Peach Blossoms in Chang'an

Chapter 185 Invisible Network

Wu Tao's heartbeat quickened, and Hu Bugui's last words echoed in her ears. The connection with the foreign country, the assassins, and the mysterious letter, these seemingly unrelated clues, now seemed like an invisible net, tightly surrounding them.

"You mean, someone wants to frame the prime minister, or use the prime minister's remaining followers to do something?" Wu Tao tried to calm himself down and analyzed the situation at hand.

Hu Bugui nodded slightly, the flickering candlelight reflected in his deep eyes. "The Prime Minister is dead, and his power should have collapsed, but now it seems that things are far from that simple."

In order to find out the truth, Hu Bugui and Wu Tao decided to act separately. Wu Tao was responsible for continuing to track down the source of the letter. Relying on her familiarity with the palace environment, she secretly visited several palace maids and eunuchs who had close ties with the harem, trying to find some clues. However, these people either kept their mouths shut or spoke evasively. Wu Tao found nothing and even felt a faint sense of invisible pressure looming over her, making her feel uneasy.

At the same time, Hu Bugui focused his investigation on the prime minister's assassins. He visited various underground sources in the city and finally learned from an old man that these assassins might be hiding in an abandoned manor on the outskirts of the city.

After receiving the news, Hu Bugui immediately led people to investigate. However, when they arrived, they found that the manor had been deserted, leaving only some traces of fighting and mottled bloodstains, indicating that a fierce battle had taken place here.

"It seems we are a step late." Hu Bugui looked at the empty manor with a frown. He knew that their whereabouts had been exposed and the other party had moved ahead of time, which meant that they were not facing a mob, but a well-organized and fast-moving powerful opponent.

Danger was approaching quietly, and Wu Tao encountered trouble while investigating in the palace. The palace maid who was originally close to her suddenly avoided her and even deliberately created an "accident" on her way, almost hurting her. Wu Tao realized that the other party had noticed her intentions and began to warn and obstruct her.

Late at night, Wu Tao returned to her bedroom, feeling uneasy. She locked herself in her room, thinking over and over again about her experiences over the past few days, trying to find some details that she had overlooked. Suddenly, she remembered the day in the Imperial Garden when a palace maid bumped into her and dropped a sachet on the ground. The sachet was embroidered with a pattern she had never seen before...

An ominous premonition came to her mind, and Wu Tao realized that she and Hu Bugui might have touched upon an extremely dangerous secret without realizing it, and a bigger storm was waiting for them.

 Peach blossoms shine brightly in Chang'an

 Chapter 186 Thick Fog

Wu Tao did not sleep all night, and the strange sachet and the panicked eyes of the palace maid kept flashing in her mind. Her intuition told her that all this was not accidental, and that the sachet might be the key to solving the mystery.

Meanwhile, Hu Bugui did not return home all night. When he returned to the palace, the sky was already turning white, and his face was obviously tired and solemn. He knew that the enemy they were facing was more cunning and powerful than he had imagined. In order to protect himself and Wu Tao, and to protect the people he cared about, he had to be more cautious.

Hu Bugui immediately strengthened the guards of the palace, not only increasing the number of personnel but also setting up more secret sentries. He carefully checked the origins of all the servants in the palace, especially those who were new, and made sure they were all safe.

"Your Highness, what are you doing..." The butler felt a little uneasy as he watched Hu Bugui's swift and decisive arrangements.

"It's better to be safe than sorry." Hu Bugui said in a deep voice, "Chang'an City has been in turmoil recently, so we have to be on guard."

Although the butler didn't understand what was going on, he was always loyal to Hu Bugui, so he didn't ask any more questions and immediately started to make arrangements.

Meanwhile, Wu Tao was also secretly investigating the origin of the sachet. She visited all the embroiderers in the palace, but no one had seen this pattern before. Just when she was at a loss, a bold idea came to her mind. She still remembered that the maid who bumped into her that day was someone close to the queen...

Wu Tao decided to take a risk. She went to see the queen in the name of paying respects, and sneaked into her bedroom when the queen was not paying attention. The queen's bedroom was magnificent, but Wu Tao had no intention of appreciating it. She searched carefully, hoping to find clues related to the sachet.

Wu Tao finally found an exquisite wooden box in an inconspicuous corner. She opened the box and found several women's personal belongings inside, including a sachet that was exactly the same as the one she remembered.

Wu Tao's heartbeat suddenly accelerated. She was almost certain that the queen had a close connection with that mysterious organization. But why did the queen do this? What was her purpose?

At this moment, there was a sudden sound of footsteps outside the door. Wu Tao was startled and quickly put the sachet back to its place and hid.

"Your Majesty, I have prepared what you want." A palace maid's voice came from outside.

"Come in." The queen's voice sounded faintly.

Wu Tao held his breath and looked through the gap in the screen to see the palace maid walk in with a tray on which was an exquisite porcelain vase.

"What is this?" asked the Queen.

"Your Majesty, this is what you asked me to prepare..." The maid lowered her voice, as if she was telling a secret.

Although Wu Tao couldn't hear their conversation clearly, she could feel that a dangerous aura was slowly approaching. She had to leave here as soon as possible and tell Hu Bugui the news!

