Peach Blossoms in Chang'an

Amidst the flashes of swords and sabers, Hu Bugui was agile and his swordsmanship was sharp, as unstoppable as a tiger descending from a mountain. He protected Wu Tao behind him, fighting and retreating, and managed to carve out a bloody path through the heavy encirclement.

"We can't fight head-on, let's retreat first!" Hu Bugui pulled Wu Tao up, and the two of them jumped onto the roof, and under the cover of night, they disappeared behind the roofs.

After escaping the siege, Wu Tao and Hu Bugui met up with several court officials loyal to the emperor. They gathered in a secluded house with solemn expressions.

"Now that the rebels have taken control of the palace, what should we do?" an official asked worriedly.

"Although they control the palace, they don't know the situation outside the palace. This is our opportunity," another official analyzed.

"That's right. We can use this to disintegrate their power from the outside." Hu Bugui nodded in agreement.

Wu Tao listened carefully to their analysis, and various plans flashed through his mind quickly.

Wu Tao took a deep breath and lowered his voice and said, "We can disguise ourselves, sneak into the city's market, collect intelligence, and understand their strengths and weaknesses."

Hu Bugui looked at Wu Tao with admiration in his eyes: "Tao'er is right. Now that we are in the dark, we must act more cautiously and not be reckless."

After discussion, everyone decided that Wu Tao and Hu Bugui would disguise themselves as ordinary people and go to the largest market in the city - Chang'an Fang to gather information.

The next morning, Wu Tao put on a coarse linen dress, combed her long black hair into a simple bun, wrapped it with a cloth, and painted her cheeks black with soot, dressing herself up as a simple peasant woman. Hu Bugui put on a short shirt, covered half of his face with a cloth, and dressed himself up as a taciturn woodcutter.

The two men arrived at Chang'an Fang, where they saw shops lining both sides of the street. The sounds of vendors shouting and customers bargaining were endless, and the street was bustling with people.

Wu Tao and Hu Bugui walked slowly along the street, observing the surroundings and paying attention to people's conversations. However, most of what people talked about were trivial matters in their families, and there was no news about the situation in the palace.

"It seems that it is not easy to get information from these ordinary people." Wu Tao said in a low voice, with a hint of disappointment in his tone.

Hu Bugui patted the back of her hand gently, signaling her not to be anxious.

At this moment, a loud voice attracted their attention: "Fine silk, woven in Jiangnan, don't miss it if you pass by!"

Wu Tao and Hu Bugui looked in the direction of the sound and saw a middle-aged man in a brocade robe and a jade crown standing in front of a silk shop, greeting customers warmly. The man's eyes were sharp and his words were clever, and it was obvious at first glance that he was a shrewd person.

"Perhaps, we can start from him." Wu Tao's mind moved, and he winked at Hu Bugui. Wu Tao and Hu Bugui looked at each other, and the two walked towards the silk shop tacitly. Hu Bugui pretended to be very interested in silk, picked up a piece of material and looked at it carefully, while Wu Tao quietly observed the surrounding environment, trying to find an opportunity to strike up a conversation with the merchant.

"My dear brother, you have a very good eye. This is the new brocade that arrived this year. It is bright in color and soft in texture, and is most suitable for making women's dresses." Seeing that Hu Bugui was interested in silk, the merchant began to introduce it enthusiastically.

Hu Bugui pretended to be surprised and asked, "Oh? This Yunjin is so precious, I wonder how much it costs?"

The merchant held up three fingers and said with a smile, "No more, no less, three hundred taels of silver."

Hu Bugui pretended to be surprised, shook his head and said, "It's so expensive, I can't afford it."

Seeing that Hu Bugui did not look like a rich man, the merchant ignored him and turned to greet other guests.

Seeing this, Wu Tao hurried forward, took out a piece of silver from her bosom, handed it to the merchant, and said softly: "Boss, please don't be offended that my husband doesn't understand the market. We just want to ask for directions, I wonder if you can give us a favor?"

The merchant took the silver, weighed it, and smiled: "Okay, okay, if you two want to know where to go, just ask. I know Chang'an City very well."

Wu Tao glanced around and asked in a low voice: "Boss, to be honest, we are here to look for our relatives. I heard that things have been a bit turbulent in the palace recently, so I wonder…"

The merchant's face changed, and he looked around warily, and whispered, "Miss, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want! How can ordinary people like us discuss the affairs of the palace?"

Wu Tao quickly explained: "Boss, you misunderstood. We are just worried about the safety of our relatives. We have no other intentions. If you know anything, please tell us. We will reward you handsomely."

