The Princess’ Shadow Guard – Chapter 65
by Little PandaJealousy is so pathological
Ming Qin was lying sideways on the bed planks, wearing only a single layer of clothing1. She could feel the breath from Murong Yan’s nose on her own clavicle.
She closed her eyes, allowing the woman lying beside her to hold her hand and write characters on her palm, one stroke at a time.
“Yanyan wants to know what happened after we separated in the woods?” Ming Qin opened her eyes, and although her gaze was still vacant, she was still able to accurately look towards the person before her.
Feeling her hand being given an affirmative squeeze by Murong Yan, Ming Qin racked her brain to recall, “Wu… after I got off the horse, I saw there were pursuing soldiers behind, so I just beat them for a round2.” She said bluntly, “That Xiao He was also there, it’s just that he was really too hateful. I really couldn’t take it, so I insisted on fighting a match with him.”
It was clearly a conflict that straddled the line between life and death, yet her tone was lightly sketched and faintly written3.
“Ah Qin was angry? What did Xiao He say to Ah Qin at that time?” Thinking of the testimony given by the three who had confessed in the tent that day, Murong Yan once again wrote on Ming Qin’s hand, asking curiously.
“Yanyan wants to know what Xiao He said?”
Ming Qin paused and forced a smile. “…He didn’t say anything to me, really. It was that his face looked really too ugly, that’s why the more I looked, the angrier I got.”
“Yes! He’s really too ugly.”
As if she knew how clumsy her own lie was, she tried hard to add, “You see, for two consecutive months I’ve been facing the best-looking person4 in the world. My eyes have been raised to be picky. The moment I saw Xiao He’s face, I emitted fire5, so I angrily sought him out for a fight.”
Her tone was so much like a solemn oath, Ming Qin felt like she almost believed it herself.
Seeing that the person before her was unwilling to say more, Murong Yan did not choose to press the matter, merely making a mental note of it and continuing to listen to Ming Qin’s words.
“Later, I accidentally fell into a lake… Yanyan, do you still remember that hunter couple? They saved me, and they have a new baby girl at home.” Ming Qin smiled as she recalled the slate-roofed house where she had stayed for half the spring, and the warm people she had once met.
“And then Shijie came to pick me up, you know!”
“We opened a teahouse in the land of Shu, but the three of them, my Shijie and Shixiong, don’t understand tea, so we kept losing money.” Ming Qin’s expression was vivid, her brow slightly furrowed in a distressed manner. “The teahouse had no customers, so Shijie and I often went to the green pavilions6 to have fun.”
Ming Qin, who could not see, revealed an innocent smile, completely oblivious to the astonishment on Murong Yan’s face before her.
The air all around chilled in an instant, but she just continued speaking without any awareness of it. “We met a huakui7, named Zi Yan. She is very beautiful, and her qin playing is also very pleasant to listen to. She always makes me think of you.”
“She smelled the scented balm you gave me and then she… wu.”
Feeling the woman push her heavily, and then have her shoulders pressed down without warning, Ming Qin, who was in darkness, was a bit startled, but she didn’t resist, merely asking in a soft voice, “Yanyan, what’s wrong?”
“Ah Qin went to the green pavilions?”
Her head rushed8 with the emotion called jealousy, Murong Yan straddled Ming Qin’s body and looked down at her, her tone trembling.
“And even gave my scented balm to a huakui?” The always-calm woman was in turmoil inwardly, and along with it, every stroke she wrote in Ming Qin’s palm was without any order9.
“Yanyan, what’s wrong?”
Unable to hear Murong Yan’s voice and unable to decipher what was being written on her hand, Ming Qin was a little worried and a little anxious, and just comforted her in a slow voice, “I don’t know what Yanyan is trying to express. Let’s take it slowly, okay?”
Looking at the person beneath her, with a wronged expression and letting herself be arranged at will, a nameless impulse suddenly surged in Murong Yan’s heart. She took Ming Qin’s fingers to her lips and held them deeply in her mouth.
