Jin qing sat in her carriage a few days later, heading off to the border where the Wei touches the Song.

Xue hua tried her best to stay upbeat and keep her sister company, but Jin qing never seemed to be paying attention to her. Xue hua sighed and looked out her window, her hand on her chin. She didn't blame her, the mood was dampening every attempt.

This was Xue hua's first time seeing Jin qing this gloomy.

She looked out the window and the cloth curtains and stared at the sky. Clouds loomed over as if a storm was coming. It hasn't rained in this area for a while now, and when it rains it will pour down everything it has been holding back.

"You're always looking out at the window, why?" Xue hua asked in an attempt to start a conversation.

"This place looks familiar." Jin qing replied simply.

Xue hua peeked at the view her sister had, not really understanding what she meant. It was just forests and forests and tree after tree. How can anyone distinguish between them?

"How?"

"We passed a lake an hour or two ago, a lake that borders the Song and the Wei... It sounds and seems like the place I grew up in"

"The place where the elderly couple is?" Xue hua asked

"Yes."

"And so why are you looking out? Do you want to visit them?"

"Not now. The city is at stake."

Xue hua looked back down at her hands and sighed. They have been having conversations like this the entire ride.

Jin qing was in no mood to talk. She was thinking of a million different things at once. She told the princes and her maids back at the palace that she had a plan, but the truth is, she didn't have one.

She looked up at the dark clouds and wondered what they were going to do to her. Perhaps this will be the last time she'll ever set foot in the kingdom on Wei ever again.
It would probably be for the best, she wouldn't have to worry anymore if she died. And if she died, she wouldn't have to worry about her secrets getting leaked because no one can bring the dead alive.

The carriage suddenly stopped and Jin qing looked outside.

"We're taking a break miss!" A guard shouted. "We are still a day's journey away from the border."

"Great, I'm getting up to stretch." Jin qing muttered, and eagerly got out of the carriage. Xue hua opened her mouth to stop her, but she was too late, Jin qing had already gotten out.

Jing qing breathed in the fresh air of the woods and knelt by a little stream of water, washing her hands with a handkerchief. She was lonely without the chatter of her maids, and she was too worried to pay attention to her sister.

She looked up at the storm clouds and wondered why did it have to rain now. It was as if the world was preparing to mourn her death.
Her eyes grew distant and sat on the edge of the stream and kept her thoughts to herself, just like how she has done her entire life.

Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad if she died. She can see all the people she has lost.

"Jin qing, are you alright?" Xue hua asked, sitting down next to her.

"I'm fine." Jin qing replied.

"Are you sure you want to hand yourself over to the Song? It's not too late to back out."

"Yes, I'm sure." She nodded. "The life of one for the lives of many. It's the right thing to do."

"It's the right thing to do for the country, but will it be the best thing to do?"

"If we act based on our own selfish accords, this kingdom will fall." Jin qing sighed "That, is something you must always remember. Would you not be happy if you can see all those soldiers alive and well, back to their own families where their mothers, wives, and children are waiting? Do you want to see Yi ping again?"

"I do," Xue hua said, her head hanging from shame that she was so selfish.

"And so do I. I want to see that everyone lives their lives to the fullest."  Jin qing said truthfully. "Perhaps they'll even stop the fighting."

"I hope." Xue hua said sadly.

Jin qing stood up and held out a hand to Xue hua and helped her stand up. "Now, what's with the long face? I don't want the last moments with my sister to be full of sorrow."

Xue hua attempted a smile and knew the smile on her sister's face was as fake as her own.

They held hands together and walked back to the carriage after a little while. The horses were fed and ready to leave so they can make some further progress before nightfall.

Jin qing arrived to find men arguing.

"If we travel through the night we should be able to make it by sunrise. We need to get the Xue xian by the border as soon as possible!"

"Are you insane?! Traveling at night is far too dangerous. We have limited men here, what if someone attacks us when we are vulnerable?"

"Do you not think we are vulnerable if we are all resting and camping?"

"At least we will be rested. You will be overworking the men and the horses!"

Jin qing walked in a wide arc to prevent being dragged into their argument, but too late, they had spotted her.

The two young men ran and knelt before her and looked up.

"The almighty Xue xian, help us settle a dispute!"

"Yes. I heard." Jin qing sighed "you two are the commanders, yes?"

They nodded.

"You were very loud, allowing the men to hear a disagreement forming between their leaders. If they fight, they will fight separately under their own beliefs." Jin qing warned, "lower your voices the next time you bicker."

"Understood."

"Now, I'll say a compromise." Jin qing said simply. "We'll have a few horses stay back and rest and some will accompany the journey. When day breaks or whenever suits them, them men will ride toward us and switch."

