Chapter 279 Escape at night

The night is dark, and a semi-dark crescent moon passes through the gray and black clouds. The Taiye Pond of the Daming Palace is sparkling, and the light waves hit the embankment. This is the largest artificial lake in the Daming Palace, covering an area of ​​about a hundred hectares. There is an island in the middle of the lake. The island is towering trees and shadows, and you can see the towers and pavilions, like a fairy island outside the world. It is the most beautiful and smallest palace in the Daming Palace, called Penglai Pavilion, and you must raft to get on the island.

The surrounding area of ​​Penglai Pavilion was heavily guarded, and more than 100 palace guards were divided into three shifts to monitor Li Fanyun day and night. This was the place where Li Fanyun was placed under house arrest. More than a month ago, Li Fanyun wanted to leave the Daming Palace but was intercepted. Cui Xiaofu immediately put her under house arrest here. Li Fanyun lived in the highest pavilion, with only one palace maid serving him. Except for his lack of freedom, there was no difference between the past. He needed to take a boat to the shore to get it. If he wanted to leave here, it was very difficult.

The moon hid in the clouds and the sky dimmed. At this time, a ship was coming from the direction of Linde Hall. These were the 100 palace guards who came to change their guards. The head captain stood at the bow of the ship. He pressed his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist and stared at the dim pavilion on the island. His eyes were solemn, and Pei Jun's orders were repeated over and over again in his mind. The water surface was high and the waves were shaking left and right, and the big ship gradually began to dock on the edge of the island.

At this moment, Li Fanyun stood in front of the window, staring at the dark mist outside the window, the night breeze blew on her face, with a unique freshness on the water surface, and it was blown up from time to time. More than a month has passed since she was under house arrest. Cui Xiaofu has seen her in the future, and the guards downstairs also acted as if they were to do their best to disturb her life. Every day, she lives in these three floors, and she does not feel lonely or bound. Everything is plain and calm, as if she is back to the past years. She has lived in a Taoist temple for twenty years.

Over the years, although she tried hard to eliminate the conflict between Cui Xiaofu and Zhang Huan, when Zhang Huan came to find Cui Xiaofu late at night a few years ago, she once thought that the conflict between the two could be resolved, but the final facts proved that the conflict between them could not be reconciled, and she became the first victim of this conflict. Li Fanyun sighed slightly. She was not afraid of death, but she didn't want to die here in an unknown way. Calculate the time and Zhang Huan should return to Beijing.

She knew that if Cui Xiaofu could not reach any compromise between Zhang Huan, she would definitely die. In any case, she had no more time. She turned around and took out a "copper sword" from under the couch and grinded it carefully on the windowsill. There was no metal in her room, not even jewelry, and there was only a bed and a wardrobe for large furniture. The copper sword was originally a copper strip for a wooden basin, but she straightened it. She spent another half a month to sharpen one end on the bricks and stones, making it a very crude copper sword.

A gentle "click" sound came from downstairs. It was particularly clear in the quiet night. Li Fanyun put the bronze sword into his dress and listened carefully. There was no movement. The palace maid who served her lived downstairs. She was a palace maid she had never seen before. She believed that this was deliberately arranged by Cui Xiaofu. Her every move was transmitted to Cui Xiaofu's eyes through this palace maid. Every three days, the palace maid would go back to the palace to get some items for daily life. At this moment, the dark tree opposite seemed to be a mirror with blurred effects, which vaguely reflected the situation downstairs. The figure of the palace maid was right in front of the window, swaying slightly under the light. Li Fanyun smiled coldly. Of course, she knew what this palace maid was doing. Tomorrow is the day she went ashore, and she was rushing to write a surveillance report to herself!

Suddenly, she found that the figure of the palace maid downstairs seemed to have become bigger and wider, which was not right! Li Fanyun suddenly realized that it must be someone behind the palace maid who would do this.

‘Woo~!’ The palace maid just let out a slight groan, and all her figures disappeared. Li Fengyun was as fast as the wind. She blew out the light in a few steps, walked behind the door, hid sideways behind the door curtain, holding the copper sword tightly in her hand, staring at the door without blinking.

