Huang Xiaoning had two fingers severed, and Xu Lai lost an ear, finally allowing him to be distinguished from his identical brother Xu Xing. They were the fortunate ones on the battlefield. Tragically, Song Yinghui succumbed to his severe injuries that very night and died despite treatment.

The skilled and valiant Liu Mian was run through by Yuan Dianjun’s spear, creating an opening for Right Wing Military Commissioner Zhang Jifang to seize the inner city in one decisive strike. He completely uprooted his cruel former superior Liu Kun, leading to the complete destruction of the Liu family. Once again, heads rolled within the Military Governor’s residence.

But the mantis stalks the cicada while the oriole lurks behind. Zhang Jifang had barely gotten his hands on the military governor’s seal and hadn’t yet had time to announce his predecessor’s crimes or justify his own rebellious coup when military leaders from Ji, Gui, Tan, Yi, Ding, and other prefectures had already led their prefectural troops to surround Youzhou City. Only then did Zhang Jifang realize with dawning horror that someone had set an even grander trap behind the scenes. Being quite astute, he immediately surrendered and personally went to Prince Shao’s residence to offer the seal and confess his crimes.

By the time the Khitan Khan’s two thousand cavalry were roaming the northern borders, Prince Shao Li Yuanying had already firmly grasped control of Youzhou’s situation, giving them no opportunity to enter the territory.

The military and civilians of Youzhou City accepted this calmly. From top to bottom, this region deeply revered Buddhism and firmly believed in karma and omens. Several days before the military coup, the flocks of crows circling above Prince Shao’s residence had already clearly revealed Heaven’s mandate: from the moment this Li surname prince set foot in Youzhou territory, he was destined to take over the land conquered by his ancestors.

Unlike previous military governors, Prince Shao did not memorialize the court requesting official appointment, remaining humbly low-key while maintaining the official title of “Youzhou Prefect.” Military Supervisor Ruan Ziming remained silent and tacitly acknowledged Li Yuanying’s assumption of Liu Kun’s leadership position. Everyone understood in their hearts who the true Military Governor of Youzhou was.

Ten days later, the funeral for the soldiers who died in battle was held as scheduled. Prince Shao wore plain mourning clothes and personally helped carry their coffins. Cailu’s body, who had died at Liu Mian’s hands, was also recovered and buried alongside the other fallen soldiers with military honors.

Huo Qi Lang came to attend the funeral, hobbling on crutches with a pronounced limp. Before Yuwen Rang’s coffin, she muttered quietly: “I told you long ago, what’s the point of desperately seeking merit and glory? You can’t take it with you when you’re born or when you die. Better to eat a few more good meals at wine shops while you’re still alive.”

She fumbled around in her bosom, slightly lifted the coffin lid, tossed something into the gap, then closed it again. Perhaps due to her slow movements from unhealed injuries, her actions weren’t concealed enough. When she turned around, she met Li Yuanying’s astonished gaze: “What did you throw in there?!”

Huo Qi Lang grinned widely: “Just a few dice. This kid won’t need to stand guard anymore, so he can play to his heart’s content now.”

Li Yuanying’s expression was complex. He lowered his eyes and pondered for a moment, then sighed softly without pursuing the matter further. Serving the dead as one serves the living—now, aside from posthumously promoting these fallen soldiers and providing support for their orphans, he couldn’t do much more for them. This fellow was Yuwen Rang’s comrade-in-arms during his lifetime. Adding a gambling toy for his burial, though absurd, had a layer of carefree spirit to it.

The funeral procession stood solemnly on both sides, sunlight pouring down, making their scale armor gleam with golden light. Accompanied by solemn and deep military music and drum beats, the coffins were slowly lowered into the grave pits. Li Yuanying’s thoughts were myriad as he contemplated whether the dead truly needed official titles and empty honors after death. Just like his own mother—though posthumously granted the title of Empress after her death, no matter how glorious and revered she became posthumously, her children could never see her face again.

