Peach Blossoms in Chang'an

Chapter 194 Wu Tao is under house arrest

The emperor's expression was gloomy and uncertain. He stared at Hu Bugui and Wu Tao closely, his eyes full of suspicion and scrutiny.

"Your Majesty, Miss Wu and I are loyal to you. Heaven and earth can bear witness to this. We will never do such a treasonous act!" Hu Bugui knelt down and kowtowed, his tone firm and resounding.

Wu Tao also knelt down quickly, "Your Majesty, please be careful. There must be a misunderstanding!"

The palace was in complete silence, with ministers looking at each other and whispering to each other. They had thought the rebellion was settled, but unexpectedly, there was another twist, and it was hard to tell who was real and who was fake.

The queen looked at the emperor worriedly, then looked at Hu Bugui and Wu Tao who were kneeling on the ground, and sighed softly.

The emperor was silent for a long time, and finally waved his hand, "Come here, take Prince Jin and Miss Wu away. No one is allowed to visit without my order!"

"Your Majesty..." Hu Bugui wanted to explain further but was forcibly taken away by the guards.

Wu Tao was under house arrest in a remote palace, and she paced back and forth in the room anxiously. The development of the matter was completely beyond her expectations. She did not expect that the leader of the remnant gang would be so cunning that he could bite back and throw dirty water on them.

"No, I can't just sit there and wait to die!" Wu Tao secretly made up her mind that she must find evidence as soon as possible to prove her and Hu Bugui's innocence.

Fortunately, the modern communication tool she carried with her had not been confiscated. Wu Tao carefully took it out, contacted her modern partners, and asked them to help investigate the background of the remaining gang leader.

At the same time, Hu Bugui was also under house arrest in his own palace. He calmly analyzed the current situation and knew that if he wanted to clear his grievances, he could not rely on words alone, and he had to find more powerful evidence.

Hu Bugui recalled every detail of his encounters with the leader of the remaining gang, trying to find a clue. Suddenly, he remembered a secret letter he had seen in the study of the leader of the remaining gang, which seemed to mention a mysterious organization...

"Could it be that there is a bigger conspiracy behind this?" Hu Bugui's heart sank. It seemed that finding out the truth was more difficult than he had imagined.

As time passed, Wu Tao's partners finally sent news. During their investigation, they found that the leader of the remnant gang had close ties with a mysterious organization in his early years, and this organization seemed to be closely related to a series of turmoil that had occurred before.

"It seems that we are getting closer and closer to the truth..." Wu Tao clenched the communication tool in his hand, and a gleam of light flashed in his eyes.

At this moment, a dark shadow appeared silently in Wu Tao's room...

 True or False (Continued)

The shadow approached Wu Tao lightly, and before she could react, he quickly covered her mouth and nose with a silk handkerchief. Wu Tao felt dizzy and then lost consciousness.

When she woke up again, she found herself in a strange room. The room was simply decorated, but it exuded an indescribable majesty.

"Are you awake?" a deep voice came.

Wu Tao looked in the direction of the voice and saw a figure wearing a black cloak and a hood sitting in the shadows; his face could not be seen clearly.

"Who are you? Why did you bring me here?" Wu Tao asked vigilantly.

The shadow was silent for a moment, then slowly spoke: "I am here to help you. I know you were wronged, and I also know who is behind this."

Wu Tao's heart moved. Could it be someone sent by Hu Bugui?

"Why do you want to help me?" Wu Tao asked tentatively.

"Because, like you, I also want to uncover the truth." The shadow's voice was low and firm. "I know a lot about the remaining leader and that mysterious organization. I can help you."

The black shadow then told the details about the connection between the remnant leader and the mysterious organization. This information coincided with the clues Wu Tao got from her modern partners, making her more convinced that the person in front of her was not an enemy.

At the same time, Hu Bugui was also actively looking for a breakthrough. He secretly contacted some loyal ministers and asked them for information.

"Your Highness, I am risking my life to tell you that I have discovered that the leader of the remnant gang seems to be very close to the man in the palace..." An old minister said in a low voice, his tone full of worry.

"You mean...?" Hu Bugui was shocked and a bold guess came to his mind.

"I dare not speak nonsense, but Your Majesty needs to be more careful!" After the old minister said this, he hurriedly left.

Hu Bugui fell into deep thought. If what the old minister said was true, then this matter was not just the personal behavior of the remnant leader, but involved a deeper palace struggle.

