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

Unfortunately, Pei Sui Sui's strength was no match for the guards under her command. The Pei family guards still managed to take her out of the room. Immediately afterwards, Thirteen caught a glimpse of a dark figure rushing towards her out of the corner of her eye.

The man in black charged at her with his sword. Thirteen quickly dodged the sword by turning her body to the side, but unexpectedly, the man slapped her hard against the wall.

"Well--"

She couldn't help but feel a sharp pain. Before she could react, another kick came flying at her. She dodged to the side and saw that the wall she had been leaning against had been kicked open with a large hole.

Unarmed, Thirteen could only grab a teacup from the table and smash it at the man in black.

Then Zhou Jinghuai kicked the black-clad man who was rushing towards him, sending him flying. With a whirlwind, he knocked down another man.

In the chaos, Zhou Jinghuai, already injured, was unable to help Thirteen's side as he was fighting two opponents simultaneously, and Thirteen's side hadn't gained any advantage either. The five were evenly matched in the room, but they had already destroyed all the furnishings inside.

Thirteen was not very good at close combat, and was half as bad as Zhou Jinghuai who was injured, so he gradually fell into a disadvantageous position during the fight with the man in black.

She watched as the opponent's sword thrust faster and faster, swirling around her like a silver dragon, but her strength was waning. Seeing that the sword was about to strike her, she could only grit her teeth and shift her body, avoiding vital areas.

Just as the sword was about to pierce her, another long sword suddenly came crashing down in front of her, cleaving the black-clad man's sword in two.

The man who rushed in with his sword kicked the other man to the ground, then thrust his sword deep into the black-clad man's chest. The other two black-clad men, still locked in combat with Zhou Jinghuai, saw reinforcements arrive and hastily fled through the window.

"Chase!"

At the man's command, several guards behind him chased after the man in black.

Exhausted, Thirteen collapsed to the ground. She thought to herself that she really didn't have the strength to do anything more today. After running and fighting early in the morning, her body simply couldn't handle it.

"Haojing, go take a look."

The man, who had been facing away from Thirteen, turned around, and she realized that Shen Mu had saved him again!

"Yes!"

Upon hearing this, Haojing rushed forward to check on the man who had been lying dead for a long time.

"Thank you so much, Lord Shen! You saved my life again."

Thirteen gasped for breath, but Shen Mu gave him a cold glance and ignored him.

It's fine to ignore it; it's best for her to remain invisible. She remembered what Pei Suisui had told her: the Fourth Princess admired this Lord Shen. If she really offended this man, who knows what the consequences would be.

Thirteen, you're still alive?

Zhou Jinghuai's indifferent voice rang out above her head. She looked up at his amused expression. Although both of them were covered in dirt from the fight, Zhou Jinghuai's face was still handsome.

"Thanks to you, I'm still alive."

Thirteen stood up with Zhou Jinghuai's help, and the two smiled at each other, as if they were in perfect sync.

"Why don't you run?"

"They were trying to run away."

Thirteen subconsciously touched her nose. It wasn't that she didn't want to run; she mainly wanted to delay the assassins so Pei Suisui could escape. She hadn't expected that she couldn't defeat or outrun those men in black.

“Lord Shen, this is the Vice Minister of the Imperial Guard, Lord Qin Shi,” Hao Jing said.

Thirteen saw the man lying on the ground, his expression somewhat complicated. He hadn't had time to look at him during the fight, but now he had time to observe the body lying on the door. It was clear that he had died of poisoning, not from an assassin.

Before she could think any further, a voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Catch them"

Shen Mu narrowed his eyes, his pupils contracted, and his sharp gaze swept over the two of them.

No sooner had she finished speaking than the Imperial Guards outside the room rushed in and surrounded the two of them.

"What is Lord Shen doing?"

Zhou Jinghuai looked displeased. Shen Mu wasn't blind; when he rushed in, the three men in black were clearly using lethal attacks against them. Even a fool could see they weren't working together.

Instead of praising them, why were they arrested?

"Since this involves an assassination attempt on a high-ranking official, and the matter hasn't been fully investigated, I would like to ask Young Master Zhou to accompany me."

Shen Mu's voice was icy cold, devoid of any emotion.

Thirteen looked at the sword pressed against her neck and couldn't help but smile bitterly. Did she not check the almanac before going out? She subconsciously glared at Zhou Jinghuai. It's all that jinx's fault! He's always the one to get caught up in this.

"Take them all back and await the Emperor's decision."

Shen Mu didn't wait for the two to argue further before turning around and leaving the room.

The magnificent imperial study was now eerily quiet.

Thirteen and the others stood with their heads bowed before the hall, while the one who strode to sit on the dragon throne was none other than Duan Yuan, the current emperor of Nanyang.

He was slightly out of breath as he came out of the palace. His robes were half open, revealing his wheat-colored skin. He was tall and strong, with his black hair cascading down his sides.

An imperial eunuch came to deliver a message: an hour ago, Lord Qin of the Imperial Guard was assassinated at Fengya Studio. Having just taken some medicine and preparing to rest, he simply didn't have the patience to solve the case.

Duan Yuan looked down at Zhou Jinghuai standing in front of the hall and felt a headache coming on. He subconsciously glanced at the mountain of memorials on the table and recalled that he had suppressed the memorials of impeachment by the censor a few days ago. Seeing him again today, he felt a splitting headache.

"Tell me, what exactly happened, Zhou Jinghuai!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Jinghuai stepped forward, abandoning his usual carefree demeanor, and said seriously.

"Your Majesty, I was having a drink with Mr. Thirteen at Fengya Zhai when the door to room number two in the Tianzi section was suddenly knocked down. The assassin then discovered us. Fortunately, Lord Shen arrived in time, or I would have been killed!"

With a "clang" sound.

A fine inkstone shattered right at Zhou Jinghuai's feet.

"You have such a lot of nerve!"

Duan Yuan subconsciously slammed his hand on the desk, startling Zhou Jinghuai, who was standing in front of the hall, into lowering his head in a panic.

"Wei Chen doesn't dare!"

"What is there that you dare not do? Have you forgotten the memorial submitted by the censor a few days ago? Do you want me to have someone read it to you?"

"That was not what I did, Your Majesty!"

Zhou Jinghuai complained bitterly. It was obvious that he hadn't done it, but those spoiled brats would claim his name when they did something bad. He was always scolded by the emperor, and he had no way to express his suffering.

"Not your doing? Ha! A few days ago, the censor impeached you for beating up General Liu's son, leaving him bedridden for more than half a month. What? Today you dare to assassinate a court official?"

Duan Yuan squinted, looking at the desk in front of him to see if there was anything else he could smash.

Ever since the Zhou family brought their illegitimate son back to the capital, the memorials impeaching the Zhou family have piled up like mountains on his desk every day. Whenever he sees Zhou Jinghuai's father, Zhou Yong, the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, complaining to him with a bitter face, he can't help but scold his son.

Looking at things now, he felt that Zhou Jinghuai was really arrogant and ignorant.