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

Thirteen suddenly turned her head, and her bright, star-like eyes inadvertently met Shen Mu's eyes, rippling in the lingering night.

At that moment, the atmosphere between the two froze.

She gazed wistfully into Shen Mu's eyes, as if fragments of memories had secretly seeped into her mind.

She must have seen Shen Mu somewhere else!

when?

She can't remember!

"What have you figured out?"

Shen Mu's voice rang out at the right moment, carrying a hint of coldness, startling Thirteen awake.

Thirteen's heart tightened, and he subconsciously lowered his head, his tone somewhat flustered as he spoke.

"I remember you telling me that the Emperor's ascension to the throne was entirely due to the support of Prime Minister Pei and his fellow veteran ministers. But if Prime Minister Pei and the others were to die unjustly on the border of Nanyang, then those who knew his past would never live again, right?"

"..."

Shen Mu was somewhat surprised, not expecting that Thirteen could actually guess correctly.

He remained noncommittal and turned his head away.

"Did I guess right? So the Emperor of Nanyang never intended for Prime Minister Pei and the others to return alive, or perhaps he was being so considerate to them on the march to silence public opinion."

As soon as he finished speaking, Thirteen's breath hitched, and he felt a chill run down his spine from the shock of his own thoughts.

If that's the case, then the day Prime Minister Pei's head rolls will be the day the Pei family is destroyed.

Thirteen couldn't help but sigh once again, realizing that emperors were indeed the most ruthless.

Seeing that she had already guessed seven or eight parts of the truth, Shen Mu decided not to hide it any longer. He lifted his eyelids and looked up at the night sky.

"The reason the Emperor arranged for Prime Minister Pei's carriage to follow the Crown Prince was to monitor them. But do you know why Prime Minister Pei supported the Crown Prince, yet impeached him in the Imperial Study back then?"

"Why?"

Thirteen suddenly felt a twitch in the corner of his eye, as if something was off.

"Of course it's the Crown Prince's plan. How can he strike so hard if he doesn't elevate Anjia to a high position? Do you really think the Crown Prince and Pei are at odds?"

Shen Mu chuckled. Even he only learned from Prime Minister Pei later that this was nothing more than a grand show deliberately staged for the Emperor of Nanyang.

The purpose was to make the emperor completely lose faith in Prime Minister Pei, so that he would secretly take action against him.

Thirteen stared in astonishment, feeling that the plan before him was far too risky.

“But if you can’t stop the Emperor and he really does kill Prime Minister Pei and his group… then won’t the Pei family still be trampled underfoot by the An family? And the eldest daughter of the Pei family is still in the capital.”

She remembered what Pei Suisui had told her after she ran away: her older sister was still staying at the Pei family when she left.

Pei Suisui originally thought that it was just a trip to Philadelphia for her father, and that he would be back in Beijing soon. But if it was really as Shen Mu said, it seemed that the entire future of the Pei family would have to be gambled to gain a sliver of hope.

Shen Mu naturally understood Thirteen's concerns, after all, Pei Suisui was her close friend.

"Prime Minister Pei also knows that this plan is extremely dangerous, which is why he has been keeping it from me."

Are you afraid I'll tell Sui Sui?

Thirteen pointed to herself. Although she was still a little angry when she heard this, she understood that if things really came to that point, she would definitely not hide it from Pei Suisui.

"Don't worry about the eldest daughter of the Pei family. I have people in the capital to take care of her. The Emperor probably won't remember the Pei family for a while; he has other things to attend to."

"Other matters? Sending the Fourth Princess to marry into the Western Regions? But Duan Yuyan doesn't want to marry him, does she?"

Thirteen's expression immediately darkened, without her even realizing it.

If it weren't for Duan Yuyan's deep love for Shen Mu, she probably wouldn't have suffered so much. Instead, after descending to the mortal realm, she inexplicably developed a host of health problems.

Shen Mu chuckled, seeing through Thirteen's little scheme, and said in a slightly hoarse voice.

"She doesn't want to get married, but there's no guarantee that others won't want her to leave Nanyang."

Although his mind was entirely focused on capturing the Demon Lord Chongming, his men unexpectedly learned of something else that surprised him greatly during a brief moment of leisure.

It seems he wanted to help that person speed up their pace, so he secretly gave them a push.

"Others? She has many enemies, but who else besides Consort An could influence the Emperor's thoughts?"

"Her own brother."

"Duan Yuchuan?"

Thirteen looked somewhat surprised. Even though she hadn't heard Duan Yuchuan's name for a long time, it was as if this person had been erased from her memory.

She frowned, indicating that she had just realized there was such a person in the capital.

Ever since Zhou Jinghuai exposed the matter of the official silver, she has somewhat disliked the Third Prince.

However, due to his constant illness, she rarely had the time to deal with him, let alone the fact that the Fourth Princess later crippled her legs.

After a while, she completely forgot about Duan Yuchuan.

"Duan Yuchuan had a backup plan. He wanted to send Duan Yuyan to the Western Regions completely, so he naturally wouldn't let her sister successfully resist and stay in Nanyang."

"Why? Aren't they siblings?" Thirteen looked puzzled. Even during the two months she stayed at the Third Prince's residence, she had occasionally seen Duan Yuyan visit her brother a few times.

However, Duan Yuchuan's temper was never very good whenever Duan Yuyan left.

It must be because the two of them often bickered.

Shen Mu smiled coldly.

"Duan Yuyan was spoiled since childhood, how could she understand the coldness of family affection? Do you still think that every time she goes to see Duan Yuchuan, it's because she feels sorry for him being sick? She's just there to provoke him."

"Provoke him?"

"Yes, it was Haojing who discovered it. At that time, I was poisoning the Third Prince, and unfortunately Haojing caught me. Duan Yuyan spoke rudely to her brother, which made him so angry that he trembled and rolled off the bed onto the floor several times."

"..."

Thirteen fell silent for a moment, thinking to himself that this family really was like-minded, even their temperaments were so similar.

She suddenly remembered that Duan Yuchuan often pretended to be ill when he was in the mansion, probably to keep an eye on his younger sister.

Wait a minute, she seemed to have heard something just now, and immediately a hint of resentment appeared on Thirteen's face.

"What do you mean you poisoned the Third Prince? When did this happen? I hadn't even met you yet!" She suddenly remembered that more than a month after she entered the Third Prince's residence, Duan Yuchuan was poisoned again for no apparent reason.

At the time, the entire Third Prince's residence was thrown into chaos.

"Didn't I tell you?" Shen Mu was speechless, even he himself didn't remember it.

Just as Thirteen was about to continue investigating Shen Mu's question, the figure that was tumbling and crawling in the distance flew towards them while shouting.

"Something terrible has happened, sir!"

Haojing rushed over in a hurry, covered in dust and dirt, when he slipped and rolled on the ground.

When he finally ran up to the two of them, his black and red outfit was already covered in dust.

"If you act like this, I'll think it's your women coming to kill you, Lord Hao."