He thought of everything he had experienced with Wu Tao, the dangers and challenges they had faced together, and he became more determined to find out the truth and clear both her and himself.

However, what he didn't know was that a bigger conspiracy was brewing in the dark, and he and Wu Tao were just pawns in this conspiracy...

The black shadow's words stirred up a storm in Wu Tao's heart. She originally thought that this was just a simple frame-up, but she didn't expect that there was such a complicated conspiracy behind it. If what the black shadow said was true, then the leader of the remaining gang was probably just a pawn being used by others, and the real mastermind behind the scenes was hiding in a deeper and more secret place, manipulating everything.

Wu Tao took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. She carefully analyzed the information revealed by the shadow, trying to find some clues. She remembered that when she investigated the leader of the remnant gang before, she found that some of his actions and decisions did not seem to be in his own interests. Instead, it seemed more like he was trying to complete a certain task at all costs.

"Do you have any evidence for what you said?" Wu Tao asked. She needed more evidence to confirm her guess.

The black shadow was silent for a moment, then he took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to Wu Tao: "Read it for yourself."

Wu Tao took the letter and read it carefully in the dim light. The handwriting on the letter was sloppy, but the content shocked her. This letter was a communication between the leader of the remaining gang and a mysterious person. The letter mentioned some plans to frame Hu Bugui and Wu Tao, as well as some more shady transactions. At the end of the letter, there was a strange symbol, like some kind of mark.

"What does this symbol represent?" Wu Tao asked, pointing at the symbol at the end of the letter.

"This symbol represents a mysterious organization," the shadow's voice was low and solemn. "This organization is huge and powerful, and is spread all over the government and the country. They even have spies in the palace. The leader of the remaining gang is just a pawn of theirs. They use him to frame you and the prince. The purpose is..."

The black shadow didn't say anything more, but Wu Tao had already guessed what he meant. If this mysterious organization really existed, then their goal was definitely not just to overthrow Hu Bugui, they wanted the entire Tang Dynasty!

A bold idea gradually formed in Wu Tao's mind. She decided to use this discovery to set up a trap to lure out this mysterious organization. She wanted to let everyone know that she and Hu Bugui were not pawns at the mercy of others. They would use their own strength to crush all conspiracies!

Wu Tao put the letter away, raised his head and looked at the shadow, his eyes firm: "Tell me, what should I do?"

The black shadow seemed satisfied with Wu Tao's reaction. He nodded slightly and slowly told his plan...

After Wu Tao's meeting with the black shadow, she delivered the letter to Hu Bugui as agreed. Looking at the familiar handwriting, Hu Bugui's eyes flashed with disbelief. He could never have imagined that the subordinate he trusted would be the one who framed him.

"Taotao, don't worry, I will find out the truth and give you justice." Hu Bugui held Wu Tao's hand tightly with a firm tone.

The clues provided by the shadow pointed them in the right direction. Wu Tao and Hu Bugui secretly investigated and found that the leader of the remaining gang had close ties with a mysterious chamber of commerce. This chamber of commerce was running a legitimate business on the surface, but secretly engaged in smuggling contraband. Its influence was spread all over the government and even had spies in the palace.

"It seems that this pool of water is deeper than we thought." Wu Tao looked at the information in his hand with a frown.

In order to find out the truth, Wu Tao and Hu Bugui decided to use the information provided by the black shadow to set up a trap to lure the snake out of its hole. They found a reliable ally - the current Taifu, a respected old minister, who is also the emperor's teacher and plays an important role in the court. Taifu is upright and loyal to the emperor. After learning the truth, he was indignant and decided to help them expose the true face of the mastermind behind the scenes.

They planned to expose the crimes of the remnant gang leaders in front of all the civil and military officials at the upcoming court banquet, and to follow the clues to find out the mastermind behind the scenes.

However, on the eve of the plan being implemented, Wu Tao received an anonymous letter with only one short sentence in it: "Be careful of your ally, he is not as simple as you think."

This letter was like a stone thrown into a calm lake, stirring up thousands of waves. Wu Tao couldn't help but feel a little suspicious. Could it be that their plan was leaked? However, the only people who knew about the plan were her, Hu Bugui, and the highly respected Taifu. Could there be a traitor among them?

Just when Wu Tao was hesitating, Hu Bugui suddenly appeared in front of her with a serious look: "Taotao, we may have been tricked."