Chapter 494: A Letter from Chengdu

Chang’an, the Zichen Hall of Daming Palace. The bells signaling the end of court sessions had long rung, yet Li Hen remained alone in the chamber, the door tightly shut, refusing to let anyone in.
Standing by the window with his hands behind his back, he gazed at the light snowflakes drifting down from the sky, his expression filled with an indescribable bitterness and sorrow.
On the table behind him lay a letter he had just received—a personal letter from his father in Chengdu. It was the fifth letter he had received in months, and he had replied to four of them as well. In those letters, his father talked about events from over thirty years ago, describing the excitement and joy he felt when Li Hen was born, with every word expressing deep affection for life.
What Li Hen read from this letter, however, was that his father was not long for this world. Though it wasn’t explicitly stated, these five letters together sent a clear signal: his father, Emperor Li Longji of Southern Tang, wanted to pass the throne to him. This was why Li Hen felt such bitterness and loss. If he had known this would happen, why had he acted as he did in the past?
Once, he too had been the heir to the Tang dynasty, the proud Crown Prince, but he was dismissed on false charges of witchcraft. Although he later understood that it was a plot by Prince Qing Li Cong and the Yang family, his father refused to change his mind and insisted that his son inherit the throne. This was something that haunted Li Hen for life, preventing him from ever forgiving his father.
But at this moment, Li Hen was not thinking about family ties. Instead, he was pondering the unspoken words from his father—about him inheriting the throne of Southern Tang. Why had his father chosen him instead of Li Shilang or Li Maolang? Li Hen knew better than anyone that only by ascending the throne could the two Tang dynasties be unified; no one else was suitable.
Of course, Li Hen was overjoyed by his father’s decision. Yet he also knew that if he were to ascend the throne and unify the two Tang dynasties, he would face many obstacles—his brothers Li Lin and Li Maolang, as well as the current Emperor of Northern Tang, his grandson Li Shi. But the greatest obstacle was still Li Qing’an from Anxi.
Li Hen silently watched the snow fall before him, while pondering various plans for unification. No matter how he thought about it, there was one hurdle he must overcome.
“Crack!” He broke the jade pen in his hand into two. Anyone who became an obstacle to him would be swept away!

Li Heng turned back to the table, picked up the letter again, and read it once more. As he reached the end of the letter, his brows gradually furrowed. His father had another request—he hoped Li Heng could find Yang Guifei and bring her back to Chengdu.
“Hmph! Even at the brink of death, he still thinks of that woman.”
Li Heng folded the letter into a strip, crouched down, placed it on the charcoal brazier, and set it on fire. Only after it turned to ashes did he stand up, pull a thin rope by the wall, and the door opened. Li Fuguo stepped in, bowed, and said, “Please give your orders, Your Highness!”
Li Heng quickly wrote a short letter and handed it to him. “Deliver this letter to Chen Xuanli at once. Tell him to make sure to find her. He might as well keep an eye on An Lushan; he will surely uncover something.”
Li Fuguo took the letter and left. Li Heng also left the audience hall. A chief guard approached. “Your Highness, would you like to return to the palace?”
“Not yet. I want to take a walk.”
With his hands behind his back, Li Heng walked out of the main hall. It was already completely dark outside, with snowflakes swirling in the sky, turning the Daming Palace into a world of dark silver. The palace was empty; all the court officials had gone home, leaving the entire place very quiet.
Li Heng strolled along. He left the Zichen Hall and arrived at the nearby Yanying Hall, which was temporarily closed. Next to the Yanying Hall was a side courtyard with several rows of plain buildings. This place had originally been used to store ceremonial items like parasols and red carpets, but it had now been converted into a temporary duty station for the Imperial Guards. After finishing their shifts, the officers of the Imperial Guards would come here to report.
At that moment, a light was still on in one of the rooms in the duty station, and two Imperial Guards were standing at the door. When Li Heng approached, the two guards immediately knelt on one knee and saluted him militarily. “Saluting Your Highness, the Regent!”
“Is General Xu here?”
“Yes, General Xu is inside handling official matters!”
“Who’s outside?” came a man’s voice from inside.
“It’s Your Highness, the Regent.”
“Ah!”
There was a low exclamation from inside, followed by hurried footsteps. Then the door opened, and an officer in his forties or fifties appeared. He was not tall but had broad shoulders and a large face, giving him a very imposing appearance. His name was Xu Ziyao, a general of the Imperial Guards and one of An Baoyu’s two deputies.

