Besides lying down, I also know a little about power struggles

Chapter 62 Silencing
Linshui County is not big, with a main street leading directly to the city gate.

A group of soldiers arrived at the city gate and lit torches. The leading official rode on his horse and shouted loudly: "Everyone, be alert and don't let anyone take advantage of you!"

A figure was crouching in a corner not far away. When he saw the brightly lit city gate, a look of annoyance flashed across his face.

He turned and walked quickly to an inn.

People were coming and going in the inn, and through the open door, one could see the bailiffs questioning the innkeeper.

The figure in the dark gritted his teeth and retreated into the alley next to the store.

With a "click", a stone fell to the ground.

"who?"

Xiaonian led his men to patrol the area. When they heard a strange noise, they saw a figure passing by the alley and immediately chased after it.

In the Hibiscus Courtyard in the south of the city, a green figure sat in front of the window, listening to the noise outside and frowning in annoyance.

The door creaked and Hongxiao walked into the room.

"How's the progress?" Qingluan asked.

Hong Xiao lowered her eyebrows and said respectfully, "Everything happened as the deputy envoy expected. Yi San sneaked into the inn and threatened the spy. The spy thought Feng Twelve had really discovered his whereabouts, so he quietly slipped out of the inn. With Yi San following behind, the man should have been exposed by now."

"Well done," Qing Luan said, "As long as we deliver the spy to Feng Twelve, we will have completed our employer's instructions."

"It's all because Feng Twelve refused to leave the posthouse," Hong Xiao complained, "Otherwise, according to the original plan, he would have met the spy in Furong Courtyard and would have been at our mercy."

"Are you blaming me for not being able to seduce a man?" Qingluan glanced at her.

Hong Xiao's face froze. "Deputy Envoy, that's not what I meant. I'm just surprised that Feng Twelve had no sympathy when he heard that you were from Wei City. I thought he really sympathized with the poor and the weak, unlike other princes."

Qing Luan smiled lazily: "Under the imperial power, how many people have good hearts? Have you been in this place of fireworks for too long and your brain has become stupid?"

"The deputy envoy is right," Hong Xiao replied, "but there is one thing I don't understand. Feng Twelve has already arrived in Linshui County, why don't we kill him?"

"We did the killing in the mountains that day. Did we succeed?" Qingluan stroked her round nails. "We don't have many people, so we have to use them sparingly. Since the employer has changed his mind, I am naturally happy to see it happen."

"Did the employer change his mind because of the spy from Luozhou?" Hong Xiao asked.

Qing Luan stopped what he was doing and looked at her coldly: "What do you want to know?"

"Hong Xiao dare not," Hong Xiao lowered her body and knelt on one knee, "I just don't understand why the employer keeps targeting the prince. What is he up to?"

Qingluan smiled, and said in a cold tone: "Hongxiao, we are paid to do the job, so don't ask questions that you shouldn't ask."

"But because of the Prince Ping case, the Bai Niao Pavilion has been under close investigation by the government, and many bases have been cleared out," Hong Xiao said with a worried look on her face, "Will we also..."

"The assassin who assassinated King Ping came from the White Bird Pavilion. What does it have to do with you and me?" Qingluan glanced at her, "Remember, the White Bird Pavilion will disappear soon. By then, we will be truly free."

"I understand, but our employer has strange intentions and keeps asking us to do strange things. I'm afraid he will use this as a threat to hold us accountable in the future."

"What are you afraid of?" Qingluan turned around and stared at Hongxiao's face until she couldn't bear her gaze anymore and lowered her head. Then she smiled slowly, "I said, as long as you just follow me, I promise you will be happier than before."

-

"Your Highness, we caught one!"

Xiaonian and his men excitedly returned to the inn and escorted a man in Confucian robes into the yard.

"We split up and stood guard near several inns, and found this man sneaking around," Xiaonian brought the man in Confucian robes to Feng Twelve, "and a few brothers chased him, and he actually knew martial arts, so it took us a lot of trouble." The man in Confucian robes had his hands tied, and he shouted loudly, "Unfair! I came to the city to attend a literary gathering, I'm not a bad guy!"

Fang Tong heard the rough voice in the room, and his heart moved. He put down the book and stood up.

She moved closer to the door and peeked out through the crack.

The moonlight in the courtyard was clear and bright, and torches were shining brightly. The figure of a man in a scholar's robe came into her sight. She did not recognize his face, but his figure seemed familiar, and his rough voice was particularly similar to that of the masked man in the stable.

Xiao Nian kicked the man in scholar's robes at the knee: "You still say you are not a scholar? How can a scholar have your skills?"

The man in scholar's robes knelt on the ground and struggled to raise his head. "I have been practicing martial arts since I was young, so what if I know a little bit of boxing and kicking? Who says that scholars are weak? Go to the inn and ask around. I am sure there are more people who know boxing and kicking than me."

"Then why did you run away?" Xiaonian asked, "The county government was checking the rooms at the inn, why did you sneak out instead of staying in the room?"

"I felt stuffy in the house tonight, so I went outside for a walk. You suddenly rushed out. I thought I met some bad guys. If I didn't run away, would I be killed?" The man in the scholar's robe argued loudly.

Xiaonian was so angry that he was about to hit someone, but Feng Twelve raised his hand to stop him.

"You said you came to attend the literary gathering," Feng Twelve asked, "you must admire Wuyueshanren very much?"

"That's right," the man in scholar's robe said in a rough voice, "I heard he was in Linshui County, so I followed him here."

"What kind of fonts does Wu Yue Shanren excel at, what famous works has he published in the past year, and where has he been before coming to Lin Shui? Tell me about it." Feng Twelve looked at him.

The man in the scholar's robe was suddenly stunned.

"He...he is good at writing cursive script. In the past year, in the past year..."

"Don't think about it," Feng Twelve walked up behind him and looked down at his shoes. "Nowadays, scholars who wear Confucian robes usually wear shoes with diamond-patterned cloth. But you are wearing square-toed leather shoes that warriors like. It's a bit out of place with this outfit. Did you not change them in time, or did you do it to make it easier to escape?"

The man in scholar's robes stared at him, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

Feng Twelve grabbed his bound arms and looked at his palms: "If you are a scholar and like calligraphy, you must write often. Why don't you have calluses on the second knuckle of your index finger and your ring finger?"

He threw away the man's hand. "There are deep lines running across the center of your palm. You must have ridden horses often. There are calluses on the bottom of your fingers and the outside of your palm. You are a soldier. Are you good at using a spear or a sword?"

The man in the scholar's robe shut his mouth tightly and turned his head away.

Seeing this, Xiaonian couldn't help but snort, "He's still pretty stubborn, Your Highness. I'll throw him to the county government office and let Gao Tiancai torture him. I don't believe that I can't pry his mouth open."

The man in the scholar's robe moved his throat but still said nothing.

At this moment, a cold light broke through the air.

"Your Highness, please be careful." Xiaonian stood in front of Feng Twelve.

With a muffled groan, the man in scholar's robes fell to the ground.

An arrow pierced the back of his neck, hitting him right in the heart.

"There's someone outside!"

Xiaonian led people to chase after him.

They went out quickly, but there was no one outside the wall.

(End of this chapter)