Li Jin Qing: The one behind it all

Chapter 39

"Miss? Where are you going?"

"Since the emperor doesn't want to do anything about his brother getting sent to his death, I'm going to do something." Jin qing answered, throwing open her closet doors to take out simpler robes for easy travel. She needed to leave quickly. She knew that Xi jian wouldn't let her leave so she must go as soon as possible before it became impossible.

"But miss! Your injuries aren't fully healed! It would be far too dangerous, even for you!" Ye bing pointed out, grabbing onto her miss' hand.

Jin qing shook her maid's hand off and quickly took off her heavy garments and jewelry. "My wounds will heal eventually, but you cannot bring a dead man back to life no matter what you do. Bai yan, I want you to go outside and see if there are any guards approaching. Quickly- Xi jian would not let me go as easily as I'd like him to."

"Bai yan!" Ye bing stared at the maid who had stood up and began to hurry out the door. How can she be so inconsiderate? It may be a direct order from their miss, but this is something than will pit their miss' life at even more of a risk than it has ever been!

"Ye bing, our miss has a point." Bai yan answered back "I'll come back as soon as I can. Miss- you should pack lightly!"

"Ye bing, please." Jin qing looked up for a brief moment as Bai yan hurried away "Let me do this. Shang ye is heading straight into a trap. Xi jian doesn't know who he can trust and has clearly spoken of too many things that should have stayed hidden. I need you to head to the stables and prepare three horses and bring it out to the side entrance in exactly ten minutes."

"But Miss-"

"Do it!" Jin qing rose her voice as she grew more and more impatient.

Ye bing gulped. She could tell her miss wasn't messing around anymore and her temper shouldn't be tested. She spun around on her heel and ran to do what her miss had told her to do.

As soon as Ye bing left, Jin qing was done changing into a simpler blue dress like the ones she would wear before her identity was revealed. She didn't have time to celebrate as she can finally move around more freely, but she reached underneath her bed to take out the sword she had gotten from that Liang assassin and a polished wooden box.

Jin qing knelt down and carefully opened the box, lifting up the jewels on top along with the soft cushion that it was resting on to reveal a fine, sheathed silver dagger.

With shaking hands, Jin qing looped a piece of leather on the hole on the top and hid it underneath the folds of her skirt. She grabbed a cloak and put it on, putting the sword on the buckle around her waist.

She needs to leave. She had already wasted too much time, but she still needed to do one more thing-

Grabbing a map of the Wei resting on her desk and a brush, she quickly marked off an area and hastily wrote something on a separate sheet of paper, and tied it up with a piece of string when she was done.

Bai yan came running back in as soon as Jin qing folded up the map "Miss! I saw guards heading this way. They would be at the front entrance any minute now! I came back as soon as I could but im worried they might have seen me-"

"We need to go to the back exit, quick!" Jin qing hissed, grabbing Bai yan's hand and dragged her toward the back where a smaller entrance led out a long stone pathway. Jin qing and her maid ran along the deserted path and toward the side exit where Ye bing would be waiting. "As soon as I leave, I need you two to go somewhere and hide until I get back."