The Princess’ Shadow Guard – Chapter 6

Foolishly Swindled by an Unscrupulous Person

As the twelfth month approaches, every drop of water turns into ice.

Although Ming Qin had been on sick leave for a month, lying in bed for eight or nine days, she felt like her body was starting to grow mold.

After proving herself by leaping and climbing the walls in the camp, Master finally gave her permission to go out.

“I heard a rumor that in the Western Wilderness, there was a black monster roaming the jungle. It had a face like a monkey but also like a human, with a huge body and muscular arms covered in veins. Despite being struck by three arrows, it could still move freely among the treetops. This beast is called Kong.”

Lin Yan looked at his junior sister with some confusion, watching her hurriedly leave, and said, “Master, I suspect that Qin Qin and Kong are distant relatives.”

Beside them, an old man with half-white hair stood shirtless, his muscular chest crisscrossed with scars. “Ming Qin has been acting quite strangely lately.”

“Yeah, ever since September, she disappears right after lunch. Could it be that she’s found someone special?” Lin Yan chuckled, thought for a moment, and then shook his head, finding it unlikely. Ming Qin was skilled in martial arts but had a simple and innocent nature, like a child, with no interest in romantic relationships. “Maybe she just found a delightful snack shop at the marketplace again.”

The old man didn’t reply; he simply stroked his beard and deep in thought.

Ming Qin carried a tattered cloth bag in her arms and hopped on the rooftops, holding a basket of freshly bought steamed dumplings.

Her Master was really exaggerating.

It’s just excessive blood loss, not like she lost a hand or a foot. They all want to keep her bedridden and take care of her for the rest of her life.

After lying down for so long, even though she was only about 50% recovered, it was enough for her to climb the Cangyue Tower without easily falling to her death.

Thinking about her appointment with the princess, Ming Qin couldn’t sit still for a second.

She had to deliver the dumplings to the princess before they cooled down.

Ming Qin picked up her pace but accidentally slipped on a frost-covered tile, causing her body to fall three feet. She quickly exerted force, tightly gripping the shallow crack on the wall, hanging there in a precarious manner.

A suppressed cough sounded in her ears as Ming Qin endured the pain of her torn wound and gritted her teeth, mustering her strength to climb upward. She pushed open the window and flipped into the room. Murong Yan, weakly slumped over the desk, propped her eyelids open as she watched Ming Qin.

Seeing the princess’s pale face, Ming Qin quickly removed the items on her body and approached her, pulling up her sleeves and carefully taking her pulse.

“I apologize for the intrusion,” Ming Qin said, her expression focused, unaware of Murong Yan’s wide-eyed stare fixed on her wrist.

“I didn’t expect you to know medicine,” Murong Yan said calmly, suppressing any discomfort in her eyes.

“It’s just superficial knowledge,” Ming Qin replied. Her master always emphasized that Ming Qin must study medicine seriously, even if she wasn’t proficient in it, so that she could save herself in critical moments.

Despite her limited skills, Ming Qin could sense that the princess’s vitality was depleted. The cold air of the harsh winter had penetrated her lung meridian, and her weak body couldn’t withstand it.

“Where is the physician? Are the others just good-for-nothings?” Ming Qin, usually gentle, showed a rare hint of anger, her face slightly flushed.

Ever since her leg had been severed, Murong Yan disliked seeing doctors and despised being touched during pulse examinations. Before she could respond, an itchiness arose in her throat, followed by a deep, penetrating cough.

Quickly stepping into the room, Ming Qin lifted the bedsheet, extended her arm, and picked up the blanket from the bed. She walked back to the bedside and tightly wrapped Murong Yan in the blanket, gently patting her back, supporting her frail body.

Murong Yan coughed until she lost her strength, eventually reduced to feeble muttering, emitting muffled moans intermittently.

Ming Qin looked at her with a heavy heart, pushing aside the woman’s collar and placing her hand on her collarbone, using her thumb to press on the Tian Tu acupuncture point.

“Don’t be angry. You’ll get better soon,” Ming Qin whispered softly as she gazed at Murong Yan, whose eyes were shimmering with watery tears from coughing, cradled in her arms.

Murong Yan looked up at the audacious person before her, the corners of her eyes reddened as she struggled to breathe.

At such a close distance, Murong Yan carefully examined her face for the first time.

Ming Qin’s features, to put it nicely, were considered conventionally attractive. To put it bluntly, she had no distinctive features, neither beautiful nor ugly—everything about her was just average. She would blend into a crowd and disappear immediately, possessing the perfect appearance for a shadow guard.

Strangely, whenever she raised her head, her attention couldn’t bear to leave the purity of the woman’s eyes. They were clear and bright, as if capable of dispelling darkness and illuminating everything they touched.

Even though they hadn’t seen each other for over a month, there was no sense of unfamiliarity.

A bandage was pressed against her forehead, and a fine scar had already formed on her cheek. The scent on her body, which should have been clean, now resembled that of medicinal alcohol, indicating that she had just come from the medical clinic.

