"Miss, you need to take a break. Dinner's ready."

"I'll be there in just a second."

"You said that ten minutes ago."

Jin qing sighed and put down her pen. "I need to get this done. I wasted too much time during the past week."

"Miss, you're going to make yourself sick from all the work." Ye bing let out a heavy sigh. "Your body is still recovering from both the poison and the wounds you received during the battle is still present and hasn't healed yet."

"I'll be fine. Set my food down on the side, I'll eat it when I'm done."

"Miss, you'll never be done. Please, can you just clear this away and eat something? Or take a break? You've been working for three days without stopping." Bai yan sat down next to Jin qing and massaged her tense shoulders. "Miss, you're going to get sick."

Jin qing shook her maid's hand off her shoulders and sighed. "I'll be alright, trust me. We may have won one battle, but we must not get so cocky."

Ye bing and Bai yan exchanged glances, then with their combined efforts, they managed to push a few papers away and placed a bowl in front of Jin qing.

Jin qing looked up at her maids, noticing how they weren't going to back down, then sighed. "Alright, fine."

"Miss, would you please just take a break today? You're pretty much done with all the assignments and things you have to look over. You deserve some kind of break." Bai yan said, watching her miss eat her food.

"I might go to the doctors and physicians to help with their work." Jin qing answered "With the upcoming war, there will never be enough medicine and such to treat the men on the battlefield.  Not to mention making poisons, antidotes, and-"

"No. Miss." Ye bing shook her head "I apologize for interrupting, but can you please do something that relaxes you? Miss, you're under a lot of stress right now, and it'll help you a great deal if you did something more calming."

"Miss, it's not a sin for you to be relaxed and rested." Bai yan reminded her. "You can walk around, visit the town, do some sewing, you know, whatever."

"I don't have the time to relax. We're in the middle of a war, there is no time for someone like me to take a break."

Ye bing and Bai yan exchanged looks and mumble a few words too softly for Jin qing to make out the words.

"What are you two whispering about?" Jin qing asked, not looking up from her food.

"Trying to figure out the best way to convince you to take a rest." Ye bing answered.

"Well, you two can give up."

"We're not." Bai yan said with determination. "We know you're trying to focus on your work by you also need to rest."

Jiaqing didn't answer them anymore and continued to eat her food. Even if she did reply to them, they wouldn't listen to her and they'll just end up repeating over and over what they were saying.

Someone knocked on the door, and Jin qing looked up from her food.
Who can that be?

Shang ye carefully walked in, a box in his hand. "Good afternoon, Jin qing."

"Good afternoon, Shang ye." She answered simply, looking back down at her food.

"I heard... I heard that you have been shutting yourself in your room for the past few days."

"Yes. I have work to do."

Shang ye sat down in front of her, staring into her eyes as if he was trying to spot some sort of difference. "I know you have work but sitting in your room for three days straight isn't normal."

Jin qing placed her chopsticks down and looked up "If you're here to lecture me about how I should stop, you may leave."

Shang ye was taken aback by her response but chuckled. "I'm here not to lecture you, but to invite you into playing a game of Go." He said, placing the box in his hand on the table. "I'm not saying that you need a break, but rather I am inviting you to take one. You have plenty of time to work after this."

Jin qing stared at the shine in his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. "Shang ye, I really, really can't afford to-"

Shang ye held up a hand to Jin qing to stop her mid-sentence. "Listen, I know you're very busy, I know your work is important, but please? No one can actually give me a headache over a board game as you do."

A short laugh escaped her lips when she said that, some energy finally seeming to return to her eyes. "Fine, but a quick game."

Shang ye smiled at her reaction and began taking out the pieces. "Of course, Jin qing."

Jin qing's maids exchanged another look. They were the ones who had told Shang ye about their miss' condition. All of them knew their miss was grieving for her brother's death, but overworking herself isn't going to make her feel better.

They may not be as smart as their miss, but they arguably knew how to take care of their miss better than anyone. As her maid, that is all that is enough.

A few minutes into the game, Shang ye looked up with his chin on his palm. "I heard my brother is finally making decisions by himself without you- and good ones too."

"Oh?"

"Yes. He's paying tribute to all the families that have lost a family member during the war. You know, losing someone that originally helped support the family would be tough."

"That's only a short-term solution."