After moving into the inner city, Youzhou Prefect and Prince Shao Ying announced the exemption of field taxes for one year and the reconstruction of Minzhong Temple to pacify the people’s hearts. Even if the matter of external financial subsidies were accidentally exposed now, Li Yuanying had already subdued the proud soldiers and fierce generals, commanding one hundred thousand troops of the Lulong Army, no longer needing to worry about the Emperor suddenly sending someone to bestow poisoned wine.

Huo Qi Lang lay in her superior’s bed, eating his food, spending his money, enjoying the attentive care of his maidservants, and contentedly nursed her wounds back to seventy or eighty percent recovery.

Li Yuanying, however, had no chance to catch his breath.

After grasping military power and the internal treasury, countless matters still required his decisions: placing his trusted personal guards and staff advisors in various important positions, reviewing land and population registers, signing tea-horse trade contracts with the Khitans, finding ways to balance military expenses and taxes… He had too many affairs to handle. His long-ailing body could hardly support such heavy administrative duties, so he had to place a soft couch in the main hall and often conducted business while lying down.

On this particular day, he specifically gave Huo Qi Lang a day off, sending her out to enjoy herself, then summoned a physician to his bedchamber for pulse diagnosis. When Zhu Minhe arrived, he saw Prince Shao leaning against cushions, half-reclining on the bed with the screen removed. Yuan Shaobai, Li Chengyin, and others stood before his bed in attendance.

These two had now become Chief Military Commissioner and Assistant Revenue Commissioner respectively, holding high positions with great authority and busy with administrative affairs. Aside from reporting official business to Li Yuanying, they no longer stayed in the residence all day as before. Even Madam Yu and Madam Li attended at his side, but there were no other maidservants or eunuchs in the room.

Zhu Minhe sensed something unusual in the atmosphere. After carefully taking the pulse and prescribing medicine as usual, he had his apprentice prepare and grind the herbs according to the prescription. Li Chengyin ordered the apprentice to leave first, saying they would discuss brewing the medicine later.

Li Yuanying gazed at Zhu Minhe for a moment, then said slowly: “Doctor Zhu has served at my side for some years now.”

Zhu Minhe replied humbly and cautiously: “My medical skills are inadequate. I have failed to properly care for Your Highness and feel ashamed.” He secretly observed Li Yuanying’s expression, seeing no change, but Yuan Shaobai’s hand remained constantly on his sword hilt.

Li Yuanying continued: “Since arriving in Youzhou, due to difficulty adapting to the local climate, I have constantly felt unwell. These days have troubled Doctor Zhu with running about. In this past month or so, you haven’t found an opportunity to write to Chang’an to report your safety, have you?”

Zhu Minhe’s heart suddenly jumped. While bowing his head in submission, he used his peripheral vision to glance toward the window, only to see the shadows of long spears swaying behind the window lattice.

“Henceforth, you need not monitor my condition from the rooftops,” Li Yuanying said calmly. “To reward Doctor Zhu’s contributions, I have something to give you—something sent from afar in Chang’an.”

Zhu Minhe knew his cover had been blown. Cold sweat instantly gushed out all over his body, soaking through his clothes in an instant and streaming down his forehead. Though he had learned light martial arts, he hadn’t reached expert level and couldn’t escape the soldiers’ blockade in broad daylight. He just didn’t know when Prince Shao had discovered his infiltration, yet had remained so composed all along.

Yuan Shaobai unwrapped a bundle and produced a square wooden box about a foot long. The box faintly emanated a nauseating odor. Madam Li turned her head away, seemingly unwilling to witness what was inside.

“Open it yourself,” Yuan Shaobai stepped forward and presented the wooden box.

Zhu Minhe understood that today was his death day. Not knowing whether the box contained poisoned wine or a dagger, he simply accepted it with both hands and opened the lid. Inside, he saw half the box filled with frost-white salt, with a dried human head half-buried in the salt.

