The Princess’ Shadow Guard – Chapter 29

Only play tricks on this person (little fox)

Ming Qin drove the carriage onto the main road and as the sky gradually darkened, she found an inn to stay for the night.

She patted the strong horse to let it rest well and casually tipped the little boy with bright red cheeks from sweeping in the cold stable. Ming Qin wrapped a scarf twice around Murong Yan’s neck, draped over her the plain cloak given by Cao Yun, tied the hood tightly, and then led the woman into the inn.

Inside, the place wasn’t very crowded, but there seemed to be a caravan on its way to the capital city having dinner on the first floor; a few men with loud voices were shouting at each other, the smell of alcohol in the air.

Ming Qin silently stood by Murong Yan’s side, shielding her from the glances of others, then shouted towards a middle-aged woman resting with her foot propped up behind the counter, “Boss lady! Give us your best room.”

“Ah.”

The innkeeper turned her head, sizing up the two plainly dressed women with some uncertainty and said dismissively, “All of our rooms here are pretty decent. For just you two girls, there’s no need for the very best room.”

“Boss lady,” Ming Qin said expressionlessly as she took out a small bag filled with copper coins and dropped it onto the counter. She tapped the bag with her knuckles to hint, “My young lady is frail. We must have the best room. Please arrange it for us.”

Hearing the hefty sound of the bag, the innkeeper’s face lit up with a smile and she immediately said enthusiastically, “Oh, dear guests! Of course, of course.”

After taking the money, she called for a servant to lead the two upstairs.

A young lad led the way in front, while Ming Qin, without a hint of emotion, supported the inconvenient Murong Yan and gently helped her up the stairs.

After entering a spacious room, Ming Qin turned and ordered the servant to prepare hot water and meals. She handed him a few copper coins, and with a happy grin, the lad went downstairs to get things ready.

Then she closed the door.

Ming Qin carefully checked around the room, felt the bedding, and looked out of the window before finally letting out a sigh of relief, “It’s alright.”

She kindled the fire in the stove and approached to help the woman untie her hood, “But it’s still far from the comfort of Cangyue Tower; I’m afraid you’ll have to put up with less.”

“It’s no problem for me.”

Murong Yan looked up at Ming Qin with a furrowed brow and, after giving a refreshing smile, asked, “But why does Ah Qin know so much about the quality of this inn? Could it be because as a shadow guard, you often stop here when you’re on missions out of the capital?”

“How could that be?”

Ming Qin shook her head with a calm expression and said as she hung up the cloak she had taken off and added more charcoal to the stove, “Shadow guards are always in a race against time, often having to ride thousands of miles. Even after completing a mission, we have to hurry back to report. Sometimes, in such a rush that we would change horses but not rest, I’ve been so tired that I’ve dozed off on horseback. I’ve even had to tie myself to the horse to avoid falling off.”

Senior sister always says that the power of intelligence lies in its speed. If the message isn’t delivered fastest, we lose the initiative, and the intelligence loses its value.

“Moreover,” Ming Qin laughed, “if our master found out that a shadow guard was staying at inns using mission funds, he would be more than just white-haired with anger. He might lose all his hair!”

Other shadow guards she’s not sure, but she definitely have never done such things.

“However,” Ming Qin turned her head, “if it’s a guarding mission, then we often stop over at inns.”

“Ah Qin has been a guard for others before?” Murong Yan sat down on the soft couch and squinted as she asked.

“A few times.”

Ming Qin nodded but seemed to remember some trouble, speaking with a slightly complaining tone, “Mostly it’s been helping my brothers and sisters escort noble official’s children—they are so demanding! They want to rest not even half an hour into the journey, constantly complain about this and that, and not only do they love to wander off, they even take their anger out on the guards. You are much better behaved than them!”

“Oh? So Ah Qin thinks I am well-behaved?”

Murong Yan smiled, pleased, and her pale face from the past few days gained some color.

“Of course.” Ming Qin unloaded a pack and started to organize it, nodding in confirmation, “You don’t make a fuss, and when you can’t walk, you let me carry you without complaint. You don’t snatch my map, nor do you kick me and then forbid me to retaliate.”

Murong Yan frowned, thinking if she were Ming Qin, she certainly wouldn’t have this kind of patience and would probably toss such a troublesome charge into the forest to feed the wild wolves.

She asked again, “What about the other several times you had solo guard missions?”

“Actually, there was only that one time. It was to escort a court physician who had gone mad from the capital to Jingzhou.”

Ming Qin remembered, squatting down to remove Murong Yan’s shoes and socks, “That old man was very irritable. Once he started researching herbs, not even thunder could disturb him, and he wouldn’t eat. Several times, out of urgency, I had to carry him by his belt, along with all his jars and vials. He rambled on about something… Asian Hippocrates… Hippocrates… and something called ‘Breaking Bad’… said he wanted to make something with young plums… oh, ‘Penicillin’? I was totally confused.”

“Really? Was he quite the character then?” Murong Yan listened quietly, lying on her side and watching the vivid expressions of the person before her.

“He was indeed an extraordinary person. Oh, right! Here, this is for you.”

Suddenly, as if struck by inspiration, Ming Qin pulled a small wooden box, the size of a thumb, from her sleeve and handed it to Murong Yan. The box had a groove on the bottom and a small hole on the top, its surface was smooth from polishing, “This is what that old man gave me when we parted ways. Here, if you press here while it’s pointed at someone, a poison needle will shoot out.”

Ming Qin demonstrated and then scratched her head in embarrassment, “But… I forgot to ask that old man for the antidote, so it might need to be used… with caution.”

