Jin qing slowly opened her eyes, and the first thing she felt was the headache building in her head.

She was in her room in the city, possibly alone as she couldn't feel any other presence.
What happened? The last memory was her passing out in Shang ye's arms.

She tried to sit up, shifting a little bit but gave up as soon as the pain on her shoulder started again.
That man...
He had grown over the years she hasn't seen him. He used to be so weak and fragile when she was younger, but after that one day... he changed, completely.

She stared at the ceiling, wondering how long has she passed out.
And whoever patched her wounds was terrible.
Jin qing wished she could ask the mother in the countryside to come, as she had years of experience and knew Jin qing's capable yet fragile body better than anyone.
Jin qing suddenly regretted not paying attention to the times she had taught her about her craft.

So many things she regrets.

One of those things is that she didn't kill that man when she got the chance all those years ago.

Someone's footsteps approached the room, and Jin Qing managed to pretend as if she never woke up.

"Has the Xue Xian woken up yet?" Shang Ye asked from outside the door.

"No, she hasn't woken up for two days." Someone answered.

Jin qing mentally frowned. Two days? Has she been that exhausted or that injured?

"Has the medic been treating her wounds? Has he come today yet?"

"Yes, he dropped by a few hours ago, and he insists that she be left alone."

"Still?"

"Yes, your highness. The medic had found out that you've been visiting her for the past two days and has strictly forbidden it."

Jin qing heard a loud rustle of footsteps, then the guard cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry, your highness. But the medic is right. She needs to be left alone."

"I'll just go in and see her, I won't stay for too long."

"But your highness-"

Judging from the footsteps approaching her, she assumed Shang Ye had completely ignored the guard and walked in anyway.
Jin qing still had her eyes closed, as she didn't want anyone to know she was awake just yet.

She felt the blankets to her right shift as Shang Ye sat down next to her. "So it's like this again, huh? When you were poisoned I sat just like this a few times each day."

He did?
Why didn't anyone tell her?

"When I saw you passed out on the floor, well... I panicked. But you'll be alright, you've even said it yourself that you're stronger than you look." He let out a heavy sigh, and she felt his hands grip onto her's. "Wake up soon, board game buddy."

Jin qing laid still, keeping her breathing slow and heavy, imitating the breathing patterns of someone who is asleep. She wanted him to keep on talking.

"Though I wonder... was the Song General that skilled to be able to take you down? I've heard reports that he has simply ignored and ridden past our soldiers when they approached him as if he was in a hurry... was he looking for you? But why?"

So he was using this battle as an excuse to find and kill her.
But this also meant that he and his mother knew where she was and who she was-
Fear seized her heart at the realization, but she kept still.

Jin qing felt a soft tap on her nose, then a little chuckle from Shang Ye.

"What aren't you telling me? You once told me you were an open book back during the hunting trip, but clearly you're hiding more than you reveal." He laughed quietly, shifting a little. "You look so peaceful when you sleep..."

Ha. I'm only pretending to be asleep.
But what DO I look like when I sleep? I wonder. Though I probably a mess but whatever.

"I wonder if you're actually awake right now and has been pretending for the past two days. Are you?" He withdrew his hand.

I just woke up. But yes, I am pretending to be asleep.

He suddenly burst out into laughter "Well I've been asking that for the past two days. I guess not, otherwise, I would have gotten a reaction from you."

Jin qing was trying too hard to keep her expression neutral and not smile, and she somehow managed to do just that.

Another shift told Jin qing that Shang has stood up. "Well, I'd be leaving now. But you better wake up soon, my brother has gone into quite the distraught state since he had learned of your condition. You'll be alright, right?"

A small pause.

"I'm talking to an unconscious person." A small laugher "anyway, get better soon. You really need to take a break after this..."

His footsteps grew softer as he exited the room, and after a few minutes, Jin qing opened her eyes.

