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

Upon hearing this, Zhao Shida's blood pressure spiked. In his opinion, the beating he had taken today was for nothing!

How can that work!

Zhao Shida looked at Li Shimin, his voice choked with emotion, and said:

"Your Majesty, Cheng Jun was also involved in my beating! If Cheng Jun hadn't stopped Prince Li from intervening, I might have escaped this disaster."

Yuchi Jingde said, "Impossible. At the time, my thought was to beat up whoever dared to try to stop the fight. Just now in Linde Hall, there were only two possibilities: either you would get beaten up, or someone else would get beaten up with you."

Zhao Shida stared at him with wide eyes and said to Li Shimin, "Your Majesty, look at this! Yuchi Jingde hit someone and he's still acting all high and mighty!"

Yuchi Jingde snorted, "I'm not being unreasonable, I just can't stand that you can't understand human language!"

Seeing that the two were about to start arguing, Li Shimin frowned and said, "Stop arguing."

After saying that, he looked at Zhao Shida and said seriously:

“Minister Zhao, Cheng Jun has already proven his innocence in the Linde Hall. Even Li Daozong came out to speak for him. This shows that Cheng Jun persuaded Li Daozong not out of personal motives, but for the sake of the country and the public good. He did nothing wrong. How can I punish him?”

"..."

Zhao Shida felt indescribably frustrated upon hearing this.

He wanted to settle scores with the people who had assigned him the seat.

It turned out that His Majesty himself arranged the seat for him!

They wanted to settle scores with Cheng Jun, but His Majesty said he was right!

The only person who can be brought to justice is Yuchi Jingde.

However, what Cheng Jun said earlier was not wrong. The Tang Dynasty was about to launch a campaign against the Turks, and Yuchi Jingde, as His Majesty's trusted general, would definitely lead the troops into battle.

At this point, would His Majesty really agree to severely punish Yuchi Jingde?

Zhao Shida was somewhat confused. What else could I say?

At this moment, he finally realized that Cheng Jun was much more difficult to deal with than Zhang Xingcheng.

Zhang Xingcheng wanted to make him wish he were dead, while Cheng Jun wanted him to suffer a fate worse than death, leaving him covered in wounds...

No, we can't let this go... Zhao Shida gritted his teeth and said to Li Shimin:

"We beseech Your Majesty to make a decision according to the will of Heaven!"

Li Shimin waved his hand and said, "Didn't I say that you decide how to punish Yuchi Jingde?"

"..."

Zhao Shida's lips trembled. What decision could he possibly make? Did he even have a choice?

He also realized Li Shimin's thoughts at that moment.

Li Shimin wanted him, the one who had been beaten, to say something that would make everyone happy except for himself!

Zhao Shida didn't want to speak, but he knew very well that if he said something that displeased Li Shimin, Cheng Jun, who was standing next to him, would have something to say.

Zhao Shida glanced at the people standing around him, and his heart sank.

Wen Yanbo, Zhang Xingcheng, and Cheng Jun were all from the Censorate.

Your Majesty, Yuchi Jingde is in cahoots with you.

Zhang Anan was the one who helped His Majesty pull up his trousers.

The Imperial Physician, Chao Yuanfang, was a spectator at the play.

Enemies are everywhere... Zhao Shida's lips trembled a few times, and he lowered his head, saying:

"Your Majesty, let's give them a small punishment as a warning."

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin reached out and placed his hands on Zhao Shida's shoulders, saying sincerely:

"Minister Zhao, I have come here to seek justice for you. Do not worry about me, speak boldly!"

Zhao Shida raised his head and said, "Then..."

Li Shimin suddenly stood up straight, turned his head, and said with a stern face:

"Since Minister Zhao has already spoken, asking me to give him a minor punishment as a warning, Yuchi Jingde, from today onwards, you will guard the palace gates until the day we launch our campaign against the Turks!"

"..."

Zhao Shida wisely shut his mouth, which he had just opened.

Upon seeing that he had indeed been spared fifty strokes of the cane, Yuchi Jingde was overjoyed and clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Your subject obeys the decree!"

