From Shadow Guard to Empress

The victorious return of the army made the entire capital rejoice for several days. The streets are all decorated with colorful ribbons and lanterns and joyful people can be seen everywhere you look. The atmosphere is as festive as if it is the New Year. These ordinary citizens don’t know the danger and difficulty of a battle but they do know that each time the general wins, he secures a few years’ worth of peace for them. Who doesn’t want to live a peaceful life these days? Therefore, Old General Yang and the major general are simply gods in their minds.

Xiao Weishen was extremely dissatisfied with this. The Yang family’s status and prestige in the hearts of the people is even higher than his, the emperor’s. This made him incredibly uneasy. No emperor can tolerate a general holding such influence among the commoners, especially if that general still holds military power in his hands1. This makes him feel as if the sword of Damocles is hanging over his head all the time, making him very anxious and restless.

But if he asked Old General Yang and his son to disarm and return to the capital permanently at the present time, he would inevitably be criticized and denounced by scholars for demolishing the bridge after crossing the river2 and if this matter is added into the historical archives for future generations, he will garner a bad reputation. This made Xiao Weishen worried for several days.

Prime Minister Xia advised him to remain calm and be patient. Since ancient times, all those who achieved great things never cared about trivial troubles and were never impatient. Retrieving the military power is not something that can be accomplished in a day or two and must be done gradually so it is necessary to be calm and steady.

Therefore, although Xiao Weishen is indeed very anxious, he hasn’t made any major moves yet. He has a strong relationship with his uncle and still has great trust in him. Even if they argue and have occasional conflicts, this trust can’t be broken so easily.

In comparison, Xiao Weixin is a lot calmer. Yang Qixian is very prominent and popular in Beijing now and his door is crowded with countless people enthusiastically sending their congratulations. However, he is as calm as Mount Tai3 and he continued to stay at home without meeting a single guest. No matter who arrived with a congratulatory gift, he claimed that he was sick and therefore, could not greet them. This behavior is simply akin to a clear stream4.

Moreover, aside from the soldiers who won the victory, Yang Qixian returned to Beijing with several prisoners from Xirong. The most important of these was the Twelfth Prince of Xirong. Xiao Weishen’s original intentions for this prince was to trade him in exchange for certain resources. After all, a son is worth at least a little money. However, it turned out that the Khan did not care about this insignificant son at all and responded in a roguish manner that they could kill him5 if they wanted. Anyway, he has no money or land to exchange him with and if he dies then just let him. After all, he has twenty such sons and having one less wouldn’t make much difference.

This made Xiao Weishen both speechless and infuriated and he wanted to immediately execute the prisoner but was deterred by Old General Yang who said that keeping the Twelfth Prince might end up being useful someday. Moreover, it would be inappropriate to kill him when he had already surrendered and doing so would only cause him6 to gain the reputation of a tyrant.

Xiao Weishen was annoyed by this but he didn’t want to argue with Old General Yang so he could only decree to have the Twelfth Prince be placed in a courtyard under strict watch. According to his order, the Twelfth Prince would be treated as a hostage prince7 and killed immediately if he dared to show any rebellious behavior.

And so, the poor8 Twelfth Prince was kept in captivity like a pig.

“My lord, that hostage prince’s residence seems to be only a street away from here.” Wang Chen said in a low voice, “Shouldn’t our palace try to be more low-key now?”

Xiao Weixin reclined on the rocking chair, reading a book. After listening to his words, he lazily replied: “What is the background of the Twelfth Prince?”

“According to hearsay, he is an unfavored prince. His mother’s natal family is from a small nomadic tribe and he isn’t given much importance or attention. They let him be a leader this time, probably to scout ahead.”

Xiao Weixin listened, eyes thoughtful, before nodding to indicate that he understood. He then returned his gaze to the book, seeming to not care about this matter. Wang Chen understood that the master didn’t intend to continue listening so he quietly withdrew.

However, You Shu shouted desperately in his heart. He really wanted to come out from behind the tree, lift the protagonist off the rocking chair and shake him vigorously, and tell him that his opportunity has arrived!9

The Twelfth Prince Na Jiatu10 is not some insignificant character. He is the future King of Xirong! An excellent and capable character who can stand shoulder to shoulder with the protagonist!

You must establish a friendly relationship with him and engage in a mutually beneficial cooperation, so that you will be one step closer to starting your career!!!

Xiao Weixin, get up for me!!!

You Shu resentfully picked at the tree trunk with his hands, worrying for the protagonist’s sake. Ying Er looked at him strangely, using his eyes to ask him what happened.

Xiao Weixin read the book for a while before throwing it onto the table, feeling a little irritable. He got up, drew his sabre11 and started practicing with it, beneath the tree. He had started learning martial arts from the age of five and had been taught by Xie Feiyuan. His skill is second to none and if not for the threatening situation, he could have fought on the battlefield like Yang Qixian and lived a free and unrestrained life as a high-spirited young general.

You Shu crouched behind the tree, watching as his white robes fluttered and his black hair swayed like a cloud with each movement of his sabre. He immediately understood what it meant to be “as agile as a flying bird, as graceful as a swimming dragon”12.