She was somehow able to move her right arm, thank the heavens for that. Gingerly, Jin qing tapped on the side she was hurt in and flinched when her finger made contact with her waist.
There was definitely a deep cut there with a possibility of something more serious, but she decided not to think about it.
The headache in her head grew and remained, but Jin qing didn't think it was too much of an issue. For all she knew, it could have been a side effect from the poison.

The poison.

Jin qing shut her eyes.
Huan le dared to betray the Wei?
But what is her motive? Why did she suddenly decide to trace her roots to the Song and ask them for help?
That man had mentioned a reason, as of revenge, but why?
Jin qing knew Huan le had never liked her, but for what reason, she never knew why.
Currently, the most important question to her now was how to get Huan le punished for her actions.

But she needed proof.
It's either Jin qing finds legitimate proof that Huan le was the one who poisoned her and had been working with the Song, or she finds another completely different accusation and get Huan le punished from there.

But before she did that, she wanted to know why Huan le was working with the Song. Surely Revenge can't be that big of a motive, can it?

Hah. Hear yourself think, you big hypocrite. Jin qing scolded herself. You're acting purely on the intent on revenge. You shouldn't be judging Huan le.

But another issue rested uneasily on her mind.
The man and his mother knew where she was.
Jin qing let out a deep exhale and closed her eyes. She wasn't going to be safe anywhere now. As long as they know who she is... Jin qing would always be in the danger of dying.

But how could they have known? As far as she was concerned, no one except for five people knew, and they had sworn never to tell anyone.

The five people... the elderly couple and their sons. The very few people that Jin qing trusts in the living world.

She stared up at the wooden ceiling. Who in this world can she trust? The only reason why she didn't want anyone to know that she was the Xue Xian was because of that man and his mother. They would recognize her immediately.
How long have they known? If they had known for longer, who told them and why did they wait for so long to act?
Did they wage war with the Wei just for this reason?

Then what about the Song emperor? Does he know? Is he being used that that man and his mother? Those two was and she was positive that they still are very manipulative. It would have been child's play for them to rise into power and get the emperor to become their puppet within a decade or so.

What was the man doing now? Is he already planning a counterattack? Was he already planning on sending another assassin in her way? Perhaps another elite guard from the fallen Liang royal family?

Jin qing squeezed her eyes shut. She didn't want to think of that possibility. Even she couldn't take them on unless she had an incredible amount of luck on her side that day.

But who?
Who told him?
How did they find out?
How did the person who told him and his mother find out about a secret she had only told five people?

Who can she trust in this world?
Was it her maids? They work so closely with her every day, they might have picked something up from her way of speech or her habits or even her appearance.

Panic seized her heart, and something settled into her chest making it difficult to breathe.

Could it be one of her siblings? Could it be Huan le, since she already had ties to the Song? But how did she find out?

The pounding in her head began to beat in rhythm to her fluttering heart.

Could it be one of the princes? Or perhaps Xi Jian himself! Perhaps he's trying to get close to her so then he can hand her over to the Song when the time is right... perhaps the entire royal family is plotting against her. Perhaps all those attempts from Princess An Ru were just to have Jin qing trust her and become friends just so she can betray her later...

Jin qing closed her eyes when she noticed how the world was starting to spin.
She needed to stop. She needed to stop before her attack gets even worse. She can hear and feel her breathing starting to shake and it annoyed her.
It seemed too loud to her.

She exhaled through her mouth, but the shaking... Jin qing wanted to stop breathing all together so she doesn't need to hear the shaking.
Jin qing forced herself to breathe, ignoring the weight that had settled into her chest. She couldn't even sit up properly as the wound on her side and arm was still there.

The blankets- they were too heavy. She hated the pressing feeling that suddenly weighed her down and restricted movement.

Her fingers pulled into a tight and shaking fist, her nails digging into the palm of her hand.
She needed to calm down.
But she wasn't. The feeling simply grew.

Jin qing forced herself to take in deep breaths and long exhales. Control what she can, then deal with what she couldn't with earlier.

Unlike all those other times she faced this situation, Jin qing knew exactly what had triggered it.
But why did she have such a big reaction to it?