From Shadow Guard to Empress

The days passed gradually and soon enough, the day of the Spring Festival1 had arrived. The Spring Festival is the first day of the New Year. On this day, everyone reunites with their families, forgets all the troubles of the past year, and looks forward to the new year with anticipation and happiness.

Everyone was immersed in the joy of family reunion, except for the people of the Ling Wang Mansion.

Let alone the excitement of the New Year, the atmosphere in the Ling Wang Mansion is even colder than it is on normal days. Everyone seems to be walking on eggshells, acting carefully so as not to make any mistakes and get punished for offending the prince. Even Qi Han, Wang Chen and the others do not dare to speak more than necessary.

Early in the morning, Xiao Weixin went to the palace to pay his respects but his face was clearly vexed.

You Shu knew why.

Back then, when the old emperor was still sick and had yet to die, Xiao Weixin was only eighteen years old and had just moved out of the palace into his own mansion. However, he would still enter the palace every day to greet Consort Xian and talk to her for a while.

At that time, although the old emperor’s health was very poor, he was still holding on to life. Xiao Weishen had not become the crown prince at that time. Although the old emperor favored his Consort Mother2 greatly, he had never forgotten his late Empress. Therefore, the crown prince’s seat had always remained vacant. His unclear attitude deluded all his sons into thinking that they could have the chance to get the throne.

Xiao Weishen was the most powerful prince at the time. In order to avoid having to face unforeseen problems due to delaying3, under the instigation of his mother, Imperial Consort Xia4, and his uncle, he made a risky plan to kill the old emperor who was still clinging to life and take the throne himself.

Greedy for the throne, Xiao Weishen had long lost any care for the relations of father, son and brother. So, one day, he took advantage of his visit and, with the help of Imperial Consort Xia, suffocated him to death.

But all this was accidentally witnessed by Consort Xian who had gone to tend to the old emperor. In order to get rid of her, Xiao Weishen followed the terrified Consort Xian all the way back to her palace, strangled her to death with white silk, and then hung her from the ceiling beam thus creating the illusion that Consort Xian had voluntarily died for love in order to be buried beside her dead husband.

They thought that everything had been taken care of seamlessly but they didn’t know that all of this had been seen by Consort Xian’s young maidservant. By the time Xiao Weixin got the news and hurriedly rushed to the palace, it was already night and the only thing left to greet him was his mother’s cold corpse.

That day also happened to be the day of the Spring Festival. The first day of the New Year. An auspicious day.

Hearing the events described by the weeping young maid as she knelt on the ground, Xiao Weixin couldn’t sleep for the rest of the night. If Xie Feiyuan hadn’t forcefully restrained him, he would have immediately rushed to Xiao Weishen and his mother and fought them desperately in order to avenge his mother, even at the cost of his death.

But he was still powerless at that time. Although the Shadow Guard Camp had already been formed, it was far from its current strength. Xiao Weixin could only swallow his anger and grievance and bury his mother, pretending to be ignorant. Afterwards, he knelt before her memorial tablet for three days without getting up even once.

You Shu tried to put himself in his shoes. If he had witnessed his mother being brutally murdered when he was eighteen years old, he would definitely not be able to be so forbearing. Therefore, he understood Xiao Weixin’s pain very well. He had just reached adulthood at that time and had been thinking that the future ahead of him was very bright. Now that he had his own mansion, he would be able to bring his mother out of the palace and live a happy and free life. But he could never have expected that such an unexpected disaster would occur and overturn all his dreams and hopes.

Before this, Xiao Weixin had never had any intention of getting the throne and all he had wanted to do was to protect himself and his mother but because of the tragic death of his mother, he vowed to seize the throne and give that pair of mother and son a miserable death.

It can be said that everything that happened after this was Xiao Weishen’s own fault.

You Shu calculated the time and discovered that it had been more than an hour since Xiao Weixin had left for the palace. He estimated that it would take another half hour for him to return. It was mentioned in the novel that the Empress would bring up the topic of his marriage with Xia Yinxiu again at this time and let the two of them meet each other properly.

Just like You Shu thought, at this moment, in the palace, Xiao Weixin was being forced to meet the matchmaker and the Empress has been working hard to promote her sister.

Xia Yinxiu and Xiao Weixin sat opposite each other on either side of the Empress. Both of them had the empty and lifeless5 expression of a person who had clearly been forced to go on a blind date.

