The Princess’ Shadow Guard – Chapter 61

I’ll take you to see Qinqin (Uncovering the Truth)

In the cold, dimly lit underground cell, the frail woman trembled with fear.

She leaned forward, grasping the detestable man in front of her, and raised her voice, demanding, “Where did you see Ah Qin? Where is she?”

“She?”

Murong Xiao, his hair disheveled, lay sprawled on the ground like a worm wriggling in the dirt. He laughed maniacally, emitting a chilling aura in the eerie dungeon. “After consuming the Five Poison Pills personally concocted by me, no one has a chance of survival.”

“…That wretched woman dared to strike me, dared to severe my leg!” Murong Xiao gritted his teeth, as if attempting to shatter his molars. “She! And that female shadow guard who uses needles, they should both die!”

“You poisoned Ah Qin?”

Murong Yan’s hand tightened around the man’s neck, her five fingers clenched tightly. “Where is she? Where is she now?”

“Does Sister think I did it?” Murong Xiao’s originally scattered gaze focused, paying no mind to the suffocation in his chest. He tilted his head and said, “For the antidote to Sister, she willingly took the poison. It has nothing to do with me.”

A malicious smile spread across his face, splitting from ear to ear.

“The deadline has passed, she is already dead. Didn’t Sister know?”

“No, it can’t be!”

“You…you, you’re lying, you’re lying!” Releasing her grip, Murong Yan barely kept her trembling body upright with the help of an umbrella, “Where is she? Where is Ah Qin?”

Murong Xiao looked up, his face radiating pleasure as if he was basking in the despair of the person before him, “Why would my sister ask me? Sister should ask those who dare lie to her instead.”

“The New Year is approaching. In the graveyard of the Shadow Guard Camp, one shall not be too lonely.”

As if a snake slithered on the ground, its tongue flickering, slimy and eerie.

Feeling the world spinning around her, Murong Yan held her forehead, feeling a chill throughout her body. She turned around, and regardless of the astonished looks from the guards outside, she stumbled out of the dungeon with the support of her umbrella.

Having been unconscious for a month, she should have doubted sooner.

Why is it that whenever she inquired about the period she was unconscious, her maids would stutter and stammer?

Why did her brother always dodge the details when she delved deep into how she was rescued by the Cangyue Tower?

Why, whenever Imperial Physician Wang came to check her pulse, despite her stable condition, he seemed to hesitate to speak further?

Murong Yan noticed more subtle, overlooked details.

She looked at her nails.

Clearly, all these minute yet significant clues pointed to one thing.

Ah Qin had returned.

But why hadn’t Ah Qin come to see her, now that she was awake?

Where was Ah Qin now?

Could everything be as the deposed Crown Prince had said?

Staggering onto the carriage, “To the Shadow Guard Camp. Go to the Shadow Guard Camp, quickly!” she instructed the coachman, almost breathless with urgency.

Murong Yan bit her lip, hugging her shoulders as if to soothe herself from falling apart. Hu’er, with his soft fur, rubbed against the noticeably distressed woman.

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Upon reaching the destination, Murong Yan couldn’t wait for the coachman to set the steps. She hurriedly jumped out of the carriage, stumbled in the snow, and dropped her umbrella. Ignoring it all, she stood up and, with sheer determination, pushed her way into the Shadow Guard Camp.

“Song Shuqing! Song Shuqing!”

Upon seeing Xu Jun practicing with his sword outside, she immediately approached and grabbed his sleeve. “Where is Song Shuqing? Let Song Shuqing come out.”

“Princess!”

Xu Jun was startled to recognize the person before him. He hurriedly sheathed his sword, fearing to injure a noble and looked nervously at the princess holding his sleeve, saying, “Alright… right away, I will have someone call for Senior Sister Song.”

He signaled to a colleague, who immediately ran towards the camp’s entrance.

“Your Highness, Senior Sister Song is still at the Imperial Medical Institute; it may take some time.”

Noticing the tremble in the person next to him, Xu Jun respectfully suggested, “It’s cold outside; may I lead you inside to the corridor? The Princess has only just recovered; it wouldn’t do to catch a chill.”

Murong Yan remained silent, her gaze lowered.

Even standing amidst the falling snow, she seemed as if she hadn’t heard Xu Jun’s words. After a long while, she suddenly asked, “Is Song Shuqing injured? Is it serious? Why wasn’t I notified to offer my consolation?”

Xu Jun scratched his head, clarifying, “No, no, Senior Sister Song hasn’t been injured; she’s perfectly fine. The Princess need not worry.”

“If she’s not hurt, why go to the Imperial Medical Institute?” Without pausing, the woman threw out her next question.