Xiao Weixin truly deserves the best of everything.

If he had a strong maternal family to back him, if his dead ghost13 of a father had not been so prejudiced and biased, he should have led a normal life. Even if he didn’t become emperor, he could have been a great general or a free and unfettered14 prince.

You Shu’s nose felt a little sore and he suddenly felt sorry for him.

In fact, You Shu has suffered a lot in these past years and there were even several times when he nearly failed to survive in the Shadow Guard Camp. Despite all this, he has never cried once but now he feels sad because of Xiao Weixin.

Perhaps this is the basic quality of a reader: the protagonist’s life is my life. I can be single but my protagonist must walk the flowery path15!

He was so distracted for once that he didn’t even notice that Xiao Weixin had split the peach tree in front of him with his sabre. When he recovered from his daze, the tip of the blade was barely an inch away from his nose.

Ying Er didn’t have enough time to warn him and his eyes were filled with panic, afraid that the prince would accidentally kill him.

Fortunately, Xiao Weixin didn’t move forward any further. He retracted his sabre, and met You Shu’s eyes, a light frown on his face.

You Shu’s face is still as paralyzed as before, but his eyes were filled with many complicated emotions that Xiao Weixin couldn’t completely identify.

Concern, admiration, compassion, and… a touch of… tenderness.

“What kind of gaze do you have?” Xiao Weixin returned to his senses and asked, displeased.

You Shu hurriedly bowed his head to hide [his expression] and said in a deep voice, “This subordinate is at fault.”

Xiao Weixin doesn’t like others staring at him but You Shu’s stare wasn’t malicious and didn’t offend him. Although that look did make him feel a little strange, it wasn’t to the point of being angry. So he only said: “Xie Feiyuan said that, in terms of ability, you are second only to him. So why can’t you even dodge my blade?”

You Shu understood that he wasn’t truly angry and answered honestly: “Replying to the prince, this subordinate… this subordinate was in a daze and didn’t have time to react.”

“Hmph.” Xiao Weixin gave him a cold look, “As a shadow guard, is this how you perform your duty?”

You Shu was a little ashamed, “This subordinate knows his mistake.”

Xiao Weixin casually looked down at the sabre he held, before suddenly stabbing it towards You Shu who quickly dodged backwards. You Shu gave him a puzzled glance and saw Xiao Weixin smile provocatively: “This king is rather bored today. Why don’t you come and have a spar with me?”

You Shu never expected he would, one day, have a chance to fight Xiao Weixin so he could only bite the bullet and step forward.

If any other shadow guards encountered such a situation, most of them would probably not dare to step forward and even if they obeyed the order, they would definitely restrain themselves and let their master win.

But You Shu is a serious person. He felt that since Xiao Weixin wanted to spar with him, then there is no need to deliberately hide his skill and disrespect his opponent.

Ying Er was very worried but he had no choice but to stay where he was because he couldn’t leave his post without the prince’s permission.

You Shu excels at covert assassinations using his sleeve arrows but he is no less fearless in face-to-face fights. His fast movements seemed to make his longsword16 hum and the tip of the sword gleamed with a silvery light. Xiao Weixin did not lose out either and kept up with him, inwardly thinking that Xie Feiyuan really hadn’t lied to him.

The two of them are evenly matched, one in black and the other in white. Dancing around each other in the courtyard as the afternoon sun shines down upon them, there is a feeling of having met one’s match.

It is quite rare for Xiao Weixin to find such a suitable sparring partner. Sparring with those two doglegs17, Wang Chen and Qi Han is never enjoyable because they always purposefully pretend to be weak and end up being scolded by him every time. Not like You Shu, with whom he could spar to his heart’s content.

In the end, Xiao Weixin has very little experience in actual combat and isn’t as good as You Shu, who has fought for survival on the battlefield. After nearly a hundred moves, Xiao Weixin was finally defeated. The sabre in his hand was kicked away by You Shu into the tree in front of Ying Er while he himself was pressed against the wall by You Shu, the cold blade of the longsword resting on his neck.

“How bold.” Xiao Weixin said coldly, “You even dare to disrespect your superior18 like this.”

Although he said this, he didn’t mean it as criticism. You Shu also realized this and retracted the longsword, took a few steps back and knelt down on one knee: “This subordinate deserves punishment.”

Xiao Weixin leaned against the wall behind him, staring intently at the kneeling young man. Something flashed in his eyes and he said leisurely: “Get up.”

You Shu heard the order and stood up with his head bowed and eyes lowered.

Xiao Weixin was filled with curiosity about him at this moment. He has never seen a person like You Shu. He is clearly a lowly shadow guard whose status is even humbler than that of a servant, but he can’t see any hint of diffidence or flattery in his eyes, nor can he see any unwillingness or resentment. He seems to be a very indifferent and apathetic person.

If one says that he is bold19, his attitude is sincere and respectful and never out of line.

