Peach Blossoms in Chang'an

Chapter 196 Some doubts about escape

Night fell over Chang'an City, and the air was filled with a hint of tension. Under the cover of the guards, Wu Tao and Hu Bugui hurried through the dark alleys, their hearts pounding, fearing that they would be discovered by the pursuers.

"Has the Queen really made all the arrangements? Can we really escape like this?" Wu Tao asked worriedly, lowering his voice.

Hu Bugui held her hand tightly, his eyes firm: "Don't worry, the Queen will definitely do what she promised. The most important thing for us now is to leave the palace as soon as possible. We can talk about other things after it is safe."

They hid all the way and finally came to a remote corner of the palace. There was an inconspicuous carriage parked there. The driver was an old woman. When she saw them, she lifted the curtain and signaled them to get in without saying a word.

The carriage slowly drove away from the palace, and Wu Tao and Hu Bugui breathed a sigh of relief. But they knew in their hearts that this was only temporary safety, and the Prime Minister's influence was everywhere in the court and the country, so they had to find a safe place to hide as soon as possible.

The carriage drove on the bumpy road for a long time and finally stopped in front of a secluded house. The old woman pointed at the house and whispered, "Go in, it's safe here, no one will find you."

Wu Tao and Hu Bugui looked at each other, their hearts full of doubts, but at this time they had no choice but to bite the bullet and walk into the house.

The house was not big, but it was decorated very elegantly. Just as they were wondering who the owner of the house was, a deep voice came from behind them: "Welcome, two distinguished guests."

Wu Tao and Hu Bugui turned around suddenly and saw a man in black with a stern face standing behind them. The man's eyes were sharp, as if he could see through people's hearts, which made people shudder.

"Who are you? Why are you helping us?" Hu Bugui asked vigilantly.

The black-clothed man raised a mysterious smile: "It doesn't matter who I am. What's important is that I know who you are and what kind of danger you are facing."

"What do you mean?" Wu Tao's heart tightened and he felt vaguely uneasy.

“The Prime Minister’s ambition goes far beyond this. He colludes with external forces and intends to usurp the throne, and you are just pawns in his plan.” The black-clothed man spoke in an icy tone, and every word he said was like a hammer hitting their hearts.

Wu Tao and Hu Bugui looked at the man in black in shock. They had never thought that things would be so complicated and the prime minister's conspiracy would be so terrible.

"Why would he do this? What's the benefit of doing this?" Wu Tao asked in disbelief.

"Power, wealth, status, these are what he wants." The man in black smiled coldly, "He wants to get everything, and you are the stumbling block for him to realize his ambition."

The warning from the man in black made Wu Tao and Hu Bugui realize that the danger they were facing was far more terrible than they had imagined. They seemed to be caught in a huge spider web, and the weaver of this web was the seemingly honest prime minister.

"Why are you telling us this? What exactly do you want to do?" Hu Bugui asked in a deep voice.

The man in black looked at them deeply, turned around and left, leaving only one sentence echoing in the air: "Be careful of the Prime Minister, and be careful of the people around you. The real crisis has just begun..."

The words of the man in black were like thunder, exploding in the ears of Wu Tao and Hu Bugui. They had never thought that the prime minister, whom they had always regarded as a loyal minister, would have such a wolfish ambition. Silence spread between the two of them, and they needed time to digest this sudden change.

After a while, Hu Bugui broke the silence, "We can't just sit there and wait for death, we must find out the truth." There was a firm light in his eyes, and his former elegance now had a bit more sharpness.

Wu Tao nodded. Although he was afraid, he was more determined to face the unknown. "Yes, we can't let him succeed."

In order to find out the truth, Wu Tao and Hu Bugui decided to sneak into the Prime Minister's Mansion. When night fell, the two disguised themselves, avoided the patrolling guards, and sneaked into the Prime Minister's Mansion. The Prime Minister's Mansion was heavily guarded, but for Wu Tao and Hu Bugui, this was not an insurmountable obstacle. With their extraordinary courage and agility, they sneaked into the Prime Minister's study quietly.

In the study, the dim candlelight flickered, and the bookshelves were filled with various books and files. Wu Tao and Hu Bugui carefully searched, hoping to find some clues. Suddenly, Hu Bugui found a secret letter in a pile of files. He opened the envelope and read it carefully, his face becoming more and more solemn as he read more of the content.

"What's wrong?" Wu Tao noticed that Hu Bugui was acting strangely and asked quickly.

Hu Bugui did not speak, but handed the secret letter to Wu Tao. Wu Tao took the letter, quickly glanced through it, and his face turned ugly. In the letter, the prime minister communicated with a mysterious person. The content of the letter was full of plans for rebellion, and even recorded in detail how to use external forces to overthrow the court and how to divide the benefits after the success.