Murong Yan gripped Ming Qin’s wrist tightly, controlling the tip of her tongue as it went back and forth between the cracks of her fingers, sometimes lightly, sometimes heavily.
Her molars slowly ground against the coarse knuckles. The churning vinegar-feeling10 in her heart made her feel as if she wanted to bite right down, yet the feeling of heartache was so clear.
Ming Qin’s fingers were very long. Her middle finger rested deep in the woman’s throat, giving Murong Yan an unstoppable desire to dry-heave, but she just continued, swallowing, carefully tasting every inch.
In the darkness, Ming Qin felt the warmth coming from her index and middle fingers. She unconsciously hooked her hand slightly, touching the woman’s back teeth and the root of her tongue.
The naive shadow guard thought Murong Yan’s action was in the hope that she could understand her mouth shape and words, so Ming Qin just obediently relaxed her wrist, allowing the person beside her to lick11 her from shallow to deep with a warm tongue.
But no matter how hard she tried to feel, Ming Qin still couldn’t make any sense of it.
“Yanyan.”
The little shadow guard was annoyed, lowering her head pitifully. “I still don’t know what you want to say?”
As if seeing a pair of dejected, drooping puppy ears, the shadow guard’s downcast expression made Murong Yan feel a bit unable to bear it. The churning vinegar-feeling and unease in her chest receded slightly.
She released the fingers she was holding in her mouth. Saliva drew out a silky thread in the air, dampening Ming Qin’s single-layer of clothing.
Just as Murong Yan was preparing to lean down, she heard a servant girl timidly knock on the door and speak from the other side, “…Commandery Princess, the Ever-Victorious General is here to visit. He has been led to the study to wait.”
The charming and gentle time with Ming Qin was interrupted by her own older brother’s sudden arrival, and Murong Yan felt a bit annoyed.
Slowly getting off the bed planks, this time she wrote a large『Wait』character with incomparable clarity on Ming Qin’s palm, then put on her shoes and socks for herself, draped an outer robe over herself, and followed the servant girl out of the room.
Unable to sit still, Murong Can paced back and forth in the side hall with his hands behind his back. Hu’er lay to one side, its large head swaying from left to right with the man’s steps.
When Murong Yan entered the study in an unhurried manner12, Murong Can revealed a big smile and helped her to a soft chair at the side.
“Xiongzhang13, is there something you came for today?” the woman asked faintly. She did not reach for the teapot to boil water, merely pushing a plate of snacks14 in front of the man.
“Yue’er, Fuwang15 is returning to the Northern Border next month.” Murong Can grabbed a mung bean cake16 and stuffed it into his mouth, speaking as if giving a report. “But I will be staying in the capital city, as the capital’s Supervisor of Military Affairs17.”
“It suits you well.” Looking at her older brother, Murong Yan nodded calmly.
“And… Murong Wen has already been expelled from the family register. It happened yesterday afternoon. The oral edict18 was issued by His Majesty personally, and the court historians were all listening, you know.” Scratching behind his ear, the man added with some regret, “But even so, he will still return to the Northern Border’s Wangfu19 with Fuwang as a commoner.”
“But don’t you worry!” Seemingly worried his younger sister would feel disappointed, Murong Can gestured. “He’s already been beaten for a round. He won’t be getting better without lying down for ten days to half a month.”
Lifting her eyes, Murong Yan said, “Xiongzhang, acting like this will cause people to talk20.”
More than being chewed on by people’s tongues21, Murong Can was more unwilling to let his younger sister think he was a violent and reckless person. He waved his hand stubbornly, “No, no, no… I didn’t do it! He was just walking on the road, and then he got beaten up. It really wasn’t me.”
“Maybe he got beaten up because he’s too ugly,” he said, stubbornly finding an excuse.
Hearing these words, Murong Yan suddenly thought of something and the corners of her mouth suddenly raised. She pursed her lips and agreed in a low voice, “…Perhaps that’s just how it is. He really is too ugly.” There was a hint of a smile in her eyes.
Not understanding why his younger sister was suddenly happy, Murong Can was simply cheerful as well.
