Peach Blossoms in Chang'an

Chapter 195 The Master Cannot Be Trusted

Wu Tao looked at the anonymous letter in her hand. The handwriting was sloppy, but it was chilling. Is there something wrong with the Grand Tutor? This thought was rejected as soon as it came to her mind. The Grand Tutor was highly respected and had been in the court for many years. There was no reason for him to betray the emperor, let alone collude with the rebellious remnants.

"What's wrong?" Hu Bugui asked with concern when he saw Wu Tao's face was not right. Wu Tao did not hide anything and told him about the anonymous letter. Hu Bugui took the letter and looked at it carefully, his brows gradually furrowed.

"It is better to believe it than not to believe it." Hu Bugui pondered, "We must be prepared for both situations."

Wu Tao nodded, but felt even more uneasy. If the Grand Tutor couldn't be trusted, who else could they trust? This game of chess seemed to have fallen into the opponent's trap from the beginning.

The palace banquet arrived as scheduled. In the brightly lit hall, there were elegant people in fine clothes and clinking glasses. Wu Tao and Hu Bugui suppressed their uneasiness and waited for the opportunity. Finally, at the signal of the Grand Tutor, Hu Bugui stood up and walked to the center of the hall, and reported to the emperor the evidence of the remnant leader's intention to rebel.

This statement immediately caused an uproar. The ministers talked about it and looked at Hu Bugui and Wu Tao standing in the center in disbelief. The leader of the remaining gang changed his face, but soon calmed down, pointed at Hu Bugui and said sternly: "What nonsense! You are slandering and framing me!"

"Whether it is slander or not, we both know it clearly." Hu Bugui sneered and took out a list from his arms. "Here are the names of all those who participated in the rebellion. Do you dare to say that your name is not on it?"

Just as everyone was holding their breath, waiting for the remnant leader to explain, something unexpected happened. The list that was supposed to be used as evidence turned into a pile of ashes in front of everyone's eyes!

"What's going on?!" Everyone exclaimed. Hu Bugui looked at the ashes in his hand in disbelief, and a chill ran from the soles of his feet to his heart. He knew that they had fallen into a trap!

"Your Majesty, it's obvious that they are guilty and are destroying the evidence on purpose!" The leader of the remaining gang seized the opportunity and turned the tables, "They are the real traitors, intending to murder me and disrupt the government!"

The emperor had always been resentful of Hu Bugui, and now seeing this scene, he was even more furious. He slammed the table and shouted angrily: "Come here, take down these two traitors!"

"Your Majesty, it's unfair!" Wu Tao wanted to explain, but was subdued by the guards who swarmed over. She watched Hu Bugui being captured, and her heart was filled with despair and powerlessness.

What was going on? Who was secretly helping the remaining gang leaders? Could it be that their plan had been discovered from the beginning?

The answer seems to be getting closer, yet out of reach.

Wu Tao and Hu Bugui were taken to the Tianlao, where they will face even more brutal interrogation and torture. What kind of truth is hidden behind this storm, and will it be buried forever with their imprisonment?

Wu Tao and Hu Bugui were taken to the Tianlao, where the cold, damp air mixed with a musty smell was nauseating. There was only a dim oil lamp in the cell, and the weak light shone on the mottled walls, casting long shadows, making it even more eerie and terrifying.

"Ahem..." Wu Tao was thrown to the ground roughly by the jailer, and her back hit the cold and hard ground, causing her to gasp in pain. She struggled to stand up, but was kicked to the ground by the jailer beside her.

"Behave yourself!" the jailer warned fiercely.

Hu Bugui was furious when he saw this. He was about to step forward to argue, but was held down by several jailers. He could only watch Wu Tao being tortured, his heart filled with anger and powerlessness.

In the following days, Wu Tao and Hu Bugui suffered inhuman torture. Whips, branding irons, bamboo sticks... all kinds of tortures were used in turn. The jailers seemed to want to torture every inch of their skin before they would stop. However, no matter how they threatened and induced them, Wu Tao and Hu Bugui always gritted their teeth and did not reveal any evidence of "treason".

"What do you want..." Wu Tao asked weakly, her voice so hoarse that it was almost inaudible. Her body was covered with scars, and her originally fair skin was now covered with shocking bloodstains.

"Humph, if you want to live, just confess!" The jailer sneered, "As long as you admit that you intend to rebel, I can consider giving you a quick death!"

"If you want to accuse someone, you can always find a pretext!" Hu Bugui roared, "We didn't commit treason at all. You are forcing us to confess!"

"You are so stubborn!" The jailer was furious when he saw that they refused to cooperate. He raised the whip in his hand and beat Hu Bugui hard.

"Snap!" The sound of the whip tearing flesh echoed in the dark cell, making people shudder.

At this moment, a dark figure appeared silently outside the prison. He was wearing a nightgown, with a black cloth covering his face, revealing only a pair of sharp eyes. He observed the situation around the prison, looking for an opportunity to sneak in.

This person was the secret ally of Wu Tao and Hu Bugui. When he learned of their arrest, he was extremely anxious and rushed over overnight, hoping to rescue them.

He dodged the patrolling guards, sneaked into the prison, and found the cell where Wu Tao and Hu Bugui were imprisoned. He took out the tools he had prepared in advance and prepared to open the cell door.

"Who?!" At this moment, a vigilant voice came from a distance.