Maybe someone came to save her, maybe someone came to kill her, but Li Fanyun didn't hesitate at all. She would rather kill a thousand people by mistake than make a mistake once.

‘Cruff!’ The door made a light sound, pushing open a crack, as if it was tempting. There was no movement for a long time. After a while, the door opened little by little, silently. Li Fanyun had already seen a gloomy long sword blade. The door was pushing opener more and more. When it was about one foot wide, a gray figure flashed in. In the moment of lightning, Li Fanyun took decisive action. The copper sword in her hand stabbed towards the gray shadow quickly and fiercely. ‘Puchi!’ Like a dull knife cutting meat, the huge force actually caused the dull sword to pierce the person’s neck, and blood surged like a spring. Li Fanyun then kicked the sword in his hand away. With the force of his body, she pushed the other party out with the sword, but she rolled forward and copied the long sword on the ground in her hand.

These actions were as quick as rabbits, and they were done in one go. The plotters rolled down the stairs, and with a 'giggle' sound, they fell on the stairs' feet and curled up into a ball.

One person behind roared and rushed into the room with two left and right swords, but Li Fengyun was lying on the ground. She jumped up and stabbed his crotch from bottom to top. She lifted her wrist and pushed him upside down. The long screams cut through the quiet night. The people below no longer covered their footsteps. The messy footsteps did not rush up, but cut the stairs. After a while, a pungent smell of burnt came from the downstairs. This was the smell of tinder oil, and thick smoke rose in an instant.

It seems that they were prepared for them to kill themselves and then burn the corpse and destroy the traces. Now that they can't kill them, they simply burned the building. The stairs had been cut off. Li Fanyun ran to the window and looked down. For more than a month, she had already known the scene outside the window. The building was four meters high and covered with bricks and stones. If she jumped down, she would be crippled even if she didn't die. What she wanted to see was whether there was anyone below. Fortunately, there was no one downstairs and no one shouting for fire, as if she was the only one on the entire island.

The fire had already lit the curtains on the second floor, and the flames were licking the eaves of the windows, and red flames were flying at the other side of the stairs. The surging flames popped in from the door, grinning like a fire demon, spitting out the terrifying tongue of flames.

Li Fanyun no longer hesitated. The threat of death inspired her unprecedented courage. She shouted and rushed towards the big tree two feet away. A green figure rose into the air in the blazing fire. Under the moonlight, it seemed particularly thrilling. "Crack! Crack!" A series of branches broke out, and the huge impact almost broke Li Fanyun's leg bones. She was so painful that she turned black in front of her eyes, but her strong will to survive made her grit her teeth and endure it. Finally, she climbed onto a thick branch and finally stopped her body's fall.

She was less than two feet above the ground. She endured the severe pain all over her body. She slowly climbed down from the tree. As soon as her feet fell to the ground, she felt like the bones inch were broken, and she could hardly move a single step. Her sleeves were torn to pieces, and her arms were covered with blood, and her delicate face was as delicate as jade carvings.

At this moment, the fire had completely swallowed up the small building where she lived. The fire took advantage of the wind to ignite the surrounding palaces and woods. The small building made a terrible "creak!" As it was about to collapse, Li Fengyun had no time to take care of her injuries. She picked up the long sword on the ground, climbed over the flower wall, and stumbled towards the lakeside. The boats on the dock were gone, and no soldiers guarding her fled. At this time, a faint noise came from the distance, and there seemed to be a boat sailing towards this side on the water.

She thoughts changed and she immediately slid into the dark lake. The lake water in March was not bit bone-black, a little cold, but the lake water soaked her wounds, making her feel extremely stinging.

Li Fanyun climbed over the smooth bluestone covered with moss, exposed her head to the water surface, and her body was tightly attached to the edge of the dock. Soon, several small boats arrived from the dock in all directions. Li Fanyun then sank to the bottom of the lake. A dark shadow rubbed her scalp and hit the shore gently. Then the boat floated upwards, and the people on the boat went ashore to observe the situation.

After a moment, there was no sound on the water. Li Fanyun slowly floated up from the water, with long hair draped over her shoulders, just like a water ghost under the moonlight. More than a dozen guards stood not far from the shore, with their backs facing her, discussing the fire.