“Xiongzhang, since you are staying in the capital city to handle matters this time, you must be cautious and careful.”
Murong Yan began to urge, “Although His Majesty the Emperor trusts you, the bends and winds22 of officialdom are very complicated, and insidious petty people are even harder to guard against than a hidden arrow. Xiongzhang must be wary of everyone, whether it be in words or actions, or even the beautiful women you take pleasure with. If someone gifts you a woman of unknown origin…”
“Yue-Yue-Yue’er… Yue’er! What are you talking about?”
Seemingly not expecting his younger sister to discuss such a shameful matter with him, the innocent Murong Can’s face flushed red. “I-I-I-I wouldn’t casually share a bed with other women!”
“Oh?”
The man’s words allowed Murong Yan to taste another layer of meaning. She raised an eyebrow, “Is Gege saying… that there is already someone in his heart?”
Suddenly standing up, Murong Can, his face as red as a crab’s, was clearly not prepared to discuss this kind of topic with his own sister. He thought of the woman he had unintentionally bumped into in the palace these few months, the one who haunted his dreams, and nervously fidgeted with his fingers.
“Yue’er, it’s getting late.” He was at a loss, his tone stuttering. “I’ll be leaving first. You get some good rest.”
Watching the back of her older brother as he left in a panic with his head down, nearly bumping into the doorpost, Murong Yan couldn’t help but find it amusing.
Never mind, it wasn’t her place to worry about her brother’s affairs.
The woman stood up, patted the head of Hu’er at her feet, and walked gracefully out onto the long corridor, but her composure was shattered the moment she stepped into her room.
She saw the room was filled with steam. Behind the screen, next to a bathtub filled with water, two servant girls were helping Ming Qin undress.
And the young shadow guard was just standing there obediently, allowing unfamiliar hands to touch her own skin.
Murong Yan’s face darkened. She raised her hand and flung her sleeve. With a shua sound, she swept the jade pot from the table, which was filled with flowers and worth a thousand taels of silver.
“Commandery Princess!”
“Commandery Princess Chongwen!”
Hearing the loud crash, the two servant girls hurried out from behind the screen. Seeing the cold-faced Murong Yan and the shattered pieces on the floor, they stood before her with their heads bowed in nervousness and unease.
“Who allowed you to come in?”
Suppressing her anger with great effort, the woman asked through gritted teeth, “This Palace thought it had been made very clear. No one room?”
“Commandery Princess…” The two young girls’ faces were deathly pale as they answered, trembling, “It… it was Shadow Guard Ming. She-she-she called out for someone, wanting to bathe, so…”
Seeing the girls’ hands tightly clutching their sleeves, Murong Yan’s mind was constantly flooded with the image of their five fingers brushing past Ming Qin’s skin.
Extreme possessiveness was at work. The sourness and jealous fire that filled her chest made her subconsciously want to inflict an unreasonable punishment on the two before her.
She clearly knew it was wrong, clearly knew she shouldn’t, but the twisted jealousy and hatred were so pathological, it was difficult for her to suppress.
“…Are you?”
“Still there?”
“Excuse me… is anyone still here?”
Ming Qin’s somewhat bewildered calls from behind the screen interrupted the vicious thoughts in Murong Yan’s mind, making her disregard everything else in her desire to quickly return to the side of her beloved.
“If you want to remain safe and sound, whether you want to be transferred to another palace or to the outer courtyard, do not let This Palace see you again.” The woman maintained what little rationality she had left and gave a low command to the two servant girls before her.
“In short, leave this place.”
Before her soaring jealousy became unbearable.
The author has something to say:
Hmm… insane and self-aware
The next chapter will require a bit of imagination
LP: Re-translated on September 11, 2025
Footnotes
- 单衣 (dānyī): Literally “single clothing,” referring to a thin, unlined garment or a single layer of clothes.
- 揍了一顿 (zòu le yí dùn): Literally “beat for one meal.” It is a common colloquialism that means to give someone a sound beating or a good thrashing.