"It's indeed him! He really wants to rebel!" Wu Tao clenched his fists, his heart filled with anger and worry.

They finally found evidence that the prime minister was colluding with external forces. However, just as they were about to leave the study, they suddenly heard hurried footsteps outside the door.

"Oh no, we've been discovered!" Hu Bugui said in a low voice, his face becoming solemn.

Without time to think, the two quickly hid behind the bookshelf. The door was pushed open, and several guards in black rushed in, holding sharp blades and searching the study room fiercely.

"Search! Search carefully! Don't let even a fly go!" the leading guard ordered loudly.

The guards searched the study room, while Wu Tao and Hu Bugui held their breath and dared not make any noise. However, at this moment, Wu Tao accidentally knocked over a vase, and a crisp "bang" sound broke the silence of the study room.

"Who is it?!" When the guards heard the voice, they immediately rushed towards the direction where Wu Tao and Hu Bugui were hiding.

"Let's go!" Hu Bugui made a prompt decision and pulled Wu Tao towards the window.

A fierce battle ensued. Hu Bugui was a skilled martial artist, and he swung his sword tightly, forcing the guards who rushed up to him to retreat one by one. However, two fists were no match for four hands, and Wu Tao accidentally got his arm scratched by the guard's blade while dodging.

"Tao'er!" Hu Bugui became extremely anxious upon seeing this. He fought hard against the guards in front of him and wanted to rush to Wu Tao to protect her.

"Don't worry about me, just go!" Wu Tao endured the pain and shouted to Hu Bugui, "There are too many of them, we are no match for them!"

Hu Bugui looked at Wu Tao's determined eyes, his heart filled with pain and struggle. He knew that staying would only lead to death, and only by escaping could he have a chance of survival.

"Hold on, I will definitely come back to save you!" Hu Bugui looked at Wu Tao deeply, then turned around and jumped out of the window, disappearing into the night.

Wu Tao looked at Hu Bugui's departing back, tears blurred her eyes. She knew that a more dangerous situation was waiting for her, but she did not give up hope, she believed that Hu Bugui would come back to save her.

 Undercurrent

Wu Tao staggered and hid in the dark room behind the prime minister's study. She felt a sharp pain in her arm, but she dared not make any sound. The guards rushed into the study and searched everywhere for their traces, but found nothing. The leading guard fiercely kicked over the desk and roared: "Chase them! We must catch them back!"

Wu Tao's heart sank to the bottom. She knew that Hu Bugui was captured to protect her, and she had to find a way to save him!

Suddenly, the wall of the dark room opened silently, a dark shadow flashed in, and a deep voice sounded in the darkness: "Follow me!"

Wu Tao didn't have time to think about it. She followed the black shadow closely, passed through dark secret passages, and finally came to a secluded courtyard.

With the faint moonlight, Wu Tao saw clearly the person in front of her. It was the mysterious man who reminded her to be careful of the prime minister outside the restaurant that day.

"It's you?" Wu Tao asked in surprise, "Why are you here?"

The mysterious man did not answer her question, but said coldly: "The prime minister's conspiracy is far deeper than you think. Hu Bugui has been captured by him. If you want to save him, you must find the key evidence that can prove his crime."

"What evidence?" Wu Tao asked anxiously.

The mysterious man took out an exquisite jade pendant from his bosom and handed it to Wu Tao, "This is a token to enter the Prime Minister's secret base. The evidence is there. Remember, you only have three days. After three days, everything will be too late."

Wu Tao took the jade pendant and held it tightly in her hand. She knew that this would be a dangerous journey, but she had no other choice. For Hu Bugui, she had to face it bravely.

"Thank you, I will do my best." Wu Tao took a deep breath, turned around and disappeared into the night.

She followed the clues left by the mysterious man and sneaked all the way to an abandoned temple on the outskirts of the city. The temple was dilapidated and overgrown with weeds, as if it had been abandoned for many years.

Wu Tao held the jade pendant in her hand and followed the map in her mind to find the secret door behind the Buddha statue. She took a deep breath, pushed open the secret door, and walked in.

The scene before her shocked her. This was not an abandoned temple at all, but a heavily guarded underground fortress!

Wu Tao carefully avoided the patrolling guards and groped her way forward along the wall. She didn't know what was waiting for her, but she had only one belief in her heart, that is, to find evidence and rescue Hu Bugui!

However, what she didn't know was that deep inside this seemingly indestructible fortress, there was a bigger secret hidden, a conspiracy that could overthrow the entire court...