The merchant hesitated for a moment, sighed, and lowered his voice and said, "To be honest, some things have happened in the palace recently. I heard that His Majesty has been imprisoned in a secret room, guarded by those traitors..."

Wu Tao and Hu Bugui were shocked and asked quickly, "Boss, do you know where the secret room is?"

The businessman shook his head: "Well, I don't know about that."

Although they did not get the exact news, at least they knew the whereabouts of the emperor, and a glimmer of hope ignited in Wu Tao and Hu Bugui's hearts. After thanking the merchant, they left the silk shop, found a secluded place, and began to discuss the next plan.

"Now that we know the whereabouts of His Majesty, what we need to do next is to find that secret room and then find a way to rescue His Majesty." Hu Bugui said in a deep voice.

Wu Tao nodded, drew a rough map of the palace on the ground, pointed to the center of the map and said, "According to the merchant's description, the secret room should be in the central area of the palace."

"The central area is heavily guarded. It may not be easy for us to sneak in." Hu Bugui frowned, thinking secretly about countermeasures in his mind.

Wu Tao pondered for a moment, and suddenly an idea flashed in his mind. He pointed to a corner on the map and said, "We can go in from here!"

Wu Tao took out two sets of night clothes from the package and handed one to Hu Bugui: "Hurry up and change, we will try to go and come back quickly." Hu Bugui took the clothes and put them on in a few seconds. He stretched his muscles and drew out the soft sword from his waist. The sword body shone coldly in the moonlight. Wu Tao slipped out two sharp daggers from her sleeves. She specially asked the merchant to help make them. They were small and light, but extremely sharp.

The palace, shrouded in the night, looked particularly solemn. Wu Tao and Hu Bugui followed the planned route, crouched down, and quietly sneaked into the palace under the cover of rockery and flowers and trees. The patrolling soldiers walked past them without noticing their presence. Wu Tao's heart was pounding, and she held the dagger tightly, trying to keep herself calm.

They avoided several patrols without any danger and finally arrived near the secret room marked on the map. However, just as they were about to climb over the last wall, Wu Tao accidentally stepped on a loose brick. A light "crack" sounded, which was particularly harsh in the quiet night.

Wu Tao secretly thought that something was wrong. Sure enough, almost at the same time, a sharp alarm sounded through the night sky, echoing over the silent palace. Patrolling soldiers heard the sound and came over. The sound of footsteps and the collision of weapons came from far away and quickly surrounded them.

"Oh no, we've been discovered! Let's go!" Hu Bugui growled and pulled Wu Tao back.

Under the cover of night, they dodged and moved among the rockery and flowers and trees. The shouting and screaming behind them were getting closer and closer, and the light of the torches made their shadows longer and shorter.

"This way!" Wu Tao was sharp-eyed and found a narrow hole behind the rockery, barely enough for one person to pass through.

"You go first, I'll stop them!" Hu Bugui said, pushing Wu Tao towards the cave entrance.

"No, let's go together!" Wu Tao refused to leave Hu Bugui and escape alone.

"Don't waste time. It will be too late if you don't leave now!" Hu Bugui said in a firm tone, leaving no room for doubt.

Wu Tao gritted his teeth, knowing that now was not the time to argue, so he bent down and crawled into the cave.

Hu Bugui drew out his soft sword and turned to meet the pursuers. The sword flashed and the cold air was overwhelming. After a few rounds, several soldiers fell in a pool of blood. However, the enemy had more people and soon surrounded Hu Bugui.

Wu Tao hid in the cave, listening anxiously to the noise outside, and she was extremely worried. She knew that Hu Bugui was a martial arts expert, but two fists could not defeat four hands, not to mention that the other side also had well-trained soldiers.

What should I do? Should I just watch him get caught? Wu Tao was in a state of confusion. Suddenly, she had an idea and remembered the flare that the businessman had given her.

Without hesitation, she took out the flare, lit it, and threw it into the air. The flare exploded in the air, blooming into a dazzling red firework, lighting up the dark night sky.

This was the signal they agreed upon in advance. If they encountered danger, they would fire a flare to ask for help.

On the roof in the distance, several dark shadows flashed by. They were the merchant’s well-trained guards. After seeing the signal flare, they immediately came to support.

Hu Bugui was besieged by the soldiers, and gradually lost his strength and was wounded in many places. Just when he was about to collapse, several black shadows fell from the sky and joined the battle, and the situation was reversed in an instant.

Those men in black were highly skilled in martial arts and worked in perfect harmony, so they quickly repelled the soldiers.

"Master, we are late!" said the leader of the men in black, clasping his fists.

"Hurry, come with me to save the emperor!" Hu Bugui didn't even have time to rest, and immediately led the men in black to the room where the emperor was imprisoned.