Peach Blossoms in Chang'an

Chapter 169: Wind and rain are just scenery on the road of life

Wu Tao was right. As long as the two were together, no matter how big the storm was, it was just a scenery on the road of life. After experiencing the assassination, Hu Bugui cherished the time with Wu Tao even more. He returned home on time every day, and had meals, chatted, and admired flowers with Wu Tao, as if he really put himself out of the matter and became an ordinary couple.

However, Wu Tao could still sense the lingering worry between his brows. Whenever it was late at night, he would always sit alone in the study, facing the candlelight all night long.

That night, Wu Tao came to the door of the study room as usual, carrying the calming soup she had prepared herself, but heard Hu Bugui's deep voice coming from inside: "As expected, I knew it wasn't that simple!"

Wu Tao was startled and gently pushed the door open, only to see Hu Bugui sitting at the desk with a letter in his hand and a terribly gloomy face.

"What's wrong?" Wu Tao walked up to him and asked with concern.

Hu Bugui looked up at her and handed her the letter in his hand: "This is the news from the border that Xiaoyao sent. Take a look."

Wu Tao took the letter and read it carefully. In the letter, Li Xiaoyao described the situation on the border in detail. In recent months, there have been repeated small-scale conflicts on the border. Although each time they were settled in time, Li Xiaoyao always felt that something was fishy. He suspected that there was a hidden force secretly controlling all this, attempting to provoke a war and overthrow the Tang Dynasty.

After reading the letter, Wu Tao couldn't help but take a deep breath. Although she didn't understand military affairs, she also understood what an unstable border meant to a country.

"Brother Xiaoyao also mentioned in the letter that he suspected this force was connected to the imperial court." Hu Bugui said in a deep voice, "It seems that this assassination is just the beginning. Their real purpose is to..."

"Subvert the government!" Wu Tao said, his face becoming serious.

"That's right." A cold light flashed in Hu Bugui's eyes, "I will never let them succeed!"

"Then what are you going to do?" Wu Tao asked worriedly.

Hu Bugui was silent for a moment, with a hint of determination in his eyes: "I want to investigate this matter myself, find out where this force comes from, and who is behind them!"

"No, it's too dangerous!" Wu Tao refused without thinking, "Your identity is different now, you can't take risks easily anymore."

At this moment, Li Xiaoyao's voice suddenly came from outside the door: "Sister-in-law is right, this matter is very serious, you must not be impulsive!"

It turned out that after Li Xiaoyao received the letter from Hu Bugui via carrier pigeon, he rushed back to Chang'an overnight.

"Brother Xiaoyao, why are you here?" When Hu Bugui saw Li Xiaoyao, a hint of joy flashed in his eyes, but his tone was still heavy.

"This is a serious matter, how can I not come?" Li Xiaoyao said seriously, "I have sent people to investigate, I believe there will be results soon."

"Okay." Hu Bugui nodded, but his eyes remained firm. "No matter what, I must get to the bottom of this matter and give an explanation to the people, and also to... myself."

Looking at Hu Bugui's determined eyes, Wu Tao and Li Xiaoyao knew that he had made up his mind and no one could stop him. They were filled with worry, but they were powerless and could only pray silently, hoping that he would return safely.

In the turbulent Chang'an City, a bigger storm is quietly brewing. How will Hu Bugui, who is at the center of the storm, deal with this challenge?

In the following days, Hu Bugui pretended to be unaware of the situation and continued to accompany Wu Tao as usual, but secretly, he began to use his status as the crown prince to secretly contact some court officials who were closely related to him. Some of these officials were old ministers during the reign of his father, and some were talented people he had secretly befriended over the years. They were all loyal to Hu Bugui and were quite dissatisfied with some of the current trends in the court.

Through his contacts with these officials, Hu Bugui collected some clues. He found that this dark force seemed to be related to the former prime minister who had been deposed, and that there seemed to be higher-level figures behind them manipulating everything.

Just when Hu Bugui was getting closer to the truth, a mysterious man suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Your Highness, I would like to advise you that knowing too much about some things is not a good thing. If you don't want to get yourself into trouble, don't continue investigating."

After leaving a cold warning, the mysterious man disappeared into the night, leaving Hu Bugui standing there alone, brows furrowed, lost in thought.

After the mysterious man left, the study fell into silence. Hu Bugui stood alone in front of the window, staring at the secret letter from the border in his hand under the faint moonlight. The letter paper had been rubbed repeatedly by him and was a little wrinkled, but every word on it seemed to carry a thousand pounds of force, pressing him to the point of suffocation.

Of course, he understood the meaning of the saying "knowing too much is not a good thing", especially in the treacherous city of Chang'an. Since the other party dared to show up and warn him directly, it meant that they had already grasped his movements and even knew everything about him. Continuing the investigation would undoubtedly be walking on the edge of a knife. If he was not careful, he would be doomed.

However, the more dangerous it was, the more important it proved. He could disregard his own safety, but he could not be indifferent to the lives of the people, and he could not turn a blind eye to those ministers who were loyal to him and had high hopes for him.

