Peach Blossoms in Chang'an

Chapter 121 Worrying

"Are you really okay? You look worried." Wu Tao gently stroked Hu Bugui's face, with worry between his brows. Hu Bugui's deep eyes flashed a trace of struggle, and finally decided to be honest. He took Wu Tao's hand and walked to the desk. His fingertips gently brushed the pile of burnt letter papers, and his tone was heavy: "Someone sent me an anonymous letter, suggesting that I am about to face danger."

Wu Tao's heart skipped a beat. Although she was naive, she understood what the word "danger" meant in the vortex of power struggle. She did not ask further questions, but just held Hu Bugui's hand tightly, conveying firmness and support with her eyes.

Hu Bugui held Wu Tao in his arms and whispered, "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I will protect you and our hard-earned happiness."

The next morning, Hu Bugui secretly summoned his confidants, including General Li who was guarding the border, and several loyal officials in the court. Everyone gathered in the study, their faces solemn, and the atmosphere was so depressing that it seemed as if even the air had solidified.

"Everyone, I have called you here today to discuss important matters." Hu Bugui's face was calm, but his tone was full of unquestionable majesty. He revealed the contents of the anonymous letter and his own speculations, "... Various signs show that this letter is not groundless. The person behind the scenes obviously has a grudge against me and even has bad intentions."

"How can this be! Your Highness has devoted himself to the country and the people. How could someone be so vicious as to stir up trouble in secret!" General Li slammed the table and stood up, burning with anger.

"Your Highness, in your opinion, who is the mastermind behind this?" an old minister asked in a low voice, with a hint of worry in his tone.

"I suspect..." Hu Bugui paused, looking around at everyone, and finally set his sights on the anonymous letter on the table, "It's the prime minister and the prince."

Everyone was shocked when they heard this. The Prime Minister was in a high position of power, and the Crown Prince was the heir apparent, so why would they attack Hu Bugui?

"My Lord, what proof do you have?"

"Although this anonymous letter was written in an obscure way, the handwriting deliberately imitated the brushwork of a street vendor. It was too deliberate and gave away the truth." Wu Tao, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke up. She walked to the desk, picked up a brush, and wrote a few words on the rice paper beside her. "Look, does the handwriting of these words resemble that of the old man selling candied haws when we went to the East Market a few days ago?"

After careful comparison, everyone found that the two were somewhat similar.

"This is just my guess, there is no solid evidence." Wu Tao added, "But I trust my intuition."

"The princess is very thoughtful, which is admirable." An official praised, "But, I'm afraid it's hard to convince the public with just this one point."

"That's right. We need solid evidence to bring them to justice." Hu Bugui took a deep breath, a cold light flashing in his eyes. "General Li, immediately send someone to secretly investigate the recent movements of the Prime Minister and the Crown Prince. Remember, be careful and don't alert the enemy."

"Yes!" General Li took the order and left.

In the study, everyone continued to discuss countermeasures, the atmosphere was solemn and depressing. A war without gunpowder smoke was about to begin...

In the study, the atmosphere was so solemn that it seemed frozen. Hu Bugui took a deep breath, suppressed the surging emotions in his heart, and said firmly: "We can't lose our composure. Especially at this time, we must respond calmly. General Li, the people you send must act cautiously and must not alert the enemy."

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I understand!" General Li clasped his fists and accepted the order, his eyes gleaming with determination. He knew that a storm was coming, and they had to be fully prepared.

"The most urgent matter is that we cannot sit and wait for death, we must take the initiative." A counselor stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the reforms you are promoting have affected the interests of many people, and they will definitely find ways to obstruct them. Why don't we take advantage of their situation and let them relax their vigilance and reveal their true colors?"

Hu Bugui pondered for a moment and nodded in appreciation: "Military Advisor is absolutely right. I will continue to push forward the reform and will never let those villains succeed!"

A war without the smoke of gunpowder had quietly begun. Hu Bugui remained calm on the surface and continued to implement various reform measures, but secretly he sent more people to closely monitor the prime minister and the prince's every move and collect evidence of their ill intentions.

The atmosphere in the Prime Minister's Mansion was equally depressing. The Prime Minister held a secret letter in his hand, his face so gloomy that it seemed as if water could drip out of it. The letter was sent by the Crown Prince, and the content was very simple, with only one sentence: "There is no time to lose, act quickly."

"This idiot!" The prime minister crumpled up the letter and slammed it on the table, fuming. "He is more likely to cause trouble than to help!"

His original plan was to slowly disintegrate Hu Bugui's power and overthrow him when the time was right. However, the prince was impatient and kept urging him to act as soon as possible, fearing that things would get worse.

"Since you are so anxious, don't blame me for being rude!" A fierce look flashed in the prime minister's eyes. He knew very well that at this moment, he had no way out. He had to act as soon as possible, otherwise once Hu Bugui got solid evidence, what awaited him would be an abyss of no return.

The prime minister and the crown prince began to speed up the pace of the conspiracy. They secretly wooed officials in the court and spread rumors in an attempt to isolate Hu Bugui and shake his foundation. For a time, undercurrents surged in the court and people were in panic.

