Gui Fei might be an old woman with graying hair by now... but Jin qing couldn't help but still see her as the beautiful, seething young woman who had nearly single-handedly brought an entire dynasty to its knees. Her features haven't changed despite her age- the same sharp and calculating eyes beneath her arched brows, the same calm and composed look that her son had failed to inherit, and the soothing voice that would only break and start cackling like a witch when enraged. 

Jin qing instinctively pushed the two children back, shielding them with her body and arm. 

"You would very much want to send the two darling children away." Gui Fei said, turning her cold stare past Jin qing and toward the two children. "Our conversation might turn out to be a little bit... too mature for little ears like them. How adorable." 

Jin qing's eyes flickered toward someone who was standing beside Gui Fei's aging figure. Someone younger, someone with the same feeling. She turned around to the two children "Nian Zhen, do you think you can find somewhere to be for the time being?" Jin qing asked out loud, holding onto her shoulders before whispering under her breath "Qiang An should be guarding the path between the gardens and the kitchens. Go find him until I come and find you."

"What's going on...?" Nian Zhen asked, her eyes wide with confusion as she held onto her brother's hand. 

"I'm about to have a friendly chat with someone. Hurry along."


The two children must have heard the tightness in her voice, and Nian Zhen pushed her brother along. 

As they left, Jin qing walked in and slid the door slightly shut- just enough to block out the outside view but just enough for her to slip out just in case she needed to. 
She reminded herself that Shen feng should still be off in that campaign that desperately needs her attention in the Wei. "What do you two want?" 

"Tian Xiang told me that I was banned from seeing my stepdaughter, so naturally I became concerned about why he might do such a thing." Gui fei said with a faux mask of worry "But you're in obvious good health, from what Huan Le have told me."

"I'm on good health because that bastard of your son isn't here." Jin qing said freely, unafraid to speak her mind since there would be no immediate consequences of her saying so. 

"Barely? I daresay?" Gui Fei's mask morphed into a smirk "It's only been a week? Two weeks? Three? since you came here. I doubt any of your wounds have fully closed or fully healed."

"Unfortunately the poison I gave you from your tea should have already worn off thanks to the method I suggested..." Huan le let out a pitiful sigh that instantly got on Jin qing's nerves on just how obviously fake it was "That would be a pity."

"Pitying how someone got better?" Gui fei looked back slightly at Huan le "That's not how a lady of your age  should act."

Jin qing snapped "a lady of her age should act?"

The two women looked over at her. 

Jin qing continued "If you two are real ladies that are acting your age, Huan le should be in her room sewing and you should be in a coffin." 

Gui Fei scoffed, rolling her eyes at her words. "Shouldn't you be married and waking up in some man's bed like how your mother wa-"

"My mother is on a high standing that you ever will so you have no right to call her something that she wasn't." Jin qing interrupted her. 

"What your mother was and always will be." Gu fei finished her sentence with some alteration. 

Jin qing's closed fists shook underneath her sleeves.
Why was she here? Why were both of them here? Why did Gui Fei bring something like that up? 

She tried assuring herself that she was thinking too much and she can handle whatever they were planning... but this wasn't Huan le, not alone anyway. This was Gui Fei, and she is like herself in military planning... but in the affairs of the palace. 

It's a war in the home front, and Jin qing had only won against her once.

"What brought the two of you here."

Huan le gasped "How impolite!"

"There is nothing polite about the two of you barging into my room and disobeying the emperor's orders." Jin qing shot back "Huan le, stop talking like that. You're never this calm, guess like you learned something from Gui Fei."

She smiled smugly "What are you going to do if I did? My mother always told me I should learn from the best."

"What I'll do? I'll cut off your tongue." Jin qing answered, taking in a deep breath "what are you two doing here."

Gui Fei stood up "Saying a pleasant hello by visiting you..." her voice grew quiet, but the gentle smile that lacked warmth sent shivers down Jin qing's back. "And locking you in your room."

"You?" Jin qing asked, pretending to be aghast but was panicking on the inside "You really think shutting and locking the door and taking the key will stop me from leaving this room? I'm not a little child anymore."

"you're right. You're not a child anymore." Gui Fei agreed "But I can't have you running around burning fields, can I? I can't have you escaping and going back into the Wei and stopping my son, can I?" She smirked, walking up to Jin qing but kept a good distance from her lest the impatient girl lashes out at her "I can't have you doing any of those things."