Zhu Minhe’s hands trembled, and the wooden box fell to the ground and cracked. The head rolled onto the floor. He stepped back several paces and looked carefully. After making out the head’s features, Zhu Minhe’s chest suddenly resonated with a rumbling sound, producing a strange noise between crying and laughing. He rushed forward to cradle the head, his face erupting with an almost twisted expression of joyful satisfaction.

Li Yuanying stated matter-of-factly: “The assassin I employed in Chang’an relocated, and investigating your family’s old case and arranging for someone new to handle this matter took considerable effort, which is why it was delayed until now to deliver the gift to Youzhou.”

Zhu Minhe was almost deaf to his words. Still crying and laughing, he dropped the head and knocked his forehead against the ground several times toward the southeast direction, shouting loudly: “Father, Mother, your great revenge has finally been avenged!” Then he collapsed in agonized weeping, his miserable wails echoing throughout the great hall.

After crying for a while, he crawled on his knees toward Prince Shao, prostrated himself with all four limbs on the ground, and declared loudly: “Your Highness has slain Minhe’s mortal enemy. From now on, Minhe is Your Highness’s devoted retainer, ready to spill blood and brains without daring to fail you!”

Li Yuanying said: “There’s nothing particularly special I need you to do. I just want to know the contents of your next letter to Chang’an.”

Zhu Minhe wiped his tears with his sleeve, forcibly steadied his mind, contemplated the situation for a moment, then solemnly declared: “Your Highness is undoubtedly of imperial bloodline. The illness you suffer from is the hereditary disease of the Li Tang imperial family—chronic headaches. The daily medications you take are also old prescriptions for treating headaches. This is the conclusion Minhe reached after consulting with famous physicians of Youzhou.”

Li Yuanying nodded slightly, a trace of mocking smile appearing at the corner of his lips as he said quietly: “After receiving the letter, His Majesty should be able to feel somewhat at ease.”

Now both the court’s openly appointed official Military Supervisor Ruan Ziming and the secretly placed spy Zhu Minhe had been brought under his command. The channels for transmitting messages to Chang’an were completely under his control. Though he couldn’t rest completely easy, he could feel secure for a while.

Li Yuanying questioned Zhu Minhe again: “Today I want to hear some truth. Please speak frankly, Doctor Zhu, without using medical rhetoric to console me. What is the actual state of my illness now?”

Zhu Minhe’s expression grew heavy as he pondered in silence. As Prince Shao’s personal physician, he took his pulse almost daily and could be said to understand his physical condition better than anyone except the prince himself. When the case of Princess Cui’s poisoning was exposed, he had also been secretly shocked, but when he later tried to report to Chang’an, he had been unable to send a secret letter due to the strict rules of the residence and the eyes and ears everywhere around him.

Afterward, Li Yuanying had been continuously taking detoxification decoctions made from honeysuckle and licorice. Though the prescription came from his own hand, he knew very well what the therapeutic effects were.

Zhu Minhe said solemnly: “Your Highness once possessed a robust constitution and could have enjoyed longevity, but prolonged poisoning with arsenic has damaged your foundation. Even with careful recuperation, it will be difficult to restore you to your former state…”

He steadied himself, and to repay Prince Shao’s kindness, knowing he had no heir, still spoke truthfully and reminded him: “You should choose a successor as soon as possible.”

Though they had vaguely anticipated the result, hearing such a blunt diagnosis, Prince Shao’s confidants still couldn’t help but show expressions of grief. Madam Li covered her face with her sleeve and wept silently. Although Cui Lingrong’s poisoning assassination had been discovered, it had actually succeeded ninety percent.

Only Li Yuanying remained composed, calmly saying to Zhu Minhe: “Thank you for your efforts, Doctor. You may go now.”

Zhu Minhe bowed to him again, wrapped the head in his clothing, and backed out the door.

Li Yuanying leaned against his cushions deep in thought for a long while, then said to everyone: “I have some matters to arrange. Listen carefully.”