The Princess’ Shadow Guard – Chapter 16

What is there to feel sorry for?

After the troublemaker fell for the 18th time without explanation, and on the third occasion at the Martial Arts Hall where he didn’t run into Zhang Yurong, Murong Wan finally shouted out Ming Qin’s name when they were alone during lunch.

“Did you do all of this?” Murong Wan asked unhappily, looking at Ming Qin who had appeared out of nowhere in an instant.

Ming Qin glanced at the lunchbox on the table, swallowed hard, and nervously said, “I don’t know what the Eleventh Prince is talking about. The weather is really nice today, hahaha…”

Dark clouds gathered outside, as if it was about to rain.

“You… you…” Murong Wan rarely encountered someone who lied so poorly and foolishly, and stamped his feet, stubbornly saying, “You don’t need to pity me!”

Ming Qin felt that this sounded somewhat familiar and asked with some confusion, “I didn’t pity you, did I?”

Murong Wan angrily asked, “If you didn’t pity me, then why did you help me teach Zhang Yurong and his lackeys a lesson these past few days? Let me tell you, I don’t need your pity!”

When there was no one around, Ming Qin took off her mask and said frankly, “I taught Zhang Yurong and his gang a lesson because they’re despicable. They insulted your mother, which is really bad! They deserve to be punished.”

In the next second, she furrowed her brows in confusion, “Should I pity you then? What is there to pity about you? What’s so pitiful?”

Murong Wan didn’t expect such a reaction from the person in front of him. Suddenly, he stammered, “I… I… You, you, you don’t pity me for not having a mother since I was young? Being weak and bullied every day, isn’t that miserable?”

“But I don’t have a mother either, and I don’t even have a father. I know many people who don’t have parents. Should I pity them?” Ming Qin didn’t quite understand, her mind full of questions.

She looked straight at the boy and said, “You get bullied every day because your martial arts skills are terrible. Do I need to pity you for being so lousy? But even if I pity you, your martial arts skills won’t improve, right?”

Listening to Ming Qin’s words, Murong Wan felt a piercing sensation, unable to find the right words out of anger and annoyance. “You… you…!”

“You don’t have a mother, but you still have a father who will protect you. My martial arts are the strongest, and your father sent me to protect you, which shows how much he cares about your safety,” Ming Qin said calmly, as if it were a matter of course.

She tilted her head and recalled, “And I don’t think you’re weak at all. You can memorize those difficult things at the academy, while I can’t understand a thing. With so many students and the old-fashioned master praising you every day, you’re amazing.”

Listening to Ming Qin talk about his good qualities, Murong Wan, a mere ten-year-old boy, was stunned.

“Not having martial arts skills doesn’t mean you’re weak. I know someone who is different from ordinary people. She is gentle and weak, with no martial arts skills, but she is very intelligent and brave. I think she is the strongest person I’ve ever met.”

Ming Qin’s mind flashed with the face of Murong Yan, and she smiled before continuing, “Besides, you’re healthy, so eat more. Martial arts training takes time, and you will gradually become formidable. By then, no one will bully you anymore!”

Murong Wan felt a slight soreness in his throat and spoke with difficulty, “Do you really think I’m amazing?”

“Of course!” Ming Qin said firmly, and then asked in return, “Do you think you’re amazing?”

The boy was stunned and nodded heavily, looking into Ming Qin’s clear eyes. “I am strong, and I will become even stronger!”

Ming Qin smiled happily. “I believe in you!”

Seeing that Murong Wan seemed speechless, she put on her mask and patted the boy’s head before turning to jump back onto the treetop. However, she felt that her sleeve was held tightly.

“The lunchbox has too much food. Stay with me and eat together,” the young prince held onto her and said with his head lowered.

Ming Qin looked at the abundant dishes and licked her lips. She immediately agreed with joy, pulling down her mask and happily enjoying the meal.