Xia Yinxiu secretly glanced at Xiao Weixin and couldn’t help thinking that this person was really as handsome as the rumors said. Whether in terms of appearance or temperament, he was outstanding and incomparable to others. But he hadn’t given her a single glance from beginning to end, as if he disdained to even look at her.

Xia Yinxiu was not loved in her home. Madam Xia6 was a jealous and shrewish person. Although she didn’t treat the concubines’ children cruelly or abuse them, she had no love for them. They were all raised and looked after by their wet nurses. In the mansion, aside from her sister Empress who treated her kindly, no one else cared for her.

Therefore, in her heart, Xia Yinxiu has always longed for the love and care of others and Xiao Weixin’s dismissive attitude towards her made her feel a little upset and confused. She only bowed her head and fell silent, feeling a slight resistance towards this marriage that her sister had arranged.

Xiao Weixin felt very irritated in his heart. He didn’t have any particular opinion about Xia Yinxiu herself but he didn’t like her dignified demeanor of a rich and noble young lady. And the fact that she is related to the Xia family and Xiao Weishen makes her even more hateful. He doesn’t even like to look at Empress Xia, considering her to be just a self-righteous woman.

Empress Xia kept the conversation going by herself but she could tell that the both of them were completely uninterested and she was the only one being enthusiastic [about this match].

Still, she doesn’t understand what Yinxiu lacks. She was cultivated carefully by her and was a miniature version of herself7. From every aspect, she is among the best in the capital. What is it that makes Xiao Weixin dissatisfied with her?

Xiao Weixin remained seated for some time, feeling rather impatient. He had originally planned to greet the Empress Dowager Xia as usual and then go back but he hadn’t expected that he would get caught by Empress Xia and would be delayed for so long. Listening to her continuously praising Xia Yinxiu trying to facilitate their marriage, there is no feeling in his heart other than disgust.

No member of the Xia family can enter his mansion in this lifetime, not even as a mere concubine.

He stood up and interrupted Empress Xia, coldly saying that he felt unwell and wished to go back to rest. Hearing this, Empress Xia had no choice but to let him go back but her eyes clearly revealed her reluctance to part.

Xia Yinxiu observed quietly for a while and suddenly felt her heart jump with fear.

Could it be that Sister…..admires His Highness Ling Wang?

What if the emperor found out about it?

Wanting to comfort her, she started to say something but Empress Xia didn’t want to hear it and, with reddened eyes, asked her to go back. Xia Yinxiu didn’t know how to deal with such a situation so she could only leave the palace, deciding inwardly to keep her sister’s thoughts a secret and to never speak of it to anyone.

After leaving the palace, Xiao Weixin returned directly to the mansion, dismissed all the servants and knelt alone in the ancestral hall for a long time.

The first day of the first month of every year is the anniversary of his mother’s death but he couldn’t even hold a memorial ceremony8 for her in a fair manner because, even after all these years, Xiao Weishen has always been suspicious of him. Doubting whether he was truly ignorant of the truth of Consort Xian’s death, he would secretly probe from time to time.

Therefore, every year, on this day, he could only hide his grief and hatred in his heart, force a smile onto his face and go to the palace to celebrate the New Year.

With red eyes, Xiao Weixin looked up at his mother’s memorial tablet. Through these years, he has never once forgotten his enmity. He has waited patiently for five years and it’s not too much to wait another year.

Compared with Xiao Weixin’s dark mood, the atmosphere in the Shadow Guard camp can be regarded as cheerful. They had all managed to make it through another year of living life on a knife edge. Everyone cherishes these days of peace where they are all still alive so each day is spent in celebration and enjoyment.

The sweet scent of melons and fruits permeated the air. You Shu sat with his legs crossed and played cards with Ying Wu. He is a master of the game and has never lost once. Seeing how he was about to lose all his money, Ying Wu couldn’t help scratching his head anxiously9.

Ying Si, who was snacking on melon seeds, suggested that everyone should go to the brothel together. They are all idle anyway so they might as well go out and have fun together.

The others didn’t have any objection. It was a waste not to indulge themselves in this rare vacation so everyone agreed happily. After all, the prince wouldn’t call for them today so as long as they keep a low profile when they go out, there wouldn’t be any problems.

You Shu didn’t want to go. Seeing that urging him was useless, the others deliberately teased him, saying that he had never taken any interest in these matters so he must not be a normal man. Although this method of provocation was very childish, You Shu still felt insulted.

