Peach Blossoms in Chang'an

Chapter 109: All clues seem to have been deliberately erased

Hu Bugui looked at the letter again and again, trying to discern some clues from the sloppy handwriting, but found nothing. The material of the letter paper was ordinary, and the ink did not seem to be deliberately left there. All the clues seemed to have been deliberately erased, so clean that it was shocking.

"Your Highness, what happened?" Wu Tao walked in with a bowl of Tremella and lotus seed soup. Seeing Hu Bugui's brows were furrowed and his expression was solemn, he asked with concern.

"Nothing, just some trivial matters." Hu Bugui crumpled the letter into a ball and quickly hid it in his sleeve, not wanting to make Wu Tao worry about him.

"Your Highness, you and I are husband and wife, why do you have to hide it from me?" Wu Tao put down the bowl in his hand, walked to Hu Bugui, and gently held his hand. "You have been worried lately, but what is bothering you in the court?"

Hu Bugui looked at Wu Tao's worried eyes and finally chose to confess to her. He told her about the anonymous letter and expressed all his uneasiness and doubts.

"This letter came in a strange way. I'm worried that someone did it on purpose to sow discord or even..." Hu Bugui did not continue, but he believed that Wu Tao understood what he meant.

After hearing this, Wu Tao frowned slightly and fell into deep thought. She also felt that this matter was very serious. The timing of the letter was too coincidental, and the content was so obscure that people had to suspect that there was a bigger conspiracy behind it.

"Your Highness, do you still remember those assassins?" Wu Tao suddenly asked.

Hu Bugui's heart moved. Those assassins had always been a thorn in his heart. They seemed to appear out of nowhere, with unknown purposes. After he strengthened the guards of the mansion, they never appeared again. Now that he thought about it, there might be some connection between the two.

"You mean, this letter is related to those assassins?"

"I'm just guessing," Wu Tao shook his head, "but the appearance of this letter is too strange, we have to be on guard."

"You're right. I was negligent." Hu Bugui held Wu Tao's hand tightly, his eyes full of gratitude. "Fortunately, you are by my side."

"We are husband and wife, so we must face this together." Wu Tao smiled slightly, with wisdom shining in her eyes. "Your Highness, do you remember when this letter was delivered?"

"The housekeeper said that it was brought by a ragged little beggar in the evening."

"Little beggar?" Wu Tao hesitated for a moment, "Your Majesty, perhaps we can start with this little beggar and find out the source of this letter."

"I've sent people to investigate, but there's been no news so far." Hu Bugui sighed, "It's as if the little beggar disappeared out of thin air, leaving no trace."

"It seems that the other party has been prepared for a long time." Wu Tao's eyes flashed with coldness, "However, the more cautious you are, the easier it is to reveal your true intentions."

It was late at night, and the candlelight in the study of the palace was still on. Wu Tao and Hu Bugui sat side by side, carefully analyzing the existing clues, trying to find a ray of light in this fog. Outside the window, the night was as dark as ink, and there was silence, only the rustling sound of the wind blowing the leaves, as if it also foreshadowed the tranquility before the storm.

 Peach blossoms shine brightly in Chang'an

 Chapter 109: Shadows Behind the Scenes

The next morning, Hu Bugui went to the palace to meet the emperor and told him about the anonymous letter. The emperor was furious and immediately ordered to strengthen the palace security measures. He also secretly sent his confidant, a shrewd and capable imperial guard, to secretly assist Hu Bugui in investigating the matter.

"Bugui, this matter is of great importance. I will never allow anyone to disrupt the stability of the court or harm my relatives." The emperor said in a deep voice, "Go ahead and investigate. I will bear all the consequences."

"I will obey your order and live up to your trust." Hu Bugui bowed and accepted the order, but his heart was even heavier. He knew that this matter was far more complicated than he had imagined, and if he was not careful, it would bring disaster upon himself.

After Hu Bugui left, the emperor paced alone in the imperial study, with a lot of thoughts in his mind. He knew that the appearance of this anonymous letter was no accident, and there must be a bigger conspiracy behind it. He thought of some subtle changes in the court recently, and some ministers secretly colluded and seemed to be plotting something. The appearance of this letter seemed more like someone deliberately wanted to test his reaction, or even provoke a bigger fight.

At the same time, the Queen also heard rumors about the anonymous letter in the palace. She was concerned about the safety of Wu Tao and Hu Bugui and worried that they would be implicated, so she decided to come forward to protect them personally.

"Someone, prepare the sedan chair and go to the palace." The queen put down the teacup in her hand and said in a firm tone.

When the queen arrived at the palace, Wu Tao was walking in the garden. Seeing the queen suddenly arrive, Wu Tao was surprised and hurried forward to pay his respects.

"May the Queen be blessed with happiness and peace of mind."

"Tao'er, please stand up quickly. No need to be so polite." The Queen took Wu Tao's hand affectionately, "I came here today because I was worried about you and Bugui, so I came to see you specially."

Wu Tao was touched, knowing that the queen really cared about them, so she told the queen everything about the anonymous letter. After hearing this, the queen frowned and felt a little uneasy.

"Tao'er, this matter is of great importance. You must not take it lightly." The Queen said earnestly, "I will send someone to secretly protect you. You must also be extra careful."

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I understand." Wu Tao said gratefully.

The queen stayed in the palace for a long time and did not leave until night fell. After she left, Wu Tao felt even more uneasy, as she always felt that something was going to happen.

The next day, Wu Tao decided to investigate the anonymous letter herself. She disguised herself and quietly left the palace with her personal maid.

According to the clues provided by Hu Bugui, Wu Tao came to a dilapidated courtyard on the outskirts of the city. This was an address mentioned in the anonymous letter, and it was said that this was where the little beggar often appeared.

