In my dream of returning to the Tang Dynasty, I snatched Wu Zetian from my lap.

"Seventh Uncle!"

"Your subject greets Your Highness the Crown Prince!" Li Yuanchang had already sat up and was bowing with all his might.

Li Zhi jogged over, his sleeves fluttering to reveal his arms, and helped Li Yuanchang up, saying, "Seventh Uncle, with such a serious injury, there's no need for formalities."

"Upon learning of Uncle Seven's assassination attempt, Zhi Nu couldn't sleep at night. Now, seeing Uncle Seven awaken, she is truly overjoyed!"

The sincerity in his eyes could not be faked.

Li Yuanchang sat back down, his eyes extremely serious: "Thank you, Your Highness."

After Situ Lan led the people in, she served tea and then withdrew, leaving only the two of them in the hall.

"Seventh Uncle, how are your injuries? Are you still in pain?" Li Zhi asked with concern.

"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I am alright, but I'm afraid I won't be able to attend court these days," Li Yuanchang joked.

Li Zhi said solemnly, "Seventh Uncle, please rest well at home. I, the Crown Prince, will arrange official business. Your health is of utmost importance; the Tang Dynasty still needs you!"

"in addition."

At this point, he frowned, revealing the anger of a crown prince.

"These bastards are incredibly audacious! They dared to assassinate someone in Chang'an, let alone a prince and the Minister of War!"

"I, the Crown Prince, have already ordered the Three Departments to conduct a thorough investigation!"

"More than ten of the assassins were captured alive that day, and more than thirty others are still at large."

"The entire court was outraged by this, and they all vowed to find the real culprit, otherwise, what would become of the court's authority?"

Li Yuanchang said, "Thank you, Your Highness, for upholding justice for me."

He didn't seem to be in a hurry, because once such a thing became public, there would definitely be a result. This was not only an assassination attempt on Li Yuanchang, but also a disgrace to the imperial court.

After speaking, Li Zhi hesitated for a moment, then added, "Seventh Uncle, after the incident, Lord Changsun came to see me immediately and clarified that he had nothing to do with this matter."

"Therefore, Lord Changsun volunteered to thoroughly investigate this case. He has been putting in the effort in recent days with the search and interrogation, and hasn't returned home for two days."

"In my opinion, this matter has nothing to do with Lord Changsun. I hope Seventh Uncle will wait patiently for the outcome."

"I promise to investigate this matter thoroughly and get to the bottom of it."

Li Yuanchang nodded: "Your Majesty, I understand. This was definitely not the work of Lord Changsun."

This wasn't just polite talk.

He knew very well that a powerful minister of Changsun Wuji's caliber would never resort to such a crude and stupid tactic.

In political maneuvering, assassination is something only desperate people do, and clearly Changsun Wuji has no reason to create trouble for himself in this way.

If something happens to him, he will be the first person suspected.

Therefore, it must be someone else.

"That's good."

"After Uncle Qi's incident, rumors spread throughout the court and the public. Some even said that the assassination of the Prince of Han was carried out by Lord Changsun."

"To say that the two of you are irreconcilable enemies, that it's a matter of life and death for you... I, the Crown Prince, am furious to hear that!" Li Zhi frowned.

Li Yuanchang smiled and said, "Your Highness, rest assured, I am not so easily misled."

"It's obvious that this assassination attempt couldn't have been carried out by Lord Changsun. Although we disagree on political views, it's just that—disagreement. It's not enough to turn against each other like this."

Upon hearing this, Li Zhi breathed a sigh of relief.

Both of them were people he respected, and he didn't want any major mistakes to happen when he was in charge of the country.

"By the way, Your Highness."

"What were the casualties like that day? How many assassins were there?" Li Yuanchang asked.

Li Zhidao said: "According to the report, the total number of assassins is about 120. None of them are Han Chinese. They are all Hu and Qiang people."

"Moreover, most of them are hardened criminals who have lived on the edge of death. A few of them have been identified as people who were exiled but have returned."

Li Yuanchang narrowed his eyes: "So, you're saying these people come from all over the country, and someone gathered them together?"

Li Zhi nodded: "That's what Lord Changsun said too."

"These people have absolutely no connection to the Prince of Han, and have no grudge against him whatsoever. Someone must be directing them from behind."

"But they took money to do things and knew very little about the mastermind behind it all, except that the leader was a Qiang man named Sobe."

"This person is still at large."

"Numerous bodies were found at the scene, but this person was not found."

"The Dali Temple has already traced the suspects to outside Chang'an City, questioning all the post stations they passed through, hoping to find some clues, bring them to justice, and find the real culprit."

Sobe?

Li Yuanchang secretly memorized the name.

He knew it wasn't Changsun Wuji who did it, but that didn't mean he believed Changsun Wuji would investigate properly.

"..."

About half an hour later, Li Zhi left.

He left behind many tonics, which, besides being a visit, were actually more of an explanation.

He worried that Li Yuanchang would believe that Changsun Wuji was behind it, and would retaliate directly or break off relations, causing turmoil in the court.

Or perhaps, Li Zhi's fate was orchestrated by Changsun Wuji.

But Li Zhi's worries were unnecessary. Changsun Wuji would never do something so stupid, nor would Li Yuanchang. It was obvious that this matter could not have been done by Changsun Wuji.

As soon as the man left, Li Yuanchang called Li Yi over and began to use the power of the Black Ice Guard to investigate the mastermind behind the assassination on his own.

Although the Tang Dynasty lacked DNA matching, cameras, and communication methods, as the old saying goes, "If you don't want others to know, don't do it in the first place."

Such a large group, gathered from other places, must have left some clues.

In the afternoon, Cheng Yaojin and several others came to visit Li Yuanchang one after another.

Fang Xuanling also came, and he brought Gao Yang with him.

Gao Yang remained radiant and beautiful, growing more and more voluptuous with age. Her full breasts rivaled those of later sports goddesses; one wonders what she ate to grow up like that.

Since Bianji was driven away by Li Yuanchang, and Fang Yi'ai joined the army for training, Gao Yang's fate seems to have undergone a subtle change.

At least when talking about Fang Yi'ai, she no longer looked disgusted.

With Fang Xuanling still alive, this historically significant marriage continued, albeit with some bumps along the way, but it was still managed to stay together.

After seeing this group off, the sun had already set, and night was approaching.

Li Yuanchang is going to take a break.

But suddenly, another important figure arrived at the Prince of Han's residence, causing a sensation throughout the entire residence, and even a hint of hostility.

Changsun Wuji!

Changsun Wuji has come in person!

He arrived at the gate with lavish gifts and immediately began showering the Princess Consort of Han with concern and care.

Those who don't know the situation might think that Changsun Wuji and Li Yuanchang are very close.

Despite being injured and bedridden, Li Yuanchang still personally met with Changsun Wuji.

The two met without any confrontation or hostility. Changsun Wuji's face was full of warmth and goodwill, as if all the conflicts did not exist. He truly managed to keep his emotions hidden.

"Your Highness, upon learning of your awakening, I rushed back to visit you."

"Fortunately, the guards of the Prince of Han's palace are valiant; otherwise, the Tang Dynasty would have suffered a great loss!"