The Princess’ Shadow Guard – Chapter 66

The ugly appearance of jealousy-induced madness

Murong Yan rushed through the screen, hoping to reassure her beloved, only to see a figure cautiously feeling around in her field of vision.

Ming Qin’s half-removed garment revealed a back covered in varying depths of scars, causing her to be uncontrollably saddened.

“Is someone there? Why does no one appear?” She furrowed her brows slightly, seemingly puzzled as to why the maids had disappeared like this.

One hand touched the edge of the bathtub, while the other waved in the air. With every step she took, the iron chain on her right ankle would make a crisp sound when hitting against the ground.

“Ah! It’s Yanyan’s scent.”

With her eyes closed, Ming Qin suddenly revealed a bright smile, her nostrils twitched slightly, and the uneasiness on her face faded. “Is it Yanyan? Is it?”

Smelling the familiar fragrance, she turned her head in the direction where Murong Yan was.

“Yanyan, where did you just go? Where are you… Ahh.”

Ming Qin tried to reach forward, but she was embraced unexpectedly by the woman, and the sudden hug, accompanied by inertia, caused the blind shadow guard to reflexively step back, only to accidentally step on the iron chain at her feet, causing both her and Murong Yan to fall into the bathtub filled with hot water.

Even so, she still carefully held onto the woman, allowing herself to be a soft cushion for her, and after releasing her, she reached out carefully to check Murong Yan’s body, asking in a worried tone, “Yanyan, did you hit yourself? Does it hurt?”

Murong Yan straddled Ming Qin’s waist, looking at the clothes still partially on her body, wet and clinging to her skin, the white garment soaked with water, becoming transparent.

“Ah Qin…” With one hand propped on Ming Qin’s shoulder, she leaned over.

“Where did you get touched just now?”

Since Ming Qin moved into Changning Palace, everything was taken care of personally by Murong Yan.

From dressing to bathing, even down to every morsel of food.

Her attachment to Ming Qin and possessiveness made her unwilling to let anyone get close.

“Where did those people touch you?” Murong Yan leaned in, pressing her lips against the corner of Ming Qin’s mouth, caressing and whispering softly.

Not gesturing in the palm of her hand, only unable to hold back the questioning, then kissing as if marking territory, because Murong Yan didn’t want Ming Qin to know her ugliness brought about by jealousy.

Afraid that the person on her would catch a cold, Ming Qin held the person in her arms tightly, letting the water overflow over the woman’s shoulders, obediently allowing her lips to be ravished.

Even though she felt like she was being torn and bitten, Ming Qin remained unaware of Murong Yan’s unusual behavior, quietly enduring it, while slowly removing the garment hanging on her arm.

Murong Yan’s hands caressed Ming Qin’s cheeks, but her fingers inadvertently touched the ear hole where the earlobe was missing, the uneven scar left at the wound bringing her back to reality.

“Yanyan, where did you just go? Did you go to see Hu’er?”

Feeling her lips being freed, Ming Qin, with a vacant gaze, tilted her head in speculation, “I just smelt Hu’er’s scent… and, oh, mung bean cake. Did you just eat mung bean cake, Yanyan?”

Ignoring Ming Qin’s questions, Murong Yan took a deep breath and grabbed her hand to write something.

“Well… Why let the maids do it? Ah, Yanyan, do you want to ask why the maids bathed me first?”

Patiently feeling the words written on her hand by the woman, Ming Qin responded, “When I mentioned the balm earlier… you seemed to get angry, I thought maybe the smell of the medicine on me… bothered you, that’s why I wanted to smell nicer before you returned.”

“I’m sorry… Yanyan, are you still upset?”

Carefully asking, Ming Qin furrowed her brow, looking concerned, as if afraid of displeasing the woman and making her unhappy.

“If I did something wrong, please tell me, I will fix it. Yanyan, please don’t be unhappy…”

The blind person along her arm reached up to feel the woman’s face, trying to discern her expression.

“Not angry, not angry at Ah Qin.” Murong Yan looked at the person in front of her, the solemnity, the concern, filling her with unease and emptiness caused by her jealousy, as if all the madness in her heart was instantly smoothed out, leaving only love.

She held the hand against her cheek, not writing on it, just lightly kissing it, as if comforting and conveying her helplessness towards the person who she could never stay mad at.

Along the wrist, Murong Yan’s lips pressed against Ming Qin’s neck.

Her fingers traced along Ming Qin’s back, noticing the muscles that had atrophied and the visible protruding vertebrae due to days of unconsciousness, as well as the slight redness where they knocked against the wooden bath.

Supporting the person below to sit up, Murong Yan’s fingers touched the scarred indentation on Ming Qin’s right shoulder, like a huge flesh-colored poisonous spider crawling on her shoulder, menacing and frightening.

Murong Yan knew clearly how Ming Qin got the scar on her shoulder, it happened during that unforgettable winter, in the forest that haunted her dreams on those midnight returns.

She removed her own clothes, revealing a red silk outer robe with exquisite patterns, softly floating, mixed with the white garment, bobbing on the water’s surface.

The water in the bathtub remained warm, allowing the soaking person to relax body and mind, drifting away in consciousness.

Yet, both of them tightly embraced in the water, their skin pressed together hotter than the steaming water.

