The Princess’ Shadow Guard – Chapter 5

Cannot Die Before Giving the County Princess a Gift

The sweat soaked through the hair, mingled with dust, and stuck to Ming Qin’s face, making it damp.

The clothes were already filled with stains, and the outer robe was lost somewhere. There were several blade wounds on the body, including one on the left chest, indicating the severity of the battle.

Fortunately, after days of fighting, Senior Brother should have already boarded the ship heading towards the capital city.

Ming Qin took a deep breath, turned around, and faced a dozen robust pursuers.

Even though they realized that Ming Qin was not the person they were originally chasing, they had no reason to give up the pursuit since their companion had been severely injured by her.

“Ah, are all you warriors from Dongying so persistent?”

Ming Qin subconsciously scratched her head, only to realize that her hand was covered in blood. She casually threw down the sword she had been wielding, which was already rolled up, and drew a long blade from the nearby corpse, giving it a weighing gesture. “Let me borrow this, thank you.”

There was no mocking tone in Ming Qin’s polite request.

However, the remaining group seemed to be angered by her actions, and several of them rushed forward, intending to take her down in one go.

Ming Qin adjusted her stance and focused her attention. Amidst the clashing sounds of blades and swords, another fierce battle ensued.

After all the people had fallen, Ming Qin slowly leaned against a tree, dragging her body.

Indeed, it was a bit too much to handle so many people.

Fresh blood soaked her clothes, and Ming Qin felt drowsy.

In a haze, she remembered Lin Yan mentioning that he had seen forbidden books in the palace, which described how people, after death, would be dressed in a white feathered coat, with a golden circle on their heads, and wings on their backs like bird-men, ascending to the heavens. If she were to die at this moment, it would be nice to have the chance to see the bird-men.

She had no attachments, no lingering affection for this world.

Being raised in the Shadow Guard Camp since childhood, she did nothing but eat, drink, and obediently complete missions.

Right, missions.

What was it again?

Take down the pursuers.

Protect the confidential letter.

Now that the pursuers are no longer there, she had to devour the confidential letter before taking her last breath.

Never did she imagine that the last thing she would eat in her life, despite having tasted all kinds of delicacies, would be a piece of paper.

Reaching into the pouch at her waist, Ming Qin took out the envelope sealed with black wax, which looked terribly unappetizing.

Just as Ming Qin was grumbling discontentedly in her heart, a small oil-paper package fell out and landed on her leg.

This is the gift for the Princess, Ming Qin suddenly realized.

While waiting for Cao Yun in Min Province, Ming Qin got bored and wandered into a teahouse. The lady of the teahouse, seeing that Ming Qin was a foreigner speaking Mandarin, grabbed her hand and insisted that she try the best rock tea in the world, going on and on about it.

Ming Qin was taken aback and ended up buying a small package of tea that cost her three months’ salary.

At that moment, an image of Murong Yan elegantly sipping tea flashed through Ming Qin’s mind, and she didn’t feel the pain in her pocket at all.

With these thoughts, Ming Qin jolted, and her mind became clearer and clearer.

She had promised the County Princess that she would bring her a gift. If she didn’t return, the County Princess would be disappointed.

Thinking of Murong Yan, who was imprisoned alone in a tall building, experiencing the changing seasons, Ming Qin forced herself to gather her spirits.

She had to keep her promise and return.

Using the long blade to support her body, she cut through the clean fabric from a corpse and stuffed the torn cloth into her still bleeding wounds before tightly securing them with a belt.

Slowly dragging her feet, she walked towards the horses tied up by the pursuers in the distance. She chose the strongest one and struggled to climb onto its back. Then she cut the reins of the other horses and said to them, “You’re free now.”

Ming Qin patted the horse she had chosen beneath her and whispered, “Good boy, I need your help.”

When Ming Qin returned to the Shadow Guard Camp, she was carried in.

According to the people from the outpost outside the city, when Ming Qin arrived six days ago, she was already in a semi-conscious state. She had tied herself tightly to the horse with a rope to prevent herself from falling. She managed to hold on until the moment she completed the secret signal, and then she fell unconscious.

It almost scared the contact person half to death.

Ignoring the minor cuts and bruises, there were a total of seventeen injuries, three of which were life-threatening.

Upon seeing the carrier pigeon, the master hastily summoned the disheveled imperial physician in the middle of the night and hurriedly left the city. After observing Ming Qin’s terrible physical condition, the two elderly individuals were furious and flabbergasted.

