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

"you--"

An Ruyi never expected her daughter to say such a thing about her.

Her eyes trembled violently, as if she had been told the truth, and her body couldn't help but shake.

"Your Majesty, are you alright?"

Seeing this, Qingwu quickly walked up to An Ruyi, bent down, and carefully examined An Ruyi's emotions.

However, An Ruyi was truly touched by her daughter's words. She took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself down.

However, seeing her like this again, Duan Yuyan couldn't help but point to An Ruyi's stomach and continue.

"I think this younger sister is really disobedient, so it's better if Mother doesn't have her!"

After saying that, she turned and left the hall.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty—"

"Quickly summon the imperial physician! Quickly summon the imperial physician!"

Only Qingwu's panicked voice echoed throughout the entire Yong'an Palace.

Palace Gate

As soon as Shen Mu came out of the palace, he saw Hao Jing waiting for him at the palace gate.

"My lord, are you... are you alright? The Emperor didn't grant you a marriage, did he?"

Haojing assumed that the emperor was summoning him to the palace to arrange a marriage for him, and naturally did not think of anything else.

Shen Mu's hand, which was gripping his sword, paused slightly. His gaze fell on Hao Jing, and the chill in his eyes made Hao Jing shiver.

"You really want your master to find you a mistress in the mortal realm?"

His voice was cold and devoid of any emotion.

Haojing immediately sensed a hint of danger and quickly smiled apologetically.

"Of course not, I was thinking about what to do with the girl in the dark room, since that room never sees sunlight..."

He started making conversation, but Shen Mu seemed puzzled.

"Hasn't she still not fully recovered?" He naturally assumed that Thirteen's body was not capable of returning to the South City Courtyard.

Haojing shook his head, looked around to make sure no one was there, and then lowered his voice to say...

"The girl's external injuries were nothing serious; it's just that she's temporarily lost her divine power. She's alright in the mortal realm, but I'm worried she might encounter Sun Youzhi again..."

"How did you end up running into him in the dark room?" Shen Mu glanced at him and reprimanded him in a deep voice.

Hao Jing pursed his lips, thinking to himself that his master was indeed a bit slow to react, and quickly explained.

“Sun Youzhi is secondary, but don’t forget about the Zhou family.”

Hao Jing's words were not wrong. He had been thinking about it for a long time and still had doubts about whether Zhou Jinghuai would come looking for him.

Although Zhou Jinghuai told him that he would be returning to Xichen for the time being, it was hard to guarantee that he wouldn't go to the Embroidered Uniform Guard to find Shen Mu before leaving in the next few days.

"That Zhou family guy? Zhou Jinghuai?" Shen Mu finally remembered this person. After all, he hadn't seen him for so long, and it was clear that he had long forgotten about Zhou Jinghuai.

Hao Jing nodded quickly and said, "It's him. I remember Young Master Zhou seems to know that girl too..."

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Shen Mu turn his head and look at him.

Those deep eyes were filled with anger, which suddenly made Hao Jing's heart stop.

He was so frightened that he quickly waved his hands and explained.

"Ah...ah, I mean, I'm afraid Young Master Zhou will recognize that girl...but I didn't mean..."

"You knew that already."

Shen Mu didn't want to listen to Hao Jing's excuses. Instead, he crossed his arms and carefully examined Hao Jing.

Perhaps because he had been busy taking care of Thirteen's injuries these days, he had overlooked the fact that this cunning man could easily see through a person's true nature.

The divine beings possess innate qualities that are not visible to ordinary people.

But Haojing is different; he has the ability to discern a person's true character.

Clearly, Thirteen also possesses inherent talent.

Otherwise, he would have known Thirteen's identity before he did.

"Well, it's getting late, I'll go back and rest now, sir!"

Hao Jing felt uncomfortable under Shen Mu's intense gaze. Seeing that no one was around, he tried to slip away, but before he could even lift his leg, Shen Mu grabbed him by the back of his collar.

"Where are you going? Are you heading back to Cangling?"

Shen Mu's voice was extremely low, faintly tinged with murderous intent.

Hao Jing swallowed subconsciously, and a chill instantly ran from his feet to the top of his head.

He wanted to run away, but he hadn't thought that far ahead yet.

"Sir...I...I'm in a bit of a hurry, I need to pee!" He thought for a long time, but even he didn't believe this excuse.

"grown ups--"

Xie Qiao's appearance ultimately saved Hao Jing's life.

"Why are you here too?"

Shen Mu frowned subconsciously, wondering why these two people had come to the palace gate to look for him when he had only gone to the palace once.

Xie Qiao jogged up to Shen Mu, glancing at Hao Jing, who was still being pulled by the collar.

"Sir, I've been looking for you for ages, what are you doing here..."

He looked up at Shen Mu, completely ignoring Hao Jing's pleading gaze.

Shen Mu gave Hao Jing a cold glance, then released his hand.

"Nothing's wrong. What are you doing here? I remember you were supposed to be temporarily keeping an eye on Sun Youzhi's movements in the palace in place of Haojing?"

He remembered that he had seen Xie Qiao at the Embroidered Uniform Guard earlier, but the Fourth Princess was also there at the time, and he hadn't had a chance to ask about her.

"Yes, sir. I came to the Embroidered Uniform Guard to see you." Xie Qiao naturally dared not forget his duty and answered with a serious expression.

"Is it Sun Youzhi?" Shen Mu raised an eyebrow slightly, somewhat doubtful.

"He should have been hidden away by the An family recently."

"settle down?"

Shen Mu's slightly furrowed brows tightened further, clearly surprised by the news.

“After Sun Youzhi was wounded by you that day, he went into hiding. I couldn’t find him in the palace, so I thought I might look for clues in the An family.”

"Has the An family entered the palace? Or is it Consort An?"

An Jinglian.

"The eldest son of the Duke of Anguo?" Shen Mu was somewhat surprised; he hadn't expected it to be this纨绔子弟 (a spoiled, dissolute young man).

An Jinglian was originally the son of An Guoping's wife, but for some unknown reason, he was later elevated to the status of the legitimate son.

In his early years, he was also a spoiled young master, with a reputation similar to Zhou Jinghuai's, both being dissolute playboys who frequented brothels. But for some reason, in the last two years, he suddenly began to get involved in court politics with his father.

He gradually gained some prestige in the imperial court, coupled with the fact that he was about to temporarily replace him as commander...

Thinking of this, Shen Mu couldn't help but have an idea.

It seems some people really can't wait any longer.

“That’s right. I saw An Jinglian enter the palace today, and since the Mingyue Palace incident was related to Duke Anguo, I decided to secretly eavesdrop on their conversation.”

"You have this kind of quirk?" Hao Jing had clearly forgotten about what happened with Shen Mu earlier, and couldn't help but tease him.

"I haven't asked you about your matter yet," Shen Mu reminded him.

"Yes, my lord!"

Hao Jing quickly covered his mouth and took a few steps back, afraid that Shen Mu would remember him again.

Xie Qiao glanced at him, and without bothering to defend Hao Jing, quickly continued speaking.

“I heard from An Jinglian that the person was taken back to the An family by the Duke of Anguo that day. Should we…”