The steam mixed with the scent of crushed flower petals, permeating the entire room despite the screen’s concealment. (LP: They’re doing the deed, use imagination (ಥ‿ಥ))

After a long while, Ming Qin, who hadn’t heard anything, spoke to the limp person on her, “Yanyan will get cold, the water is cooling.”

Lifting her right arm from the water and resting it on Ming Qin’s shoulder, the fingertips shimmered brighter than water droplets. Murong Yan, with a hoarse throat and tears in her eyes, slowly used her left hand to write something below the person’s collarbone.

“Rest?” Ming Qin understood, obediently hugging the woman sitting on her who hadn’t fully recovered, kissing her wet hair affectionately.

“Okay, then Yanyan will rest a little more.”

March brings the language of birds and the fragrance of flowers.

Ming Qin’s iron shackle on her right foot was firmly attached to Murong Yan’s wrist, their fingers intertwined as they strolled by the fish pond in Changning Palace.

Feeling the scent of budding flowers in the air, Ming Qin took a deep breath, inexplicably feeling happy.

This was the first time the two of them had such a leisurely walk under the sunshine.

No missions, no pursuers, just freedom.

After more than a month of recovery and self-training, Ming Qin had regained about 20 to 30 percent of her original strength. Afraid that the woman beside her might feel tired, she carefully supported Murong Yan’s body, allowing the woman to lead her, aimlessly walking in the gentle breeze.

The warm sunlight on her face made Ming Qin’s eyes inexplicably warm, causing tears to flow involuntarily.

She blinked, looking up, and the once pitch-black view seemed to break through the thick clouds, allowing a few beams of light to pierce through and bring in the morning light.

Before her, there was no longer darkness…

Although she still couldn’t see very clearly, she could vaguely make out shapes and colors.

The blue sky, white clouds, green forest trees, large blocks of color stacked in the once dark view, blurry but far better than nothing.

Ming Qin was pleasantly surprised, she glanced at the woman holding her hand tightly beside her. Murong Yan tucked the silver hair in front of her forehead behind her ear, her white outer robe hiding her wrists. The wide sleeves were embroidered with red flowers, eye-catching with subtle swaying with each movement and step.

Even with a layer of mist, Murong Yan’s beauty and charm in Ming Qin’s eyes were still irresistible.

Just as the jubilant shadow guard was about to speak, she felt a long-lost, furry touch in the palm of her left hand.

“Hu’er!”

The huge tiger nudged Ming Qin’s palm, then circled around to her heel, propped up on its front legs, only using the fleshy pads of its retracted claws gently against her chest. Affectionately, it lifted its head and licked its beloved owner’s chin.

“Hu’er, long time no see, you’ve grown so big. Wait… don’t lick…” as the tiger’s barbed tongue grazed Ming Qin’s face, making her involuntarily dodge. Feeling a bit unsteady, she let go of Murong Yan’s hand and fell backward.

Sitting on the ground, Ming Qin affectionately stroked the tiger’s furry head, admiring its vibrant orange fur mixed with dark ink. She couldn’t help but playfully ask, “Hu’er, have you been a good boy and listened to Yanyan while I was away?”

As if understanding, the tiger raised its somewhat rough paw to prove itself and responded with a deep purring sound, as if reverting to its days as a cub, continuously nuzzling Ming Qin’s neck.

The two of them playfully wrestled on the ground, the chains clinking, the playful tiger rolling around, wagging its long tail heavily, seemingly about to playfully pounce on the oblivious Ming Qin.

“No, you can’t.”

Murong Yan, who had been quietly smiling on the side, suddenly spoke up, looking at the rolling beast on the ground. “Hu’er, settle down.”

The tiger, showing its belly, quickly stood up upon hearing the woman’s voice, its heightened emotions cooling down. It lowered its head like a guilty child, stealing glances at Murong Yan.

“Good boy, no more playing. It’s time for dinner.” Murong Yan’s tone was gentle yet unquestionable as she nodded towards the tiger.

The majestic tiger grumbled discontentedly, its tail drooping in disappointment. Reluctantly, it looked at Ming Qin sitting beside it, but still remembered to obey Murong Yan’s command. It lifted its feet and walked towards the palace, taking slow steps, looking back step by step, reluctantly leaving.

“What happened to Hu’er? Why did he suddenly leave?” Ming Qin, unable to hear anything, dusted off her clothes and stood up, asking in confusion.

Taking Ming Qin’s hand, Murong Yan tidied her disheveled hair and then patiently wrote something in her palm.

“Oh, he’s hungry.” Ming Qin felt reassured by Murong Yan’s response, not questioning it. “He even remembers to eat while playing with me, no wonder he’s grown so big.”

Murong Yan smiled and plucked a flower petal from the shadow guard’s shoulder.

The two held hands tightly once again, continuing to stroll along the unfinished cobblestone path under the sunlight.

The author has something to say:

The main story will conclude on Christmas Day~

I initially thought that finishing the main text quickly would let me go to sleep sooner. Writing novels is really exhausting, but little did I know that senior sister’s side story keeps running through my mind… It’s like one thing after another (facepalm).

Senior sister’s story will probably have about ten chapters (Curses! That’s too many, even though I’ve already cut out many parts).

I hope everyone receives Christmas gifts that they’ll like!

LP: Re-translated on April 08, 2024