The Princess’ Shadow Guard – Chapter 84

Senior Sister Chapter 14

What is meant by ‘palpitation of the heart’ (Senior Sister’s Crazy Dog Switch)

In Song Shuqing’s diligent efforts…

Beneath the pursuit of earning money and burning her life, she finally managed to repay the debt owed to Murong Yan within a year, thus transitioning her status from a debtor back to a partner in the teahouse.

And unsurprisingly, the first thing she did was to recruit two temporary shop assistants, and then, overnight, she left with Zi Yan.

Oh no.

She went on vacation.

Completely ignoring the pitiful cries of Wang Wei, who clung to her own thigh, after finishing the report she was responsible for, she left a resignation note and didn’t even turn back to accompany Zi Yan back to her hometown in Jiangnan.

On the way, Song Shuqing wasn’t in a hurry, relying on the network she had built during her time as a shadow guard…

Oh no, it’s connections.

She took Zi Yan with her, stopping here and there along the journey. Although they didn’t indulge in extravagant sightseeing, they didn’t miss out on good food and drinks either.

However, it seemed to adhere to the bizarre ‘iron law’ that 『if a shadow guard takes a relative out, they will definitely be intercepted by shortsighted dogs.』 Just two days away from Jiangnan, the carriage driven by Song Shuqing encountered bandits.

“This can’t be…”

“This can’t be happening!”

As the horse-riding shadow guard glanced back at the modest-looking carriage, Song Shuqing, holding her forehead in disbelief, exclaimed, “They’re robbing even this shabby little carriage. Can’t these bandits have some ambition? Can’t you pick a bigger, richer carriage?”

Facing a group of fierce-looking men wielding large blades, Song Shuqing muttered to herself with drooping shoulders, “If only I had known, why did I bother opening a teahouse? I should have opened an escort agency, practicing on sandbags and making money off wealthy people. How blissful it would be… Curse it, why didn’t I think of that?”

The towering man, visibly enraged by the woman’s disregard, pointed his blade at her nose and demanded, “What are you ranting about, you crazy woman?”

“Hey, I’m telling you, you’ve got the wrong person. I really don’t have any money.” She rummaged through the pockets of her robe, only to find a few scraps of trash. A piece of cotton even floated to the nose of the bandit leader. “See, I really don’t have any money.”

Song Shuqing shrugged helplessly, revealing empty palms. Though her words sounded submissive, they somehow felt defiant.

“Hmph, even if you have no money, I’ll still take you with us, let the brothers have some fun.” The leader of the group spoke gruffly, about to order his men forward.

“Lord Song?”

Knowing the strength of the shadow guards, but hearing the rough intimidation outside, Zi Yan, inside the carriage, couldn’t help but quietly lift a finger to peek through the window curtain, worriedly watching her lover.

“It’s okay.” Hearing the voice, Song Shuqing turned around, dropping the pretentious expression on her face and revealing a reassuring warm smile. She whispered softly, “Dear Zi Yan, be good and stay inside, it won’t be long.”

Although only revealing her eyes and eyebrows, Zi Yan, once a courtesan, possessed a captivating beauty. The men outside the carriage, seeing that there was a woman inside, couldn’t help but show some impatience, uttering unspeakable words.

As these vulgar words reached Song Shuqing’s ears, the lazy woman tilted her head.

Hidden hostility surged, spreading through the woods, yet no one noticed.

“Oh dear, this is bad.”

“Got caught red-handed…”

Subconsciously biting her short nails, which had been trimmed on her right hand, Song Shuqing straightened her back and sighed expressionlessly, “It seems like the ‘crazy dog switch’ isn’t exclusive to Qinqin, huh? Looks like I shouldn’t tease Qinqin with it again next time.”

“What are you talking about, woman?!”

The leader of the group, unable to tolerate her arrogant and fearless attitude, ordered several men beside him to pull the woman from the carriage seat.

“…But, you should be grateful that you’ve encountered me.” Surrounded, Song Shuqing remained unmoved, simply undoing her hairpin. Her five fingers gripped a black long nail, her dark long hair swaying with the breeze in the woods. “After all, I usually, at least, leave behind a whole corpse.”

As soon as the words fell, she flicked her hand.

Instantly, two holes appeared on the foreheads of the two men closest to Song Shuqing. Fresh blood flowed down their noses and dripped along their jaws.

The two men looked at each other in astonishment, before stiffening and falling backwards without a chance to react.

Firing the remaining long nails from her hand once again, within moments, two more men fell. Song Shuqing stood up from the carriage and drew a dagger from her waist, swiftly lunging towards the remaining three men.

“Hush.”

The woman extended her index finger from her empty hand, signaling for the panicked shouting men to fall silent.