The boat next to her is a flower boat used by the palace maids to play. It is small and exquisite, and can only accommodate two or three people. The bow of the boat is wrapped around the wooden stakes at the dock with a cable. She was about to use a sword to cut the cable, but after a moment of thought, she gave up the idea of ​​cutting it open and used the tip of the sword to lift the knot on the wooden stakes. Without the constraints of the rope, the boat slid silently into the lake, drifting further and further away, gradually disappearing into the darkness.

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The Hanlin Academy is located west of Taiyechi. The Hanlin Academy is the emperor's private secretary. During the Kaiyuan and Tianbao periods, the Hanlin Academy became another power center of the Tang Dynasty. Many of Li Longji's imperial edicts were issued directly from the Hanlin Academy and bypassed the Secretariat. The Hanlin Academy became a means for Li Longji to undermine the prime minister's power. Looking at the history of the Tang Dynasty, it was a struggle between imperial power and prime minister's power to some extent. In the middle, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang used Hanlin Academy and Jixian Hall to fight against the Tai Province controlled by the prime minister. After Emperor Suzong, he used eunuchs to deal with the prime minister's power, forming a dispute between the Southern Ya and the Northern Ya, and the imperial power was devoured by eunuchs.

It was a bit too far. When I came back, there was no Hanlin Grand Secretary at the Hanlin Academy at this time. It was vacant more than ten years ago and became a dormitory for some eunuchs. There were 40 or 50 people living there. A fire broke out on Penglai Island. It was the moment of manifestation. Most eunuchs ran to the inner palace and obeyed the orders, and the Hanlin Academy area became deserted.

Suddenly, a small boat floated here from the lake, and there was no one on the boat. When they approached the piers of a small bridge, the boat stopped. A black shadow emerged from the water and got on the boat. She first poked the boat with her sword and slowly sank the boat. She swam ashore, then observed that there was no one on the left and right, and quickly ran to the woods on the shore.

In the northwest corner of the Hanlin Courtyard, there lived a eunuch named Zhu Guanghui. He was originally the personal eunuch of the old empress dowager Zhang Liangdi, but was later bribed by Cui Yuan. After Li Shi died, he was transferred to the Daming Palace as the deputy general manager. With Cui Yuan's fall, he was also excluded day by day. In the end, he became a small eunuch leader who maintained the flowers, plants and trees of the Daming Palace. He had only a dozen people under his command. Penglai caught fire and he ran out to watch the fun. When he returned to his yard, he unexpectedly found that the door was actually open. Zhu Guanghui was shocked. He was about to find someone, but a long sword pointed at his chest, and he was scared to death.

"Eunuch Zhu, don't make a fuss, it's me!" The sword was closed, and Li Fanyun walked out from behind the door. It was Zhu Guanghui's arrangement for the first time she entered the palace. Later, she has always taken good care of Zhu Guanghui, and the two have always had a good relationship.

When Zhu Guanghui saw that it was Li Fanyun, he felt relieved. She was wet all over, her sleeves were torn, her face and her arms were covered with bloodstains, and she was shocked again. Only then did he suddenly remember that Li Fanyun was under house arrest in Penglai Pavilion? A big fire was ignited there, so she was.

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Zhu Guanghui felt confused. He looked at the other party at a loss. Li Fanyun smiled faintly and said, "It's nothing. Someone wants to kill me. I'll escape from the island while the fire is in the fire. I want to ask you for help."

"So that's the case. Miss asked to go to the house to talk."

Zhu Guanghui hurriedly led Li Fanyun into the room and closed the door. He took out some wounded medicine, poured another cup of hot tea, and stood aside waiting for her order.

Li Fanyun took a sip of hot tea, pondered for a while and said, "I will tell you frankly, I hope you can help me leave the palace and find my younger brother Zhang Huan. In the future, Zhang Huan will be successful and will be used for you again. Are you willing to take this risk?"

Zhu Guanghui certainly understood the meaning of "Zhang Huan Youcheng" that he knew. Not to mention the future, Zhang Huan is now one of the three major forces in the court. If he could curry favor with him, he would naturally be willing to do so. Although he was risking being known to Cui Xiaofu, compared with the benefits, this risk was nothing. Moreover, he saved his mute uncle back then!

