The Princess’ Shadow Guard – Chapter 27

You must take good care of yourself

The carriage left the main road and stopped in a dense forest.

After Cao Yun lit the oil lamp and opened the carriage door to let the two women out, Ming Qin, who had been crouching under the seat, was finally able to stand up, with her neck bent and joints cracking all over her body.

Looking at Song Shuqing and Cao Yun, who seemed to have much to say, Murong Yan considerately made the excuse of not wishing to stand for long and went back into the carriage, giving space for the three comrades from the Shadow Guard Camp to be together.

It was only now that Ming Qin could catch her breath, and took the opportunity to frantically ask her senior brother and sister, “What’s going on now? Where are the others?”

“The situation in the capital is critical. Lin Yan and the masters led the other shadow guards to scatter, avoiding detection before the Crown Prince could purge the Shadow Guard Camp,” Cao Yun hurriedly said, his expression far from optimistic.

“Master and Mistress will be responsible for protecting the Eleventh Prince, and the rest of the shadow guards will blend in with the crowd on the marketplace streets, ready to provide covert support as the situation unfolds.” The man glanced at Song Shuqing, who nodded at him as if to confirm something.

After a moment of silence, Cao Yun sighed and looked earnestly at Ming Qin, “Qinqin, listen well. The items that Mistress entrusted to you are the imperial edict from the Emperor before his death, designating the Eleventh Prince as his successor, and the imperial jade seal. Both are extremely important.”

He took a deep breath, “Your mission is to take these items with you and escort the princess to the Northern Frontier. Remember! You must ensure that the princess personally meets with Prince Yu.”

Ming Qin had no particular reaction, just obediently nodded her head and repeated, “Ensure the princess’s safety, let her meet Prince Yu with the edict and the jade seal. No problem.”

Ensure the princess’s safe journey to the Northern Frontier.

Ensure the princess’s safe journey to the Northern Frontier.

Simple, not complicated.

It’s more like what I’ve always wanted to do.

Ming Qin looked up at the two people in front of her and asked, “What about senior brother and sister? Where are you two going?”

Seeing Cao Yun hesitating, Song Shuqing spoke for him, “I will disguise myself as the Princess. Cao Yun and I will stay behind to leave false trails to buy time, and along the way, we’ll see if we can weaken the Crown Prince’s pursuing forces as much as possible.”

“How can that be!?”

Ming Qin exclaimed loudly, knowing such a tactic of luring the enemy into a trap is often fraught with danger; it should be herself, the one with the highest martial skill, who takes on this task, “I should…”

“No way!”

Cao Yun firmly interrupted her, “We are not sure of success either. You should stay by the Princess’s side as the last line of defense.”

Without waiting for Ming Qin to speak again, he took out a map from his bosom and spread it on the ground, “We shall take the water route heading north. If it comes to naval warfare, the Crown Prince’s numerous forces won’t have much of an advantage, and we might still be able to delay them.”

Ming Qin’s throat was dry as she watched Cao Yun pointing decisively at a corner of the map, saying, “You first take the Princess westward, then head straight north. I’ve already spoken to the local prefect here, a reliable figure. He will arrange for someone to meet you and escort you to Prince Yu.”

Seeing that Ming Qin wouldn’t respond, Cao Yun looked straight into her eyes and spoke, “Qinqin, the success of this mission hinges on you; your resolve must be firm. If we pull this off, everyone in the capital will be safe. Do you understand?”

After seeing Ming Qin slowly nod, Cao Yun folded the map and moved towards the carriage, fiddling with something. The carriage, which had a grand appearance, suddenly looked old and dusty, not catching the eye. He then led out two horses from the woods, which were already prepared. The bags from the horsebacks were transferred to the original carriage.

Song Shuqing, seeing Ming Qin silent, patted her shoulder, “You can’t stop him, this is the best plan.”

“But…it’s too dangerous,” Ming Qin said, her expression heavy with concern.

Song Shuqing laughed, “It’s quite strange for you to say that now. Isn’t your mission dangerous, too? Being a shadow guard is like walking on the blade’s edge—we both clearly know this job could cost us our lives at any moment, every breath we take is fought for with our lives.”

She paused, then whispered into Ming Qin’s ear, “Besides, don’t feel too burdened. Cao Yun is doing this to repay the life debt he owes you.”

“Owe me?” Ming Qin was puzzled, having no clue what her sister was talking about.

“Yes, owes you.”

Song Shuqing did not seem inclined to unravel the mystery for Ming Qin; she merely changed her tone and said, “But don’t worry, I’m here too. I certainly don’t have any wishes to die young.”