“You’re making such a racket, do you know it’s frightening?”

“If Zi Yan has nightmares tonight, I’ll feel sorry for her.”

Bending to dodge the swinging blade aimed at herself, just as Song Shuqing, who had closed in swiftly, prepared to cut the man’s neck, she suddenly hesitated.

Adjusting her balance, she stepped back three or four paces, looking at the sharp weapon in her hand with a troubled expression.

Three men observed her standing still without moving, staring blankly. They exchanged glances, raising their blades, ready to take down the woman together.

Just as they were within a foot of her, Song Shuqing, standing motionless, suddenly sank her body. With one hand supporting the ground, she rolled to the side and then forcefully threw the dagger in her hand. It pierced the man farthest from her, pinning him to a tree. Around the blade, crimson blood slowly seeped, staining his shirt red around the chest.

Without even glancing at them, the shadow guard grabbed the blades from the bodies of the first two men and hurled them at the remaining two men who were attempting to flee.

One of the machetes happened to sever one man’s head, instantly ending his life, while the other one lodged in the back of another man, causing him to writhe in agony on the ground.

“Oh dear, indeed, if the weapon doesn’t feel right, the aim won’t be quite there.” Taking a shallow breath, Song Shuqing furrowed her brow. “Even with a dagger… if it were Qinqin, she’d surely be able to aim for the forehead.”

Picking up the weapons dropped on the ground, the woman approached the panting men. However, halfway there, she stopped and threw the weapon in her hand from a distance.

This time, she didn’t miss her shot, and the woods once again returned to their initial calmness.

After checking herself to ensure she hadn’t gotten any blood on her, Song Shuqing breathed a sigh of relief.

Brushing the dirt off her hands, she returned to the side of the carriage and comforted the woman inside, saying, “It’s okay, everything’s been resolved.”

There was a sound coming from inside the carriage. Just as Zi Yan was about to hastily open the door to get off the carriage, Song Shuqing extended her hand and covered Zi Yan’s eyes.

Stepping into the carriage, Song Shuqing hugged Zi Yan and gently guided her backward, placing her onto the soft cushioned seat inside the carriage. Song Shuqing smiled and said, “Dear Zi Yan, you don’t need to look, it’s alright. It’s just some non-recyclable garbage, dirty and unpleasant to the eyes.”

The person in her arms wasn’t the fire-breathing demon princess, County Princess, who should never have seen a bloody scene before. Compared to Qinqin’s 『Yanyan fears blood』, wouldn’t it be more convincing to say her own 『Dear Wife Zi Yan fears blood』?

“It’s all over. I’ll just tidy up the traces a bit, then we can set off.” Releasing her grip and standing up to block the view outside the carriage door, Song Shuqing smoothed her disheveled hair, tousled from the battle.

Zi Yan blinked, confirming the safety of the person in front of her. She removed a silver hairpin from her own hair bun, signaling for Song Shuqing to lower her head. Then, she carefully re-tied her hair for her.

“Done.” Zi Yan lightly brushed her lips, gesturing to the person bent over. “This way, it’s more convenient for you to drive.”

“Tsk, indeed, my dear Zi Yan is the best to me.” Squinting, she didn’t mention the dozens of familiar long nails still in her bag. “Those bloody things really don’t belong in Zi Yan’s eyes.”

Song Shuqing kissed the person’s cheek in front of her and closed the carriage door.

Surreptitiously lifting a corner of the curtain, Zi Yan watched the woman outside cleaning up the bloody traces.

She didn’t tell Song Shuqing that she had seen the entire confrontation outside the carriage from beginning to end.

Even more so, she didn’t tell Song Shuqing that she wasn’t afraid of the splattered blood and severed limbs, because every moment, her eyes were focused solely on the majestic figure of her lover.

The billowing robes in the wind, the confident figure effortlessly throwing blades, the determined expression when taking action.

And then, when turning around, the careful heart, wrinkling her brow in concern, checking the bloodstains before softening her expression and speaking gently.

Today, once again, Zi Yan is reminded of the sensation of the palpitation of a heart.

The author has something to say:

In fact, it’s interesting to compare how Senior Sister and Qinqin encountered bandits and how Senior Sister and Zi Yan encountered bandits. (Refer to Chapter 69.)

With Qinqin and the County Princess, Senior Sister lazily stands by, watching others scream in agony while casually finishing off the attackers.

But when with Zi Yan, Senior Sister is killing enemies while simultaneously saying, “Shh, don’t shout, do you know it scares people?”

In conclusion, Senior Sister is inconsistent too.

(P.S. Currently traveling, so my replies to comments might be a bit delayed.)

LP: Re-translated on May 19, 2024