The Princess’ Shadow Guard – Chapter 57

When fellow villagers meet, their eyes brim with tears (returning to the capital)

“A river? What river?”

“Oh, come on.” Wang Wei waved his hand impatiently, facing Ming Qin directly and articulately saying, “Not a river, but ‘wearing’, as in ‘traveling through’, ‘wearing’!”

(Wearing = transmigrator)

“Wearing?” Ming Qin was puzzled, somewhat unsure if she had read the lip movements correctly.

“Yes, ‘wearing’!” Wang Wei waved the paper in his hand exaggeratedly and said, “Look at this modern layout, look at this clear structure, and these concise abbreviations. This perfectly composed medical record is basically a miracle from the fossil era, my God.”

“This…” Completely clueless about what the eccentric old man in front of her was talking about, Ming Qin scratched her head and said, “This medical record was written by my Senior Sister, and she dresses properly…” Probably?

“My goodness, your Senior Sister either is a transmigrator or this era has seen a genetic mutation.”

Wang Wei paid no heed to the shadow guard’s comment, simply holding a stack of papers while looking up to the sky and sighing deeply, “A genius gifted by heaven! I thought I’d spend my life studying with no one to take over, just as if Sherlock Holmes lost his Watson, or Harry Potter without Ron Weasley. I knew heaven sent me here to achieve something great, and this little girl, I really am…”

Not wanting to interrupt the old man’s enthusiasm but Ming Qin still spoke up, “Imperial… Uncle Wang, don’t get too excited. Looking at this medical case, do you think you can cure it?”

“Ah, this is a trifle, what illness is too difficult for me, a genius transcending eras?” Wang Wei’s eyes widened as he looked at Ming Qin, answering his own question, “None! There’s no illness that can stump me, the great genius.”

Having said that, Wang Wei hurriedly reached into the house, grabbed a bag, and haphazardly tossed all the bottles and jars on the table into it. Then, he picked up a few toolboxes from beside the bed. Without a care for his beloved “babies”, he put on a cap and went straight out the door, heading outside.

Being left behind, Ming Qin hurriedly caught up, anxiously asking, “Uncle Wang, Uncle Wang, where are you going?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

Wang Wei turned around and tossed everything he was holding to Ming Qin, then said with excitement, “Of course, I’m going to the capital to take in a disciple, the sooner the better!”

---

Winter has not yet fully arrived, but one can already faintly see a thin mist when exhaling.

Inside the Changning Palace, the underfloor heating has been lit, spreading a sense of warmth throughout.

A tiger, having just filled its belly, lazily yawns on the ground.

Song Shuqing stands alone by the bedside, focusing on taking the pulse of the woman lying on the bed.

Although the pulse barely manages to sustain itself, as the month-long deadline approaches, it subtly grows weaker and weaker, signaling the gradually fading vitality of Murong Yan.

With a sigh, Song Shuqing turned her attention to meticulously massaging the stiff muscles of the woman who had not moved for a long time, her mind preoccupied with thoughts.

Will Qinqin ever come back?

She must have finished the medicine I gave her by now.

Perhaps I should have accompanied her to Jingzhou.

Her chaotic thoughts were interrupted by a low growl from the tiger, who alertly stood up and stared at the closed door, its tail whipping about like a whip.

After a while, the door was opened by none other than the newly ascended Emperor, Murong Wan, who was only eleven years old and had come without any attendants.

“Your servant greets Your Majesty,” Song Shuqing hastened to bow, and then reassuringly patted the tiger’s head.

The well-behaved tiger, seeing that the newcomer was no stranger, retracted its exposed fangs and lazily sat down again.

“You may rise,” Murong Wan, with a youthful face that briefly exhibited the dignity of an Emperor in his yellow robe, gestured with his hand before asking with concern, “How is the health of Chongwen Princess?”

“Your servant, along with all the physicians of the Imperial Medical Institute, have exhausted our efforts,” Song Shuqing replied respectfully, though her voice was somewhat hoarse, “But we can only barely maintain her condition.”