Currently, the Imperial Guards total 12,000 men. Aside from the 2,000 troops directly under General An Baoyu, the remaining 10,000 are divided into left and right armies, each led by a general. Xu Ziyao is the left general, who was originally in charge of the Taiji Palace and the Imperial City. Due to the Pinglou incident a few months ago, the left and right Imperial Guards exchanged their locations, and now Xu Ziyao is in charge of the Daming Palace.

The other 5,000 troops are responsible for guarding the Imperial City and the Taiji Palace, under the command of Right General Zhao Yuxin. Zhao Yuxin was originally part of Changsun Quanxu’s personal guard and has served him for 20 years; he is also the main reason why Changsun Quanxu can influence the Imperial Guards.

Xu Ziyao is also a veteran of the Imperial Guards. When Li Hen was first appointed crown prince, Xu Ziyao served as the chief attendant in the Eastern Palace and had a close personal relationship with him.

“I pay my respects to Your Highness, the Regent!” Xu Ziyao knelt on one knee and bowed.

Li Hen quickly helped him up. “General Xu, no need for such formalities.”

He glanced inside the room and smiled, “If General Xu is busy, then I won’t disturb you.”

“I’m free now. Please come in, Your Highness!”

Xu Ziyao hurriedly invited Li Hen inside. Without hesitation, Li Hen entered. The room was rather messy, with various documents piled on the table and weapons like armor and swords scattered on the floor. Xu Ziyao frantically cleared a spot for a seat and said, “Please sit, Your Highness!”

Li Hen waved his hand and smiled, “No need. I’ll just say a few words and leave.”

After a moment of thought, he asked, “I heard that General Xu wants to buy a house. Has he succeeded?”

“General Xu wants to buy a house” has become a common saying among the Imperial Guards, implying that he only talks but doesn’t act. Three years ago, Xu Ziyao started boasting about buying a house, but after three years, not a trace of it has appeared, and those around him are tired of hearing him talk about it.

Li Hen actually knew about this as well. Xu Ziyao’s face turned red with embarrassment. His family was large—besides his wife, mother, and five children, his brothers had died early, leaving their wives and children living with him. He also had two concubines, along with several old servants and maids. His two-acre old house was simply not big enough to accommodate everyone. That’s why he had been trying to buy a new house. Especially next month, when his second son was getting married and would be moving in, there was no room left at all, which left Xu Ziyao extremely anxious.

Although Xu Ziyao had a decent salary, over a hundred acres of permanent farmland, and plenty of support from those under him, he still couldn’t save any money. The reason was his addiction to gambling—he lost more than he won. Aside from his salary to support his family, almost all his extra income was lost to gambling. For this reason, despite holding the rank of general, his house was no different from that of an ordinary general; it was still the one he bought when he first became a general ten years ago.

Xu Ziyao felt too embarrassed to ask for more, but the regent showed concern, so he had no choice but to say helplessly, “My family is large, and my salary is just enough to support us. I really don’t have any extra money to buy a house.”

“General Xu relies solely on his salary to support his family—truly a honest general.”

Li Heng sighed and took out a contract, placing it on the table. “This is a deed for a house in Chongren Fang. It’s been vacant there, so it’s given to General Xu.”

Xu Ziyao was overjoyed, so happy he couldn’t even speak. It was like a gift from the heavens! Yet he kept declining, saying, “I’m unworthy and incompetent. How could I accept such a precious reward from Your Highness? It’s absolutely unacceptable.”

“That’s not right, General Xu. Over a decade ago, when I first entered the eastern palace, I remember General Xu had just gotten married and was worried about not having a house. Now, you’re worried about a house again. How can I just stand by? Can our friendship over these years be less valuable than a house?”

Hearing Li Heng talk about those past years, Xu Ziyao also sighed. “Back then, Your Highness was valiant and full of vigor. In the blink of an eye, fifteen or sixteen years have passed, and we’ve both grown old.”

“We still have at least twenty years of service ahead. There’s no need to talk about ‘old.’ General Xu, you must also work hard. Strive to be stationed in a region soon and become a high-ranking commander. Then I’ll hold a celebration for you.”

After saying that, Li Heng nodded and left. “General Xu, go on with your work. I won’t disturb you any longer.”

Li Heng smiled slightly and turned to leave. Xu Ziyao quickly called out, “Your Highness, the deed!”

“Move in sooner. A distinguished General of the Imperial Guards can’t even afford to bring his daughter-in-law home!”

Li Heng’s voice came from afar, his figure already disappearing into the falling snowflakes.

“I’m extremely grateful!”

Xu Ziyao rushed to the door and bowed in thanks. By then, Li Heng was already far away. He slowly returned to his room, picked up the deed from the table, and opened it. His eyes widened instantly—this wasn’t some ordinary house; it was a large estate of thirty acres. After being stunned for a while, he exclaimed, “Ahah!” and jumped up in joy.