The men nodded and stood up. "Many thanks to the Xue Xian!"

Jin qing sighed. Why were there so many incompetent men commanding?
She sat back down in the carriage where Xue hua was waiting.

"They were very loud." She giggled.

"Yes, and that's a very bad thing to do in front of already split men."

"What do you mean?"

"The emperor, or at least whoever organizes such things, is an idiot." Jin qing lifted up the curtains slightly and pointed at the men's weapons. "The men are from two different sections of different armies... They will follow their own commander. If a civil war doesn't break out in the great Wei, something will happen here."

Xue hua looked closely at the patterns and the subtle changes of color in the men's armor. She noticed that her sister was right. The men with the same patterns were standing on the same side as their commanders were currently standing, completely divided. "What will happen if a fight does break out?"

"It will happen after I leave, mark my words." Jin qing said grimly. "The only thing holding those two commanders and their own squadrons intact is my presence."

"How?"

Jin qing let out a small laugh "why they're scared of what I can do! Xue hua, when we return, stay on the commander of the right side, that man."

Xue hua peeked at whom her sister was directing at and saw a young man. "Why him?"

"He was the person who proposed we stay and rest, perhaps the wisest decision. The other man... Is reckless. in a fight, most likely the man on the right will most likely prove triumphant." Jin qing bit her lip "though, for as long as possible, stay neutral, compromise. The presence of a lady should ease tensions as well... Unless they are some savages and dare brawl in front of a lady."

Xue hua laughed at her last comment.

The carriage shook a little as the horses started to move again. Jin qing let out a yawn and blinked sleepily

"I'm tired. Wake me up if anything happens, alright?" She grinned.

Xue hua nodded. "Of course."

Nothing happened.

And Jin qing slept soundly.

The horses changed an hour before sunrise, and by that time, Xue hua was long asleep.

The men kept on moving, shivering in the cold air. Someone saw the camp in the border, and all of them hurried toward it.

They set down the carriage, and Jin qing awoke.

She looked out the window toward the land of the Song. This may be the last time she'll ever be in the great Wei.

The Song... The border country to the once-prosperous Liang fell a little more than a decade ago. All it is left is a few independent cities and a piece of chaotic land where no one can go near unless they have a strange desire to be robbed or sold.

Jin qing looked at her hands. She had heard stories about how Liang fell into anarchy when spies on the inside betrayed the empress and her young son. Their daughter was never heard from again.
She wondered if the Wei will ever fall into something like that.

She stepped down and the stirring also woke up Xue hua.

"Have we arrived yet? She asked.

"Yes."

The ambassadors sent by the emperor of the Song was standing right behind the border, ready. She peered over onto the other side, past the men and into the buildings where their men were stationed.

She looked at the ground around them and noticed something odd.

"Has the messengers confirmed the switch?" Jin qing asked a guard nearest to her.

"Yes."

"Where is the man? I need to ask him something"

"In the shed behind us."

Jin qing went over and stepped into the building, and the men inside nodded as she came in.

"When did you arrive here?" Jin qing asked the messenger.

"Around three days ago. The city should be under Wei control now."

"Are you sure?"

"When I left, the Song army was getting ready to leave."

"How long does it take for a horse from here to the city?"

"I took less than a week."

"How about by bird? What if a bird flies from the city to here?"

The man stared at her, taken by surprise. "I'd say less than a day."

Jin qing felt unsettled, something was wrong.

She went outside, where the men were ready.

"Xue Xian, the city has been recaptured by the Wei, they honored their side of the deal." The commander there said to her. "It is time for us to honor our part of the agreement."

"Of course."

"Jin qing!" Xue hua said softly. "Oh please don't go!"

She laid a hand on her younger sister's head and rubbed it affectionately, she then turned around and allowed two Song soldiers to grip her arms and lead them toward the border.

Something was wrong.
She can feel it.

As soon as she crossed the border and a safe distance away from the soldiers of the Wei, it was too late. She realized what was going on when she saw the hidden soldiers all stationed behind the hills where they would be out of sight from the Wei.

This was a trap.

The soldiers sprang up and the ones holding onto her pinned her onto the floor. Two against one and with the unfair advantage of being on top of her, her arms were immobilized and pinned behind her back.

There was some shouted from the border, the sounds of surprised men trying to win in a fight they cannot win.

She heard a lady's scream.

Her sister.

She tried again to get up, but someone struck her against her neck and she fell into darkness.

Mwahahahahaahhaahahahaha

(๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧

And we have hit 1k reads! This is my second book to reach this milestone and I am SO happy!
I would like to say thanks to all of you readers! Now onwards to 2K!