Li Jin Qing: The one behind it all

Chapter 64

Jin qing looked up, sighing. Why did the world allow Qiang An to send messages so easily inside? her room should be even more heavily guarded than the emperors at the moment. There weren't nearly as enough guards to surround her, and Tian Xiang would hold back no men to guard her and prevent her from leaving. 

It was almost like... it was almost like he wanted her to leave. 

But why would he want that? 

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It was nighttime, and Jin qing was getting a little anxious. 
Qiang An had said in his note that he was going to come and get her after the sun sets when some parts of the palace will only be lit up by the moon so it'll be easier to hide her- but he never actually said what he was going to do. 

What was he planning?

Jin qing knew too little of him to really judge how well can he make plans and such, but there was nothing she can do except to trust him and whatever he's planning- and improvise on the way if something went wrong. 
It's not her preferred way of doing things, but it's not like she'll have much of a choice. 

She was getting used to the schedule of the guards. They'll come in every two hours to check on her if she was still there and still alive, and they would come in every six hours to give her food. It was a little funny to think that either Tian Xiang or Gui Fei was being nice to her and actually feeding her despite the obvious advantage of weakening her by refusing her food... but they would never catch her complaining about being fed in some amount. It was always some crude wheat pancakes and a pitcher of water- nothing fancy, but it filled her up to some extent and definitely worked to keep her from starving. 

By the time the next bi-hourly inspection came at around midnight, Jin Qing was almost ready to fall asleep and assume Qiang An got caught up on something and pick her up tomorrow night... but something a little more unexpected happened. 

She was sitting by the table, her appearance and the room around her not exactly neat nor presentable- but why would she tidy herself up for the enemy? They barely paid attention to her anyway- they would always just search the area a little, search her to some extent, and then leave. The process took no more than fifteen minutes, and they would come back in two hours. 

As soon as the two guards stepped into the room and closed the door behind them, one guard struck the other one in the stomach before snatching their helmet and whacking him in the back of the head with it. 

Jin qing stared at the body as it fell to the floor, looking up at the guard who had just knocked the other one out. "Qiang an?" She said, raising an eyebrow. 

"I'm sorry, but we don't have much time..." He said, looking a little flustered "Can you please put on the armor? Quickly? I was planning to get you out of here another way but those guards pay more attention than you think... You're about the same height as him. I never liked him anyway- can you please hurry-?"

Jin qing wondered why he was so flustered, and only realized why when she knelt down to take the armor and the outer garments off the guard that he just knocked out that she realized what she was still in sleepwear. 
Oh well. The thin material means she'll be able to slip on the outer garments a lot easier since she can just use them as undergarments, and she quickly dipped into the back of the room to change before hurrying back out so Qiang An can help her assemble herself into the armor itself. "how much time do you think we have before the guards outside starts getting suspicious?"

"I don't think we have much longer... how long do they usually take in here?"

"fifteen minutes?"

"Then maybe we can drag it to twenty. We can always say that we couldn't find you or something and had to search around just in case you escaped somehow. We'll have an hour before the alarms start to ring." Qiang An tightened the strap on her shoulders and grabbed the helmet for her "Why is the emperor targeting you anyway? There's nothing you've done wrong."

Jin qing paused and turned around. "How much faith do you have in the emperor?"

"Enough not to question his judgment if he had the reason to support his actions. Why is he targeting you? Have you done anything?"

"You will help me, right?" She asked "You're the only person here that has the capability to help me. Please, Qiang An. They're going to kill us if you don't."

There was a slight pause before Qiang An out the helmet on her head "We're wasting time. I'll help you. Yu Qi has always been kind to me and I don't want to see Nian Zhen and Xiao Wen executed along with you two. Quickly, follow me." 


Jin qing followed him out of the front door, her heart pounding wildly underneath her armor. She stood incredibly still as Qiang An gave his fake report and false reasons why they took a little longer than expected when they asked, only moving to salute and walk when prompted. 
She felt incredibly guilty for lying to Qiang An, but feeling guilty and telling the truth won't get her out of here- in fact, it might end up doing the opposite. He might have his own reasons for helping her... but where would his loyalties lie in the end?  

There was no time to worry about that now. She was on her way out of here. 








A/N
Thank you again for waiting so long for an update!
See you all next chapter! :D