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

Chapter 75 Escape
Fang Tong knew something was wrong when he saw Hong Xiao move.

She grabbed the mirror frame with her hand hidden behind her back and swung the mirror towards Hong Xiao.

With a "click", the heavy glasses frame collided with the dagger in Hong Xiao's hand, making a loud noise.

Hong Xiao chopped the mirror into pieces with a knife, but the flying fragments scratched her face, causing a sharp pain in her chin.

She reached out and wiped her face, and saw a trace of blood.

Although it was only a little bit, it still made her want to kill.

She was proud of her beauty, which upon closer comparison was even better than Qingluan's. She had always been quite proud of this. However, she was not careful enough and was hurt by a stupid girl. How could she not be angry and hateful?

She kicked the broken pieces of the glasses frame off the ground and the dagger in her hand shot out.

Fang Tong had already jumped onto the windowsill.

She had deliberately gone to the mirror just now to make it easier for her to escape. This window was closest to the dressing table and she could just jump out.

When she was dealing with Qingluan and Hongxiao, she kept recalling Bingqi's martial arts skills. When she saw Hongxiao coming over with a knife, she knew she could not delay any longer, so she threw away the mirror frame and ran away.

When she was halfway up in the air, she suddenly felt a pain in her back, and the breath she had been holding was released.

She fell to the ground, endured the pain in her back, supported herself with her hands, and half ran and half crawled forward.

There was another sound of string, and a huge force hit her shoulder, causing her to stumble forward and fall.

A crossbow arrow shot through her shoulder from behind.

"Alive." Qingluan's voice came from the window.

There was a slight response from the courtyard, and a man emerged from the shadows under the tree.

Fang Tong gritted her teeth. No wonder Qingluan was not afraid of her tricks. It turned out that there were guards lying in ambush in the yard.

The corners of her mouth turned up, and she felt that she was probably in so much pain that she actually wanted to laugh.

She really wanted to know what expressions would be on these people's faces if she could escape.

Seeing Hong Xiao and the guards in the courtyard chasing after him, Fang Tong turned around and hid under the eaves, disappearing into the darkness.

At night, Furong Courtyard was brightly lit and filled with the sound of music and drums. There was less banter and more lively discussions in the courtyard.

Just because a group of scholars were not satisfied with the literary meeting, they made an appointment to come to Furong Courtyard, hoping to see if they could meet the Hermit of Five Mountains here. It was said that after the Hermit of Five Mountains had dinner at the restaurant, he returned here with Prince Jing for a banquet, which was much more convenient than meeting him by chance at the county government office.

The long street outside Furong Courtyard was half blocked, and neither horses, carriages, mules, donkeys, nor even sedan chairs carrying people could pass.

Several figures passed over the roof of a house, bypassed the congested intersection, and disappeared into the night.

Feng Twelve stood in the dark, Xiaonian stood half a step behind him, glanced at his face, and whispered: "Your Highness, it's not convenient here, why don't you go back to the inn first?"

"It's okay." Feng Twelve said.

Xiaonian scratched his head and said, "Zhang Ping and his men are good at night scouting. Don't worry, even if we can't find Miss Fang, we won't be discovered."

Feng Twelve looked at the busy streets without saying a word.

Xiao Nian coughed and said, "Of course, I'm not saying that we really can't find Miss Fang. Didn't Magistrate Gao say that since last night, additional personnel have been added to the two city gates, and those entering and leaving are being strictly questioned. The person who took Miss Fang away will definitely not be able to escape."

Feng Twelve looked ahead and still said nothing.

Xiao Nian touched his nose and said, "Your Highness, in my opinion, the one who took Miss Fang away may not be someone from Furong Courtyard. She is the orphan you rescued. If they want to make a fuss about someone close to you, it would be better to arrest me than her."

Feng Twelve finally moved his eyes and glanced at him.

Xiao Nian laughed dryly: "But it is unlikely that I will be caught. First, I will not betray Your Highness, and second, I am very skilled. Who would dare to attack me?" "Xiao Nian," Feng Twelve finally spoke, "You can go and take a look too."

"Ah?" Xiaonian hesitated, "If I leave, who will protect Your Highness?"

Feng Twelve asked: "Who is better between you and Wei Baichuan?"

Xiaonian's eyes wandered: "Of course it's Commander Wei." At least for now.

Feng Twelve said, "Hmm," "Go ahead."

Xiaonian remained silent, knowing that it was pointless to say more, so he responded honestly and left as ordered.

Seeing that the people around him had dispersed, Feng Twelve stood there for a long while and then walked forward.

A drop of candle wax slid down and hung brightly on the edge of the candle.

Qingluan crushed it with her fingernails, stood in front of the window, and asked coldly: "Didn't find it?"

"Yes," the man who shot the arrow in the yard earlier and Hong Xiao stood outside the window, "We searched everywhere, but didn't find anyone."

"Waste." Qingluan said, "Such a big person, injured, you actually let her run away?"

"Deputy Envoy, calm down." Hong Xiao lowered her head. "She was stabbed by me and then shot by an arrow. She definitely can't run far."

"Just tell me, how far is the distance you can't run far?" Qingluan said sarcastically.

Hongxiao lowered her head and kept silent.

"Hmph, there are many guests in the courtyard tonight, including the two great Buddha statues of Wuyue Shanren and Jingwang. I am pretending to be unwell and not going to greet them. You, the sign of Furongyuan, can't stay here forever." Qingluan said, "Get lost."

Hongxiao's throat moved slightly, and she answered softly "yes", then turned and walked away.

The man who stayed where he was looked in the direction she left and said to Qingluan, "Deputy Envoy, I will send more people to continue the search."

Qing Luan smiled coldly: "It would be best if you can catch him, but if you can't, don't make trouble for me."

"Don't worry, Deputy Envoy. I won't alert the enemy." The man said, "But we need to have someone keep an eye on the posthouse. Since Bing Qi is with Feng Twelve, will he leak our affairs?"

Qingluan pondered for a moment: "She wouldn't appear next to Feng Twelve for no reason. Before she assassinated King Ping, she had been staying in Shuofang City. It is unlikely that these two people have had a long-standing relationship. Instead, it is the master she mentioned that makes me more concerned."

"Does the deputy envoy believe what she said?" the man asked.

"It's not that I believe it or not. It's that her words and actions are too weird. If she is really Bingqi, then why has she been pretending to be stupid for so many years?" Qingluan flicked the wax on her fingernails and spoke in a deep voice.

"Hong Xiao is familiar with the characteristics of each assassin. She will definitely not lie to you." said the man.

"That's why I'm surprised," Qingluan said coldly, "A person's personality won't change suddenly unless she has been hiding her true self."

The man thought for a moment and said, "Could it be that Bing Qi has been secretly obeying the orders of that master? What is the purpose of the other party doing this?"

"Yes, what is the purpose?" Qingluan pondered, "Is it to place people in the White Bird Pavilion? If so, how many people are under his control like Bingqi? Why does he use the White Bird Pavilion to support so many people?"

She narrowed her eyes and said coldly, "Jiawu, keep looking for her. You must find her for me."

The night wind blew, and a golden albizzia flower fell from the tree.

Among the crowded dark green branches and leaves, a kitten was lying on a branch, clinging tightly to the top like a piece of bark.

It looked at the man in front of the window and Qingluan inside the window, its amber pupils flashing darkly.

(End of this chapter)