This made Li Shimin anxious, and he wanted to trade one for one with me.

Wen Yanbo rolled his eyes, sensing the sarcasm in his voice.

Just then, a loud singing voice rang out from outside the Imperial Medical Bureau.

"Your Majesty has arrived——"

Chao Yuanfang was taken aback upon hearing this, and looked at Wen Yanbo and Zhang Xingcheng, asking in confusion:

"Why is Your Majesty here?"

Wen Yanbo stroked his beard and pondered:

"It is only natural that His Majesty would come to visit Zhao Shida after he was beaten so badly by Yuchi Jingde."

Chao Yuanfang said with emotion, "Your Majesty is very thoughtful."

As soon as he finished speaking, led by Zhang Anan, Li Shimin, along with Cheng Jun and Yuchi Jingde, headed this way.

Wen Yanbo, Chao Yuanfang, and Zhang Xingcheng immediately went forward, cupped their hands in greeting, and said:

"I will pay my respects to Your Majesty."

"No need to be formal."

Li Shimin opened his arms and gently helped them up. Once they were upright, he looked at Chao Yuanfang and asked, "How is Zhao Shida now?"

Chao Yuanfang said, "I have given him a brain-awakening pill, and he will wake up soon."

Li Shimin nodded and said, "Take me to see it."

"Your Majesty, please."

Chao Yuanfang spread his palms and led Li Shimin into a room filled with sickbeds.

Wen Yanbo gestured with his chin toward Zhang Xingcheng, signaling him to go in first.

He grabbed Cheng Jun's arm, stopped him, and looked him over, asking, "Are you alright?"

Cheng Jun asked curiously, "What do you want?"

Wen Yanbo said, "You arranged the seating for Zhao Shida, and Zhao Shida got beaten up. How can His Majesty not blame you?"

Cheng Jun asked in confusion, "Why blame me? I didn't hit him."

Well said... Wen Yanbo secretly praised him, knowing he had a way to clear his name. He glanced at Yuchi Jingde standing outside and asked, puzzled:

"Cheng Jun is alright, how come you're alright too?"

Yuchi Jingde grinned and pointed at Cheng Jun, saying, "Isn't this my good nephew here?"

Wen Yanbo looked at Cheng Jun.

Cheng Jun then gave him a kind smile.

Before Wen Yanbo could ask anything, Zhao Shida's heart-wrenching cries suddenly rang out from inside the room:

"Your Majesty, you must do justice for me!"

The three people outside turned to look at Zhao Shida, who had sat up from his sickbed and was now wiping away tears and sobbing.

Cheng Jun chuckled and said, "What a coincidence! His Majesty just arrived and he woke up."

Wen Yanbo looked at him and said, "You suspect he's been awake for a while?"

Cheng Jun pondered for a moment and said, "I don't doubt that he woke up a long time ago, I doubt that he was ever unconscious at all."

Wen Yanbo's eyes flickered a few times upon hearing this.

It's not impossible that Zhao Shida pretended to be unconscious to avoid taking too many punches...

Whether he's dizzy or not is no longer important.

Wen Yanbo regained his composure and said in a deep voice, "Let's go in and take a look."

"it is good!"

Cheng Jun responded and, together with Yuchi Jingde, walked behind Wen Yanbo into the house.

Inside the room, Zhao Shida knelt on the sickbed, pointing to his swollen eyes, and wept bitterly as he said to Li Shimin:

"Your Majesty, look at my eyes! They were struck by Yuchi Jingde. You must give me justice!"

Li Shimin immediately patted the back of his hand and comforted him:

"Rest assured, Minister Zhao, I have come here to visit you and to seek justice for you!"

As he spoke, Li Shimin pointed to Cheng Jun and Yuchi Jingde, who had entered, and said:

"Look, I've brought both of them with me."

Zhao Shida looked at the two men, and thinking of what had happened in Linde Hall, he felt angry and resentful. If he hadn't been quick-witted and thought of pretending to faint, he didn't know how badly he would have been beaten by now.