Wu Tao quietly left the Queen's bedroom, feeling uneasy and confused. She didn't know what shocking secret she had accidentally discovered, but she knew that she and Hu Bugui were in danger, and a bigger storm was about to come...

 Peach blossoms shine brightly in Chang'an

Wu Tao hurried back to her own courtyard, her heart beating like a ton of rage, as if it was about to jump out of her throat at any moment. The sachet found in the queen's bedroom was like a flash of lightning, illuminating the fog in front of her eyes, and making her feel the breath of danger more clearly.

She must inform Hu Bugui about this as soon as possible!

In the evening, Hu Bugui came back, looking even more exhausted, with a lingering haze between his brows. Seeing this, Wu Tao swallowed back the words that were about to come out of his mouth and made him a cup of hot tea instead.

"What's wrong? You look worried." Hu Bugui took the tea and asked with concern.

"I visited the Queen today..." Wu Tao pondered and told her everything about the sachet, with an undisguised worry in her tone, "I suspect the Queen has a connection with that organization."

Hu Bugui's face suddenly became solemn when he heard this. He was silent for a moment and said in a deep voice: "This matter is of great importance. I must go to the palace immediately."

Late at night, the palace was brightly lit. Hu Bugui knelt in the center of the hall and reported his findings and speculations to the emperor.

After the emperor heard this, his face was uncertain and he didn't speak for a long time. The queen was his most beloved concubine, and he couldn't believe, and was even more unwilling to believe, that the queen would betray him.

"Is there any evidence for this?" There was no emotion in the emperor's voice.

"Your Majesty, I only have suspicions at the moment and have no solid evidence." Hu Bugui answered truthfully, "But this matter is of great importance, please Your Majesty look into it."

"I understand. You go down first. I will send someone to investigate." The emperor waved his hand, signaling Hu Bugui to leave.

Hu Bugui knew that the emperor was concerned about the queen's reputation and didn't want to make a big deal out of it. But he was filled with uneasiness, and the feeling of being kept in the dark made him feel like a fishbone stuck in his throat.

After coming out of the palace, Hu Bugui immediately found Wu Tao and told her the emperor's attitude.

"It seems that we can only rely on ourselves." Wu Tao said with a firm look, "I decided to go to the base of that organization in person and find out what they want to do!"

"No! This is too dangerous!" Hu Bugui refused without thinking. He couldn't let Wu Tao put himself in danger.

"I'm the only one going now. Don't worry, I'll be careful." Wu Tao held Hu Bugui's hand with a firm look in his eyes, "Trust me."

Hu Bugui looked at Wu Tao's determined eyes, feeling mixed emotions. He knew that no one could change Wu Tao's decision. In the end, he compromised.

"I will arrange someone to pick you up. Be careful." Hu Bugui held Wu Tao's hand tightly. He had a lot to say, but in the end, it turned into just a reminder.

The next night, Wu Tao put on night clothes and sneaked into the base of the mysterious organization under the cover of darkness...

Hu Bugui was extremely anxious and paced back and forth in the room. Wu Tao had been in the base of the mysterious organization for nearly two hours, but there was no news at all. He regretted letting her take the risk alone and wanted to fly to her side immediately and take her away from danger.

"Your Highness, don't worry. Miss Wu Tao is very smart and will be fine." Seeing Hu Bugui so anxious, a secret guard couldn't help but comfort him.

Hu Bugui shook his head and forced himself to calm down. "Pass the order down, and tell the secret guards lurking around the base to be on high alert. If they find any trace of Miss Wu Tao, they should respond immediately!"

"Yes!" The secret guard took the order and left.

At the same time, Wu Tao was carefully walking through the intricate corridors of the stronghold. With her extraordinary memory and observation skills, she memorized the route and cleverly avoided the patrolling guards.

Finally, she found the room where the organization stored confidential documents. Wu Tao took a deep breath, gently pried open the door lock, and slipped in. With the weak candlelight, she carefully flipped through the documents, trying to find more clues about the organization's conspiracy.

Time passed by minute by minute, and Wu Tao finally found what she wanted. She hid the document in her arms and turned to leave.

However, the moment she opened the door, two guards suddenly appeared in front of her, their faces full of vigilance and murderous intent.

"Who is it?!" one of the guards shouted sternly, unsheathing the sword in his hand, emitting a cold light.

Wu Tao was startled, knowing that she was exposed. She immediately threw the sleeping pills in her hand at the two guards, then turned around and ran away.

"Someone's breaking in! Chase him!" The two guards inhaled the drug, their eyes went dark, and they fell to the ground instantly.

Wu Tao ran all the way, her heart pounding like a drum. She knew that she had to escape from here as soon as possible, otherwise if she was surrounded by the organization, the consequences would be disastrous.

However, Wu Tao underestimated the power of this organization. They had already laid a trap on the road she had to take to escape from the base.

Wu Tao was forced into a desperate situation, with vicious pursuers behind her and a bottomless abyss in front of her. She knew that she had no way to escape, and her heart was filled with despair and unwillingness.

Is she really going to die here?