Li Jin Qing: The one behind it all

Chapter 57

Jin qing struck a match and watched the tip light ablaze.

She watched it burn a little, the only source of light in a dark millet field. Any light from the moon was blocked out from the clouds overhead, and it took a few seconds for her eyes to adjust to the sudden light. 
Basking in the little bit of warmth for a little while, she dropped the match into a preprepared nest of kindling and blew on it softly. A fire was lit, the wind blowing in the perfect direction, and the nearly ripe millet crop would be the perfect fuel for the hungry destruction of fire. 

Jin qing threw over some more millet stalks that she had cut over the fire, sending a wave of sparks that flew up in the air. She knew she needed to leave quickly before anyone saw her, and turned back to her horse. 

This is a farming town that is as close to the border as she can get in one night. It would be easy to pin the blame on the Wei or the dry season that somehow sparked a fire. 

She spurred her horse to ride at full speed back to the capital and back to her safe room. No one was to know she left tonight.
With Yu Qi's help, she was able to get out undetected. To get back in would be a trickier issue, but she has learned of a passageway that was thankfully small enough for her slender figure to slip through. 

Now all she needed to do was to wait. Wait for the poor, sleeping farmers working in those fields to wake up and find that their crop was destroyed. 
But if Qiang An's words were right... they wouldn't be so unfortunate after all.

Jin qin smirked. because their great emperor Tian Xiang would provide and take care of them, would he?

She dismounted her horse and quickly returned it to the back stables, and ran back to her room. There was an hour or two before sunrise, and she breathed a sigh of relief to see that the two children were still sleeping soundly. 

Hanging her cloak up on the hook by the door, Jin qing decided that she was in no mood to sleep- despite being awake the entire night. 
She took in a deep breath to ease her racing heart, tapping on the wooden table to still her shaking her heart. 

Jin qing couldn't tell if she was shaking from excitement or other factors. 

If everything goes right... it'll be one step closer to bringing the Song down after she leaves. 

And after that... I'll return to the Wei, help drive Sheng Feng back to the falling Song. They'll need my help desperately, and I'm actually impressed that the Wei hasn't fallen without me. I'm sure Sheng Feng is laying siege to the capital now... I wonder is the Li family alright? 

Jin qing sat there in silence, watching the little flame on the candle flicker in the air. A smug smirk spread across her face as the feeble flame reminded her of the blaze that must be raging across the fields now. Her hand hovered over the flame, feeling the intense heat against her fingertips.

If she just closed her eyes a little, she can feel the heat spreading throughout the rest of her body, remembering the sensation of flames flickering against her skin when Gui Fei burned down a part of the Liang palace to hide the assassination of her parents. 

Her hand must have stayed there for longer than she imagined, and pulled back her hand when it suddenly cramped and almost touched the flame. 

Jin qing smiled and paid no attention to it, fanning the flames with her hand to play around with it as if it was only a toy. 

A toy to a child who knows how to play. 

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"Where are you going...?" Nian Zhen asked, looking up when she saw Jin qing put on a thin silk cloak over her dress.