The Lotus Cult leader also knew that even if the imperial army came to search, as a maid doing laundry and rough work, she wouldn't attract much attention. Only those pampered girls idle in the rooms were the primary targets for the imperial soldiers.
Led by the young maid, the Lotus Cult leader went to the backyard, changed into coarse cloth clothes, and squatted in front of a large wooden basin filled with a pile of dirty laundry.
Just as she finished, she heard a rush of footsteps, and a squad of imperial soldiers stormed in. Seeing the gleaming swords, everyone present panicked, screaming in fear.
The Lotus Cult leader feigned extreme panic and squeezed into the crowd with them.
A person who looked like a leader paced and scanned the faces of everyone present, then waved his hand, "Take them all away, throw them in prison, and interrogate them one by one."
Hearing this, the Lotus Cult leader's heart sank. They were arresting people without any preamble.
This made her connect it to the carrier pigeon she had sent out that morning, indicating that the pigeon must have been discovered by the imperial army, which was why they were conducting such a large-scale roundup.
If she were arrested and thrown into prison, and then subjected to mutual identification, she would very likely be exposed. After all, she was new here and unfamiliar with these people, so she had to leave.
Her gaze shifted.
The backyard's back door was only about five or six zhang away, and the dozen or so soldiers in the backyard posed no threat to her.
With this thought, the Lotus Cult leader hid behind two maids. As the imperial soldiers stepped forward to arrest them, she flicked her right hand slightly, and two extremely fine cow-hair needles flew out silently.
The cow-hair needles were as fine as cow's hair, invisible to the naked eye unless one looked specifically for them. The two soldiers only felt a slight itch at their temples. A few moments later, their bodies went limp, and they collapsed to the ground.
The squad leader, seeing the two suddenly fall, stepped forward. "Hey, what's wrong with you two?"
He called out twice with no response. The squad leader immediately realized something was wrong. He crouched down and tested the air at their nostrils. There was no breath left.
Seeing this, the squad leader immediately stood up and drew his saber with a clang.
"Arrest them all, not a single one can be let go."
Before he finished speaking, he also felt an itch at his temples, and then collapsed to the ground.
With three silent falls, the soldiers present showed fear in their eyes. After exchanging glances, they suddenly turned and ran forward.
The Lotus Cult leader seized the opportunity, grabbed the clothes of the two people in front of her, and pushed them into the crowd. Seven or eight maids were crammed together. Using this chaos, the Lotus Cult leader leaped out three zhang, and with two more bounds, reached the back door. Twisting her body, she stood on the wall.
As soon as she got on the wall, the Lotus Cult leader felt regret. There were imperial soldiers blocking outside the back door, and someone had spotted her.
"Quick, look, someone's on the wall."
At this point, the Lotus Cult leader had no retreat. She flicked her wrist again, sending out a few more cow-hair needles. The soldier who had shouted and another immediately fell.
Seeing people fall, the soldiers at the scene became chaotic.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Lotus Cult leader leaped again.
She sprang onto the roof opposite, and with another descent, she had disappeared.
...
The news quickly reached Wang Heng.
As expected, it was Baihua Lou. Wang Heng became extremely furious, slapping the table and shouting, "Go arrest everyone, interrogate them thoroughly, don't let any of them go."
After running past several houses, the Lotus Cult leader landed in a small alley. Seeing that she was alone, she calmed herself down and then slowly walked out.
Walking on the street, she began to think seriously. She guessed that the imperial army would not let Baihua Lou off. She felt a little guilty.
After carefully reviewing the situation, she realized that if the people at Baihua Lou couldn't hold out, Tian Wen would be the first to bear the brunt, as she had been sent by him.
With this thought, the Lotus Cult leader turned a corner and headed for the Drunken Immortal Pavilion.
At the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, as Tian Wen and others were just opening for business and cleaning up, they saw the Lotus Cult leader enter. Seeing it was her, Tian Wen's heart sank.
But he still had to pretend to be unfazed and stepped forward, cupping his fists. "Miss, we haven't opened for business yet. If you want to eat, you'll have to wait a while."
The Lotus Cult leader didn't even have time for pleasantries. She got straight to the point. "Something has happened at Baihua Lou, and the imperial army is arresting people. You need to be careful."
After saying this, the Lotus Cult leader turned and left.
She had one last place to hide: the Ma Family Courtyard.
Watching the Lotus Cult leader leave, Tian Wen frowned. He didn't have much confidence in the backbone of the people at Baihua Lou, as they were, after all, courtesans.
Besides, these people didn't have any deep connection with him. Why should they take the blame for him?
Thinking of this, Tian Wen immediately said to the busy shop assistants, "Alright, alright, everyone stop what you're doing and listen to me."
"Pack your things immediately and prepare to leave. You only have a quarter of an hour."
The shop assistants had all heard what the Lotus Cult leader had said, so when Tian Wen said this, no one asked any further questions. They immediately scattered. Tian Wen went into the counter, took out the money he had earned these past few days, and divided it according to the number of people on the counter. He had to give them some severance pay.
Soon, the shop assistants came out with their bundles.
Tian Wen distributed the silver to them one by one, and then reiterated, "If you can hide, hide. If you can conceal yourselves, conceal yourselves. Try not to let anyone know you have a connection with the Drunken Immortal Pavilion."
Fortunately, information was not easily accessible in those times, and not everyone could afford to dine out. Therefore, concealing one's identity was relatively easy.
After everyone had left, Tian Wen quickly boarded up the door of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, bolted it from the inside, and then returned to his room.
He removed his beard, changed his hairstyle, and altered his appearance. This way, even if he walked on the street, no one would recognize him as Tian Wen, the manager of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion.
Walking along the street, Tian Wen was originally heading towards the Ma Family Courtyard. However, as he neared the Ma Family Courtyard, his mind changed.
Going to see Ma Han in broad daylight seemed too hasty. He'd wait a day to see how things unfolded.
He looked up and saw a tea house in front of him. Tian Wen walked in and went to a window seat on the second floor, ordering a pot of tea. From here, he could see the entrance to the alley of the Ma Family Courtyard.
Tian Wen observed from here, while the Lotus Cult leader had already impatiently barged into the Ma Family Courtyard.
Ma Han had never met the Lotus Cult leader. Seeing a young woman arrive, he was quite surprised. He stepped forward and cupped his fists. "May I ask who you are looking for?"
The Lotus Cult leader smiled calmly. "Are you Ma Han?"
Ma Han nodded. "Indeed. And who might you be?"
"My name is Tang Lianhua, and I am the Princess's master."