Deposed? I couldn't be happier! I wouldn't even be a dog to the crown prince.

"Carry him to the side hall! Quickly!"

At Li Chengqian's command, Yue Fei, who had been in a daze, grabbed Qin Qiong without saying a word. The movement was as light as if he were carrying a bundle of straw, and he strode towards the warm pavilion next door.

Li Shimin stumbled after him, his face still streaked with tears, muttering, "Be gentle... Pengju, be gentle, that's my Uncle Bao..."

Inside the side hall, the atmosphere was so tense that it seemed as if a single spark could ignite it.

Several tables were pushed together and covered with a clean white linen cloth. Qin Qiong lay on it, his chest rising and falling so faintly that it was almost invisible. His face, which had once struck fear into the hearts of his enemies, was now ashen and pale as an old piece of paper.

"All irrelevant people, get out! Leave a few quick-witted eunuchs to assist you!"

While washing his hands with high-proof alcohol (system-produced), Li Chengqian shouted without turning his head, "Father, if you're afraid of blood, go wait at the door and don't get in the way here."

"I won't leave! I want to watch over Shubao!" Li Shimin gripped the door frame tightly, as stubborn as a donkey.

"what ever."

Li Chengqian didn't bother with any words. He took out a bottle of anesthetic from the silver-white first-aid kit and, before anyone could see it clearly, skillfully injected it into Qin Qiong's body.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the hall, accompanied by an old man's shout.

"Wait! Spare his life!"

An old Taoist priest with white hair and beard, carrying a medicine chest, rushed in, panting heavily. He had run so fast that his Taoist hat was askew, and he was covered in sweat, but he could not hide the anxiety in his eyes.

It was Sun Simiao, the "King of Medicine," who was urgently summoned to the capital by Li Shimin overnight.

"Your Majesty! You must not use the sword!"

As soon as Sun Simiao entered the room, he saw Li Chengqian holding a gleaming weapon and gesturing it towards Qin Qiong's chest, which terrified him.

"Duke Yi suffers from a deficiency of both qi and blood, a deficiency of internal strength. How can you resort to violence? One strike will drain all his vital energy; even a god couldn't save him!"

Upon seeing the newcomer, Li Shimin cried out as if grasping at a straw: "Master Sun! You've finally arrived! Quickly, persuade the Crown Prince! He's gone mad! He wants to disembowel Uncle Bao!"

Just as Sun Simiao was about to step forward to stop him, he was firmly blocked by an iron arm.

Yue Fei stood expressionless in front of him, like an insurmountable mountain: "His Highness is rescuing people; no one is allowed to approach."

"Saving someone? This is murder!" Sun Simiao stamped his foot in exasperation. "In my fifty years of practicing medicine, I have never heard of restoring a person's life force with a knife!"

"That's because you're ignorant."

Li Chengqian replied coldly, and the scalpel in his hand fell steadily and ruthlessly.

"hiss--"

Everyone present gasped in shock, and Li Shimin closed his eyes in agony.

However, the expected scene of gushing blood did not occur.

Li Chengqian's movements were so fast they were dazzling. Cutting open the rotten flesh, cleaning the wound, and precisely clamping the bleeding point with hemostats—every movement seemed to have been honed through countless trials, exuding a reassuring rhythm.

Sun Simiao was still shouting, but gradually his voice faded away.

Those cloudy old eyes widened more and more, until they were almost touching the back of Li Chengqian's hand.

"This...this is..."

What did he see?

That eight-year-old child was actually using needle and thread to stitch up Qin Qiong's damaged blood vessels and muscles!

It was like mending a torn garment; the stitches were fine and the texture matched perfectly. The originally gruesome wound miraculously stopped bleeding under his hands.

"Sew up flesh and blood with needles and thread... How is that possible? That's not medically sound!"

Sun Simiao muttered to himself, his worldview crumbling and rebuilding, "Won't this stitching cause suppuration? Won't it fester?"

"So I disinfected it with alcohol first."

Li Chengqian didn't even look up, busy hanging up the IV drip. "Bacteria... never mind, you wouldn't understand anyway. Just think of it as exorcising evil spirits."

As he spoke, bright red blood slowly flowed into Qin Qiong's body through the tube.

That was the universal blood plasma provided by the system, which was a true life-saving elixir for Qin Qiong, who had lost too much blood at this time.