The black shadow was startled and knew he was exposed. Without having time to think, he immediately gave up the rescue plan and turned to flee out of the prison.

"Catch the assassin!" The jailer's shouts resounded throughout the prison. Countless torches lit up, illuminating the originally dark prison as if it were daytime.

The black shadow ran desperately in the firelight, the pursuers behind him were getting closer and closer, and he knew he could not escape.

"We can't let their sacrifice be in vain..." A trace of determination flashed in the black shadow's eyes. He took out a flare from his arms and pulled it out with force.

"Bang!" With a loud bang, a red flare shot up into the sky, exploding into a gorgeous firework in the night sky.

"For the Tang Dynasty..." The black shadow looked at the firework, a smile of relief appeared on the corner of his mouth, and then he turned around resolutely and faced the pursuers...

The light of the flare was brief but dazzling, illuminating half of the sky and the iron bars of the prison where Wu Tao and Hu Bugui were imprisoned. The news of their ally's death quickly reached their ears, like a bolt from the blue, exploding in their ears. Wu Tao's body swayed and she almost collapsed to the ground. Hu Bugui held her up, his lips tightly pursed, his eyes filled with grief.

"It was him... for us..." Wu Tao's voice trembled, tears silently fell, washing out two clear marks on his face covered with dirt. These days, they have been tortured, but they always believe that their allies will come to save them and make the truth public. However, the light of hope was eventually swallowed up by the ruthless darkness.

"His sacrifice will not be in vain, and we must not give up!" Hu Bugui held Wu Tao in his arms, his tone firm, as if he was grabbing the last straw in the darkness. "Tao'er, you have to believe me, we can definitely get out alive, avenge him, and eliminate the treacherous villains for the Tang Dynasty!"

Wu Tao took a deep breath and forced the tears back into her eyes. She knew that now was not the time to be sad. The sacrifice of the allies was irreversible, but they were still alive, so there was still a chance. She held Hu Bugui's hand tightly, with a determination she had never seen before in her eyes.

In order to divert her grief and grasp the last glimmer of hope, Wu Tao began to try to use her modern knowledge to find a chance to escape from prison. She found that the walls of the cell were made of huge blue bricks, which were very old and the gaps between them were loose, so she might be able to use them.

So she began to use the bones hidden in the food to sharpen them into sharp tools, and dug the wall bit by bit. Seeing this, Hu Bugui also joined in, and the two took turns working, not daring to make too much noise for fear of alarming the jailer.

As time went by, the soil they dug was secretly hidden in the corner of the cell, and the tunnel was extended forward little by little. Hope was just around the corner, but at the moment when the tunnel was about to be completed, an accident happened...

"What are you doing?!" The jailer's gruff voice rang out at the cell door, followed by a dazzling firelight that illuminated the originally dim cell, exposing the figures of Wu Tao and Hu Bugui in the glaring light, and also illuminating the unfinished road to freedom in front of them.

Despair drowned the two of them like a tide. Are they really going to die here?

The torch in the jailer's hand flickered violently, illuminating the terrified expressions on Wu Tao and Hu Bugui's faces. The tunnel entrance was clearly visible, with dirt scattered all over the ground. The evidence was irrefutable, and no matter how eloquent they were, they could not explain it. Despair, like an invisible hand, tightly grasped their throats, making it impossible for them to breathe.

At this moment, there was a commotion outside the cell, and a majestic voice rang out in the silent night sky: "Stop!" Wu Tao and Hu Bugui were both very familiar with this voice. It was the emperor!

The emperor walked into the prison with the queen and a group of guards. His sharp eyes swept over the embarrassed Wu Tao and Hu Bugui, and finally fell on the tunnel that had not yet been dug through. He frowned and said nothing.

"Your Majesty, I have fulfilled your mission," the Queen stepped forward and saluted the Emperor. "The Prince and Miss Wu were indeed wronged. I have already found out the truth. It's all the Prime Minister and the Crown Prince's fault..."

The queen told the emperor the whole story, and the emperor's face became more and more gloomy as the queen told the story. It turned out that the emperor had always doubted Hu Bugui's loyalty. This frame-up was just a test for Hu Bugui, and the performance of Hu Bugui and Wu Tao had proved their loyalty to the Tang Dynasty.

"My dear minister, I have wronged you." The emperor personally helped Hu Bugui up, his eyes full of guilt, "I will immediately order you to be released, your status and position to be restored, and those who framed the loyal and good will to be severely punished!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Hu Bugui and Wu Tao said in unison, the joy of surviving the disaster filling their hearts.

"My child, you have suffered." The queen held Wu Tao's hand lovingly, her eyes full of heartache, "I will definitely seek justice for you!"

After the emperor and the empress left with their men, Wu Tao and Hu Bugui escaped from the prison with the help of the guards. Looking at the twinkling stars in the night sky, they were filled with hope for the future. However, they did not know that the real danger had just begun.

The prime minister, who was hiding in the dark, witnessed all this and had a cold smile on his face. He whispered to the man in black beside him, "Go, inform the remaining gang members that the plan has changed. We must root them out and never let Hu Bugui and Wu Tao leave Chang'an alive!"

A bigger storm is about to sweep in. Can Hu Bugui and Wu Tao completely expose the prime minister's conspiracy and save the Tang Dynasty in this political struggle?