Li Shimin stared at him and said, "When it comes time to wage war against the Turks, Yuchi Jingde, you must be prepared to die on the battlefield, understand?"

Yuchi Jingde shouted, "If I am defeated, I shall die!"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin's expression softened, and he said, "You must also restrain yourself in your daily life. If I find out that you have beaten a court official again, I will punish you severely!"

"Alright, come over here and apologize!"

Li Shimin stepped aside and called Yuchi Jingde over to apologize to Zhao Shida.

Yuchi Jingde immediately went over, looked at Zhao Shida sitting on the sickbed, his lips pursed and silent, and solemnly said:

“Prefect Zhao, it was wrong of me to hit you. His Majesty has already punished me, so I will let bygones be bygones.”

Are you apologizing to me, or forgiving me...? Zhao Shida suddenly sat up straight.

Wen Yanbo suddenly stepped forward, clapped his hands, and exclaimed, "Good, good! The misunderstanding is cleared up, everyone is happy. We are all colleagues, and we should value harmony in the future and repay the Emperor's grace."

Zhao Shida had to swallow his words. Everyone said that harmony was the most important thing, and if he argued back, wouldn't that cause a rift?

Wen Yanbo and Cheng Jun... those two are definitely in cahoots!

Zhao Shida cursed under his breath, then suddenly saw Zhang Xingcheng staring at him with sharp eyes, and his face turned pale.

Oh, I almost forgot, there's one more...

Zhao Shida could no longer sit still, and bowed to Li Shimin, saying:

"Your Majesty, I am feeling unwell and would like to rest at the Imperial Medical Bureau for a few days."

Li Shimin was very pleased to see that he was so sensible, and said with a smile, "Of course. From today onwards, you shall rest and recuperate at the Imperial Medical Bureau. Come and see me again when you have fully recovered."

"Your Majesty, what about him...?"

Zhao Shida pointed his finger at Zhang Xingcheng.

Li Shimin turned to look at Zhang Xingcheng and asked, "Minister Zhang, what are you doing here?"

Zhang Xingcheng cupped his hands and said, "Your subject has come to the Imperial Medical Bureau to oversee the matter."

Li Shimin had also heard about the personal feud between Zhang Xingcheng and Zhao Shida, and frowned as he asked, "Is he really an inspector?"

Wen Yanbo stepped forward and said with a smile, "It's absolutely true, because he was sent by me."

Seeing that he was blatantly lying, Zhao Shida was both shocked and furious, saying, "Wen Yanbo, you—"

Wen Yanbo glanced at him and slowly said:

“Governor Zhao, you are not in Chang’an and are unaware of the situation at the Imperial Medical Bureau. Recently, many people have been coming to the Imperial Medical Bureau. With so many people, it is easy to make mistakes in accounting. Therefore, I have sent an imperial censor to supervise this matter.”

Zhao Shida questioned, "Why did they choose Zhang Xingcheng out of so many people in the Censorate?"

Wen Yanbo asked in surprise, "You don't want him here to oversee things?"

Zhao Shida decisively replied, "I don't want to!"

Wen Yanbo said, "Alright, I'll have Cheng Jun come over to oversee things."

"......"

Zhao Shida's eyes instantly became clear.

He had already experienced Cheng Jun's prowess firsthand.

Zhang Xingcheng's role as an inspector at the Imperial Medical Bureau meant that Chao Yuanfang would use fewer high-quality medicines on him and that his living conditions were not comfortable.

But if it were Cheng Jun instead, the condition might worsen...

Zhao Shida looked at Li Shimin and said, "Your Majesty, I wish to go home to recuperate."

Before Li Shimin could speak, Zhang Xingcheng shouted, "That won't do! The Imperial Physician is the Imperial Physician of the court, not yours alone, Zhao Shida! How can you order him around like that!"

Zhao Shida said, "I do not need the imperial physician's order to treat me."

Cheng Jun's voice rang out: "That would be even worse. What if the physician you hire isn't skilled enough? If something happens to you, His Majesty would be devastated."

Wen Yanbo approached Li Shimin and said solemnly, "Your Majesty, Cheng Jun is absolutely right. I believe that Governor Zhao should not be allowed to go home to recuperate."