If one says he is timid, when ordered to spar with him, he didn’t hesitate to step forward with his sword and fought seriously without once letting him have the upper hand. Each move was aimed at his weak point and if they had been enemies, perhaps he would really have died under his blade.

His expression is seemingly calm but it always feels as if there is something hidden in his eyes.

Xiao Weixin was yet unaware that once a person begins to be curious about another person for no reason, the subsequent development of the situation is usually out of their control. Because, once certain people enter your heart, you can never let them go20.

“From now on, if I call you to spar with me again, you cannot refuse. Understood?”

You Shu nodded hurriedly: “This subordinate obeys.”

Seeing his respectful attitude towards him, Xiao Weixin was both satisfied and dissatisfied and suddenly felt his mood worsen: “Get lost.”21

You Shu didn’t have time to think about it, he moved like the wind and quickly left the yard, without even waiting for Ying Er.

Xiao Weixin squinted his eyes and saw him running away faster than a hare, with no sign of the obedient and respectful appearance he had in front of him just now.

You Shu felt that his prince was a little strange. Although his personality is very cool, he seems a little moody.

Why is it that after talking to him so nicely and telling him to work hard, he lost his temper the next second and told him to get lost?

Although I don’t quite understand it, my prince is amazing.22

You Shu is conscientiously brainwashing himself today as well. The protagonist’s filter is even thicker than before.

T/N: Hi guys! Looong time no see. I am sorry. I mentioned it on Discord but for those who aren’t on Discord, I have had a lot going on these past months in school and my own home too and although I have really tried to not let it affect me, I haven’t been entirely successful. And I may be irresponsible for saying this but I would like to use most of the time I am mentally okay and motivated to work on my studies and the upcoming college entrance exam. For the rest of the time, I have been working on the tls. This chapter and the next one were already translated a week ago but I wasn’t satisfied enough to post it. I corrected it over this week and hopefully it’s of good enough quality. I am sorry again for not updating regularly. But I will try to update as soon as chapters get translated.

Hope you guys have been well over the past few months. Stay happy, safe and healthy <3.

1

This might be a little confusing because a general naturally holds military power and can command troops. But from my understanding, in ancient times, a general could command the troops but could not lead them to war without the decree of the emperor and the military token. Doing so would, I believe, be considered rebellion or treason. So returning the military power means to return the token.

2

过河拆桥 (guò hé chāi qiáo) is a Chinese idiom meaning to abandon one’s benefactor after one’s goal has been achieved or to get rid of a person after they have served their purpose.

3

稳如泰山 (wěnrú Tài Shān) means to be calm and stable and have an unshakable and unaffected attitude in face of a crisis. Mount Tai is one of the sacred mountains of China.

4

一股清流 (yī gǔ qīng liú) literally means “a clear stream”. It refers to someone who is unique and special in a polluted and dirty environment. So, he was like a clear stream in the polluted political environment of the capital. Like a breath of fresh air.

5

The prince

6

Xiao Weishen

7

Also called proton. I will be alternating between these two depending on the sentence.

8

HAH. Idk if this counts as a spoiler but the adjective ‘poor ‘ has absolutely nothing to do with this prince. He will enter the stage soon and you can see for yourself then.

9

Idk if this paragraph properly conveys You Shu’s excitement and desperation but the raws had several AH’s after this paragraph so our boi is Excited.

10

I am not sure if his surname is Na or Najia. I am keeping it as Na to be safe.

11

(佩剑: pèi jiàn)

12

惊若翩鸿, 婉若游龙 (jīng ruò piān hóng, wǎn ruò yóu lóng) It’s a Chinese idiom usually used to descibe the graceful and elegant posture of a beautiful woman.

13

(死鬼: Sǐguǐ) literally means dead ghost and is used either to refer to a dead person or to scold/curse someone. In this case, it is being used to scold a person who is also dead.

14

(逍遥王爷: Xiāoyáo wángyé) means a carefree and leisurely prince. Idk if this is an actual title or not but I have seen it used in a few novels to refer to an ambitionless and laidback prince whose brother is the current emperor.

15

(我可以单身: I can be single) and (走花路:walk the flowery path). The first one is used mostly as ‘I can be single but the CP I ship must come true’ while the second one is mainly used by fans for idols wishing them to walk a flowery path without any difficulties and have a smooth and beautiful journey.

16

(长剑: zhang jiàn)

17

I mentioned it a few chapters back but here it is again. Basically dogleg is a flattering lackey who hugs the big golden thigh of their boss.

18

(以下犯上: yǐ xià fàn shàng) means to disrespect your superior (boss) or your elders.

19

as in disrespectful

20

as in stop thinking about them or forget them.

21

(滚下去: gǔnxiàqù) the gǔn means roll and is slang for fuck off basically. Xiàqù is the usual phrase for dismissing a servant and also the one XWX has used so far meaning go out or retreat. That was a 180 degree mood swing lol.

22

Help me. Someone. Anyone. Idk how to translate this so I paraphrased it… sort of. [但我家王爷就是叼.] This is the raw line and idk what that last word is. I am DoneTM with it. If anyone knows how to translate this please please PLEASE tell me.