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

Upon hearing this, Pei Nanyue seemed unsure, and she shook her head.

"The Southern Barbarians shouldn't be able to get their hands on us yet, after all, they've received news that we're about to attack them. Plus, the Emperor is going to marry off his most beloved fourth princess to the Western Regions. What benefit could they possibly gain from such a thankless task?"

She certainly didn't believe it could have been done by the southern barbarians.

After all, the Fourth Princess's wedding is just around the corner, and the Emperor of Nanyang would not give up on this marriage alliance because of two assassins of unknown identity.

"It's neither this nor that, so tell me, who's got all this free time?"

Ning Wan'er's temper became somewhat irritable; she naturally didn't want to be falsely accused like this.

"I have a guess, but I don't know if I should say it," Pei Nanyue said quietly. She had actually had her own thoughts on this matter for a long time.

She hadn't dared to speak until just now, before she had even tried to probe.

"Stop stammering! What do you mean by 'should I say this' or 'shouldn't I say this'? You've already told me all the secrets of the Pei family, how could I blame you for such trivial matters? What do you take me for? That woman An Ruyi?"

Ning Wan'er couldn't help but roll her eyes at her.

She naturally harbored extreme disgust for Consort An.

"Your Majesty...you..." Pei Nanyue had not expected Ning Wan'er to be so open and honest with her.

After all, she had learned about the stories of open and covert vying for favor in the deep palace from some of the storybooks.

It seems that Consort Ning has been able to remain in the palace for so long because she has no desire to compete for favor. It was just a lucky coincidence that Consort An let her off the hook for the time being.

That's how I've been able to live such a peaceful and happy life for so many years.

"What do you mean, 'what do you mean, 'what do you want to say'? Just say it already. I see it's getting late. When you leave the palace later, I'll have a few people escort you."

Consort Ning naturally guessed that Pei Nanyue's entry into the palace was likely due to someone secretly watching her.

Seeing this, Pei Nanyue decided to stop beating around the bush and spoke directly.

"I suspect that this assassin, who is pretending to be from the Western Regions, is probably from the imperial palace."

"The palace? The emperor?"

"I can't be sure about that, but we've temporarily detained those two assassins. If they really came from the Nanyang Imperial Palace, their target must be you and the Crown Prince."

Pei Nanyue has an extremely keen sense of smell.

Ever since the appearance of these two assassins, she has been thinking about their relationship.

If the real intention was to prevent marriage alliances between Nanyang and the Western Regions, there would be no need to resort to such tricks.

But if it's to drag the crown prince down with him...

That perfectly validated what her father had said in the Imperial Study—a self-fulfilling prophecy. It seems some people are already envious of the Crown Prince leading the army.

"Could it be the An family? Now that Prime Minister Pei has been sent to Philadelphia, the An family is all-powerful in the court."

The mere thought of An Ruyi's face sent chills down Ning Wan'er's spine.

If only she hadn't happened to stumble upon it back then...

I'm afraid she won't survive now.

"Does Your Majesty also think it's the An family?" Pei Nanyue's expression was somewhat cold. Even though the mention of the An family reminded her of how the Fourth Princess almost killed her sister.

Even the emperor was intentionally protecting the fourth princess.

This is also the reason why the Pei family was completely disheartened.

"I knew you were talking about them. You're right. In Nanyang, I'm afraid only the Emperor and they have the ability to frame the Crown Prince."

Ning Wan'er nodded; she could certainly see what An Ruyi was thinking.

It's all about fighting for the sake of the child in her belly.

She just didn't expect that they would resort to such dirty tricks.

If the emperor had discovered the assassin first, it would not only have put her and the crown prince in a predicament, but it would have also brought disaster upon the Western Regions.

"Let's wait for the Embroidered Uniform Guard to investigate this matter thoroughly before making any further decisions. Also, I must remind Your Highness, didn't you just send some items from the Western Regions to the Third Prince as a congratulatory gift?"

"how do you know?"

Ning Wan'er was somewhat surprised. Many people knew that she had given a congratulatory gift to the Third Prince, but very few people had actually seen what it was.

Those items were jade and gemstones from her hometown that Hernández would bring when he frequently sent people to the palace to visit her.

In her eyes, they were all worthless and useless things.

So when the emperor asked her to send a congratulatory gift, she simply packed everything into the wooden gift box.

"This is bad."

"You mean someone will use the congratulatory gift I sent to confirm their identity as an assassin?"

Ning Wan'er's face darkened; she naturally guessed what Pei Nanyue wanted to say.

Before the other person could answer her question, she tried to run out again.

"I'm going to settle accounts with An Ruyi!"

"Empress! Empress!"

Pei Nanyue disregarded everything else and grabbed Ning Pin, fearing that she might rush to Yong'an Palace in a fit of temper, thus giving the other party a reason to punish her.

"Your Majesty, you can't go!"

"Let me go! I'm going to settle the score with her!"

"Your Majesty cannot go!"

Pei Nanyue tried her best to pull her back, but unexpectedly, because she hadn't eaten anything for days, her body went limp and she was about to collapse backward.

"My lady..."

"Pei Nanyue!"

With a thud, the two of them fell to the ground together.

Consort Ning was startled by Pei Nanyue's stumble and turned pale. She couldn't care less about causing trouble for An Ruyi right now, and quickly helped Pei Nanyue up from her arms.

"Are you alright? Why do you look so weak?"

She swayed her thin body.

Soon, Pei Nanyue, her face pale, slowly regained her senses and said...

"I...I haven't been getting enough rest these past few days...I'm sorry to have worried Your Majesty!"

After saying this, she tried to get up and bow to Consort Ning.

"What are you doing! There's no one else here!"

Consort Ning naturally didn't care about these formalities and grabbed Pei Nanyue, who was about to stand up and pay her respects.

"Your Majesty...you can't go to Consort An's place..."

Even though Pei Nanyue was feeling weak, she still gripped Ning Pin's dress tightly with her small hands, afraid that because she hadn't stopped her, Ning Pin would cause trouble for An Ruyi.

Seeing her stubbornness, Consort Ning decided not to risk offending her and agreed.

"Fine, I won't go looking for her. But now it seems that this matter is most likely related to the An family. Let me tell you, I've already decided to keep An Ruyi's life in mind."

Ning Wan'er is naturally a person of her word.

She can now temporarily restrain herself and spare the other party's life.

However, there is no guarantee for the future.

"Your Majesty..." Pei Nanyue shook her head, trying her best to steady herself. Right now, she really regretted not eating properly before entering the palace.

"Don't say anything, you look like you're starving."

Ning Wan'er slowly stood up, even though she had been worried about Pei Nanyue's health and had personally cushioned her fall.

Her body is not as strong as it used to be, so naturally she was a little sore all over from the fall.

She secretly rubbed her lower back, then took some snacks from the table in the inner room and handed them to Pei Nanyue, who was still kneeling on the ground.

"Have something to eat before leaving the palace. I suppose you haven't been resting well these past few days. I don't need an ally whose health is even weaker than mine."