Wu Tao walked into the courtyard carefully and looked around, but found nothing. Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly found a brick in the corner that was different in color from the rest of the wall, as if someone had moved it.

Wu Tao's mind moved, and she quickly moved the bricks away, and found a wooden box hidden underneath. She opened the box, and inside was a stack of letters and some old things.

Wu Tao picked up the letters and read them carefully, and found that they were actually the correspondence between the prime minister and his former subordinates many years ago. Among those old items, there was a jade pendant, which was the token of the prime minister's mansion back then.

Wu Tao was shocked. Could it be that the anonymous letter was related to the prime minister? But, hadn't the prime minister been executed? Could it be that his former subordinates were still active?

Wu Tao was filled with doubts. She realized that she might have touched upon a bigger secret, a secret that could overturn the entire court...

Wu Tao held the jade pendant, her fingertips were cold. She recognized this jade pendant. She had seen it when the family was confiscated. It was given to the prime minister by the late emperor himself, symbolizing supreme glory and power. Now, this jade pendant appeared in this dilapidated courtyard, accompanied by those mysterious letters, and she couldn't help but think about it.

She took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. The prime minister was dead, and his power should have been eradicated. How could someone still be secretly active? Could it be that the handling of the case was not clean enough, leaving some fish that slipped through the net?

Wu Tao did not dare to delay, carefully put away the things in the box, and hurried back to the palace. She told Hu Bugui about her discovery and handed him the jade pendant.

Hu Bugui took the jade pendant and examined it carefully. The jade pendant was soft and smooth to the touch, and the carving was fine. It was undoubtedly the one that the prime minister had held back then.

"It seems that we have all underestimated the power of the Prime Minister." Hu Bugui pondered, "I am afraid there is another hidden story behind what happened back then."

"You mean, there's something fishy about the Prime Minister's death?" Wu Tao asked, feeling a little uneasy. "But, it was the Emperor who sentenced the Prime Minister back then. Could it be..."

"This matter involves a lot of people, so we can't talk nonsense." Hu Bugui interrupted Wu Tao, "Now we have to find out who these old subordinates are and what their purpose is as soon as possible, so that we can really find out who is behind this."

In the following days, Hu Bugui stepped up his investigation. He secretly visited the officials who had participated in the trial of the prime minister, and sent people to gather information everywhere, hoping to find more clues related to the prime minister's former subordinates.

However, the other party seemed to have been prepared and acted very secretly. Hu Bugui made many inquiries but still found nothing.

At this moment, an accident happened, which made Hu Bugui realize that danger was approaching.

That day, Hu Bugui and Wu Tao were invited to stay at a hot spring resort outside the city. In order to avoid being seen, they only brought a few trusted people with them.

The hot spring village is surrounded by mountains and water, with beautiful scenery, which is a good place to relax. However, on the night they arrived at the village, an accident happened.

A group of men in black suddenly descended from the sky and surrounded the whole village. They were all highly skilled in martial arts and ruthless, and it was obvious that they came prepared.

"Protect the prince and princess!"

The guards fought hard, but they were outnumbered and soon fell behind. Seeing the men in black approaching step by step, Wu Tao was extremely anxious.

At this critical moment, a sharp arrow flew through the air and shot straight at the leader of the men in black. Then, several guards in tight clothes dropped from the sky and joined the battle.

The leading guard was a trusted member of the emperor who was sent to secretly protect them. He was skilled in martial arts and ruthless, and he quickly turned the situation around. The men in black saw that the situation was not good, left behind several corpses, and fled in panic.

"Thank you very much for saving our lives." Hu Bugui and Wu Tao stepped forward to express their gratitude.

"Your Highness, please don't be polite. This is my duty." The head of the guards clasped his fists and said, "But now it seems that those who want to harm your Highness and Princess can no longer hold back."

Looking at the direction where the man in black disappeared, a cold light flashed in Hu Bugui's eyes. He knew that a bigger storm was coming...

The attack on the hot spring villa was like a stone dropped into a calm lake, causing ripples. Hu Bugui knew that this was just the beginning, and greater dangers were still to come. After returning to the palace, he immediately strengthened the defense inside and outside the palace, and everyone entering and leaving the palace had to undergo strict inspection.

Wu Tao looked at the usually calm Hu Bugui, her face filled with a rare solemnity and her heart filled with worry. "Husband, what should we do next?"

"Since the person behind the scenes has already taken action, he will never give up." Hu Bugui held Wu Tao's hand with a firm look in his eyes, "We can't just sit there and wait for death. We must take the initiative to attack."

He decided to speed up the investigation and try to find out their identities and intentions before the enemy made another move. Hu Bugui summoned his confidants overnight and expanded the scope of the investigation, focusing on those families that had old ties with the prime minister and had a certain amount of power in the court or among the people.

However, just as they were preparing to conduct an in-depth investigation, the mysterious man appeared again, adding fuel to the already tense situation. That morning, Hu Bugui was handling his official duties as usual, but found a neatly folded note on the desk in the study. There were only five short words written on the note: "Be careful of the people around you."

These five words were like a thunderclap, exploding in Hu Bugui's ears. He stood up suddenly and looked around. The study was empty, but he felt an unprecedented sense of oppression. Who left the note? Is there really a traitor around him?

Hu Bugui immediately told Wu Tao about this. The couple carefully analyzed the current situation and felt that the situation was more serious. They knew that there were many people in the palace and there was no guarantee that someone would be bribed by the prime minister's former subordinates and become their spy in the palace.

"Are we just going to wait passively and let the enemy control us?" Wu Tao was extremely anxious.

"Of course not." Hu Bugui's eyes were sharp. "We must use their own tactics to find out this enemy hiding among us."