Zhu Guanghui agreed almost without hesitation, "Miss, please rest assured, Penglai Island will inevitably clean up the ruins tomorrow. This is my business. I will take this opportunity to send the lady out."

Li Fanyun nodded, and she picked up the medicine on the table and smiled: "I am really tired too, I'll trouble you tonight."

"I dare not, please give me what I need!"

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The next day, news of a fire in the Daming Palace spread throughout the court and the country. Pei Jun immediately went to the palace to pay tribute to Cui Xiaofu and asked for a thorough investigation of the matter. However, Cui Xiaofu said that it was because the eunuch guarding the island accidentally knocked over the oil lamp, which caused a big fire. There was no need to make a fuss, just replant some trees. With Cui Xiaofu's efforts to downplay, the matter was left in the end.

In the evening, a carriage was parked at the side door of Zhang Huan's mansion. A man came out of the carriage, wearing a gray eunuch costume and a wide-edged large hat, and could not see his face. The person came to say a few words to the soldiers guarding the gate, and then followed the soldiers into the mansion.

About half an hour later, Zhang Huan's carriage rushed over surrounded by hundreds of personal guards. Zhang Huan got off the carriage and walked into the gate quickly. He received news from the mansion that an old man was waiting for him in the mansion.

In a quiet room in the back house, Pei Ying was talking to Li Fanyun, who had just finished washing and changed into women's clothing. It was not until this time that Li Fanyun's heart finally relaxed and was shocked overnight. She escaped the disaster with her luck and alertness. The fire burned all night and was gradually extinguished until dawn. According to Zhu Guanghui's return to the island, the entire island had been burned to white ground. It was impossible for Cui Xiaofu to find her corpse.

At this time, the sound of rapid footsteps came from outside, and Zhang Huan walked in big strode. He saw Li Fanyun at a glance and couldn't help but be stunned, "It's you!"

Li Fanyun smiled and said, "You didn't expect it!"

Pei Ying looked at them, then stood up and smiled, "You brothers and sisters talk! I won't disturb you."

She glanced at her husband and turned around and left. Zhang Huan saw blood marks on Li Fengyun's face. He sat down slowly and asked in surprise: "I was about to ask someone to inquire about you, but I heard that a fire broke out in the palace last night. What's going on?"

"That fire broke out to burn me." Li Fanyun smiled as if nothing had happened, and then told Zhang Huan in detail what happened last night. Almost every detail was missing. She knew that Zhang Huan might be able to understand something from it.

After hearing this, Zhang Huan immediately said without hesitation: "This is not Cui Xiaofu wants to kill you. It's really easy for her to kill you. There is no need to go through such a big trouble. This must be someone else."

"I think so too. If she wants to kill me, she just needs to do some tricks in my diet, or come in openly to force me to take poison. However, the people who were pierced by me came up from the stairs. Their numbers were large and they would inevitably be discovered by the guards outside. But in fact, there was no movement at all. Later, when the fight started, the lower part was quiet, so the only ones who killed me were the guards."

Zhang Huan suddenly smiled coldly. Many of the guards in the palace were selected from Qianniu Guards. Apart from Cui Xiaofu, isn’t it Pei Jun?

After understanding this, Pei Jun's motive for killing Li Fanyun was suddenly solved. Killing Li Fanyun not only made his life experience more confusing, but also made Cui Xiaofu's grudge against him. It seems that his father-in-law is very happy to stand on a high place to watch the fun!

"Sister, what are your plans in the future?"

Li Fanyun shook his head, "I haven't decided yet. Let's stay with you for a while first, and then talk about it later!"

Zhang Huan was very clear about Li Fanyun's talent. When Cui Yuan handed over the important matter of assassination of Li Shi to her, she almost succeeded. She was her only relative, so she was really worried about wandering around and she should stay by her side.

Thinking of this, Zhang Huan sincerely said to Li Fanyun: "Sister, I hope you can stay and help me."

Li Fanyun pondered and said nothing. After a long time, she sighed softly and said, "You are my younger brother, the only hope to inherit my father's career. I think my father's spirit of heaven must also stay and help you, okay! I promise you, but I don't want to show up again."
Chapter completed!