After approximately the time it took for an incense stick¹ to burn, Murong Yan finally managed to catch her breath. The slight calluses on Ming Qin’s thumb grazed against her skin, causing a mild discomfort that made her squirm.

Commanding Ming Qin to help her sit up, Murong Yan smoothed her collar and disregarded the concerned expression on the other’s face. She pointed her index finger at the steamer basket that had been sitting on the table for a long time.

Ming Qin suddenly remembered and hurriedly opened it, only to find that the crescent-shaped dumplings inside had long gone cold and hardened.

Feeling frustrated, Ming Qin was about to put the lid back on when Murong Yan spoke up, “Bring it here.”

“But it has already cooled down,” Ming Qin said dejectedly.

Tap, tap.

Murong Yan’s fingers lightly tapped on the tea table, silently signaling her.

Reluctantly, Ming Qin placed the steamer basket in front of the princess, biting her lip as she watched the princess calmly pick up a dumpling as if she didn’t mind.

The small dumpling took Murong Yan a long time to chew, and as soon as she swallowed it, Ming Qin suddenly exclaimed as if she remembered something. The shadow guard hastily reached into her chest and pulled out a cloth bundle, revealing a dirty greaseproof paper package.

“This is the gift I promised to bring you! Not the dumplings,” Ming Qin said, pinching her sleeve and vigorously wiping the surface of the greaseproof paper package before handing it to the woman in front of her.

Murong Yan, without any disdain, set down her chopsticks and accepted it. After untying the hemp string, she revealed a slightly cracked tea brick. She lowered her head and sniffed it lightly. “Green tea leaves? Did you go to the Min region?”

Ming Qin , her hand that was adding charcoal suddenly froze, her expression filled with deep alarm.

Observing the anxious Ming Qin, Murong Yan understood in her heart and considerately refrained from further questioning.

Ming Qin breathed a sigh of relief and handed the boiling water to Murong Yan, then continued to talk incessantly. “I never knew there were so many types of tea. I felt dizzy listening to the introductions. The innkeeper there said it’s the best tea in the world, only available at their place… only in their family.”

Almost letting slip, Ming Qin sneakily glanced at the person opposite her. Seeing that Murong Yan remained composed, calmly pouring and steeping the tea, she felt at ease and continued, “That innkeeper even swore on her chest that if it wasn’t delicious, I could go back and find her. I never realized tea could be so precious. This half a catty (approximately 250 grams) cost me three months’ worth of salary, it’s really expensive.” She exaggeratedly gestured.

As Ming Qin spoke, Murong Yan listened while pouring tea for herself. With a graceful motion, she swirled the jade cup and lowered her head to savor the tea.

Upon entry, the aroma was rich and intense, but fleeting. A subtly distant floral fragrance, difficult to perceive, lingered in the aftertaste, accompanied by a hint of roasted fragrance.

Hmm.

Utterly ordinary.

Ordinarily undrinkable.

Murong Yan looked at Ming Qin, who was staring at her eagerly, and found it amusing in her heart.

It seems she was tricked by someone with ill intentions in the Min region.

Truly foolish.

“How is it?” Ming Qin swallowed nervously, her expression tense.

“Hmm…” Murong Yan cleared her throat, feeling a slight itch. She looked at the crumpled greaseproof paper containing the tea leaves, still bearing some uncleaned bloodstains on the outside. Against her own instincts, she reluctantly said, “It’s passable.”

Ming Qin jumped up happily upon hearing that and poured herself a cup of tea without worrying about it being too hot.

She took a sip and exclaimed, “It’s delicious! I also think this tea is incredibly good! The innkeeper at the teahouse didn’t deceive me. This truly is the best tea in the world! I’ll have to buy another twenty catties (approximately 10 kilograms) on another day and thank that innkeeper properly.”

Murong Yan’s hand trembled as she poured tea for Ming Qin , unable to contain her laughter.

With Ming Qin , who drank tea like a cow drinking water, how could she discern what constituted good tea? However, as Murong Yan looked at Ming Qin ‘s sincere expression, she felt that the tea didn’t taste as bad as she first thought.

“You can forget about the twenty catties,” Murong Yan said with a faint smile as she took a sip of tea. “Don’t buy any more tea. I don’t drink tea in winter.” She casually made up an excuse.

Before Ming Qin could respond, Murong Yan skillfully changed the subject, diverting the simple-minded shadow guard’s attention.

The atmosphere became harmonious.

They continued their pleasant conversation until it was dark, and reluctantly, Ming Qin bid farewell and left.

“Qin Qin, come here.”

Just as she stepped inside the room, the young shadow guard saw her master sitting on a wooden stool, wearing a solemn expression as he looked at her.

“Let’s talk.”

The author has something to say:

Thank you for reading up to this point. I hope you have a good meal, a good night’s sleep, and a pleasant day (or a pleasant tomorrow?).

LP: Re-translated on December 4, 2023

1. Generally, a standard incense stick, which is about 20 centimeters (8 inches) long, can burn for approximately 30 minutes to an hour.