Murong Yan found the clever little device in her hand interesting, but after examining it, she tried to give it back to Ming Qin, “Such a clever tool, you should keep it for self-defense.”

Ming Qin insisted, pushing the woman’s hand away, “I’ve carried it for years and never used it, and besides… I’m probably faster than this poison needle, keep it and you’ll feel more at ease.”

Hearing this, Murong Yan no longer declined and put the wooden box into her sleeve.

At that moment, the inn’s servant knocked on the door to deliver water. After he left, Ming Qin rolled up her sleeves and poured the boiling hot water into the bathtub, then went downstairs to fetch some cold water.

Ming Qin prepared the soap made from soapberries and the bath towel, and after testing the water temperature, she left the room.

After four consecutive days of tiring travel, Murong Yan struggled toward the bathtub, removing her clothes along the way. She leaned against the edge of the wooden tub, trembling hands laboriously removing her prosthetic limb. Then, with her arms supporting her body, she slowly sat down into the water. Only when her whole body was covered by the warm water did the cleanliness-loving Murong Yan finally breathe a sigh of relief.

She wasn’t a squeamish person, and she understood the urgency of their situation, limiting all things. Therefore, no matter how difficult the journey was, she never complained.

She was very aware of Ming Qin’s consideration and utmost effort for her during this time. Perhaps it was precisely because Ming Qin was by her side that she, who had never traveled so strenuously before, was able to endure.

Ah Qin.

Thinking of the shadow guard’s bright, shining eyes and warm embrace made Murong Yan’s heart flutter.

Recalling how Ming Qin’s fingers had passed over her while cleaning her in the wilderness, waves surged within her, and she couldn’t help but tilt her head back, biting her lower lip to suppress the nearly shattering call that wanted to burst from her heart.

Ah Qin…

She washed her body meticulously, as the warm water flowed over every part of her, turning her pale skin a rosy color. Wisps of steam condensed into tiny droplets on her eyelashes, making her eyes seem veiled in mist.

As the warmth gradually built up, her toes seemed to curl as if scalded, and when the indoor temperature rose to a peak, her torso became tense and began to tremble slightly, then her entire body relaxed as if a bowstring had been released.

The clear water mixed with the transparent dew.

The woman half-reclining in the tub panted lightly, a moment of climax leaving her now somewhat drowsy. Yet more than reminiscing, she was eager to see the person in her mind’s eye.

Murong Yan’s eyelids struggled to stay open, as she reached out to hook the prosthetic limb placed beside her, hoping to leave before the water cooled completely. Her fingers barely caught the straps of the prosthetic. But unexpectedly, she slipped and fell back into the tub, and the prosthetic dropped to the ground with a loud thud.

In that instant of collision, Ming Qin, who had been waiting on the roof, swiftly flipped down, flung open the window, and called out anxiously, “Are you okay?!”

She rushed to the woman, whose face showed a hint of pain, and in her urgency, picked her up, wrapped her in a bath towel, and placed her on the bed. Her throat was tense from the panic, and she asked with a raspy voice, “Are you hurt?”

Murong Yan looked at the person who had burst in so suddenly, concealing the surge of emotion in her heart and the slyness in her eyes, and murmured with a groan, “Ah Qin… It hurts.”

Ming Qin was anxious, grabbed some medicinal wine, and carefully lifted the bath towel to inspect her body, “Where does it hurt? Where did you hit?”

“Here,” Murong Yan pointed gently to her side, “It’s really painful.”

Seeing the reddish mark on her fair skin, Ming Qin found it dazzling, and felt some annoyance at herself for having let Murong Yan get injured on her watch.

Pulling the blanket over to half cover Murong Yan, Ming Qin gently massaged the bruised area with a hand dabbed in medicinal wine, coaxing her, “It won’t hurt, it will stop hurting soon, good girl Yanyan.”

As Murong Yan smelled the medicinal wine without feeling its pungency, the warmth of the fingers touching her stirred a tender soreness at her waist, prolonging the previous pleasure. That sensation intoxicated her.

She liked it when Ah Qin called her in this manner, so affectionately.

Different from the usual vitality and amiability, Ah Qin’s “Yanyan” carries a mix of immense tenderness with a hint of pampering, as though if she were to ask for the stars, Ah Qin would indulge her on the spot without hesitation.

But on normal days, Ah Qin avoided calling her so intimately, only when she seemed to be in pain, hurt, or wronged did Ah Qin unconsciously speak thusly, soothing her mood and indulging her whims.

Once, during dinner, Murong Yan asked Ah Qin why she didn’t use that nickname more often, Ah Qin thought for a long while then tilted her head, stammering out an explanation, unable to clearly articulate even to herself.

『Because… I always feel that once I call you that, you’re no longer the Princess.』

Ah Qin didn’t understand.

But Murong Yan did.

Because she understood, she looked forward even more to the day Ah Qin would say it on her own initiative.

The day she was no longer the Chongwen Princess.

“Yanyan, does it still hurt?” Ming Qin bit her lower lip, her face full of worry.

Murong Yan nodded, lowering her eyes to hide the laughter in them, and still said softly, “Ah Qin, it hurts so much.”

“It’s okay, the pain will go away after the medicine is applied. Be good, Yanyan.” Ming Qin’s hand applying the medicine was even more careful, coaxing in a low voice.

Feeling the warmth at her waist, Murong Yan closed her eyes.

Ah, how sly she was.

Will heaven forgive such a sly person?

But what can I do?

I feel no guilt at all.

This is the last time, let me be cunning just towards this person for the last time.

Please forgive me.

LP: Re-translated on February 08, 2024