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

"When you spread the word, remember to let the person in Yong'an Palace know about this news..." Duan Yuchuan's tone was somewhat indifferent, revealing no emotion.

He paused for a moment, then continued...

"But I think my mother probably wouldn't care about this princess, after all, even my father has forgotten something."

He lazily lifted his eyelids and looked at Yongcheng.

Yongcheng frowned, somewhat not understanding his words, and quickly asked...

"Did I forget something?" He was secretly getting anxious, thinking that although the plan was made in a hurry, there shouldn't be any problems.

Duan Yuchuan leaned back, resting his body against the armrest.

“When the auspicious signs appeared in Nanyang, she wasn’t the only princess born in the palace.” He raised an eyebrow and looked at Yongcheng with a half-smile.

"More than one princess?" Yongcheng opened his mouth slightly, as if this was not the first time he had heard this.

He pondered for a long time, as if he had finally remembered something, and quickly asked...

"Is Your Highness referring to the Fifth Princess?"

He finally remembered that there was a little-known Princess Duan Yuning of Nanyang hidden in the inner palace.

Because her name clashed with that of the daughter of the Gu family, who was about to marry the third prince, the emperor originally intended to issue an edict to change the name of the fifth princess. However, since there was no precedent for a princess to change the name of the daughter of a prince, the emperor naturally put the matter aside for the time being.

"It was her. If I remember correctly, Yan'er was born exactly half a cup of tea's time after her." Duan Yuchuan unfolded the cipher text on the table.

The background of the Fifth Princess, Duan Yuning, is described in great detail above.

Her birth mother, Lady Kang, was once the personal maid of the late Empress Bai. During the memorial ceremony for the late Empress, she seduced the Emperor and secretly became pregnant. Ten months later, she died after giving birth to the fifth princess in a difficult labor and was buried with the rites due to a talented woman.

After Consort Kang passed away, she was raised by her friend, Granny Qin.

Yongcheng was somewhat confused at this point.

"But why has this princess remained largely unknown? I've heard that her birth mother was of low status, but she shouldn't have been left to languish in the palace." He naturally didn't understand, given that the emperor already had few children.

Why is the Fifth Princess treated with such indifference and coldness?

"hehe--"

Duan Yuchuan snorted coldly, stood up, and slowly walked to the window.

Pushing open the window, the soft white moonlight streamed into the room, illuminating the jade-like young man.

Duan Yuchuan's expression was calm, though his face was still somewhat pale, perhaps because he had just recovered from a serious illness. Ever since his illness, his body had never fully recovered.

The way he looked up in the moonlight stirred a strange flutter in Yongcheng's heart.

“The Fifth Princess was born on the same day as my sister, and auspicious omens appeared in the sky. Given my mother’s personality, it is already a blessing that she was able to tolerate her living.”

As he spoke, he seemed to float away, and a hint of mockery appeared in his eyes.

He naturally looked down on the scheming tactics used by those in the harem to win favor; they were all beneath him.

"Your Highness means...that Consort Kang..."

“Naturally, it was my mother’s doing.” Duan Yuchuan smiled, as if his mother hadn’t done it at all.

The tone of the statement was devoid of any emotion.

He stretched his hand out the window, feeling the slight coolness outside.

But at this moment, his heart was also cold. What kinship could there be in the imperial family? There was only weighing of pros and cons and mutual exploitation.

Seeing this, Yongcheng quickly took the shawl draped over the screen and walked to Duan Yuchuan's side to drape it over him.

"Your Highness, it's windy..."

Duan Yuchuan subconsciously lowered his head, looking down at the cloak on his body, as if it had been a long time since anyone had cared about him like this.

Unintentionally, he slowly raised his head and met Yongcheng's eyes.

Yongcheng's horrific scars were hidden beneath a black drape, revealing only a pair of beautiful eyes.

Under the moonlight, the two looked into each other's eyes, and an unusual feeling seemed to explode between them.

"Your Highness...Your Highness, please forgive me!"

Yongcheng snapped out of his daze and immediately knelt down. He shouldn't have looked directly at the Third Prince at that moment.

Duan Yuchuan wasn't angry at all; instead, a faint smile appeared on his lips.

"What crime have you committed? Should I blame you for putting this on me? Or are you hiding something from me?" His smile was unfathomable; though it was a smile, it was devoid of warmth.

Since leaving his maternal family, he has had little contact with his maternal relatives.

Not to mention how much affection his own mother, the concubine, would have for him. She was simply using him to consolidate her favor with the emperor.

Not to mention his good father, the emperor.

It was a complete mess!

Thinking of this, Duan Yuchuan's smile turned slightly mocking, as if he were mocking his own life, which was truly absurd.

"This servant would never hide anything from Your Highness!"

Yongcheng knelt on the ground, his posture upright, and his confident demeanor surprised Duan Yuchuan.

He coldly scrutinized the other man, without immediately responding to his declaration of loyalty.

On the contrary, after living a life of mutual exploitation for so long, seeing someone as loyal as Yongcheng for the first time reminded him of an old friend.

At that time, he pretended to be sick, and she prepared the medicine; he used the Embroidered Uniform Guard to arrest the poisoner, and she used the pretext of boiling and changing the medicine to divert attention from the household.

There was a time when he had friends like that.

only……

He couldn't understand why Thirteen would betray him.

Why, despite my repeated instructions, did my mother still manage to conceive the emperor's child?

Why……

Duan Yuchuan's hands were clenched tightly inside his sleeves.

"You won't hide anything from me? Then are you willing to die for me?" He didn't care about a servant at all.

The son of a wanted criminal who should have been on death row, but was unintentionally saved by him.

They would have no loyalty whatsoever to him, the emperor's son.

Upon hearing the sound, Yongcheng looked up and stared blankly at Duan Yuchuan, who was facing away from the window. At that moment, Duan Yuchuan was back to the moon, his face completely dark, revealing no emotion whatsoever.

Duan Yuchuan naturally didn't believe Yongcheng's words. To avoid further spiraling into nameless anger, he raised his hand and waved it away.

"Get down. I don't want your life. I still have a use for you."

Having said that, he grabbed the collar of his cloak and pulled it tighter around himself, then prepared to leave the study.

When Duan Yuchuan reached the study and opened the door, a voice behind him stopped him in his tracks.

"Your Highness, this servant is willing to give everything for you, including my life. If Your Highness requires anything, this servant will do my best to complete the plan Your Highness has arranged, even at the cost of my life."

After saying that, he immediately knelt down on the ground and kowtowed loudly towards the door.

"you……"

Duan Yuchuan's eyes widened at the sound, and he turned around.

He certainly didn't expect Yongcheng to say such things to him at this time.

Even though he still wouldn't easily trust others, even though both of them harbored ulterior motives, even though...

Duan Yuchuan's face was extremely cold. He slowly walked up to Yongcheng and said in a serious voice...

"Do you know what you are talking about?"