The secret letter was not long, and Mu Changxi did not hide it from Song Chaoyu, but read it together with her.
The secret letter stated that the Crown Prince felt that the capital had been uneasy these days. However, the Emperor did not seem to feel this way. Apart from worrying about the Consort's "illness," everything else was as usual.
But the Crown Prince believed that Mu Hansu had likely used the Consort's "illness" specifically to send Mu Changxi and Song Chaoyu out of the capital.
He had asked Gao Xinrui to find a way to contact Mu Changxi, saying that once something happened in the capital, Mu Changxi should use the token the Crown Prince had given him when he left the capital to find General Wu in the east and mobilize fifty thousand Guards of the State to return to the capital to save the Emperor!
According to Gao Xinrui's analysis, since Tanzhou City was basically within Mu Hansu's control, Mu Hansu had originally intended to use the matter of poisoning the Consort to lure Mu Changxi and Song Chaoyu to Tanzhou City.
Whether it was to kill them directly or capture them, the intention was to control Mu Changxi and Song Chaoyu.
This point was also confirmed by Tan Yue.
Tan Yue said that he also remembered that Mr. Zhu had been busy with something a while ago, saying that he wanted to catch the distinguished guests from the capital like "catching a turtle in a jar."
However, what Mu Hansu did not expect was that Tanzhou City was not a peaceful place to begin with.
After Mu Changxi and his party entered the city, they encountered the rebellion of the Lei family.
This directly led to Mu Hansu losing track of Mu Changxi and Song Chaoyu in Tanzhou City. Even when he searched for them later, because Mu Changxi had abandoned the wheeled chair, Mu Hansu's informants could not find them at all.
After the matter in Tanzhou City was resolved, the only thing Mu Hansu knew was that Mu Changxi had been to the City Guard's residence.
He would not have thought that Mu Changxi and Song Chaoyu had even gone to the Taoyuan territory, and he probably wouldn't have known that he, Tan Yue, was with them.
As long as Tan Yue was trustworthy, their biggest trump card now might be these things that Mu Hansu did not yet know.
Song Chaoyu looked at Mu Changxi and began to calculate with him: "It will take at least four days for us to reach General Wu's location. By the time we bring them back to the capital, it will be at least ten days in total. Do you think the capital can hold on for ten days?"
Mu Changxi shook his head: "It can't hold on. Mu Hansu is well-prepared. My father has been guarding against the Crown Prince for years and does not have greater military power for the Crown Prince. I fear the Crown Prince is in imminent danger. If my father does not agree to pass the throne to Mu Hansu, he will also make a ruthless move against my father. Ten days... it won't do!"
Song Chaoyu frowned: "Then what should we do?"
Mu Changxi suddenly looked at Xiao Ruizi: "Let Xiao Ruizi take the Crown Prince's secret letter and token to ask General Wu for help. We will return to the capital first to delay Mu Hansu's progress. As long as we can hold on for ten days, there might still be hope!"
"No!"
Gao Xinrui was the first to disagree with this idea: "If Prince Chang and his consort return to the capital now, aren't they walking into a trap?"
"There is no other way."
But Mu Changxi's attitude remained firm: "Lend me some troops in Linzhou, and I will find a way to investigate the situation in the capital. If we don't go back, the capital will surely perish. If we go back, we might still be able to hold on for ten days."
This was a choice between life and death.
Although Song Chaoyu trusted Mu Changxi, her heart ached.
But Mu Changxi felt even more distressed than Song Chaoyu.
Ignoring the presence of others, he took Song Chaoyu's hand: "Ayu, I'm afraid you will have to suffer with me again this time."
Song Chaoyu was never afraid of suffering: "As long as I can be with you, what does suffering matter? Moreover, the ones who should suffer are never us!"
It was Mu Hansu.
Seeing Song Chaoyu like this, Mu Changxi seemed to have made up his mind.
He said seriously to Gao Xinrui: "We must do this. You guard Linzhou and be our backup. There are many things to prepare. Hurry up. Two hours later, we will depart from Linzhou and head east."
"Alas..."
Gao Xinrui sighed, knowing that he could not stop Mu Changxi and that this was the only way.
He could only nod: "Alright, your subordinate will help you!"
Two hours was very tight for them.
And it was getting dark.
Seeing Mu Changxi seriously assessing the forces available, Song Chaoyu mustered her courage and stepped forward: "Your Highness, I think I can probably figure out how many people in and out of the capital are Mu Hansu's people."
Mu Changxi was stunned for a moment, but he put down the vermilion pen in his hand and looked at Song Chaoyu seriously: "Speak, I will write it down."
Song Chaoyu carefully recalled the events of her previous life and slowly named those names she thought she had forgotten: "Li Ming and Zhao Rui of the Ministry of War, Zhou Zhengzhi of the Ministry of Revenue, Ge Na of the Ministry of Justice, as well as Duke Xu and his wife, and General Xuan Peng of the Northern Border. It seems that the City Guard in the capital is now under Mu Hansu's control, but I think the Prefect of the Capital should also be his man."
"This is impossible?"
Before Mu Changxi could speak, Gao Xinrui shook his head: "Let others be as they may, but Duke Xu and his wife have always openly supported the Crown Prince. And that Prefect of the Capital, wasn't he promoted by the Crown Prince himself?"
But Mu Changxi's gaze towards Song Chaoyu deepened: "Anything else?"
He believed in himself.
Song Chaoyu continued to recall and figured out several more people that Gao Xinrui and Mu Changxi had not thought of.
Gao Xinrui looked at the list of names being written down by Mu Changxi with disbelief: "Impossible! Several of these people, your subordinate has met them, and they are all devoted to His Highness the Crown Prince! And... why does Princess Chang know so much?"
Yes, what Song Chaoyu feared most was them asking her why.
Even if she told them about her previous life, would they believe it?
Song Chaoyu lowered her head, but Mu Changxi took over the conversation: "Lord Gao, if it weren't for these people we couldn't even imagine, how could Mu Hansu's affairs have proceeded so smoothly? Therefore, these people have a nine out of ten chance of having truly joined Mu Hansu."
Then he changed the subject to the people and things that needed to be prepared, finally preventing Lord Gao from continuing to question Song Chaoyu.
Song Chaoyu breathed a sigh of relief and walked out of the room for some air.
As night fell, they had two hours before they had to leave Linzhou.
Mu Changxi also came out and gently embraced her from behind.
This was the second time they had discussed this topic in depth.
Mu Changxi's voice was low and sorrowful: "Ayu, so the things I dreamed of were all true?"
Song Chaoyu remembered the dream Mu Changxi had mentioned, in which they all had no good ending.
She lowered her head and gave a bitter smile: "You fool, would you believe such preposterous things?"