Even in her unconscious state, she tightly held onto a tattered cloth bundle.

Later, it took four or five people, who kneaded and tugged at it, to retrieve the confidential letter from inside.

Fortunately, her life was no longer in danger.

Song Shuqing reported the situation to Cao Yun, who was lying in bed recovering from his injuries. The man’s expression was complicated, “It’s all because of me.”

He blamed himself, saying, “I should have stayed.”

“If you had stayed, you would be dead,” Song Shuqing leaned against the door frame and rolled her eyes. “Instead of saying these sentimental nonsense to me, you should be thanking Ming Qin.”

Looking at Cao Yun’s still downcast face, Song Shuqing spoke again, “Do you know what you should do now?”

She sighed, “You should sincerely thank the heavens for blessing you with Ming Qin as your rescuer. If it had been someone else, you would have been doomed.” Song Shuqing mimicked slashing her own throat with a hand gesture.

Cao Yun looked at Song Shuqing and suddenly became serious, “Have you read that confidential letter?”

Song Shuqing nodded, her expression devoid of any joking.

“So, the Crown Prince indeed killed the Eighth Prince, who was kept as a secret in Qiongzhou?” Cao Yun asked. Watching Song Shuqing nod once again, he looked incredulous, and then sighed, “Next, it’s probably the turn of those who remain in the capital.”

“Do we still not know what kind of person that man is?” Song Shuqing snorted. “Killing his own siblings, poisoning his own father, I’m not surprised by anything he does.” There was no reverence in the woman’s words when it came to the royal family.

Both of them fell silent.

Seemingly unable to bear the heavy atmosphere, Song Shuqing spoke up, “Get better soon.”

She turned around gracefully, “Ming Qin and you are both recovering, Dalinzi has left the city, and here I am, exhausted all by myself! I should complain to the Labor Union!”

Just as Song Shuqing emerged from Cao Yun’s room, she heard hurried footsteps approaching from a distance. A young boy wearing training clothes rushed towards Song Shuqing, “Senior Sister Song! Senior Sister Song!”

“Why are you shouting so loudly? Are you trying to wake the dead?” Song Shuqing covered her ear with her hand.

The young boy’s face was filled with anxiety as he said, “Senior Sister Ming Qin has woken up, and she is eager to get out of bed! Senior Sister Song, please go and persuade her.” As soon as he finished speaking, Song Shuqing’s expression suddenly turned serious, and she turned around and hurried towards the medical hall.

Upon stepping inside, she saw Ming Qin, her entire body bound in bandages, still struggling to leave. The several elderly doctors in the medical hall, with their white beards, anxiously surrounded her.

“Ming Qin!” Song Shuqing’s voice was stern. “You should be resting now.”

“Sister!” Ming Qin hoarsely exclaimed, “I need to go out.”

Song Shuqing walked forward and forcefully tapped Ming Qin’s forehead with her finger. Ming Qin couldn’t maintain her balance and staggered backward. “Given your current condition, you need assistance even to sit on the toilet… No, even to use an outhouse. Where do you think you’re going?” Supporting Ming Qin, she half-embraced her and helped her lie back on the bed.

“But…” Ming Qin sounded a bit aggrieved, gesturing aimlessly with her wrapped-up hand.

“No ‘buts’ about it.” Song Shuqing covered her with a blanket and sternly admonished her with a fierce gaze. “Until you escape from being wrapped up like a zongzi[efn]

[/efn], you can’t even defeat me. Do you want me to resort to violence against you? Just like when we were children?”

Ming Qin shrank back, her childhood memories making her hesitant to move. “Then… what about my bundle…”

“You mean this?” Song Shuqing reached into her sleeve and pulled out a worn-out cloth bundle, handing it to Ming Qin.

Taking the item, Ming Qin eagerly felt inside, her tightly furrowed brow finally relaxing. “This is it! Thank you, Senior Sister.” The young shadow guard cracked a wide smile, but it strained the wounds on her cheek.

Ming Qin touched her bleeding face, looking disheveled.

Rarely seeing Ming Qin in such a miserable state, Song Shuqing sighed and gently supported her forehead, feeling both pity and amusement. She leaned down and tucked the blanket around her junior sister. “Get better soon.” Her tone was unusually gentle.

Without you two sharing the workload, I’ve been so busy that I haven’t had time to go to the Flower Street and listen to the music.

The author has something to say:

Senior Sister has quite a mischievous personality.

LP: Re-translated on December 3, 2023