“Hey? Why are you crying?” Halfway through the meal, Ming Qin looked at the boy’s trembling shoulders and puffed cheeks, asking curiously.

“It’s too noisy. Shut up,” Murong Wan’s voice choked, turning his head away so that Ming Qin couldn’t see him.

Ming Qin handed him a handkerchief and patted his shoulder. “It must be because the chicken was too spicy and made you cry. Kids shouldn’t eat something so spicy.”

She confidently said while helping the boy with some other dishes, and then she quickly finished off the chicken herself.

“…I’m not a kid anymore.”

He couldn’t understand if this Shadow Guard was considerate or just clueless.

This was perhaps the most difficult puzzle for the ten-year-old Murong Wan to solve.

Murong Yan’s stomach churned.

Despite not having a bun or hairpin, she felt an unbearable heaviness in her head.

She forced herself to look up at the man before her, snake-like in his toxicity, suppressing the urge to vomit.

“Sister, dear sister to me. Have you thought about me?”

Murong Xiao gazed at the woman’s face, a mix of admiration, madness, and obsession in his eyes, slowly approaching her step by step.

Never had Murong Yan despised the prince’s proximity like this. She felt her boundaries violated, invaded by an intruder who had never been granted entry. Every inch of her body screamed in resistance.

The only person she allowed was Ah Qin, and Ah Qin alone.

The repulsive man before her.

She couldn’t stand it.

Just as Murong Xiao’s hand reached her neck, she spoke with disgust, “I remember when the prince was younger, he didn’t have so much nonsense.”

Rarely did Murong Yan bring up the past voluntarily, causing the man’s hand to pause. “When sister first met me, I was only eleven years old. Now I am twenty-three.”

As if thinking of something exciting, he licked his lips. “Sister, would you like to know how much I’ve grown?”

Murong Yan felt her insides churning, her temples throbbing.

Not wanting to give in to the repulsive man before her, she maintained her calm tone, seemingly indifferent as she said, “I’m really not interested.”

“What a pity. I think of dear sister day and night, practicing for her,” Murong Xiao withdrew his hand, shaking his head with a face full of regret. “Does sister still resent me?”

The discomfort coursing through Murong Yan’s entire body seemed to have reached its limit. She provocatively replied to the man with bloodshot eyes, “How dare I be angry with His Highness the prince.”

She sneered and slowly spoke, word by word, “I have no anger, no hatred, no feelings towards His Highness the prince, naturally, I have nothing.”

Upon hearing these words, the man’s previously lecherous expression instantly became expressionless. He widened his eyes and tilted his head, saying, “Doesn’t dear sister have any feelings for me? But I have feelings for sister.”

Murong Xiao looked at the woman who was within arm’s reach, and a storm surged in his heart.

Ah, ah, ah, how he wanted to tear her apart, bite her, fill her completely, make her belong to him.

He reached out his hand, intending to squeeze the delicate neck of the woman.

No, not now. It wasn’t the right time yet. Her father was the damned Prince Yu, and it wasn’t the right time yet. If he wanted to possess her forever, it wasn’t the right time yet.

He clasped his hands together, his body trembling with restraint.

After what seemed like the duration of burning an incense stick, the heavy breaths gradually subsided. Murong Xiao kept his gaze fixed on the woman as he slowly retreated towards the door.

Just before leaving, he looked deeply at Murong Yan and suddenly smirked coldly, “Sister, this time we meet, you look even more beautiful than before. Why is that?”

Without waiting for the woman to answer, Murong Xiao forcefully pushed open the door and left as if he couldn’t bear it any longer.

Once the iron chains were locked again, Murong Yan vomited into a basin, exerting so much force as if she wanted to empty everything inside her. Only when she was left with sour water did she stop.

She weakly lay down, feeling uncontrollable tremors and a complete weakness throughout her body. She thought of calling someone to tidy up before Ming Qin arrived, but her consciousness became hazy before that, and she fainted.

LP: Disgusting piece of shi–

Re-translated on January 14, 2024