He Jingshou and Song Shuqing understood upon hearing Cao Yun’s plan that, despite the danger, it was still the most reliable method.

Cao Yun originally intended to execute the plan alone, seemingly prepared for a one-way journey. Song Shuqing eventually succeeded in persuading him to let her accompany him.

『You, a grown man, going by yourself—people from the Crown Prince’s side will think there’s something fishy if they suspect theyv’e been lured away by you when chasing after the Princess.』

『…』

『The plan can only be carried out if I am involved.』

『But…』

『Don’t worry, I’ll throw you to the wolves and run away when it gets dicey.』

Song Shuqing had confidence in herself.

She believed that even in a critical moment, she could grasp a sliver of hope for survival.

Of course, she planned to do this with Cao Yun by her side.

A person who has lived twice should know more about surviving compared to someone who has only lived once, right?

“So instead of worrying about clever me, you better worry about yourself.”

Song Shuqing arched her eyebrow at Ming Qin and then sighed softly, “You must take good care of yourself…”

Her typically sharp sixth sense was for some reason sending her faint ripples of unease.

Mistaking her concern, Ming Qin patted her chest in assurance, “Senior sister, don’t worry! I will definitely complete the mission well and am ready to die a thousand deaths to protect the Princess and the imperial edict.”

She had an expression as if she was ready to make a noble sacrifice at any second.

Looking at the big fool before her, Song Shuqing could only feel like sighing.

She stared helplessly at the person before her and said, “Forget about the edict. If you sacrifice yourself to protect the Princess, it would be better not to protect her at all.”

She felt that the Princess would either follow her lead or turn into a world-weary demon, the kind with wings and spewing fire, ready to burn everyone to ashes.

The thought made her shiver involuntarily. She wanted to say more, but hearing Cao Yun’s urging, she quickly instructed, “In short, whether it’s the Princess, you, the edict, or the jade seal, all must be well-taken care of.”

Taking the reins, Song Shuqing swung herself onto the horse.

Breathing out mist in the cold air, she cast a final look at her junior sister and coolly arched an eyebrow saying, “Qinqin, do you still remember where we said we would go when we get our pension and retire when we were little?”

Ming Qin turned her head and thought for a moment, then with a knowing smile, she nodded firmly.

“Then, see you when the time comes!”

Whipping the reins, Song Shuqing and Cao Yun left without looking back, their figure elongating into the distance, the sound of horse hooves gradually fading into silence.

Staring blankly as their figures disappeared, Ming Qin took a deep breath and said, “It’s my turn now.”

Ming Qin opened the carriage door, where Murong Yan sat draped in a fox fur, patiently sitting on the seat with two bundles left by Cao Yun at her feet. Inside the bundles were carefully packed necessities for two, as well as common folk’s winter clothes, dry food, a dagger, and a few bags of jingling fragmentary silver and copper coins.

Tallying the supplies they had, Ming Qin looked up at Murong Yan, whose eyes were clear and bright, and with an apologetic tone said, “We’ll have to travel far these next few days, and temporarily we may not be able to stay in inns, which might make it tough on you.”

She really didn’t want Murong Yan to suffer discomfort, but the situation left her no choice.

“It doesn’t bother me.”

The woman shook her head, her cold hand reaching out to touch the warm cheek of the person in front of her, her voice gentle, “Don’t worry, Ah Qin, things are already quite good as they are.”

“I will take good care of you,” Ming Qin tightened the fox fur on her to prevent her from catching cold, her heart solemn as if making a sacred vow.

“I promise.”

The author has something to say:

When I first chose the tag for this story, I labeled it as a sweet tale. But let me clarify something: as the synopsis hints, there will be a bit of a (small?) ordeal ahead—it is, after all, a drama at its core.

But rest assured, it’s definitely going to have a happy ending (HE), everyone can relax~

P.S. Regarding the crown prince, it seems I might have crafted his character a bit too round, too successful (?).

There are still some details I haven’t explained. For the sake of emotional development and plot progression, he won’t make his exit until chapter 62.

I’ve cut out some descriptions that you might not enjoy, but I still kept some of the crown prince’s scenes because they serve a purpose.

(The fate of the crown prince somehow determines the length of this book, so…)

He will do one more rotten thing later on. If you all really get mad at him, just think of him as a little cut-out paper man, and don’t get so upset over him that it affects your liver!

If you still get angry, I can’t do much. I’m super bad at comforting people not to be annoyed; I can probably only choke up and say, “Don’t be mad,” (Darn it! Why do I sound so pathetic!)

Anyway, don’t be mad, okay? Stay happy!

LP: Re-translated on February 05, 2024