Jin qing turned to Gui Fei in horror. 
How did she find out that she was the one who was burning the fields?

"Wondering how?" Gui Fei asked, tilting her head "I'm the Xue Xian of the Song. I have people everywhere. And Huan le here..." she gestured to the smug lady behind her "She's been a wonderful help. She certainly knows how to navigate herself in the palace affairs and build alliances better than you ever will."

"Because she's a person just as superficial as you are." 

Huan le glared at her as the calm composure fell off her face only after a little while "Don't you dare-"

Jin qing couldn't help but roll her eyes "What are you going to do about it? You're not Shen Feng. I'm not scared of you."

Gui Fei smiled, walking past Jin qing with Huan le in between them. "Have fun staying inside alone, Wu Xin." She told her "not even Yu Qi can save you now."

Jin qing spun around, her eyes wide. "What about the two orphans-"
She purposely pretended not to hear about Yu Qi, though that worried her too.

How did Gui Fei find out that she was talking with Yu Qi? Was it a random guess- but a costly gamble- to throw her off track? 
Jin qing hated having unanswerable and unanswered questions, but her main concern now was the two orphans and what might happen to them. 

"What about the two orphans?" Gui fei tilted her head "They're orphans, just like you. Why should I care whatever happens to them? This is a palace and not the filthy streets they rolled out from." She said coldly "They should be fine as long as they mind their manners... and stay out of my sight."

A plan tinkered in Jin qing's mind. 

"You've got to at least let the two children in." Jin qing followed them, holding the door when Huan le tried closing it "They won't be able to stay outside without me-"

Gui Fei looked around "you're awfully calm."

"Because I'll find a way around you locking me in my room but please let the two children in- they know no one else in the palace-"

"You care a lot about those children."

"As you said, they're orphans like me." Jin qing said, stopping by the main door once she saw the guards there as she steadily rose her own voice "Orphans taking care of orphans. There's nothing wrong with that. What do you expect them to do outside-"
Jin qing had to stop herself from smiling when the door was shut in her face. 

She wasn't too sure if it worked or not since it only lasted a few seconds, but she hoped by making herself sound desperate would stop her from letting Nian Zhen and Xiao Wen in. 
If she was going to be locked in... well, Nian Zhen and Xiao wen might be her only way to escape and get in contact with the outside world to get her out. 

Jin qing knew she couldn't stay in the Song for much longer, and Gui Fei locked her in the little courtyard of her's so she couldn't leave and counter Sheng Feng's advance. She let out a heavy sigh, turning around. This shouldn't be too different from her time in the Wei when someone tried locking her in. Except that she was dealing with someone on a bigger scale... and with more power. 

but it shouldn't be too different. 

she wasn't too sure if Qiang An would be able to help her since he was a guard loyal to the palace after all. Jin qing was just another random person, her words and orders are nothing compared to someone like Gui Fei's. 

Though... there might be someone that would be able to negate everything and set her free again. 
And that person would have a great scolding from her for breaking the promise they had between each other. 

As powerful as Gui fei and her son may be... Tian Xiang was her ally, and he would be able to set her free from her room. 

But how was she going to do that? It was very unlikely for Nian Zhen and Xiao Wen to get near the Emperor's hall, much less be able to talk to him... unless they snuck over there. 

They've had some experience thieving around... maybe this can be put to use? 
But they'll have to get back here first, and I'll have to tell them what's going on without the guards in the front knowing and reporting to Gui Fei. Unless, of course, I take the gamble and have them race against the process of messaging...

All this will be dependent on Qiang An. If he can somehow help me... all of this will be so much easier. But then I'll owe him something... oh, I can worry about repaying my debts some other time. 

Gui Fei, Huan le, do you think you can stop me just by locking me in? I'll be out of here as soon as I can, probably even before you can even start thinking I would be a problem to you and your safety in the kingdom. 

A thought caused her to stop in her tracks before she walked back into her room. 
 did Gui Fei guess what she was planning to do? 
did Gui Fei guess that she wanted to bring down the Song, and locked her in her room to stop her from doing that too?

Jin qing told herself to calm down, and that she shouldn't have been able to find out since she has done nothing too obvious yet... except for burning down a field. 
It worried her and threw a rock at her plans, but she hoped she can smooth it out before she left. 

How long will she have in the Song before she will be too late?