"Miss! You're awake!" Bai yan ran in, Ye bing closely behind her.

It was the next morning, and Jin Qing had stirred a little from a restless night. "Yes... I am. How long was I asleep?"

"Three days, Miss. you must be starving! I'll get you something to eat. I'll go and tell the medic too that you have awoken." Ye bing ran back out in a hurry.

"Miss! Are you feeling alright? You had reoccurring fevers while you were asleep." Bai yan furrowed her eyebrows in concern "does the wound hurt? Do you need me to change your bandages? Want me to put some more ointment on it to ease the pain? Do you-"

"Shhhhh..." Jin qing let out a heavy sigh. "Please- I just woke up. Not too many words, thank you."

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Bai yan said quickly and helped her miss sit up. "Prince Shang Ye found you unconscious after your fight with the Song General."

"Mhmm..." Jin qing nodded.

"But we won! The Song soldiers quickly surrendered when their general fled. What a coward! I heard that they're going to be interrogating the commanders, and they're going to send the prisoners as manual laborers." Bai yan chatted, filling Jin qing in on all she had missed while she was asleep.

"Where's Yi Ping?" Jin qing suddenly remembered her promise with her little brother. "You'd think he'll come to visit by now..."

Bai yan shook her head "I didn't see him anywhere after the battle. But then again, these two days Ye bing and I had been helping the medic treat the injured and wounded. I didn't see Yi Ping anywhere among the injured, which must mean he's alright, right?"

Jin qing bit her lip. What if something happened to him? What if he got injured in the battlefield and no one found him?
"Kai feng would know where he is..." she tried to get out but was stopped both by the pain and Bai yan's arm.

"No! Miss! You need to rest! At least let the wound close first! You're still in a fragile state as the poison had already weakened you so much. You need to take a break!"

Jin qing reluctantly laid back down on the bed with a heavy sigh. War is messy and their battles bloody. What if something happened to him?

Ye bing had hurried back in with a bowl of congee and a medic right behind her.

The medic asked her a few questions, and after hearing her response, he turned to tell Ye bing and Bai yan a few things and left.

"That was quick." Jin qing noted.

"Well... there are many people who are injured... and he can't do much directly as you are a lady." Ye bing nodded, lifting up the spoonful of congee to her miss' lips. "We had to help bandage and treat your wounds when he leaves."

"I see..." Jin qing said quietly.

"I heard Shang Ye and Kai feng is going to the emperor when we get back into the capital to request for you to take a break." Bai yan said, kneeling on the floor and leaning against the bed. "And you deserve it."

"Huh? Them both?"

"Yes." Ye bing nodded, lifting up another spoonful. "You may not notice it, Miss, but you do look thinner and slightly paler. You need to take care of your health."

"Besides... Kai feng also mentioned another reason, but that was as far as we heard." Bai yan sighed.

Jin qing looked down at her hands and closed her eyes, nodding. "When... when are we going back?"

"We're going back tomorrow, now that you're awake. The palace medics will treat you when you get back." Ye bing answered, impatiently lowering the bowl when Jin qing shook her head as she tried to feed her. "Miss. You have to eat something!"

"I'm not hungry. I'll eat it later."

"Miss, you haven't eaten since you fell unconscious. You need to eat something before you fall ill." Ye bing insisted.

"Miss, please?" Bai yan pleaded. "You're getting thinner, you need to stay healthy! take a break!"

Jin qing looked at her maids with a set of tired eyes. She knew that they mean well, but the little voice in the back of her head kept on reminding her of the things she had feared about yesterday. "But really, I'm not hungry and the country-"

"Miss, you can't help the country if you're constantly getting sick or getting injured." Ye bing interrupted her. "I'm sorry for interrupting you, but you need the break. Please, eat something."

Jin qing reluctantly took the bowl of congee and brought the spoon to her lips. the little voice told her that the congee was filled with poison and they only wanted her to eat so they can worsen her injuries and aid the process to decline her health.
Jin qing shut her eyes. She knew her maids wouldn't do that. Jin qing knew them long and well enough that they wouldn't betray her under any circumstance. Besides, the congee tasted like regular congee.

heavy footsteps approached her room, and Jin qing instantly tensed and looked up, and relaxed a little when she saw it was just Shang ye and her brother.
But she remained alert.

"Jin qing! You're awake!" Shang ye exclaimed, his face lighting up with pure happiness.