“This… Senior Sister… She…”

The cunning question caught the honest Xu Jun off guard, leaving him stuttering and unable to articulate an answer.

Murong Yan, successful in her questioning, lifted her eyes and stared directly at the young shadow guard beside her. “You also know what happened to Ah Qin, right?”

Xu Jun was stunned, awkwardly denying it, “I… I don’t know.”

A soft laugh.

“You and Ah Qin are both bad at lying.”

Yet, there was no hint of amusement in Murong Yan’s eyes, her grip on Xu Jun’s sleeve tightening as she spoke in a low voice, “Are you all deceiving me? Is that it?”

“Where is Ah Qin?”

Beside them, Hu’er also bared his teeth at Xu Jun, walking circles around the two.

The young and pitiable shadow guard was at a loss, sweating profusely in anxiety.

Xu Jun, the pillar of the new generation in the Shadow Guard Camp, indeed knew where Ming Qin was, but everyone who had a chance to interact with the princess had been sternly instructed not to mention Ming Qin in front of her, him included.

“I…I, I really don’t know,” Xu Jun stubbornly insisted, his lie unconvincing.

“Do you… not even listen to my orders?” Murong Yan’s voice was cold, filled with both rage and helplessness, “Why does nobody listen to me?”

Taking a deep breath, the woman swiftly drew the curved blade from Xu Jun’s waist and pushed the man away, her fur cloak slipping off to reveal a striking red dress amidst the swirling snow.

However, the blade was not aimed at others, but at the slender, pale neck of the woman holding it.

With a cold laugh, the cold weapon gleamed, ready to draw blood at any moment.

“Princess! Princess! Please, don’t be rash!” Xu Jun exclaimed in panic, regretting his momentary distraction.

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The other shadow guards around them were all in a state of shock, wanting to step forward but daring not to approach.

The wild beast was puzzled by the situation. The people around were not hostile but saw his beloved owner threatening her own life with a weapon. Hu’er, feeling the tension, flicked its tail and made a coaxing purring sound towards Murong Yan.

Facing her beloved pet, the woman remained unmoved. “Where is Ah Qin?” Her sharp gaze swept over the people around her.

Several of the junior shadow guards darkened at the question, their expressions barely hiding their sorrow, and they guiltily lowered their heads when they met Murong Yan’s gaze.

She noticed all of these reactions, and her heart grew colder bit by bit.

“Princess, please put down the knife,” Xu Jun suggested dryly, his face pale.

“Where is Ah Qin?” She pressed the curved knife against her skin, the sharp blade cutting through, bright red blood trailing down from the edge, landing on the snow. “Dead or alive, where is Ah Qin exactly!”

Her voice was hoarse with desperation.

“Chongwen Princess.”

A familiar voice sounded, and Song Shuqing rushed from outside the camp.

Seeing her, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and made way for her.

Murong Yan’s hair was disheveled, and strands of loose white hair obscured her eyes. “Song Shuqing, where is Ah Qin?”

After glancing at Xu Jun and seeing him nod slightly, the arrived shadow guard sighed and said, “This subordinate… no… I cannot tell you.” Before the woman in front of her could speak, Song Shuqing added, “This is what Qinqin wished for.”

“Why… why… why doesn’t Ah Qin want to see me?”

Murong Yan, rather than lowering her knife, gripped the handle even tighter. “Is Ah Qin… really about to die? Or is she already dead?”

Her voice was hoarse, choked with emotion.

Song Shuqing spoke up, “Qinqin hopes that the princess can let her go. She hopes that you… can live safely and joyfully, without worry for her.” She forced a bitter smile.

“Safely and joyfully?”

Repeating the words of the woman before her, Murong Yan laughed bitterly, her shoulders trembling, her empty hand covering her face. “Without Ah Qin, how could I possibly live safely and joyfully? How could I not worry about her?”

“Princess…”

Song Shuqing tried to speak again, but Murong Yan cut her off.

“Song Shuqing, you understand me, right?”

She lifted her head, her eyes shimmering with tears through the gaps between her fingers, yet filled with determination, “If Ah Qin is alive, I want to be by her side; if Ah Qin is dead, I wish to be buried with her.”

A few more drops of bright red fell onto the snow.

“So, please let me see Ah Qin…”

“Consider it a plea, alright?”

Unlike blood, a trace of clear liquid wound its way down the back of Murong Yan’s hand through the cracks, disappearing into her sleeve.

Seeing the woman for the first time lowering her stance, Song Shuqing felt nothing but sorrow, her thoughts a complete mess.

These two…

Why must they endure all this?

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The sourness in her heart found no outlet, causing a stifling pain in her chest and a warmth in her eyes.

Never mind.

I always knew there would come a day like this.

After all, the princess is so intelligent, and I’m so bad at lying.