Sun Simiao watched as the red liquid slowly disappeared into the bottle, and Qin Qiong's originally ashen face visibly regained a touch of color.

At that moment, this elderly man, who stood at the pinnacle of medical expertise in the Tang Dynasty, felt an unprecedented sense of dread.

That's not fear.

That was the awe-inspiring feeling of "If I hear the truth in the morning, I can die content in the evening"!

"Incredible skill...absolutely incredible skill!"

Sun Simiao's hands trembled as he tried to touch the IV bottle, but he was afraid of breaking this "miracle device." His hand froze in mid-air, and he was as helpless as a child.

"This is a technique that seizes the very essence of heaven and earth! This is snatching people from the clutches of Yama, the King of Hell!"

"I have devoted my entire life to studying medicine and refining elixirs, and I thought I had grasped the essence of medicine. But after witnessing Your Highness's abilities today, I realize I am nothing more than a frog in a well!"

The surgery is nearing its end.

Li Chengqian cut the sutures, neatly tied a knot, and then wrapped the wound tightly with gauze.

"call--"

He let out a long breath, his forehead covered in fine beads of sweat. This eight-year-old's body was indeed struggling to withstand such a high-intensity surgical procedure.

"Wipe your sweat."

Li Chengqian gave the order casually.

A clean white handkerchief was immediately handed over, but the person wiping the sweat was neither a palace maid nor Xu Xiao.

Instead, it was Sun Simiao with a devout face and red eyes.

"Taoist Master, what are you doing?" Li Chengqian was taken aback.

"Your Highness!"

Sun Simiao suddenly threw down his handkerchief, took a step back, solemnly straightened his Taoist robe, and then knelt down with a "plop".

He knelt down so firmly that Li Shimin, who was standing next to him, was dumbfounded.

This is Sun Simiao!

The living immortal who even the emperor had to visit him three times to invite him to come out of seclusion and who was treated as an honored guest was now kneeling in front of an eight-year-old child.

"Master, what are you doing...?"

"Master, please accept my bow!"

Sun Simiao kowtowed heavily, his forehead touching the ground, his voice trembling but unwavering.

"Your Highness, I humbly beg you to accept me as your disciple! And teach me this divine art of healing the sick and bringing the dead back to life!"

"If Your Highness does not despise me, Sun Simiao is willing to enter the Eastern Palace as a servant, hoping only to learn even a single skill to save the world!"

Li Chengqian's lips twitched as he looked at his "disciple," who was kneeling on the ground and was older than his grandfather, and felt a sudden toothache.

How come this old man is even more stubborn than Wei Zheng?

"No, no, no, Daoist Master, please get up. I can't accept this."

Li Chengqian quickly jumped away and hid behind Yue Fei, saying, "This is just a minor trick, a basic operation, nothing more."

"What may seem insignificant to you is the very path to survival for all the people of this world!" Sun Simiao stubbornly refused to rise, looking at Li Chengqian with tears in his eyes. "If Master does not accept me, I will kneel here forever!"

At this awkward moment, Qin Qiong, who was lying on the bed, suddenly twitched her fingers slightly.

Immediately afterwards, a very faint groan rang out, but to everyone's ears it sounded like heavenly music.

"Um……"

Li Shimin was jolted, as if he had been electrocuted, and suddenly lunged to the bedside.

"Shubao? Shubao, you're awake?!"

Qin Qiong slowly opened his eyes. Although his gaze was still somewhat unfocused, it had regained focus. He looked at the emperor, whose face was streaked with tears, and his lips moved slightly. Although his voice was weak, his breathing became steady and strong.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty... I... am not dead?"

"He's not dead! He's not dead!"

Li Shimin wept with joy, gripping Qin Qiong's hand tightly, refusing to let go, "It was Chengqian! That rebellious son pulled you back from the brink of death!"

As Li Chengqian wiped the blood off his hands with an alcohol swab, he put the astonishing medical instruments back into the box. Looking at Li Shimin, who was crying tears of joy, Li Chengqian's face showed a hint of exhaustion, but also a smug smile.

"Alright, stop howling."

"The parts are all fixed, and the oil has been filled up."

Li Chengqian handed the box to Xu Xiao, stretched, and spoke in a lazy tone, as if he had just repaired a broken-down carriage.

"As long as I don't overwork myself in the future and take my medicine on time, this hundred-plus pounds can help the Tang Dynasty fight for another twenty years."