Chapter 23
— Mi Heng Slips His Garment And Rails At Traitors; Ji Ping Pledges To Kill The Prime Minister.
The Court Physician of Luoyang, sent by the Emperor to the 'ailing' Dong Cheng. Reading the grief behind the illness, he bites off a finger to pledge himself and claims Cao Cao's life 'lies in these hands' - the headache tea. Betrayed by Quin Quington, he pours the poison anyway, refuses to taste it, is tortured through beatings and revivals without naming a soul, and - fingers severed, unbowed - bows toward the palace and dashes his head against the steps.