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

Chapter 97 Ugly

Fang Tong paused with his claws. Yes, the traditional Chinese character for "丑" has two ways of writing: "丑" and "醜". The former represents the heavenly stems and earthly branches, and the latter means ugly. It is not surprising that Feng Twelve can recognize this character.

Feng Twelve seemed to understand what she wanted to say, and said, "There is a prescription for removing scars in the palace. I'll have someone prepare one for you."

Fang Tong silently buried his face in his claws.

She lost all her face today. Not only did Feng Twelve see a bald cat, but he also saw that she cared a lot about beauty and ugliness.

Although everyone knows that they love beauty, she hopes to appear calmer in front of him instead of being so jumpy and as if she is embarrassed.

But then again, Feng Twelve's way of comforting people is really practical. He doesn't comfort people by saying "you're not ugly at all" like others do, but directly proposes solutions.

Fang Tong was about to admire her, but suddenly realized a fact: so in his eyes, she was indeed very ugly now.

Her ears drooped, she gave up struggling, and completely collapsed onto the blanket.

It doesn't matter if she is ugly. Anyway, he has seen her body, whether it is a human or a cat. Why should she be embarrassed? The scars are her medals and the great proof of her escape from death. She has no need to be ashamed of this.

But no matter how much he thought about it, Fang Tong was still listless and didn't even want to eat the soup dumplings.

She didn't want to eat, and Feng Twelve didn't force her. He stroked her head gently and sat back in his chair.

Fang Tong heard him pick up the bowl of porridge, take a sip, then take a bite of the soup dumpling and gently suck up the soup inside.

Feng Twelve didn't make much noise when he ate, but the room was so quiet that Fang Tong could almost hear the sound of him chewing the shrimp.

Those are fresh shrimps that have just come out of the water every morning. They have firm meat and are tender and refreshing when eaten.

Fang Tong swallowed and turned around involuntarily.

Feng Twelve saw her turn around and put the soup dumplings into the ginger vinegar dish to dip them in the sauce: "I heard that this soup dumplings are the best in Guzhou, and they are really good."

Fang Tong looked at the delicious gravy oozing out of the soup dumplings and licked his lips.

Feng Twelve finished a soup dumpling and picked up another one: "Hu Zi said you bought this for everyone to eat, thank you very much."

Fang Tong looked at the steaming food on the table and suddenly felt that his previous frustration was not worth it.

Why are you angry with yourself so early in the morning? With delicious food in front of you, it’s better to eat first.

She brought her plate in front of her, lowered her head to lick the warm gravy, and squinted her eyes in beauty.

Feng Twelve saw her concentrating on eating the soup dumplings, with a faint smile in his eyes. His gaze fell on the exposed wound on her back, and the smile disappeared, and his face darkened a little.

He was negligent before, thinking that since he didn't care about the scar, others wouldn't care either.

In his eyes, Fang Tong's injury had nothing to do with beauty or ugliness. It was more like a warning, reminding him not to be arrogant. But it was better for him to keep this warning in his heart. There was really no need to keep it on her.

The man and the cat ate their portions in silence.

Fang Tong felt as if they were back in the capital, eating every meal at the same table, plain and comfortable.

She gnawed on the last soup dumpling and thought to herself, why not go back to the house later and turn back into a human. Being a cat is too inconvenient. She didn't even taste a single bite of the bowl of shrimp porridge.

She was a person who would do what she decided to do, so she jumped off the table after breakfast and was about to go to her room. At this time, Xiaonian came in hurriedly from outside and almost stepped on her tail.

He staggered and held onto the door frame: "Your Highness, I just received news that the prince is missing."

As soon as these words were spoken, there was silence all around for a moment, and it was terrifyingly empty.

Fang Tong turned his head and looked at Feng Twelve at first glance.

Feng Twelve sat at the table, expressionless: "Where did he disappear? When?"

The news of the prince's disappearance reached the government office within half a day. Prefect Song came hurriedly, but saw that Feng Twelve and his party had already packed up, abandoned their carriages and mounted horses, and were about to set off.

"Your Highness," Prefect Song looked into the courtyard, "Where are you going?"

Feng Twelve rode on his horse, holding the reins with one hand: "The prince's whereabouts are unknown, I will go to Fuyao Mountain to look for him."

Prefect Song stood in front of the horse and said anxiously, "This place is eight hundred miles away from Fuyao Mountain. Even if you rush there, it will be too late. Local officials are searching everywhere. You might as well stay in Guzhou and wait for their news."

"Guzhou is too far away, and it is inconvenient to pass on information," Feng Twelve said, "After I leave, I ask Governor Song to stabilize the people's hearts and not cause panic among them."

"Yes, I understand." Prefect Song's face was filled with anxiety. "I heard that the prince disappeared because of refugees. Your Highness, please be careful on your way back and don't be careless."

Feng Twelve nodded slightly to him, said no more, and left with a group of guards.

In the morning breeze, Fang Tong poked her head out of the bag at Feng Twelve's side. She still looked like a kitten, with a tuft of hair on her head fluttering in the wind.

They were in a hurry to travel, and riding a horse was faster than taking a car. In order not to become a burden to everyone, Fang Tong asked Feng Twelve to find a shoulder bag to put her in and slung her across his waist.

Feng Twelve leaned over to spur his horse, looked down at her and said, "The wind is strong, go in."

Without him saying anything, Fang Tong was almost unable to open her eyes because of the strong wind. It was the first time for her to experience the feeling of speeding at lightning speed in ancient times. It was not much different from the speed of driving a car.

She shrank back obediently and curled up in her pocket.

The news of the prince's disappearance still makes her a little dazed. The ceremonial procession for the southern tour was so grand that others would try to avoid it as much as possible. How could it be easily dispersed by the refugees?
The Fuyao Mountain where he disappeared had been explored by Feng Twelve beforehand, and there was nothing wrong along the way. So where did those refugees come from?

The more Fang Tong thought about it, the more confused he became.

Feng Twelve left the capital early to prevent others from discovering his whereabouts, but he was assassinated by the White Bird Pavilion one after another. The assassin pushed the spy from Luozhou to the front, making Feng Twelve confront Sui Yongdao. In the whole incident, how many forces intervened? Did Sui Yongdao really intend to harm Feng Twelve? Was he going to deal with Feng Twelve or the prince? Who was the employer behind the White Bird Pavilion? Who was responsible for the prince's disappearance?
Fang Tong thought about it all the way but couldn't figure it out. He just felt that there were more and more suspects. Except for Feng Twelve, it seemed that no one was trustworthy.

Unfortunately, Feng Twelve was busy on his way and had no time to explain things to her in detail. They traveled day and night and returned to Linshui County in just three days.

"Your Highness, we need to let the horses rest." Xiaonian rode forward, "If we keep running, I'm afraid they won't be able to hold on."

Not only the horses, but all the people were exhausted as they could only sleep for an hour or two a day at most.

Feng Twelve glanced at the team behind him and said, "Okay, let's rest in Linshui County for one night and leave tomorrow morning."

Everyone slowed down their horses and went into the city to the post house.

As soon as I entered the street, I saw a few people dismounting outside the posthouse. Judging from their attire, they were people from Beijing.

(End of this chapter)