Poisonous Goddess: I'm just lazing around in the mortal realm.

An Ruyi raised her head slightly and looked at Xiang'er, who was standing at the door with a trembling figure. Her heart sank.

She was, after all, a young girl, and couldn't withstand a few scoldings.

Thinking of this, her tone softened somewhat.

"I think you know what you should say and what you shouldn't say."

Xiang'er naturally understood An Ruyi's meaning and quickly bent down to say...

"Your Majesty, rest assured, this servant understands."

Her risky exposure of Qingwu's affair was nothing more than a gamble for her own future.

If she could really have the chance to replace Aunt Qingwu, she wouldn't have to endure this constant fear and anxiety.

People have to live for themselves.

She slowly raised her head and saw that An Ruyi was no longer looking at her. Fearing that she would run into Qingwu again, she quickly left Yong'an Palace.

Xiang'er clutched the incense ash tightly in her hand, turning back every few steps to look at the majestic palace behind her. It wasn't that she didn't want to come back, but she knew that once she stepped out of the palace gates today, she would be completely at odds with Aunt Qingwu.

After all, Aunt Qingwu had served in Yong'an Palace for so long, how could she not have a few trusted confidants?

It was only a matter of time before Qingwu learned of this.

Inside the hall, An Ruyi stared calmly at the overturned incense burner on the ground, glanced at everyone in the room, and slowly spoke.

“Everyone on duty today, if this matter gets out, you will all be punished. I want to see who has the final say in Yong’an Palace.”

All the palace maids in the hall looked at each other, and at that moment they had no choice but to agree.

Palace Gate

Hao Jing looked somewhat weary. He had just reached the palace gate when he bumped into Zhou Jinghuai, who was leaving the palace.

Zhou Jinghuai didn't look well either, probably because he hadn't rested properly. Seeing Haojing, he quickly called out to him.

"Have you been able to find your master, Lord Shen, these past few days?"

He strode forward and blocked Hao Jing's path. He had searched the entire capital city for the past few days but had not found any trace of Shen Mu.

At least he has finally seen Haojing.

These days, due to the increase in the number of refugees in the capital, he has been unable to attend court and has been living in the Zhou family's villa near the city gate.

Firstly, it would make it easier for him to deal with the refugees coming and going from the capital, and secondly, it would allow him to avoid his Aunt Qin.

Hao Jing was slightly taken aback when he saw Zhou Jinghuai dressed in white, and quickly replied...

"He's been quite busy these days. Is there something you need from him?" he thought to himself. These days, Shen Mu would rush to the secret room as soon as court was over.

It would be strange if Zhou Jinghuai were to witness it.

Zhou Jinghuai, naturally oblivious to Haojing's change in expression, quickly asked...

"I was about to ask him the same thing. I haven't seen Thirteen in the south of the city these past few days. Could it be that they left the capital together?"

Although he was glad that Aunt Qin hadn't run into Thirteen that day, three days had passed and Thirteen still hadn't returned home.

Could it be that she also went on a long trip with Shen Mu?

Why didn't you bring him along?

A strange glint flashed in Hao Jing's eyes, and he quickly smiled.

"There are some things to take care of. I think I'll be back in about ten days." At this moment, Haojing finally connected the girl in the dark room with Thirteen.

He hadn't left the Embroidered Uniform Guard these past few days because he was treating the girl in the dark room.

Naturally, they were unaware of Thirteen's disappearance.

Now, having learned from Zhou Jinghuai that Thirteen has also mysteriously disappeared, he has naturally indirectly guessed the identity of the girl in the secret room.

I'm afraid she is the real Thirteen.

However, what intrigued him was why she was dressed as a woman.

Thinking of this, Haojing couldn't help but lose himself in thought.

Could it be that his medical skills have really deteriorated significantly? How come he didn't discover Thirteen's true identity last time when they left Zuixianlou?

"Shen Mu went too?" Zhou Jinghuai frowned slightly.

He felt unhappy whenever he heard that Shen Mu and Shisan were together.

Zhou Jinghuai's voice pulled Hao Jing back to reality. He looked at Zhou Jinghuai blankly and nodded in a daze.

"Ah... I didn't make it! Lord Shen went to the outskirts of the city on business, he should be able to get there sooner than Thirteen."

Haojing originally intended to simply say that they were together.

But after his dark eyes swept over Zhou Jinghuai a few times, he finally noticed that something was wrong with his mood.

At this moment, he had to make sure Zhou Jinghuai didn't run into that dark room.

Otherwise, if Shen Mu found out that he was the one who told the story, he would definitely skin him alive.

"Is that so? But I heard Xie Qiao say last time that Chongming returned to the capital. Do you know about this?" Zhou Jinghuai recalled that Xie Qiao had come to find him that day, but he had left in a hurry and hadn't asked carefully.

When she turned around to look for Xie Qiao, she was unfortunately entangled by Aunt Qin.

For the past three days, he has been unable to leave the city gate, and he has no idea where all these refugees have suddenly appeared and need to be accommodated.

He's only managed to catch his breath and come to the palace now to see if he can find Shen Mu.

Hao Jing was naturally surprised to learn that he had met Xie Qiao before, and hurriedly and awkwardly replied...

"Really? I haven't found Chongming these days. Young Master Zhou, have you heard any news about him?" He blinked and looked at the somewhat flustered Zhou Jinghuai.

She was afraid that she might accidentally reveal his guilty conscience.

After all, ever since he started living in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, no one had ever told him about Chongming's return to the capital.

He could vaguely sense something was wrong from the injuries on the girl in the dark room.

He had been separated from Xie Qiao for several days and was unaware that Xie Qiao had informed Zhou Jinghuai of Chongming's whereabouts three days earlier than they had.

Haojing is currently hoping to make a quick getaway.

Otherwise, if Zhou Jinghuai asks him questions he can't answer, it won't be good if he gives himself away.

Zhou Jinghuai sighed slowly.

"Not yet. An elder from the Western Divine Realm has come down to find me. These past few days, with the increase in refugees, I've been unable to attend to either."

His brows furrowed even more, and the thought of the many refugees still at the city gate gave him a headache.

Haojing subconsciously touched his nose, feeling even more guilty.

"Really? If there's anything I can do to help you, just let me know." He recalled that a few days ago, Shen Mu had asked him to deliberately bring in a lot of refugees from a neighboring county.

Naturally, he felt somewhat sorry for Zhou Jinghuai.

Zhou Jinghuai shook his head and refused.

"No need. I've been thinking about how many refugees there are these past few days, so I've decided to give up my Zhou family villa to accommodate them."

"Young Master Zhou is really thoughtful."

Hao Jing's heart began to pound. He had clearly helped his master trick Zhou Jinghuai. On one hand, he had lured away Zhou's old acquaintance, and on the other hand, he had made Zhou work even harder.

In his eyes, it was truly hard to bear.

"Summer is just around the corner, we need to arrange accommodations for them as soon as possible." Zhou Jinghuai's expression relaxed slightly, thankfully he had already arranged accommodations for all the refugees.

Haojing, naturally unable to bear seeing others suffer, quickly responded.

"I'll find some capable people from the Shen family to help the young master speed up the process of settling the refugees."