woman said without any inflection, “Commandery Princess Chongwen Murong Yan, by order of His Majesty, has come to sentence the deposed Crown Prince.”

The moment the visitor spoke, Murong Xiao suddenly opened his eyes, his face full of disbelief, and then he crawled forward.

            

He reached out his hand, wanting to move forward and grab the woman he had yearned for day and night, but he was restricted by the chains. A large tiger suddenly appeared in his field of vision, baring its teeth and growling low, its sharp claws looking as if they would pounce him to the ground.

“Hu’er, don’t eat him.”

Murong Yan spoke flatly, “He’s dirty.”

            

Murong Xiao looked at the person he longed for appearing before his eyes and could not help but reveal a crazed smile. “Jiejie, jiejie! You survived! You came to find Gu​⁶! This is great, this is great! Are you going to spend the rest of your life with Gu?”

Ignoring the man’s ravings, Murong Yan asked impassively, “Before This Palace makes a final decision on your punishment, you can tell This Palace how you wish to be executed.”

“This Palace will consider it at my discretion.”

            

“Jiejie, jiejie, Gu knew you would come back! Gu knew you love Gu!” Paying not the slightest attention to what the woman had said, Murong Xiao just murmured like a madman.

“Only Gu can be with you again, only Gu!”

Frowning tightly, her temples throbbing with pain, Murong Yan now only wanted to call someone to drag the man out and behead him, to stop his vicious mouth and delusional words.

            

His expression turned sinister and ruthless. “That lowly woman is still so arrogant, when clearly jiejie still chose Gu in the end.” Murong Xiao suddenly cackled madly without stopping. “And that bitch, whether before or after death, she will only be all alone. But Gu, Gu has jiejie.”

The man prostrated on the ground before her was truly nauseating to Murong Yan, but as if by a strange impulse, she found herself somewhat concerned about his words. Enduring her displeasure, she asked, “Who? Who did you say will be all alone?”

“Of course, it’s that damn shadow guard who dared to covet jiejie.”

            

Murong Xiao gritted his teeth, the stump of his right leg faintly aching, but then he suddenly put on a hypocritical act. “However, she actually dared to sacrifice herself to extend jiejie’s life. Gu admits, she truly was sincere towards jiejie… as foolish and pitiful as a dog.”

“Shadow guard? You mean Ah Qin?” Amidst the broken words, Murong Yan felt as if she had grasped a life-saving straw that was covered in thorns and could break at any moment.

She grabbed Murong Xiao’s collar with a trembling hand.

            

“Could it be that you have seen Ah Qin?”

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LP: Re-translated on September 01, 2025

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