Heh, this group of ancient people who have never seen the world. If all the little yellow books10 I read in my previous life were stacked up into a pile, that pile would be taller than the lot of you. Who do you think you are looking down on?

In order to prove himself, You Shu changed his clothes in the evening and slipped out with them through the back door of the mansion.

Since it was first day of the New Year and curfew had been lifted for that night, the streets were filled with people. You Shu was tall and handsome and looked very conspicuous even when walking in the dense crowd. The other shadow guards aren’t much worse than him either but they all have a rather roguish air about them and, at first glance, seem like a group of rich dandies.

Ying Si took them to the Baixiang Tower that he often visited. Hearing the name, You Shu had a sudden urge to eat passion fruit11, which was his favorite fruit to make tea with in the past.

Baixiang Tower is frequented mainly middle-class clients. They didn’t dare to go to any high-end places, for fear of accidentally encountering high-ranking and influential people. The girls here aren’t as extraordinary as those in a high-end place like Tingyue Tower but they are also beautiful young ladies who are very good at singing folk songs and ballads.

Ying Si’s lover is a woman named Cui-niang12 who isn’t very popular and is a bit older, but her voice is soft and gentle and doesn’t at all look like a courtesan. Ying Si smiled as soon as he saw her, almost gluing himself to her side.

The others all made fun of him for a while but they also quickly sat down next to their own lovers. They almost never played around and usually had fixed partners, almost like couples.

You Shu can’t quite get used to all this. Although not all the courtesans in this brothel are prostitutes, he can’t overcome his guilt.

This is the red-light district and Tingyue Tower is quite close to here. But the difference between the two can be seen very clearly just from the carriages at their respective entrances.

You Shu only asked for a girl to sing and disinterestedly leaned against the window, looking out into the street. He suddenly wondered how Xiao Weixin had spent this day. He spends this day alone every year but when the female lead marries in this summer, he will no longer have to be alone, right?

Sure enough, the female leads of ordinary novels all have a difficult and miserable life experience. Otherwise, they would never find the motivation to improve themselves and start a career.

Unlike him who was born to be diligent in his career.

You Shu was lost in his thought when he saw a window open on the second floor of Tingyue Tower revealing a young girl dressed in green clothes whose gaze suddenly fell on him.

You Shu knew that girl. She was the young girl who had played music for him when he went to Tingyue Tower last time. It seemed that her name was Lu Ying.

Seeing You Shu, her eyes lit up immediately and she smiled sweetly at him.

You Shu was surprised for a moment and then turned around and poked Ying Wu who was excitedly playing a guessing game with some of the girls, “How does my face look right now?”

Ying Wu turned to him and rolled his eyes: “I know you are handsome. No need to show off!”

You Shu nodded.

That’s right. Unlike last time when he was wearing a human skin mask, his current face his indeed his own so it was impossible for Lu Ying to have recognized him.

Right. It must have been because of his overwhelming handsomeness that she smiled at him.

T/N: I don’t know why this chapter took so long. I just kept falling into a daze randomly or getting sidetracked by just one particular word for absolutely no reason. Anyways hope you enjoyed. Also, remember this sweet Lu Ying though she won’t be called that for much longer hehe.

1

Fairly certain everyone knows but Spring Festival is the Chinese New Year according to their lunar calendar.

2

Xiao Weishen’s mother, the current Empress Dowager Xia

3

夜长梦多 literally means a long night is fraught with dreams. The actual meaning is that a long delay can cause problems and obstacles.

4

貴妃 (Guìfēi) This title is the highest in the harem below the Empress and only one person can hold the title unlike the title of consort or concubine.

5

生无可恋 meaning a life devoid of meaning and hope. Dramatic much lol.

6

Prime Minister Xia’s official wife

7

Before you all start disliking her (which wouldn’t be all that undeserved tbh) it means that she is as talented, dignified and well-mannered as herself. Though the meaning that she was basically modelled after herself is implied as well. Feel free to dislike her if you want.

8

A ceremony where the descendants or relatives of the dead offer sacrifices to them, add soil to their graves and pray for them.

910

Pornographic manga or adult comics

11

百香 (bǎi xiāng) means passion fruit. Fruit:Tea: 

12

I don’t think the niang is part of her name. Her name is more like Lady Cui or Miss Cui. I might change it later though.