The Princess’ Shadow Guard – Chapter 32

Hurt Yanyan (Punishment)

Ming Qin felt nothing but inner anguish, regretting deeply why she had left Murong Yan alone, causing her to be bullied by a group of rude men.

She looked at the woman before her, her brows slightly furrowed and lips bitten, and turned her head in the direction where those people had left, a fierce determination rising within her. “Don’t be sad. I’m going to go right now and shred those bastards into pieces.”

Without caring for the urgency of the journey, she picked up her sword, ready to leave.

But her sleeve was gripped.

“Ah Qin…” Murong Yan called out softly, holding onto Ming Qin.

“What’s wrong?” Ming Qin’s voice softened, and to hear the woman more clearly she knelt on one knee, bringing her head closer and consciously reining in her murderous aura, afraid that she might shatter the person in front of her, who seemed as delicate as glazed glass.

“You…”

It was as if there were a thousand words stuck in her throat, Murong Yan tightened her grip, and when she began to speak, her voice was hoarse, “Why did you let that man hit you?”

Ming Qin looked up obediently and answered without hesitation, “Because then that man won’t bother us anymore.”

Looking at the person in front of her with a swollen cheekbone, shining with a mix of red and purple bruises, Murong Yan felt a severe pain in her heart, “I mean, why did you choose this method?”

“Because this way is the fastest and with the least loss.”

Ming Qin answered as if it were a matter of course and, fearing that Murong Yan might not understand, went on to explain in detail, “The group of people seemed to be heading to the capital with a convoy. By now, the Princess’ portrait would have already been distributed from the capital to the various post stations and plastered at each checkpoint. I’m concerned that causing a commotion and leaving an impression on them may make it easy for leakage of our whereabouts to the Crown Prince.”

Murong Yan watched Ming Qin, who nonchalantly analyzed the pros and cons while disregarding the bruises on her own face.

But…

But!

Murong Yan’s mind was filled with chaotic thoughts, even though there were clearly more and better ways.

Even if she secretly smashed the carriage of those men, poisoned them to delay their journey, or even slaughtered them all in the desolate wilderness, their bodies ravaged by wild dogs, it would still be better than letting Ah Qin get hurt.

Even when she lost at Go, she would still be annoyed for a long time.

Accidentally scraping her palm and seeing the bloodstains would also make her feel uncomfortable.

When she heard about her difficult childhood, she would also feel deeply saddened in the middle of the night.

Her own Ah Qin, the Ah Qin placed on the tip of her heart, how could she allow that arrogant, filthy, boorish man to land a punch on her?

With this thought, a surge of anger rose in Murong Yan’s heart. The gaze that had been filled with pity turned sharp. She reached out to caress Ming Qin’s injured face and asked, “Does it hurt?”

“Not at all.”

Ming Qin felt the coolness of her fingertips on her heated cheek, comfortably squinting her eyes as she calmly replied, “He looked just like a wealthy young master who knew nothing of martial arts, yet he struck surprisingly hard. But I’ve never been one to feel pain, so it doesn’t matter.”

As if to assure that she was truly fine, she continued, “I bit down hard on my teeth and adjusted my position, so both my teeth and ears are still fine, no problem at all.”

Yet unbeknownst to her, such an answer only fueled the rage burning in Murong Yan’s heart even more fiercely. She suppressed the fury she held towards those men, while striving to keep a calm tone as she said to Ming Qin, “Ah Qin, don’t ever do such a thing again.”

Stop ignoring your own well-being, stop treating everything about yourself so trivially. Murong Yan silently prayed in her heart.

However, Ming Qin, who was kneeling on the ground, tilted her head slightly, not quite understanding.

Ming Qin could sense Murong Yan’s anger, but she wasn’t clear on what “such a thing” referred to.

The young shadow guuard guessed that Murong Yan was upset with her own failure to protect, for allowing herself to encounter such danger alone on the street, and thus she spoke with guilt, “I’m sorry, don’t be angry, I’ll never make this kind of mistake again.”

I will absolutely put even more effort into protecting Murong Yan. Ming Qin swore to herself.

Seeing Ming Qin obediently agreeing to her, Murong Yan let out a sigh of relief.

“I’m not angry at Ah Qin, and I’ll never be angry at Ah Qin,” she said, using her cold hand to gently touch Ming Qin’s swollen cheek, and brought her in front to coax her, “It’s those men that I’m angry at.”

Ming Qin, kneeling on the ground, looked up at Murong Yan with bright, glistening eyes, reached through the robe to wrap her arms around her waist, speaking in an unusually calm tone, so calm that it was disturbingly flat, “Those men made Yanyan angry?”

With one hand, she gently stroked Ming Qin’s head that was resting on her thigh, Murong Yan spoke soothingly, “Yes, I am very angry.” Her hand rhythmically caressed the soft black hair, “They harmed something that is very important to me, to the point where my heart nearly bled.”