An Lushan had been in Chang’an for over two months. With the support and tacit approval of Li Heng, he re-established the intelligence agency in Chang’an, located in Wannian County under the jurisdiction of the Jinwu Guard. Along with his residence, both were situated in Qinren Fang—originally the home of An Lushan’s eldest son, An Qingzong. After An Qingzong died, the house fell vacant and was now used as the headquarters for An Lushan’s intelligence agency in Chang’an. He appointed his trusted aide, Zhang Tongru, as the head of intelligence, reporting directly to him.

During these over two months, An Lushan spent a large sum of money to recruit more than 200 highly skilled outlaws. He also dispatched 300 elite soldiers from Fanyang. He owned a vast estate, granted to him by Li Longji in the seventh year of the Tianbao era, so it was temporarily unaffected by Li Yu’s land restrictions.

Although An Lushan had success in everything else, he failed to find Yang Yuhuan. He searched throughout Chang’an for two months, even checking every Taoist temple in the vicinity, but still couldn’t locate her.

Determined, An Lushan vowed not to leave Chang’an until he found Yang Yuhuan. He deployed all the personnel from his newly established intelligence agency and offered a huge reward: 5,000 guan to anyone who could find her whereabouts, and 10,000 guan plus a promotion of three ranks for those who could bring her to him.

With such a generous reward, brave souls emerged. Yesterday, An Lushan finally received a lead: in Huaiyuan Fang, one of the two districts with the largest numbers of soldiers from the Qianniu Guard, soldiers were seen guarding a nunnery.

Why were there soldiers guarding a nunnery? An Lushan grew suspicious. Could it be that Yang Yuhuan wasn’t in a Taoist temple but in a nunnery? However, with heavy troops from the Qianniu Guard stationed in Huaiyuan Fang, An Lushan didn’t dare act rashly. He ordered thorough investigation to obtain definite information.

Cihang Yuan had been quite quiet these days. After winter set in, the original thirty-some nuns had gradually gone to Luoyang. Luoyang was hosting an unprecedented Guanyin Water and Land Festival on the first day of the new year, and almost all Guanyin temples in the Tang Dynasty were sending representatives to attend.

After more than twenty nuns left, only a dozen older nuns remained in Cihang Yuan, making it very quiet. Just as dawn broke, an old nun left the temple to buy rice, grains, and vegetables at the West Market. Huaiyuan Fang was adjacent to the West Market, with its entrance directly opposite a side gate of the market.

The old nun hurried along, unaware that she had already been targeted. Two passersby followed her at a leisurely pace. She had just stepped out of the neighborhood gate; there was no one around, and there was only an unattended vegetable stall at the entrance. The two exchanged a glance, and one of them quickly closed in from behind. With swift motion, he struck the old nun on the back of the head, knocking her unconscious. At that moment, a carriage came by and dragged the old nun into it, which then sped away.

Behind the neighborhood gate, an old vegetable seller who had gone to relieve himself happened to witness this scene. He was stunned and couldn’t react for a long time…

Just half an hour later, a confession appeared on An Lushan’s desk. There indeed lived a woman in Cihang Courtyard, and she was under strict protection. Everyone called her Yu Ji. No one knew her real name, but Yang Yuhuan’s appearance was her signature. The description of her as “peerlessly beautiful” in the confession was enough to prove that this woman hidden in Cihang Courtyard was none other than the former Imperial Concubine.

An Lushan was overjoyed. He pounded the table repeatedly and smiled, stroking his beard, saying, “To possess the world’s most beautiful woman and sit in the highest position in the world—what more could one ask for in life?”

But An Lushan also knew that Chang’an County was under Li Qing’an’s control, with 20,000 imperial guards stationed there. He dared not abduct her during the day and had to act at night. Then, An Lushan faced another problem: the old nun had already been tortured to death by his men. If she hadn’t returned after buying rice in the morning, it might arouse suspicion in Cihang Courtyard. The answer was very likely. Since there were spies guarding Yang Guifei inside, they must be highly vigilant and wouldn’t take such matters lightly.

After much deliberation, An Lushan decided to send people to spy on Cihang Courtyard first and act at night. He personally devised a detailed plan and selected fifty of his finest warriors, disguising them as peddlers and porters, to infiltrate Huaiyuan Neighborhood by various means.

Yet, just as the mantis tries to catch the cicada, there’s always a oriole waiting in the trees. As soon as An Lushan’s men set out, they were spotted by spies from the Jinwu Guard.