CHAPTER 826: CHAPTER 502: AMBUSH ON PRINCE HENG (PART 2)

The Five Army Camp had no more merits to earn, but they couldn’t just do nothing.

Just as he returned to the camp, a low-level military officer suddenly rushed over:

"Commander, the Heir of Prince Heng couldn’t withstand the torture and confessed quite a bit."

What? He couldn’t hold out and confessed already? Yuan Feng’s expression turned strange.

The Qingzhou Army was defeated, you surrendered...

"Bring it here for me to see," even though he felt it might not be significant, Yuan Feng still curiously took the confession of Xu Zudi and quickly skimmed through it.

Then, people around noticed that their Commander suddenly froze, staring intently at certain parts of the confession, unmoving.

"Not good, Mr. Zhao is in danger!" Yuan Feng’s face changed, and he urgently looked up: "Quick, retrieve Mr. Zhao!"

...

...

"Prince?" Inside the Qingzhou Army’s main camp, a servant left behind in the rear camp was surprised to see Prince Heng rushing over from the front.

The military camp was vast, isolated when it was set up, and the area where the Royal Mansion’s tents were located was at the very back of the entire camp, the safest region.

The two armies clashed at the front, but the guards and servants of the Royal Mansion in the rear couldn’t see the whole picture due to their vantage point, only hearing the rumbling artillery sounds and shouts of combat.

They still didn’t know the situation at the front, only habitually assuming it was another great victory.

Seeing Prince Heng return suddenly was a great surprise.

"Prepare the carriage immediately, wait for me at the rear of the camp!" Prince Heng’s expression was grim, urging swiftly.

The servant hesitated, wanting to ask what happened, but was silenced by Prince Heng’s fierce glance, and went to prepare as told.

Prince Heng’s expression was as dark as water, he glanced back at the sounds of battle in the front camp, having narrowly escaped being shelled, he quickly descended from the observation tower, found an excuse to leave others behind, and hurried back alone.

He quickly arrived outside his own large tent, lifted the curtain, and saw the mat on the floor; at this moment, two beautiful concubines looked at the returning prince in surprise, their powdered faces instinctively lifting into smiles: "Prince..."

One of the concubines noticed the prince’s expression, her heart tightened, and she instinctively asked: "Prince, has something unexpected happened in the front lines..."

Prince Heng abruptly stopped, his eyes fixated on the two beautiful concubines who accompanied him in the army even during an expedition, suddenly he muttered neurotically, "Leaving you here will only let others defile you, shaming me."

The two concubines instinctively sensed danger, halted, smiles frozen: "Prince, you..."

The next moment, Prince Heng suddenly drew the sword from his waist, with two swift strikes, killed the two concubines in a pool of blood.

He immediately moved on without hesitation, quickly going to a corner, squatting down, and took out a copper key from his waist, opening a special metal box on the ground, retrieving a half-body armor with a fiery red color and a black human face pattern on the front.

Prince Heng swiftly took off his luxurious outer attire, wore the armor underneath, then rummaged through the bottom of the box for a plain, modest gray outfit and hat resembling a servant’s, changing into them hastily.

He threw his lavish clothes into the box, locked it, bypassed the corpses of the two beautiful concubines on the ground, and hurriedly left the tent.

With a brief hesitation, he quickly turned and dashed into another solitary large tent nearby.

"Prince?" Two family guards stationed outside the tent blinked in confusion.

Prince Heng maintained a stern face: "Is the person inside?"

"Inside, yes. Rest assured, Prince, we’re guarding vigilantly, absolutely secure."

"Good." Prince Heng nodded in satisfaction, then abruptly attacked, the flash of his blade killing the two unsuspecting guards as well.

Stepping over the bodies, he used his blood-stained blade to lift the tent coverings, revealing a woman tied up inside.

This woman had dark, glossy hair, a round and dignified face, with an extraordinary appearance. Her dress was an exceptional silk skirt, identified as the female head of the East Lake Xiao family in the Qingzhou region, Xiao Donger.

Mrs. Xiao was bound with hemp ropes on her hands and feet, legs bent sideways, sitting on the ground with her back against a box.

Her head hung low, eyes closed, drowsy; her once smooth skin had become dull, and she had noticeably lost weight.

Upon hearing the noise, she raised her head, opened her eyes, and saw Prince Heng, wearing plain clothes and wielding a bloodied long sword, barge in. She instinctively froze, then listened to the combat sounds outside and suddenly sneered:

"Have you finally been defeated? Ha, a dignified prince dressed like this, surely planning to flee?"

Xiao Donger hadn’t had a good time in the last six months; after the Hu Ting meeting last year, she publicly sided with the court, became an "Imperial Merchant," thoroughly severing ties with Prince Heng’s mansion.

The Xiao family’s position in Qingzhou became precarious, but back then, Prince Heng’s mansion didn’t dare go too far, only resorting to secretive suppressive tactics.

Until the Empress’s sealing failed, and the Eight Princes rebelled, Prince Heng immediately ordered the takeover of the Xiao family.

However, due to the deeply rooted foundation of the East Lake Xiao family, it wasn’t easy to uproot them in a short time. Prince Heng, in his haste to enter the Capital, had no time to settle scores with the Xiao family.

Fearing that this big family might cause trouble from behind, he simply imprisoned some family members in the Royal Mansion dungeon, and captured Xiao Donger, the female head, with the army.

By doing this, he restrained the Xiao family, causing this major family to refrain from reckless actions.

Yet, according to Prince Heng’s plan, once he took control of the Capital, the Xiao family would lose its utility, and Xiao Donger’s fate was all too predictable.

"You wretch!"

With Mrs. Xiao’s cold taunt, Prince Heng was infuriated, delivering a harsh slap that turned Xiao Donger’s head sideways, a handprint emerged on her fair cheek, blood seeping from the corner of her mouth, but her eyes showed even more disdain as she lightly spat, her palm-sized face raised defiantly with some madness: