Chapter 518

“Yang Zhen!”

Du Heng’s words made Li San frown. He carefully examined Du Heng’s eyes, trying to determine if Du Heng was lying.

After a moment of contemplation, Li San said, “If you want me to believe you, show me evidence.”

Du Heng sneered, and countered with a question, “How can I trust you? You and Yang Zhen both walk in the dark. Yang Zhen can betray the Emperor, and you might not be able to betray Prince Qi.”

Li San was startled by Du Heng’s words.

“General Du, Li San’s words are not credible, but are my words credible?” While the two were staring at each other, a voice suddenly came. Du Heng then looked outside. A graceful figure entered his sight, and he was greatly surprised, exclaiming, “Princess Pingyang, what’s going on? Why is Princess Pingyang with Li San?”

The person who arrived was none other than Princess Pingyang. She sighed slightly and said, “I know everything that happened in the palace. Last night, Yang Zhen let slip when he was drunk here, otherwise I would still be kept in the dark. Hmph, this Crown Prince is simply rebellious.”

Du Heng’s spirits were instantly lifted. In his opinion, Princess Pingyang’s influence in Chang’an was much greater than Xiao Ming’s. He was overjoyed and said loudly, “Princess Pingyang, now only you can save the Emperor!”

“General Du overestimates me. To speak of it, I am merely a woman. At a time like this, who would be willing to lose their life for a woman? Moreover, Prince Zhao’s army will arrive outside Chang’an city in a few days. How can I turn the tide? In my opinion, the only way to save one’s life now is to stay far away from Chang’an city.”

Li San looked at Princess Pingyang and nodded. This was exactly the result of their discussion overnight.

Last night, while he was planning the rescue of Consort Zhen, Princess Pingyang suddenly arrived at his residence, led by a Chang’an secret guard.

At that time, he was so shocked that he almost shot Princess Pingyang, but when Pingyang explained her purpose and told him about the palace affairs, he hesitated and decided to cooperate with Pingyang.

Because his purpose this time was only to rescue Consort Zhen, Emperor Xiaowenxuan was not included, but Princess Pingyang requested to rescue the Emperor as well.

At this moment, he naturally couldn’t say that Xiao Ming’s order was only for Consort Zhen, so he had to nod in agreement, because even if his plan had Princess Pingyang’s help, it would be perfect.

And tonight, Princess Pingyang had the coachman drive Yang Zhen’s carriage to help him capture Du Heng. Although there were many informants at Lijing Gate, no one dared to monitor Yang Zhen.

After all, Yang Zhen did not want anyone to know about his secret meeting with Princess Pingyang.

And to rescue Consort Zhen and the Emperor, the two discussed kidnapping and threatening Du Heng, but they didn’t expect Du Heng to say what he had just said.

“Entering the capital in a few days.” Du Heng’s face was ashen. He said, “There is indeed Prince Zhao’s shadow in this.”

“It’s too late to talk about Prince Zhao now. Let’s think about how to rescue the Emperor and Consort Zhen. But Du Heng, can I trust you now?” Princess Pingyang asked hesitantly.

When she learned from Yang Zhen that the Crown Prince was attempting regicide, she was greatly alarmed. The Crown Prince poisoning Emperor Xiaowenxuan was a minor matter, but the Crown Prince falsely issuing an imperial decree to summon Prince Zhao’s army into the capital was a major one.

Born into the royal family, she naturally saw through court affairs. In her opinion, the real threat now was not the Crown Prince but Prince Zhao.

If the Crown Prince ascended the throne, the empire would still be named Xiao, but if Prince Zhao entered the capital, the empire would be named Zhao from then on, and the Crown Prince would probably not live long. The final result would be that Prince Zhao would support the Thirteenth Prince, who was still in swaddling clothes, and he would manipulate the entire court from behind the scenes.

Thinking of this, she also broke out in a cold sweat. If Chang’an were controlled by Prince Zhao, her current status and dignity would be completely lost, and her fate would probably only be that of a prostitute in the entertainment quarter.

Precisely because of this, after a brief thought, she decided to help Li San rescue Consort Zhen.

Ever since she experienced the comfortable life in Qingzhou last time, she had fallen in love with that place.

There were no enemies or friends in the court. Now she quite liked her nephew, Xiao Ming. So after learning about a secret agent’s residence from Yang Zhen, she went to find this secret agent, and then had this secret agent take her to Li San’s residence.

“Princess Pingyang, on my chest is a secret letter personally written by His Majesty to His Royal Highness Prince Qi. It is only because there are too many informants at Lijing Gate that I have no way to send the secret letter out.”

“Secret letter?” Li San heard this and reached into Du Heng’s clothes, indeed finding a letter from within.

Princess Pingyang looked up at the handwriting on the envelope and nodded, “This is indeed His Majesty’s handwriting.”

For safety, Li San then opened the letter and briefly read its contents. The handwriting matched the handwriting on the envelope. Only then did he slowly nod.

The situation in Chang’an was very complex now, and Li San dared not trust anyone lightly. This secret letter was indeed for Prince Qi, because in the letter, Emperor Xiaowenxuan clearly explained the situation in the palace to Xiao Ming.

“General Du, I was rash.” Li San called a secret guard and handed him the secret letter, instructing him to send it to Qingzhou.

Du Heng sighed. He said, “No matter, the situation in Chang’an is complex now, so it’s normal for you to be careful. However, time is short. How can just the three of us rescue the Emperor and Consort Zhen?”

“General Du, what we worry about most is the inner palace. It is precisely because of this that we risked capturing you. Now, the lives of the Emperor and Consort Zhen are in the hands of the inner palace imperial guards, so we dare not act rashly,” Li San said.

Princess Pingyang nodded. “We have already informed Grand General Luo Quan and Chancellor Fei about the palace affairs in detail. As long as General Du can protect the Emperor for two hours, the firearms camp can cooperate from inside and outside to rescue the Emperor and Consort Zhen.”

“Firearms camp!” A glimmer of light seemed to flash in Du Heng’s eyes. At this moment, he couldn’t help himself. He sighed that Emperor Xiaowenxuan was truly far-sighted, having entrusted the firearms camp to Luo Hong before this incident.

In his opinion, perhaps Emperor Xiaowenxuan already had a hint of doubt, but he never expected his beloved Crown Prince to commit regicide.

After a moment of contemplation, Du Heng said, “Since that’s the case, we must rescue the Emperor and Consort Zhen before Prince Zhao enters the capital. But with the city defense camp in the Crown Prince’s hands, even if we rescue the Emperor and Consort Zhen, how will we escape Chang’an?”

Li San then chuckled, “You don’t need to worry about that. I naturally have a way. General Du only needs to withstand the attack for half a two hour.”

Du Heng looked at Li San, only to see Li San’s confident demeanor. So he said, “Li San, this matter is of great importance. We are all risking our lives, so there must be no mistakes.”