Hu Bugui, who is at the center of the vortex, knows this very well. He knows that this is the calm before the storm, and the real test is still to come. He must proceed step by step to resolve this crisis, protect himself, protect Wu Tao, and protect their hard-earned happiness.

At this time, Wu Tao, who was in the deep palace, also keenly sensed a hint of unusual atmosphere. She found that some palace maids and eunuchs looked at her differently, no longer respectfully as before, but with a bit of evasion and fear. Even the queen, who usually cared about her, began to distance herself from her intentionally or unintentionally.

An uneasy premonition came to Wu Tao's mind. He felt that something was happening quietly...

Wu Tao's heart sank, and an inexplicable uneasiness spread in her heart. She tentatively called a passing palace maid and asked if anything had happened in the palace recently. But the palace maid lowered her head in panic, hesitatingly said that nothing was wrong, and left in a hurry.

This happened more than once, and Wu Tao was keenly aware that people around her were avoiding her intentionally or unintentionally, as if she was a scourge. Even the queen, who usually cared for her, had been finding various excuses to shirk her visits recently.

"Could it be that the reforms promoted by Hu Bugui touched the interests of some people, so they took their anger out on me?" Wu Tao guessed in her heart, but she could never be sure. She knew very well that the harem was not a peaceful place, and any disturbance could cause an uproar.

Feeling increasingly uneasy, Wu Tao decided to go to Hu Bugui to ask for clarification. However, when she arrived outside the study, she heard a low conversation coming from inside.

"Your Highness, this is a secret letter that I just intercepted. Please take a look." General Li's voice was very low, but it could not hide the anxiety in his tone.

"This is..." Hu Bugui's voice was full of shock and disbelief.

Wu Tao's heart was in her throat. She held her breath, trying to hear the conversation clearly. However, the doors and windows of the study were closed, so she could not hear anything.

After an unknown amount of time, the door of the study finally opened. Hu Bugui walked out with a solemn expression. Seeing Wu Tao standing at the door, he was stunned at first, and then he gently embraced her in his arms.

"Why are you here?" There was a hint of fatigue in Hu Bugui's voice.

"I..." Wu Tao hesitated to speak. She wanted to tell Hu Bugui about her uneasiness, but was worried about adding to his troubles.

"Is someone in the palace giving you trouble?" Hu Bugui saw through her thoughts and asked softly.

Wu Tao nodded and told Hu Bugui about his recent experience.

After hearing this, Hu Bugui frowned, and a cold light flashed in his eyes. He gently patted Wu Tao's shoulder and comforted her: "Don't worry, I'll take care of everything."

He did not tell Wu Tao the evidence of the prime minister's collusion with foreign forces because he did not want to drag her into the vortex of this political struggle.

"Taotao, try to go out as little as possible during this period and stay in the house. I will come to pick you up after I have dealt with this matter." Hu Bugui's voice was gentle but firm, like an invisible barrier that kept all the wind and rain out.

Wu Tao nodded. Although she was still filled with anxiety, Hu Bugui's words gave her great strength. She believed in him, just as she believed in herself.

A bigger storm is quietly approaching...

Hu Bugui tightly grasped the secret letter in his hand. The handwriting of the prime minister on the letter seemed like a burning flame, burning his eyes. In the letter, the prime minister unabashedly declared himself a vassal of the neighboring monarch and promised to cede three cities of the Tang Dynasty as a reward after the success.

"How can this be!" Hu Bugui slammed the letter on the table, burning with anger. He never expected that the prime minister, who was in such a high position and had great power, would be a treacherous villain who sold out his country for personal gain.

"Your Highness, what should we do now?" General Li asked anxiously.

Hu Bugui took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. "The prime minister is cunning and treacherous. We must have solid evidence to bring him to justice." He looked at Wu Tao, his eyes full of pity and worry. "Taotao, this matter is very serious. I can't let you get involved."

Wu Tao shook her head and said firmly: "No, I can't watch you take risks alone. We are husband and wife, and we must face the storm together."

Hu Bugui was touched. He knew he couldn't refuse Wu Tao's request, so he nodded and agreed. After discussing, the two decided to take the initiative to lure the snake out of its hole. They planned to spread the rumor that Hu Bugui had evidence of the prime minister's corruption to test the prime minister's reaction.

In order to make the plan more realistic, Wu Tao deliberately revealed the news to the prime minister's daughter at a banquet. As expected, the news soon reached the prime minister's ears.

When the prime minister learned about this, he could no longer sit still. He summoned his confidants overnight to discuss countermeasures.

"Hu Bugui must have discovered something!" the prime minister said angrily, "We must take the initiative and get rid of him!"

"But he is the crown prince now. How should we start?" the confidant asked worriedly.

The prime minister smiled grimly, "So what if he's the crown prince? As long as we do things cleanly, who can suspect us?"

A conspiracy against Hu Bugui is quietly brewing.

However, just as Hu Bugui and Wu Tao were about to close the net and expose the true colors of the prime minister and the prince, a sudden rainstorm hit the capital. The downpour seemed to tear the sky apart, and the wind roared, sweeping everything away.

This sudden rainstorm disrupted the plans of Hu Bugui and Wu Tao. The original plan had to be postponed, and the situation, which was already undercurrent, became even more complicated and unpredictable because of the rainstorm...