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

The Emperor of Nanyang never gave up on his third prince!

Even the Third Prince's previous poisoning and coma was his doing!

Given that someone would dare to use such methods against his own son, Qingci couldn't help but wonder what the emperor's true intentions were in arranging this marriage.

After all, the Crown Prince of Nanyang is still Duan Yuqing. Why go to such lengths to marry General Weiyuan's only daughter to the Third Prince? Isn't this obviously giving the Third Prince an advantage?

Thinking of this, Qingci's face was filled with worry, but when he looked up at Duan Yumou again, he was instantly intimidated by his cold and ruthless expression.

Duan Yumou pulled his outer robe tighter, chuckled twice, and made no attempt to conceal the murderous intent in his eyes.

"Qingci, you should know how I've treated you. If it weren't for me back then..."

Before he could finish speaking, Qingci immediately knelt on the ground and bowed his head.

"Please forgive me, Master, I will never forget your words!"

He certainly wouldn't forget Duan Yumou's life-saving grace, and only now did he realize that he had said the wrong thing.

Whenever the master mentions anything about the Gu family, he will do anything to achieve his goal, even if it means breaking his most precious possession back then.

Duan Yu lowered his gaze, his eyes narrowing as he looked at Qing Ci on the ground, thinking to himself that he was still too indulgent towards these lackeys.

"What should be said and what shouldn't be said. I think you understand this better than I do."

"Yes, Qingci will no longer dare to make presumptuous speculations."

Qingci buried his head deeply, daring not to raise his head again.

After a while, Duan Yumou naturally understood his intention, and casually tossed the token in his arms at Qingci's feet.

"Tomorrow, go to the Gu family to retrieve the letter, and take my token to Philadelphia to deliver it to General Weiyuan."

"My lord, you are all alone in the capital..."

Qingci subconsciously raised his head, wanting to refuse, but when he met Shang Duanyumou's unquestionable gaze again, he swallowed back the words he had just spoken.

He naturally understood that he had crossed the line!

After a moment's consideration, he slowly answered.

"I accept the order!"

Anguo Mansion

As night fell, the Anguo Mansion remained brightly lit.

The servants, bustling about, gradually left the outer courtyard of the study.

Ye Zhiheng, the Duke of Anguo's most trusted subordinate, was left alone to guard the entrance to the study's outer courtyard, in order to prevent any foolish person from breaking in and eavesdropping.

In the study

The scene of utter chaos was entirely the work of the Duke of Anguo.

"Asshole——"

An Guogong angrily overturned the desk, and with a heavy thud, the rosewood table, worth tens of thousands of taels of silver, cracked.

This was an item that the governor of Jiangnan had gone to great lengths to send to him, and it was one of his favorite things.

Covered in sweat, he no longer cared about his usual dignified demeanor.

Not far from him was An Jinglian, who had recently taken over Shen Mu's position and assumed the post of a new official.

An Jinglian was of rather ordinary appearance, but fortunately he was tall and strong, and always wore the most fashionable clothes in the capital. If you looked closely, he had the appearance of a playboy.

He was pampered from birth, which led to his unruly nature and constant disobedience.

He was the son of Yu, the wife of An Guogong. He had previously used some means to elevate himself to the position of the legitimate son of the An family because his mother was favored.

"You—ah! Tell me!"

When Duke Anguo saw An Jinglian cowering in a corner, he was terrified. Even though his son was much taller than him, he always looked so cowardly whenever he saw An Jinglian get angry.

This made him even more furious.

Although he was a marquis who was second only to the emperor in public, his good-for-nothing son still gave him a lot of headaches at home.

"Father...Father, I was wrong...I was wrong..."

An Jinglian hung his head, his humble demeanor quite out of place with his imposing physique.

Whenever he gets into trouble outside, he will only hide in the safest corner of the study.

Besides that, he was just waiting for his mother to come and rescue him.

In order to ensure that he would smoothly inherit the title of marquis in the future, his father, Duke Anguo, tried every means to find him a job as the deputy commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, hoping to temper his character.

Unexpectedly, before he even began to hone his skills, he got into trouble outside and went home to hide.

An Jinglian was so frightened by his father that he dared not look up and could only shrink back and beg for mercy.

"Father...I know I was wrong...I was wrong..."

"Snapped--"

Before he could finish speaking, the fine white jade porcelain bottle exploded at his feet.

Anguo Gong, feeling that throwing one porcelain piece wasn't enough to vent his anger, was about to grab a second one when, unexpectedly, there was a gentle knock on the study door.

"Sir—it's me, please open the door."

A soft, sweet voice came from outside the door. An Jinglian, who was huddled in the corner, suddenly raised his head. He knew that his savior had arrived!

"Don't open the door!"

Just as An Guo was about to smash the bottle in his hand at his son, he raised his hand and cursed angrily.

Before he could finish speaking, An Jinglian rushed to the study door and opened it from the inside, disregarding his own safety.

As the door opened, a woman dressed in expensive clothes hurriedly stepped into the study and rushed into the arms of Duke Anguo.

"Master, this is your only son... Please don't blame him, blame me, I spoiled him!"

Upon seeing Duke Anguo, Lady Yu burst into tears.

Her appearance was naturally extremely bright and flamboyant; otherwise, she wouldn't have captivated the Duke of Anguo, an old man over fifty, and made her son the legitimate heir of the An family.

Although she wore no makeup, a close look at her meticulously styled hair and the few strands of hair framing her forehead clearly showed that she had dressed up carefully before coming.

Now in her thirties, she dressed particularly simply today.

Seeing that Duke Anguo had not relented, she pressed her soft body against him again.

"Master... this is Lian'er's first time being an official, so it's understandable..."

"Inevitable? Is this his excuse for arbitrarily disregarding human life?"

Duke Anguo was consumed by rage. He didn't even know how he had gotten out of the palace and back home today!

In the imperial court, memorials impeaching his son piled up on the emperor's desk!

Thinking of this, Duke Anguo tried to push Yu away, but Yu was young and strong and wrapped her arms around his waist and refused to let go.

"That must be a misunderstanding, sir... Our Lian'er is such a kind-hearted person. He can't stand seeing children being killed. How could he treat human life so lightly?"

Yu buried her face in his waist and wept bitterly. Although she appeared weak and frail, which made people feel sorry for her, her hidden strength was not to be underestimated.

This left Duke Anguo standing there, furious.

"I told you, let go! This matter has reached the Emperor's ears, how could it be false? Let go!"

Duke Anguo wanted to pry the hands wrapped around his waist, but he dared not use force.

Amidst their playful bickering, An Jinglian weakly began to explain.

"Father, this is really not my fault. It was that Miss Lu who seduced me..."

"Shut up, An Jinglian!"