While Yuchi Jingde is certainly hateful, Cheng Jun is even more despicable!

The thought that Cheng Jun had managed to persuade Li Daozong, who had been trying to mediate the fight, to stop was infuriating. Zhao Shida turned to Li Shimin and said:

"Your Majesty, I am innocent. I did not insist on sitting in the seat of honor with Yuchi Jingde. Someone arranged my seat there. If I did not sit there, where should I sit?"

Li Shimin nodded and said, "You're right, you're not wrong at all."

Cheng Jun suddenly spoke up, "Prefect Zhao, please don't take it to heart. His Majesty meant well but things went wrong."

Zhao Shida wanted to settle scores with everyone involved in his beating, starting with the person who had arranged his seating arrangement.

However, upon hearing Cheng Jun's words, Zhao Shida paused, swallowed back the words that were already in his throat, and asked, "What does this have to do with His Majesty?"

Cheng Jun explained, "His Majesty arranged for you to sit there. He originally planned to chat with you after the banquet started, but who would have thought you would get beaten? His Majesty is very remorseful now."

Zhao Shida glanced at Li Shimin and saw him glaring at Cheng Jun. Thinking Li Shimin didn't want him to know about this, he immediately said solemnly:

"Your Majesty's arrangements are satisfactory!"

After saying this, Zhao Shida's voice choked up, and he decided to directly settle scores with Yuchi Jingde, saying, "Your Majesty, look at my eyes, I can't even see things clearly now."

Li Shimin quickly comforted him, saying, "You've really gone through a lot."

Cheng Jun suddenly spoke up:

“Governor Zhao, it is indeed wrong of the Duke of Wu to beat you, but you were beaten because of His Majesty. If Yuchi Jingde is severely punished, it will inevitably damage His Majesty’s reputation… You should consider His Majesty’s feelings.”

"I haven't even spoken yet, and you're already pleading for me..." Zhao Shida was annoyed. He glared at Cheng Jun, then looked at Li Shimin and said:

"Please, Your Majesty, decide according to the will of Heaven."

Li Shimin solemnly replied, "I will listen to you."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Shida steeled his resolve and said, "You're going to listen to me, right? Then I won't hold back!"

Yuchi Jingde nearly blinded me in one eye; I absolutely cannot let him get away with this!

He said decisively, "Yuchi Jingde beat me at the banquet Your Majesty was hosting for his officials. He is showing you no respect!"

Just as Zhao Shida finished speaking, Cheng Jun's voice entered his ears:

"Prefect Zhao, as you know, our Great Tang is about to wage war against the Turks. Duke Wu is His Majesty's trusted general and a pillar of our Great Tang. He will lead the troops into battle at that time."

"At this time, you want His Majesty to severely punish the Duke of Wu. If his bones and flesh are damaged and he is unable to walk, who will lead the troops into battle?"

Cheng Jun walked up to Zhao Shida and said seriously:

“Governor Zhao, you must not only think of His Majesty, but also of the fate of the nation. In the campaign against the Turks, our Great Tang is determined to achieve victory in one battle. If things go wrong because of you, you will be a sinner against our Great Tang! Which is more important, the affairs of the state or your personal matters?”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Shida couldn't help but sit up straight, pointing at him and cursing:

"Cheng Jun, I haven't even addressed you yet, and you're already bringing me up! Let me ask you this: just now in the Linde Hall, when Prince Li came out to mediate the fight, why did you advise Prince Li not to intervene?"

Cheng Jun explained, "At that time, Duke Wu was furious, and anyone who stepped forward would be beaten."

“My act of persuading Prince Li to stop him was to let those who deserved to be beaten be beaten, and to let those who didn’t deserve to be beaten avoid disaster. What crime have I committed?”

Zhao Shida angrily retorted, "What do you mean by telling the one who deserves to be beaten to be beaten? Am I the one who deserves to be beaten?"

Cheng Jun said seriously, "In that situation, you certainly were."

Zhao Shida shouted, "I am innocent!"

Cheng Jun pointed at Yuchi Jingde and said, "He doesn't care."