Chapter Seventy-Three: Of Great Importance

“What does this mean?” Sun Jiali was confused, still anxiously pleading, “Your Highness, these assassins are crucial—they are key to the case’s progress. They absolutely must not die. Let the doctor stop their bleeding first, and then we can interrogate them!”

Li Zhi replied, “I am the finest doctor in the capital. Why bother fetching another?”

“This…” Sun Jiali had no idea that Li Zhi possessed an extraordinary, almost unnatural talent.

As long as a person had not died, he could heal them completely. The speed at which wounds closed was beyond anything an ordinary person could hope for.

“You don’t believe in my medical skills?” Li Zhi asked.

“No! Your Highness is a person of remarkable gifts; I have no doubt you possess remarkable abilities!” Sun Jiali hurriedly assured him.

“In that case, stop wasting words. Step aside and watch me treat them!” Li Zhi took the bone-piercing needle from a guard’s hand.

“I’ll use this very needle to heal them!”

Sun Jiali was struck dumb. How could this be possible? The bone-piercing needle was meant to harm, not heal.

Luo Tong, too, was uneasy. “Your Highness, are you sure this will work?”

“You don’t trust me?” Li Zhi countered.

“Well, they’re criminals anyway. If they die, so be it. You might as well try to save them, as one might treat a dying horse as if it could still be healed,” Cheng Yaojin interjected, a hint of curiosity in his voice. “I’m quite interested to see this myself!”

Li Zhi moved swiftly as he applied the needles, pricking each prisoner several times with remarkable speed. When he finished, the assassins slowly regained consciousness.

Cries of pain erupted once more, agony wracking their bodies, yet death eluded them.

“Your Highness, you’re incredible!” Sun Jiali exclaimed, giving Li Zhi a thumbs-up. “Your medical art is so rare, I daresay even Hua Tuo or Zhang Zhongjing would be left astounded. With you here, it will be hard for them even to die!”

Cheng Yaojin snapped back to his senses and swept Li Zhi up in a bear hug. “Our young prince is truly gifted! Should I fall ill one day, I’ll trouble you to heal me—though, knock on wood, I may never suffer so much as a scratch in my life!”

“And me as well!” Luo Tong chimed in, never before having witnessed such miraculous healing. His admiration for Li Zhi grew deeper. To be only three years old and already a master of both culinary and medical arts—who else in all of history could claim such a feat? Surely, only this young prince.

Li Zhi chuckled. “No problem! If any of you are ever gravely wounded and near death, I’ll make sure to heal you completely!”

…

Sun Jiali continued with the interrogation, focusing on several pressing questions:

First, who had leaked the news of Li Zhi’s departure from the palace to the assassins?

Second, who was the mastermind behind them?

Third, the list of all those involved in the assassination attempt.

Both sides were locked in a stalemate for several hours, employing every manner of punishment available. Each time the assassins lost consciousness, Li Zhi would bring them back. The assassins gradually realized that Li Zhi was a master of medicine; dying would be nearly impossible.

At this rate, they would be trapped in endless torment—unable to live, unable to die.

By dusk, one assassin could endure no more. He confessed the names of those involved in the plot, pleading only for a swift death.

“Go through everyone named on this list,” Sun Jiali ordered, passing the document to the county constables. “See if anyone’s been missed, and arrest them immediately if so!”

“Yes, sir!” The constables rushed to comply.

The assassin who had confessed struggled violently, sobbing. Sun Jiali sneered, “You’ve done well, but I cannot simply execute you yet. We must await the final judgment. Take him away and lock him up!”

“Wait!” Li Zhi was displeased with Sun Jiali’s approach. “You promised him a quick death, and now you’re going back on your word? With such broken promises, who among the others would dare to confess?”

“Your Highness, are you saying we must really execute him?” Sun Jiali hesitated. Although Emperor Taizong had entrusted the case to Sun Jiali and permitted the use of harsh punishments, it did not extend to executing prisoners outright; that would be unlawful.

Li Zhi walked slowly to the assassin, inspecting his wounds. “He’s already fainted several times, only to be revived by me, and has suffered the harshest tortures known to man. For him, death is a blessing.”

“Let’s grant him that mercy.” Li Zhi exchanged a glance with Luo Tong.

Understanding, Luo Tong ordered the Golden Blades to execute the man on the spot.

“You need not envy him,” Li Zhi said to the remaining assassins. “If you confess truthfully, I promise you will also be released from your suffering.”

The assassins exchanged glances, silently nodding.

Sun Jiali tossed writing brushes and paper before them, urging, “Well? Write, quickly!”

This time, none resisted. Each picked up a brush and began to write their answers.

…

Cheng Yaojin picked up one of the statements, his face full of disbelief. “The mastermind behind the assassination… is the Guardians’ Post?”

“What!” he exclaimed.

“How can this be?”

“The Guardians’ Post—the real mastermind?” Luo Tong was utterly shocked as well.

To ensure the capital’s security, the court had established Guardians’ Posts throughout the city, each with strong influence. That such a powerful force, meant to uphold order, should turn out to be the culprit behind the assassination attempt on the prince was almost unthinkable.

“Could they be lying?”

“They probably aren’t!” someone else replied. “At death’s door, there’s no reason for them to deceive us,” Cheng Yaojin said, brows furrowed in deep thought. He bowed and said, “Your Highness, this is a grave matter. I must return to the palace at once and report to His Majesty so that a thorough purge of the Guardians’ Post can be enacted. If not, more assassination attempts like last night’s will follow, with consequences too dreadful to imagine!”

“Very well,” Li Zhi agreed.

“What about these prisoners?” Sun Jiali asked.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Li Zhi left the cell without looking back.

Sun Jiali frowned, then pulled the cloth from the assassins’ mouths and declared, “I believe your confessions. You are permitted to end your own lives by biting off your tongues.”

With grim determination, the assassins bit through their tongues, ending their lives on the spot.

In the imperial palace, within the study, Cheng Yaojin reported to Emperor Taizong, “Our preliminary investigation confirms that the Guardians’ Post is the mastermind behind this case. Your Majesty, their agents are everywhere in the city. If matters continue like this, the danger is too great. I beg you to order a thorough purge, to ensure the Guardians’ Post remains a force for protecting the people and maintaining order, not a den of assassins plotting against the royal family.”

“This is…” Emperor Taizong could hardly believe it.

“Lord Cheng, do you have proof that the Guardians’ Post is behind this?”

“I do!” Cheng Yaojin handed over the assassins’ confessions. “Please, Your Majesty, see for yourself.”

“This alone doesn’t prove they are the ultimate culprit,” mused the Emperor. “I suspect there is a powerful figure manipulating matters behind the Guardians’ Post. Otherwise, what motivation would they have to assassinate a prince?”

“Your Majesty is exactly right. For now, though, the only connection we have found is to the Guardians’ Post.”

No matter whether the real mastermind would be found, the Guardians’ Post had to be purged.

Emperor Taizong ordered the Sixteen Southern Guards and the Six Northern Armies to take control of the Guardians’ Posts in the city with lightning speed, arresting all involved, and assigned the Cavalry Guards to assist the counties of Chang’an and Wannian in maintaining order.