Shang ye nodded. "I agree, but I heard my brother mentioning how he'll worry more about the post-war effects once the war is actually over."

"But what if the war drags on for more than we'd expected it to be?"

"I mean, so far we have won three battles out of the three battles that were fought. I'll like to place my bets that this war would end quite quickly."

Jin qing disagreed, but she didn't say anything

"Speaking of which, this might be the last time I'll see you for a little while."

Jin qing looked up from the board. "Why? Where will you be going?"

"Leading some military campaigns up north to capture some territory, cut off trade routes, burn some fields, you know."

"How long will you be gone?"

"Not how long." Shang ye corrected her. "But how far. I'll go as far as I can before the Song finally manages to stop me or I run out of supplies."

"Would you be alright though?"

Shang ye laughed "You sound awfully concerned, is there a reason why?"

Jin qing paused, at a loss for words. "I-"

"Don't worry," Shang ye smiled, looking back down at the board and placing a black piece down. "I'll be fine. This isn't my first time going on a military campaign, and I do recall you saying how I should watch out when I'm alone and away from commands."

Jin qing was surprised that he even remembered what she had said that day. "I... I did. But you should be careful nonetheless..."

"I'll be alright." He assured her for the last time.

<><><>

It was the day after Shang ye had left, Jin qing stood up and stretched after sitting down all day. It was already nighttime, and the stress from staying inside for several days has taken its toll.

"Miss?" Ye bing looked up, half asleep.

"Im going to take a walk. I need some fresh air."

Her maids looked at each other happily. At least their miss was now voluntarily taking breaks. His highness Shang ye is better at easing their miss' mind than they had thought!
Even if it did take her a day... but it's better than nothing!

Jin qing did need a break, and she had realized how exhausted she was when she was playing with Shang ye. She threw on a simple and thin white cloak over her light blue robes and waited as her maids lit lanterns so they can see.

"Miss, where should we go?" Bai yan asked cheerfully.

"The gardens, as usual. I need to get fresh air while I can. You two can stay here, I need some time alone."

The moon wasn't high yet, but the hallways and paths to the garden were deserted, leaving Jin qing alone in silence.

As they walked, Jin qing breathed in and out to take in the fragrance of the flowers growing alongside the paths. It was the middle of summer, and many of the spring flowers had already wilted in the intense heat.

Passing by a flowering bush, Jin qing reached out and plucked a flower from its stem, pressing the sweet flower to her nose and inhaling its calming scent.
She had missed this, after being shut in her room for so long.

"I see you're already enjoying yourself so soon after Yi Ping's death."

The pleasant and relaxed look on Jin qing's face quickly disappeared when she recognized the voice.  "And I see you're already back in the palace, so soon after Yi Ping's death."

Huan le scoffed at her remark. "I've been staying at the palace more frequently now, but then again, you wouldn't know. You've been too busy weeping over him."

"You wouldn't know anything about the death of someone you care for until you have experienced it first hand."

"You cared for him?"

"How could I not? As a sister, of course. You wouldn't know, as you're always obsessed over yourself."

"Me?" Huan le rolled her eyes, laughing at her statement. "I've done more things than you could ever imagine, all for the greater good."

The greater good?

Jin qing smirked, "If you'd actually acted for the greater good of the Wei, you would have told me who poisoned me."

"I have a feeling you already know." Huan le tilted her head, the sense of confidence radiating off her was starting to get on Jin qing's nerves.

"Why," Jin qing shook her head, her voice slightly rising as she talked "Why would you join your alliances with the Song and call it acting with a greater good?"

"Clearly you are seeing the war with the Song and the Wei with biased eyes, Jin qing." Huan le answered. "Why, I thought you were smarter than this. Clearly you are only allying yourself with the Wei because you're the Xue xian, but yet you are still so blind."

"Watch your tone." Jin qing snapped "You are a citizen of Wei, it is your duty to serve your country to repay the debt you owe."

"My family originated from the Song." Huan le reminded her, her bright and malicious smile only caused Jin qing's frustration to rise even higher. "And listen to your big talk about serving your country. I've talked with the Song general. And do you know what I find so interesting? The great Xue Xian isn't even-"

Jin qing rose her hand and struck Huan le across her face.

I had a friend who was Reading this squeal in delight when she read that last line.
I woNdeR wHy