Peach Blossoms in Chang'an

The prince brought Hu Bugui and Wu Tao back to the palace and placed them in a side hall. The prince's sudden appearance and his understanding of the identity of the man in black made Hu Bugui and Wu Tao more certain that there must be a huge conspiracy behind this. However, they had no clue and could only passively wait for fate to decide.

For several days, the prince did not appear again. Hu Bugui and Wu Tao were trapped in the palace, unable to contact the outside world, and they were restless. They tried to get information from the palace servants, but got nothing.

"Young Master, Young Lady, please don't worry." Chun Tao came in with tea. Seeing the two people's worried faces, she couldn't help but persuade them, "Since His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has saved you, he will definitely ensure your safety. The most important thing now is to have a good rest and conserve your energy so that you can face the next challenge."

"Chun Tao is right." Hu Bugui forced a smile, "We can't lose our composure."

However, his words were full of powerlessness. Failure after failure had worn away his confidence. He began to doubt himself, wondering if he really had the ability to change everything and save the Tang Dynasty from disaster.

Wu Tao also felt confused and helpless. She originally thought that with her knowledge from the future, she could help Hu Bugui achieve success. However, reality dealt her a heavy blow. She found that what she knew was insignificant in this era.

"Sir, Miss, have some tea." Chuntao's voice brought them back from their thoughts.

Hu Bugui picked up the teacup, but he had no intention of tasting it, and just poured it into his mouth mechanically. The bitter tea, like his current mood, was full of depression and despair.

Hu Bugui put down his teacup, sighed, and muttered to himself: "Are we really going to surrender like this? Is there really no hope for the Tang Dynasty?"

"No, there must be a way." Wu Tao clenched his fists, trying to cheer himself up, but he couldn't hide the trembling in his tone.

Just then, a burst of noise came from a distance, breaking the tranquility of the courtyard.

"Have you heard? The granary in the west of the city was burned down last night!"

"And Mr. Wang's house was also looted. I heard that several servants died!"

"Those men in black are really lawless. Will the government do anything about it?"

Listening to these discussions, Wu Tao and Hu Bugui looked at each other, and suddenly an ominous premonition arose in their hearts.

"Chun Tao, go and find out what happened outside?" Hu Bugui ordered.

Chun Tao took the order and left. After a while, she ran back with a pale face and said in a panic: "Master, Miss, it's bad! Those men in black...they..."

"What happened to them? Tell me quickly!" Wu Tao asked anxiously.

"They... they are spreading the word everywhere, saying... saying that they have taken control of the entire capital, even... even the palace..."

Before Chuntao could finish her words, she was interrupted by a sudden loud noise. Wu Tao and Hu Bugui hurried to the yard and saw thick smoke and flames in the distance. The whole capital seemed to be in chaos.

"How could this happen? How could this happen?" Wu Tao murmured to herself. The scene before her made her feel deeply desperate.

Hu Bugui forced himself to remain calm, held Wu Tao's hand, and said in a deep voice: "Don't be afraid, let's go back to the room first."

After returning to the room, Hu Bugui closed the doors and windows, while Wu Tao paced back and forth in the room anxiously. The words she had just heard and the scenes she had seen kept echoing in her mind, and a sense of fear she had never experienced before surged into her heart.

Suddenly, her eyes fell on a piece of paper on the table. It was some notes Hu Bugui had written down a few days ago when he was studying a map. Wu Tao picked up the paper and read it carefully.

"This is……"

Wu Tao's pupils suddenly shrank. She found that the several locations that Hu Bugui accidentally recorded were exactly the same as the locations where the men in black committed crimes! What shocked her even more was that if these locations were connected on the map, a strange pattern would form!

"No... this is impossible..." Wu Tao's fingers trembled and cold sweat flowed down his forehead.

She finally understood that behind this turmoil, there was a more terrifying conspiracy, and they were just pawns in this conspiracy.

Wu Tao took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. She had to tell Hu Bugui about this discovery. Maybe they could find a way to crack this conspiracy.

"Bugui, look!" Wu Tao pointed at the mark on the map, his voice trembling slightly with excitement, "I found some strange places..."

However, when she looked up, she saw Hu Bugui sitting dejectedly in the chair, his eyes dull, and his once vigorous face now covered with fatigue and confusion.

"Bugui, what's wrong with you?" Wu Tao's heart tightened and he asked worriedly.

Hu Bugui looked up at her with a complicated look in his eyes, but he just shook his head without saying anything.

“Did something happen?” Wu Tao walked to his side, gently held his hand, trying to give him some strength.

Hu Bugui held her hand with his backhand, but the temperature from his palm was icy cold, "Taotao, am I useless?"

"How could that be? What nonsense are you talking about?" Wu Tao's heart sank suddenly, and she vaguely guessed something.

"We failed again and again. I watched those men in black become more and more rampant. The people were living in dire straits, but I was powerless to do anything..." Hu Bugui's voice was full of self-blame and pain. "I don't even know if everything I did was meaningful. Can we really save the Tang Dynasty?"

Wu Tao felt as if her heart was stabbed by a needle. She had never seen Hu Bugui so depressed. She understood that the successive blows and huge pressure had overwhelmed this upright man, and his confidence and faith were collapsing bit by bit.

"Bugui, listen to me," Wu Tao held up his face and looked into his eyes seriously, "We haven't lost yet, we still have a chance! I believe in you, and I believe in us!"

Hu Bugui looked at her determined eyes and felt a warm current in his heart, but he still couldn't completely dispel the haze in his heart.

At this moment, there was a rapid knock on the door, and Chuntao's voice came from outside the door: "Sir, Miss, someone outside sent a letter, saying it was for you."

Wu Tao and Hu Bugui looked at each other, and a glimmer of hope rose in their hearts at the same time. Could it be that things have taken a turn for the better?

I opened the envelope and saw only a thin piece of paper with a line of beautiful handwriting on it:

"At midnight, in the ruined temple on the outskirts of the city, we waited for good news."

At the end of the letter, there was a strange symbol, like a butterfly spreading its wings about to fly.

Is this letter true or false? What is the "good news" mentioned in the letter?