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

"Your Majesty, I'm innocent! It really wasn't me who did it!"

Zhou Jinghuai had no evidence to refute this at the moment, and could only bow his head and offer a weak defense.

"How dare you say you drank with others? General Liu's son came to demand an explanation because you said you drank with the An family girl, and you beat him up."

Duan Yuan was furious at the sight of Zhou Jinghuai. Perhaps the pills were taking effect, making him increasingly agitated. He glanced at the tea on the table, picked it up, and drank it all in one gulp. He then pondered, "They're childhood sweethearts, and you're interfering. I wonder what your intentions are?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Jinghuai suddenly raised his head and hurriedly said...

"It's all a frame-up..."

His voice grew fainter and fainter, his rebuttal increasingly feeble. Although he was somewhat dissolute in his daily life, he would never do something like taking away someone else's possessions.

"Falsifying evidence? Look at the way you dress every day, it's an unseemly sight!"

Duan Yuan no longer wanted to meddle in Zhou Jinghuai's affairs, but then he caught a glimpse of a handsome young man standing next to Zhou Jinghuai.

"Are you the miracle doctor who cured Chuan'er?"

The Emperor's voice was somewhat distorted, indicating that his anger from Zhou Jinghuai had not yet subsided. Duan Yuan looked down at Thirteen, thinking that this person must be the divine physician that An Ruyi had been telling him about yesterday.

However, he noticed that Thirteen's clothes were simple, with some torn and unstitched parts, unlike the elaborate attire of the imperial physicians. He also looked much younger.

"Your Majesty, this humble subject dares not claim to be a divine physician; I was merely fortunate enough to cure the Third Prince's poison," Thirteen hurriedly bowed and said.

"I heard the Imperial Concubine mention you yesterday, saying that your medical skills are superb."

Duan Yuan tapped his fingers on the table, noticing Zhou Jinghuai peeking out from below, seemingly defiant. Duan Yuan then casually picked up a memorial from the table and tossed it at Zhou Jinghuai, who, startled, quickly lowered his head again.

"What? The Third Prince's physician is actually associating with such a shameless and cunning person?"

"This humble subject dares not!" Thirteen quickly lowered his head even further.

Duan Yuan leaned back on the cushion, picked up a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his forehead. The more he talked, the more his blood rushed to his head. The effects of the pill had made him lose interest in solving the case, and he turned his attention back to Shen Mu.

"Shen Mu, you tell us!"

"Your Majesty, when I arrived, three assassins were engaged in combat with the two of them. Fortunately, I managed to subdue one of the assassins in time, and the other two escaped through the window." Shen Mu glanced at the two men, Thirteen and his companion, and then explained, "But I have already sent men to pursue them, and we should have news of them soon."

"Is there any witness who saw these two people and said they had nothing to do with the assassins?"

Duan Yuan's expression was hostile; he resembled an enraged lion, his eyes blazing with uncontrollable fury. His large, well-defined fingers tapped the table intermittently. As soon as he finished speaking, his personal attendant rushed in from outside the hall, leaning close to him and whispering...

"Your Majesty, Prime Minister Pei is requesting an audience outside the palace."

"Prime Minister Pei? This matter is related to the Prime Minister? Summon him to the palace." The Emperor glared at Zhou Jinghuai, thinking to himself that this third son of the Zhou family was truly a handful! He'd better find an excuse to send him out of the capital as soon as possible!

After Pei Zhiheng stepped into the imperial study, he walked to the front of the hall and slowly bowed to Duan Yuan.

"Your Majesty, this humble subject pays his respects." Pei Zhiheng's voice was solemn and cold, devoid of any emotion.

Out of the corner of his eye, Thirteen saw that Prime Minister Pei was only forty years old, wearing a purplish-red official robe and a vertical crown, with a slender yet upright figure.

"Prime Minister Pei, was there anything you hadn't said in court just now?"

Duan Yuan's tone was kind, showing great respect for this veteran of two dynasties. After all, when he first ascended the throne, the court was unstable and rumors were rampant. It was Prime Minister Pei who served as his strongest support, calming the turbulent situation in the court.

"Your Majesty, I am here on behalf of my unruly daughter to testify for the young master of the Zhou family and Mr. Thirteen."

"Then tell me in detail."

"Your Majesty, this morning, my daughter went to visit the Thirteenth Master and arranged to have wine at Fengya Zhai. She happened to meet the young master of the Zhou family. When the assassin attacked, it was the Thirteenth Master who protected my daughter. Hearing that this case involves ministers in the court, he asked me to testify on behalf of the Thirteenth Master and his entourage."

Thirteen's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down. It turned out that Pei Suisui had invited her father to testify for them. With Prime Minister Pei's testimony, they were cleared of suspicion in front of the Emperor.

"Thirteen, is what Prime Minister Pei said true?"

Hearing the Emperor's voice always made her tremble involuntarily, but she still remained calm and said, "Your Majesty, this humble subject is not skilled in martial arts and was afraid that the assassin would harm Miss Pei. It is true that I asked the guards to protect Miss Pei and leave first."

Duan Yuan thought to himself that things had been resolved faster than he had imagined. He wiped his hands with the handkerchief again and again; it was already soaked through.

"Since Prime Minister Pei vouched for you two, proving that the assassination had nothing to do with you, then let the Embroidered Uniform Guard investigate. The murderer must be caught within three days!" Duan Yuan glanced at Shen Mu, who raised his hand to accept the order.

Suddenly, Duan Yuan remembered the instructions the Imperial Concubine had given him last night, and turned to Thirteen and said slowly, "Thirteen, you have done a good job saving the second young lady of the Pei family, and you have also cured Chuan'er. Therefore, I will bestow a courtyard in the south of the city upon you, and you will no longer need to live in his mansion."

Upon hearing this, Thirteen was overjoyed and quickly thanked His Majesty, saying, "This humble subject kowtows to thank Your Majesty!"

"Furthermore, on the first and fifteenth of each month, you and Chuan'er will enter the palace together to check the pulse of the Imperial Concubine. Remember, there must be no more mishaps!"

"This humble subject will certainly not fail Your Majesty's trust!" Thirteen bowed again, thinking that the Emperor's arrangement must be related to Consort An. He had just asked her to treat his illness yesterday, and today he had given her a courtyard to move out of, which at least kept her away from the Third Prince's eyes and ears.

However, in any case, the fact that she had a reason to enter the palace to take Consort An's pulse fulfilled her mission of finding the Demon Lord in the palace.

"Zhou Jinghuai, stay here. The rest of you, leave."

Outside the Imperial Study Room

After leaving the Imperial Study, Thirteen looked up at the sky. The sky was clear and blue. She slowly let out a sigh of relief. Her mood had been fluctuating wildly all morning. Now that she had relaxed, she suddenly felt physically and mentally exhausted.

It was all thanks to Zhou Jinghuai. If he hadn't dragged me to that private room at Fengyazhai early in the morning, I wouldn't have been involved in the case of murdering an official of the imperial court.

Seeing that Pei Zhiheng was about to leave, she quickly stepped forward to thank him, "Thank you, Prime Minister Pei, for witnessing today!"

Pei Zhiheng noticed the young man bowing to her, and expressionlessly gestured for him to stop, indicating that there was no need for such formality.

"No need to thank me, it was Sui Sui who asked me to do this. She said you and he are like old friends who hit it off immediately."

"Miss Pei is too kind."

"We're even now, since you saved my daughter. The Pei family will remember this kindness."

Pei Zhiheng carefully examined Thirteen with his shrewd gaze, thinking that compared to Zhou Jinghuai in the Imperial Study, this young man was still considered the tallest among the short.