“They’ve really hurt Yanyan like this,” Ming Qin murmured softly, tilting her head. The warmth of her breath brushed lightly against Murong Yan’s lower abdomen, causing her body to tremble slightly beneath her skirt.

“Yes, Ah Qin.”

Murong Yan smiled, her sweet expression carrying a dangerous thorn, drawing blood with a single touch. “Should they be punished?”

“They should. Anyone who hurts Yanyan should be punished.” Concealed murderous intent flowed.

Dressed in black, Ming Qin lay like a slumbering beast beneath the Princess’ skirt, every inch of her muscles quietly concealing an explosive power that could surge at any moment. When she opened her eyes, it would make everyone around tremble.

As if knowing that she was the chain constraining this giant beast, Murong Yan couldn’t help but smile even deeper, without a trace of fear on her face. “Then, Ah Qin, help Yanyan punish them, okay?”

Ming Qin raised her head, her pupils suddenly dilating like a black panther locking onto its prey. The blood rushed to her limbs, as if she was ready to tear apart the fragile throat of her enemies, crushing bones and swallowing them.

“Of course.”

“Wine, I want wine! To the brothel!” the finely dressed man sitting in the carriage called out, lifting the curtain and bellowing at the guard riding alongside.

The green-clad guard with a sword at his side tried to calm him, “Second Young Master, the snow here is quite thick. We have just stopped over at the previous small town, and we need to hasten our journey to reach the next resting place before it gets dark.”

Fearing his master’s impulsive nature, the guard added in a lowered voice, “If we don’t get there fast, as soon as the sun sets, there will be many wolves around here.”

The idea seemed to instill some fear into the boisterous young man, who muttered, “Would be nice if we’d brought that pretty girl along.”

The guard agreed, nodding, “Indeed, that girl was stunningly beautiful.”

“It’s quite rare to see a girl still so willful and unbridled after meeting me. I really want to know if she can still be so fiery after seeing the heroism of this Young Master,” the finely dressed man said, his eyes full of unsatisfied desire, unabashed. He glanced at the guard beside him, “If I get my fill of fun, I might even share the spoils with you.”

The man in green did not respond. He had a family at home and had no interest in surreptitiously stealing pleasures, let alone in forceful plunder.

He was simply obeying orders to follow this playboy young master. Regardless of how absurd he found the young master’s actions, he could only turn a blind eye and a deaf ear.

As the sun was setting, the finely dressed man heaved a sigh of boredom, “Ah, how dull! Truly dull.” He then rubbed his buttocks in irritation and complained, “Have we arrived yet? Why does this carriage ride feel so uncomfortably uneasy today?”

As if on cue with his grievance, several rivets from the wheel’s hub suddenly came loose. The large carriage toppled over to the left. The harness keeping the horses tethered violently snapped, sending the entire carriage tumbling down a steep slope, rolling and bumping along.

“Ah! Ah!….”

The finely dressed man tumbled several times within the carriage until it came to a sudden halt against a tree; his head spinning, he yelled, “It hurts so much! Wah! Quick… quickly get me out! I think my leg’s broken… It hurts so bad! Wah…”

In a flurry of commotion, several guards hurriedly reigned in their horses and scrambled down the slope, stepping through the snow toward the overturned carriage, chaotic as they gathered around the askew vehicle doors.

“Second Young Master, the door won’t budge!” one of the guards found the handle and pulled hard on it. Seeing this, the others promptly joined in to assist, but to no avail, as the carriage door seemed to be stuck fast, unmoving.

“Young Master! You inside, try pushing!” suggested the guard in green.

“My leg is broken, and you still want me to exert force?” The man inside the carriage let out screams akin to a pig being slaughtered, along with curses, “I’ve really raised a bunch of good-for-nothings! Useless! Hurry and get me out!”

Several guards thought to chop down the wooden door with their swords, but when they drew their blades, all they were left with were the hilts, the sword sheaths turned out to be empty, the sharp blades having vanished into thin air.

As the men busied themselves searching for something to replace the blade in the chillingly cold forest, the sky had quietly darkened, and from not too far away came the howling of wolves.

The first howl, then the second, followed by the third, and then they came one after another.

The horses, agitated, stamped their hooves and snorted heavily, exuding fear.

Unaware of the danger, the person inside the carriage continued to spew a string of curses towards his guards for their incompetence.

The few people outside the carriage exchanged looks, listening to the foul language coming from inside and the growls of wild beasts drawing closer.

When the first person turned to return and galloped up the slope, the rest no longer hesitated and quickly followed suit.

In the forest, apart from the continuous fall of snowflakes, only the overturned carriage remained along with the oblivious tirades of the man inside.

LP: Re-translated on February 11, 2024