“And what about Ming Qin?” Murong Wan frowned, looking somewhat anxious, “I heard she went to Jingzhou to seek medical treatment. Is everything alright with her? Do you have any news of Ming Qin?”

Shaking her head, Song Shuqing still slightly bowed and said, “This servant has not yet heard anything about Ming Qin’s situation.”

“Is that so…”

The young Emperor’s face showed a hint of disappointment as he stepped forward to look at Murong Yan, who appeared to be peacefully asleep with her eyes closed. Turning his head towards Song Shuqing, he said, “If you need any medicinal herbs, or silver, just let me know. As long as it can cure the County Princess, I will definitely help.”

The busy young man didn’t stay long. Before leaving, he whispered to Murong Yan, “Princess Sister, please wake up soon. When the time comes, I will entrust all matters regarding the punishment of the deposed Crown Prince to you. You must recover quickly.”

Chongwen Princess is the person Ming Qin cherishes the most; she must recover well.

Following the Emperor back to the imperial study, the woman also left with the medicine box.

In the night, unable to sleep, Song Shuqing carried a wine jug, sitting alone on the towering palace wall to drink quietly.

These past few days, she had always been like this, hoping from this vantage point to catch a glimpse of her donkey headed junior sister she dearly missed. The cold wind made her somewhat cold, but Song Shuqing just took a big gulp of warm wine, still quietly waiting under the night sky alone.

Ah, how I want to return to Shu.

Although she always finds herself dreadfully bored at the teahouse, she prefers it to the hectic life inside the palace, aimlessly staring at the shop’s entrance rather than being busy all the time.

Moreover, she’s not like Da Linzi, who’s willing to devote himself entirely to the Shadow Guard Camp, serving the country and its people.

It’s true Da Linzi loves to drink and chatter, but ever since their master was injured, he voluntarily took on the responsibility of restructuring the Shadow Guard Camp, keeping himself so busy he hardly has time to drink like before.

As for herself, she has no special affection for the country or the Shadow Guard Camp, preferring to lazily listen to music.

Ah! Suddenly, i really want to listen to Zi Yan playing the guqin.

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Zi Yan.

I wonder, after so much time has passed, if Zi Yan has composed any new and pleasant melodies on the guqin.

All I need to do is wait for Qinqin to recover; as soon as she gets better, we can return to Shu together…

Song Shuqing looked up at the cloudless sky, feeling strangely as if even the moon was somewhat glaring tonight.

For some reason, she found herself waiting far longer tonight than usual.

As the sun rose, the first ray of sunlight hit her face.

Song Shuqing squinted her eyes tiredly and yawned, picked up the wine jug on the roof, and was about to leap down when she noticed a shadow on a horse galloping toward her from the city gate that had just opened in the distance, along the still quiet street.

Who’s this? In such a rush.

Don’t they know there’s a speed limit for galloping horses on the street? Speed limit!

Thinking they won’t be noticed in broad daylight? That’s just too naive.

You’ll get fined for that, oh, the poor thing.

Just as Song Shuqing was half enjoying the disaster, she suddenly stopped.

Wait.

That familiar cloak.

That familiar figure, carrying an old man, striding heroically…

Isn’t that Qinqin?

Did Qinqin really rush back within a month?!

Shocked, almost sliding off the roof tiles, Song Shuqing tossed aside the wine jug in her hand, leaped to the ground in a few moves, and hurried towards the palace gate.

Hastily showing her token to the guards on duty, she saw, upon leaving the palace, the dust kicked up by the horse, spreading wildly in her direction as if it had lost control, charging straight towards her.

Several soldiers, tense, extended their spears, intending to impale the increasingly close, frenzied mount.

“Qinqin! Stop the horse, stop the horse!”

Ming Qin kept her head low, her black cloak fluttering behind her. Half of her face was hidden by her overly long hair, concealing her eyes. She clung tightly to the horse’s belly without responding.