"Your Highness..." Li Xiaoyao saw that Hu Bugui remained silent for a long time and felt worried. He couldn't help but open his mouth to persuade him, but was interrupted by Hu Bugui raising his hand.

"Brother Xiaoyao, you don't need to persuade me anymore. I have made up my mind." Hu Bugui turned around, his eyes firm, "I will take care of this matter. Even if it costs me my life, I will find out the truth and will never let those villains succeed!"

Li Xiaoyao wanted to say something else, but when he saw a trace of fatigue on Hu Bugui's face, he swallowed the words back. He knew that once Hu Bugui made up his mind, he would never change it easily.

"In that case, I will go with Your Highness!" Li Xiaoyao stepped forward and said firmly, "Your Highness saved my life. As long as Your Highness needs me, I will go through fire and water without hesitation!"

Hu Bugui looked at this loyal brother in front of him, and a warm feeling surged in his heart. He patted Li Xiaoyao on the shoulder and said solemnly: "Good brother!"

At this moment, there was a sudden sound of footsteps outside the door. Hu Bugui and Li Xiaoyao immediately became alert and looked towards the door at the same time.

The door was gently pushed open, and Wu Tao walked in with a bowl of steaming ginseng soup. Seeing the serious expressions of the two people, she couldn't help but be stunned for a moment and asked, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Hu Bugui quickly stepped forward to take the ginseng soup and said with a smile: "Nothing, I was just discussing something with Brother Xiaoyao."

Although Wu Tao was somewhat puzzled, she did not ask any more questions. She knew that there were some things that a "modern person" like her could not understand.

However, women's intuition is always sharp. Wu Tao noticed that although Hu Bugui was smiling, his smile was accompanied by a hint of fatigue and worry that could not be concealed. She had a bad premonition in her heart, always feeling that something was going to happen.

"Your Highness, I made this ginseng soup especially for you. Please drink it while it's hot." Wu Tao handed the ginseng soup to Hu Bugui and said softly.

Hu Bugui took the ginseng soup, but did not drink it immediately. Instead, he looked up at Wu Tao, his eyes full of tenderness and apology. He knew that if he did this, she would definitely worry, but he really didn't want to involve her.

"Tao'er, you should rest well in the mansion during this period of time. Don't go anywhere, okay?" Hu Bugui held Wu Tao's hand, with an unquestionable firmness in his tone.

Wu Tao's heart sank suddenly. She knew that the thing she was most worried about had happened.

Wu Tao's heart was beating fast. She had a feeling that Hu Bugui was about to step into an unknown and dangerous situation. She held his hand tightly and said firmly, "No, I can't watch you take risks alone! I know my ability is limited, but no matter what, I will face it with you!"

Li Xiaoyao also echoed: "Yes, Your Highness, one more person means more strength. Madam is resourceful and we can feel more at ease with her around."

Hu Bugui looked at the two pairs of eyes full of worry and determination, and was deeply moved. He knew that he could not refuse their kindness, nor could he ignore their care and support for him.

"Okay, in that case, let's fight side by side and face it together!" Hu Bugui nodded solemnly, with a determined light flashing in his eyes.

After discussing, the three decided to form a secret team to secretly investigate the matter. Wu Tao, with her modern knowledge and experience, provided a lot of ideas and methods for the investigation. She suggested that Hu Bugui start from the source of the letter paper and trace the identity of the sender, and at the same time, he should pay attention to protecting himself and avoid alerting the enemy.

Li Xiaoyao used his connections in the underworld to gather information. He found that some suspicious people had appeared in Chang'an City recently, and they seemed to be secretly plotting something.

Just as they were about to conduct an in-depth investigation, an unexpected person suddenly appeared at the gate of the palace. The person was wearing a coarse linen shirt and a bamboo hat, which covered most of his face, revealing only a pair of sharp eyes like a hawk.

"Who are you? Why are you visiting the palace so late at night?" Li Xiaoyao stepped forward and asked vigilantly.

The man slowly raised his head and said in a low voice: "I am here to deliver a message to Prince Hu Bugui. It is a matter of great importance. Please pass it on for me."

When Hu Bugui heard the visitor mention his name, he was moved and signaled Li Xiaoyao to let him go. The visitor walked into the study, took off his bamboo hat, and revealed a weather-beaten face.

"You are..." Hu Bugui looked at the unfamiliar face, his heart full of doubts.

"I am your mother's old servant. Your mother was murdered, but I was lucky enough to escape. Over the years, I have been hiding my identity and secretly investigating the truth." The visitor said in a sad tone, "Now, I know who murdered your mother, and I also know your true life experience..."

Hu Bugui was shocked when he heard this. He couldn't wait to ask, "Who is it? What is my background?"

The visitor took a deep breath and said slowly: "The person who killed your mother was the prime minister! And you... you are not the biological son of the current emperor. Your biological father is actually..."

The visitor did not finish his words, but the information revealed in his words was enough to shock Hu Bugui. He never thought that the prime minister he had always respected was actually the murderer of his mother, and that he was not the biological son of the current emperor!

Is all this a coincidence or a carefully planned conspiracy?