Kai feng nodded, patting Jin qing on her head, ruffling her hair as if she was a child. "Good to see that you're up. You had us worried while you were unconscious."

"I apologize for making you worry."

"No need." Kai feng shook his head, and Jin qing caught the tiredness in his eyes.

"Are you feeling alright? Your injuries not bothering you?" Shang ye asked, sitting down on her bed as Ye bing and Bai yan has gotten up and was standing to the side.

"I'm alright. It doesn't hurt as much now." Jin qing lied.

Both males breathed a sigh of relief. Jin qing looked alright except for her lack of energy. Otherwise, there was no other issue that the two men can see.

"How about you two?" Jin qing asked. "Kai feng, please don't even try to hide how tired you are. I can see it in your eyes."

Kai feng sighed "I'll be alright. Just the usual counting and tending to of the bodies- the more depressing side of winning a battle."

Jin qing nodded. She felt bad too, sacrificing so many men for the sake of one battle and one city.
Jin qing tried to comfort herself by telling herself that with their sacrifice, the rest of the great Wei would be safe for a very long time. "Is Yi Ping Alright?"

Kai feng and Shang Ye worries exchanged glances, and a sinking feeling settled in Jin qing's stomach.

"Is... Yi Ping Alright?" Jin qing asked again, this time her voice quieter than before. Her eyes shone with fear and desperation with the worry of something happening to her brother.

"We couldn't find him within the camps... nor was he found on the field among the bodies." Shang Ye managed to say. "We think he captured by some of the retreating-"

"Don't lie to me. I was told that most of the army was surrounded, and very little people managed to escape- much less take a prisoner with them."

Kai feng let out a heavy sigh and sat down at the foot of Jin qIngs bed. His head was bowed so his chin touched his chest, his eyes were closed. "His body was found among the fallen Wei soldiers."

"Is... he alright?"

What was the use of asking? Jin qing already knew the answer just from looking at her brother's face.

"No. He wasn't breathing when we found him. The last time our soldiers saw him, he was fighting that crazed man that was taunting you from below the city walls."

Jin qing was barely aware of the shaking in her brother's voice as he said that.
The dumb boy... ignored what she said to ignore the man. She should have told him why. She should have made up some more believable story than the truth and scared him so he wouldn't dare try and look for such a skilled assassin on the battlefield.

A fragile part of her shattered, broken into pieces like glass. It fell into the emotional abyss that she thought has closed up long ago.

"We'll go out for some tea and sweets when this battle is done, okay? You'll play the flute and I'll... sing."

"Alright, we will."

Jin qing shut her eyes, surprised on how her tears haven't fallen from her face yet even though she can feel her eyes starting to water.

She only had one thing in mind. And that one thing was revenge.
Revenge... not only for herself and her own selfish reasons.
No.
This time, she had Yi Ping and all the soldiers that died to avenge. They were all counting on her. She couldn't afford to mess up now, as if she did, their lives would have gone to waste.

She felt the shift in weight and the rustling of cloth and knew Kai feng had stood up to have some time alone.
He was the closest with Yi Ping. The one who had practically raised him to be the soldier and the man he is today. Kai feng was a proud older brother fro his younger brother's success...

And he just lost all that. Yi ping's death would affect not only herself but others as well. Everyone who knew him, anyone who knew him personally or not would be stricken with grief...

The sudden hit of realization caused the first drops of tears to fall, which Jin qing responded with wiping it away with her sleeve.
She must not cry now, as now was the time the kingdom and the empire needed her the most. They may have defended the great Wei from one attack but that doesn't mean they're safe. As long as that man is alive, this war will go on until either he or Jin qing is dead. She must not be feeling this way. She must be focusing her attention on her job and make sure nothing like this will ever happen again-

Someone wrapped their arms around her and pulled her head to their chest.
Their warm and big grip felt comforting, almost like a pillow. Warm hands patted her back and placed his head on her own, his chin on the top of her head.
Jin qing's first reaction was to push him away, but the man held firm as both of them realized how Jin qing wasn't trying too hard to move away.

"its... It's alright. It's alright for you to cry. Go on..." He said under his breath.

She needed the comfort. She needed someone to cry on, someone to comfort her.
This isn't her first loss in her life, but it is certainly the first one in a long time.

And so Jin qing cried into Shang ye's arms, her soft sobs barely audible above the cheers outside to celebrate the grand victory.