“Little Ming, shadow guard! Little Ming, shadow guard! We’re going to crash, we’re going to hit the wall!”

An old man being held by Ming Qin, seeing the palace wall approaching rapidly, patted the unresponsive person beside him and yelled, “I haven’t achieved my great life’s work yet; I don’t want to die aahhh!!!”

“Could it be…” Seeing that the person controlling the horse was still unmoved, Song Shuqing bit her lip, her heart sinking.

Poised on her tiptoes and moving forward alone, Song Shuqing’s graceful figure flitted like the wind. As she passed by the horse, she twisted her wrist to grab the saddle, skillfully pulling the loudly shouting, crazed old man down from the horseback.

Then, with a held breath and a swift maneuver, she flipped herself up.

In an instant, she was seated behind the horseman, her arms reaching forward to encircle Ming Qin, hooking the reins and pulling hard. The galloping horse raised its front hooves, nearly throwing both riders off its back.

Clutching the reins tightly, Song Shuqing supported the rigid Ming Qin with her arm, feeling a tearing pain in the muscles of her arms. She gritted her teeth and endured it.

Only when she felt the mad horse heavily land and stand motionless, gasping for air, did she let out the breath she had been holding and dismounted.

As the figure neared the city gate, closing the gap to less than forty to fifty feet, Song Shuqing, along with the guards guarding the gate, finally let out a collective sigh of relief.

“Miss! Miss!”

Wang Wei, with tears streaming down his face, ran towards Song Shuqing, who was calming the horse, in a blubbering mess, “You are my savior, miss… bleurgh, bleurgh.”

The short, elderly man weakly sat down with a thump, clinging to Song Shuqing’s legs and loudly lamented, “I thought I was going to die! These past few days, she didn’t let me eat or sleep. After peeing, I didn’t even have time to pull up my trousers before being dragged off to hurry. I also got motion sickness… bleurgh, bleurgh.”

“I thought I was on a roller coaster… bleurgh, bleurgh, I’m past the age for amusement parks. I was nearly dead, you are my lifesaver indeed.”

Struggling to walk, Song Shuqing exclaimed, “Let go of my leg! What the hell are you talking…wait, a roller coaster?”

She looked suspiciously at the old man, who was about to use her sleeve to blow his nose, and suddenly said, “I like drinking Coca-Cola.”

The sobbing Wang Wei actually looked up, his wrinkled face showing some distaste, “Tasteless…bleurgh, Pepsi is obviously better.”

After saying that, both of them froze, looking at each other in shock, one standing, one sitting.

Before they had the time to perform the scene of “When fellow villagers meet, their eyes brim with tears,” they heard a thud — Ming Qin, unable to hold herself up, swayed and fell off the horse’s back.

“Qinqin! Qinqin!” Not caring about who was a fellow villager anymore, Song Shuqing shook of the old man holding her leg and rushed toward her junior sister lying on the ground.

“Qinqin! Qinqin, wake up!”

Regrettably, Ming Qin did not respond.

---

The author has something to say:

I used to try to reply to every comment, but lately, as the comments have increased, this app shockingly won’t let me reply to each and every one of them (shocked!?), I have to keep verifying after reaching a certain limit…

So, I might reply less frequently to individual comments, but I’ll still read every single one!

Also, I’ve listened to all the songs you guys recommended, it’s just really impossible to reply individually… (this app is so bad). I’m truly grateful for everyone sharing their favorite songs with me~

Regarding starting a Weibo account, I was considering using one more seriously if I got signed to share some inspirations or character designs with everyone.

Unfortunately, I still haven’t been signed (bitter smile), despite having quite a viewership, I’m still being rejected, which is utterly baffling. So, for now, being lazy and hating social media as I am, I’ve put off the idea of starting a Weibo… (so lame~)

For the beloved plots everyone enjoys, you’ll have to rely more on your imagination… I’ll provide more clues…

---

LP: Re-translated on March 25, 2024

---

---