Li Jin Qing: The one behind it all

Chapter 78

Jin qing woke up with a start.

It was only midday, but she had already fallen asleep from  the exhaustion that lingered on her eyes even after all the pots of tea she consumed to keep herself awake. On top of her military duties, she still had to manage all the affairs that came with being the acting-empress of a kingdom as large as the Wei. War reports were never a cheery thing, but it was a necessary thing to go through herself if she wanted to keep these important documents away from Xi Jian's incompetent hands. She had delegated some of the work to her maids and to Yu Qi, but there were things that she needed to take care of by herself.

She rubbed her eyes. Staying inside for this long can't be healthy for her. Surely, she would have have enough time to sit outside in the sun for a little while? Winter was coming. She soon won't be able to have the pleasure of being in such leisure— given that she survives the next ordeal.

The floor swayed under her feet as she tried to stand up. She had ordered everyone out of her room while she was working, which, in hindsight, probably wasn't the best idea. She valued the focus that silence brought her, but she missed the company of her family.

Someone knocked on her door. "Second--" a pause. "Xue Xian?"

Jin qing shot to her feet. She had wanted to visit Xue Hua ever since she got back from the countryside, but work had swept her off her feet and robbed her of all of her spare time. "What are you doing outside?" She exclaimed. "Come in!"

Xue Hua slowly opened the door and quietly closed it behind her. She looked much better than the last time Jin Qing saw her, as she and the rest of the Li family were treated much better now that Jin Qing was back in the Wei. "The guards outside didn't let me in for the past few days, saying how you were busy with your work." She set down a food box on the table with a gentle smile. "But I know you well enough. I'm sure you're hungry for some good food by now—"

Jin qing didn't wait. She opened the food box before Xue Hua could, and breathed in the heavenly aroma of all the things she had brought her with a wide smile. "And this is why you are my favorite sibling."

Xue Hua was taking out the dishes from the box and stopped when Jin Qing said those words. "What?"

"Did I say something wrong?" Jin qing playfully brushed her finger over Xue Hua's nose, making her break her frozen expression. "You've always been the one to bring me food, the one to take care of me, and the one that has always treated me well. Of course, you're going to be my favorite sister."

"You... still consider me as your sister?"

Jin qing understood the meaning behind Xue Hua's doubt immediately. "Of course I do," she said softly. "We may not be related by blood, but I still consider you as the sister I never had."

"But--"

"I was never old enough to remember my birth father or my birth mother more than just their names. Calling strangers whom I've come to know and care for my family is something I am used to by now." Jin qing gestured to a bowl of rice and a pair of chopsticks she had set on the table, her eyes intently holding onto Xue Hua's gaze. "Sit, eat. I know some people will try and argue against that logic, but arguing with people is also something I am used to."

Xue Hua dropped her gaze down to the food. Unlike Jin qing, she wasn't used to holding onto someone's eye contact like that. She didn't need to-- her smile told Jin Qing everything that she needed to know. "I brought the extra bowl for you. You must be famished."

"I'll just eat an extra bowl at your wedding. Sit! The food is getting cold."

"My... wedding?"

Jin qing stared at her sister. "Please at least tell me your father and the first madam was looking around for a suitable marriage prospect for you before the world came crashing down on the Li family." Xue Hua didn't need to answer her-- Jin Qing came to her own conclusions. "Or was the first madam too busy fawning over Huan Le to worry about you? Actually, don't answer that question."