- 轻描淡写 (qīng miáo dàn xiě): A Chengyu (idiom) that literally means “to sketch lightly and write faintly.” It is used to describe the act of playing down or understating the significance of something important.
- 人儿 (rénr): A diminutive suffix 儿 (r) is added to 人 (rén), meaning person. It adds a sense of affection, endearment, or smallness. Here, it’s a fond way of referring to someone.
- 冒火 (mào huǒ): Literally “to emit fire.” A common expression for flaring up in anger or getting furious.
- 青楼 (qīnglóu): Literally “green pavilion” or “azure tower.” An elegant term for a brothel or house of pleasure in ancient China, often employing high-class courtesans skilled in arts like music and poetry.
- 花魁 (huākuí): Literally “flower queen.” The title for the most beautiful, talented, and sought-after courtesan in a brothel or district.
- 冲昏头 (chōng hūn tóu): Literally “to rush and make the head dizzy/faint.” An expression meaning to be overwhelmed or have one’s judgment clouded by a strong emotion, such as anger, love, or jealousy.
- 毫无章法 (háo wú zhāng fǎ): A Chengyu (idiom) that literally means “to have no rules or structure.” It describes something that is disorganized, chaotic, or done without a clear method.
- 醋意 (cùyì): Literally “vinegar feeling.” In Chinese, “eating vinegar” (吃醋, chīcù) is a common metaphor for feeling jealous, especially in a romantic context. Thus, 醋意 refers to the feeling of jealousy itself.
- LP: The source text used the character 忝 (tiǎn), meaning “to shame,” which is a likely typo for the homophone 舔 (tiǎn), meaning “to lick.” The translation has been corrected to reflect the intended meaning.
- 不紧不慢 (bù jǐn bù màn): A Chengyu (idiom) that literally means “not tight, not slow.” It describes an action that is performed at a steady, unhurried, and leisurely pace.
- 兄长 (xiōngzhǎng): A respectful and formal term for one’s older brother.
- 点心 (diǎnxīn): A general term for a wide variety of snacks, pastries, and desserts. It can refer to anything from sweet cakes to savory dumplings.
- 父王 (fùwáng): Literally “Father King.” A term used by the children of a king or prince to address their father.
- 绿豆糕 (lǜdòu gāo): Mung bean cake, a traditional Chinese pastry made from mung bean paste, often with sugar and oil.
- 兵马监 (bīngmǎ jiān): An official title, which can be translated as Supervisor of Military Affairs or Inspector of Troops and Horses.
- 口谕 (kǒuyù): An oral edict or decree delivered verbally by the emperor or a high-ranking official.
- 王府 (wángfǔ): The official residence or manor of a Wang (prince or king).
- 落人口舌 (luò rén kǒu shé): Literally “to fall into people’s mouths and tongues.” An expression meaning to become the subject of gossip or to give people grounds for criticism.
- 嚼舌根 (jiáo shé gēn): Literally “to chew the root of the tongue.” A vivid and common colloquialism for gossiping or speaking ill of others behind their backs.
- 弯弯绕绕 (wānwān ràorào): Literally “bends and winds.” It describes something that is convoluted, indirect, or full of complexities, like a winding road. It’s often used to describe tricky situations, complex relationships, or indirect ways of speaking.
right!?
crown prince: locks murong yan up in the tower
murong yan: chains ming qin’s feet
these cousins!
Yknow, ive always wondered how the crown prince got so f*cked up and why his other relatives seem to be relatively normal compared go him. Turns out, possessiveness runs in the family lol just. In his case, it’s multiplied by a thousand
right!?
crown prince: locks murong yan up in the tower
murong yan: chains ming qin’s feet
these cousins!
Yknow, ive always wondered how the crown prince got so f*cked up and why his other relatives seem to be relatively normal compared go him. Turns out, possessiveness runs in the family lol just. In his case, it’s multiplied by a thousand
Lmao she’s very funny. That possessiveness is too much! Poor maids. Do we know who murong can likes?
Lmao she’s very funny. That possessiveness is too much! Poor maids. Do we know who murong can likes?