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

"Are you saying you also left something for the Crown Prince?"

Thirteen helped Pei Zhiheng into the inner room, and only then did he relax a little as he leaned against the bed.

Pei Zhiheng leaned against the bedside. Ever since he was poisoned, he would suffer a flare-up of the poison whenever the sun set, so much so that he often locked himself in his room before dinner.

That's why no one noticed that he had a health problem.

He glanced at Thirteen, gesturing for her to sit on the stool nearby, before slowly beginning to explain.

"The Crown Prince will fall off his precious horse, but it won't kill him. However, it will give you an excellent opportunity. You must use this opportunity to gain favor with the Crown Prince."

"You tampered with his horse?"

Thirteen raised an eyebrow slightly; she clearly hadn't expected Pei Zhiheng to scheme against the Crown Prince.

"The horse's fright shouldn't kill him, but he'll have to suffer a bit, otherwise it wouldn't be fair to me for being poisoned like this."

Pei Zhiheng forced himself to stay awake, shook his head helplessly, and then asked...

Has that Zhou family brat contacted you?

Pei Zhiheng looked up at Thirteen. Although he hadn't seen the spoiled young master in recent days, he had heard bits and pieces of information from people around Shen Mu.

Zhou Jinghuai also came to Philadelphia.

Thirteen's breath hitched upon hearing this; she had clearly forgotten about this person!

She looked at Prime Minister Pei with a blank expression, only to realize that she had been too busy these past few days and had completely forgotten about him.

It seems that when the Crown Prince took them away early that morning, she forgot to leave a message for Zhou Jinghuai. She guessed that the scoundrel must have gone crazy during these few days apart.

Seeing Thirteen's blank expression, Pei Zhiheng said somewhat helplessly.

"I'm afraid you've completely forgotten about him, haven't you? The situation is turbulent right now, so you still have to help me ask him to find the villa where Sui Sui is being held."

Thirteen nodded blankly, then asked with some confusion.

"Didn't you say before that now is not the right time to alert the enemy? Would sending Zhou Jinghuai to rescue Sui Sui alert the Crown Prince?"

She paused, remembering that Prime Minister Pei had just rejected her suggestion in the carriage.

Pei Zhiheng shook his head, his eyes somewhat unfocused.

"There's no need to save her for now. Let's just prepare first. If Gu Hou and his group really stir up trouble in the capital, I definitely want Yue'er to leave the capital. If she escapes successfully, Sui's will naturally be saved as well."

Although he was deeply uneasy about the character of the third young master of the Zhou family, given the current situation, the only one who could help him was Zhou Jinghuai.

Thirteen frowned upon hearing this.

"Should I send Shen Mu's men to meet Miss?"

Her heart sank. If Pei Nanyue could really leave the capital smoothly, the Crown Prince's attention would likely be entirely focused on Pei Suisui. If she could take Pei Suisui away now, it would be a perfect opportunity.

This would temporarily deprive the Crown Prince of two leverage points that could threaten Prime Minister Pei.

"If Shen Mu... can help, then my Pei family will owe him a favor. But if it really comes to that, the Pei family will become like rats crossing the street, and I'm afraid my favor will become a burden."

Pei Zhiheng lowered his head with a hint of mockery. His weak body made him feel increasingly weary, and all he wanted now was a good night's sleep.

But with so many people around him needing his help, he had no choice but to force himself to stay focused.

"Prime Minister Pei, there's no need for that. Your promises are worth a thousand pieces of gold, far more valuable than the Emperor's."

"You bastard, do you want your head?"

Pei Zhiheng quickly interrupted her, thinking that Thirteen had gone mad to dare utter such treasonous words. Although he no longer had the will to assist the king...

However, Nanyang has always belonged to the Duan family.

He always kept it in mind.

Thirteen chuckled softly. Compared to the Emperor, she felt that Prime Minister Pei was more upright and concerned for the world, unlike Duan Yuan…

Let's not talk about it.

“In that case, I will go to Zhou Jinghuai tonight and ask him to find the villa where Sui Sui is being held.”

When she and Prime Minister Pei left the villa, they were both blindfolded, which clearly showed that the Crown Prince was cautious and did not want others to know the location of the villa.

Given the current situation, it seems that only Zhou Jinghuai can make do with it.

Nighttime at a restaurant

The elegant private room

Two travel-worn men sat at a table, scrutinizing the young woman standing before them.

Zhou Jinghuai, with a stubble-covered face, looked at Thirteen, whom he had been searching for for three days without success. You see, he had turned the whole of Philadelphia upside down in the past few days, but he couldn't even find a similar figure.

Now, however, they brazenly appear before him.

Even though he thought he was still half asleep, he rubbed his eyes and repeatedly checked whether the person standing in front of him was really Thirteen.

"you……"

Zhou Jinghuai couldn't help but pinch Xie Qiao's arm beside him.

"is that true?"

"roll!"

Xie Qiao impatiently slapped his hand away, and holding his sword, he couldn't help but move his feet away to get further away from this madman.

Seeing this, Thirteen coughed twice and said

"I've been so busy these past few days that I forgot about you all for a moment. I'm sorry."

She forced a stiff smile onto her lips.

Although she hadn't had a peaceful few days, she had completely forgotten about the two of them. If it weren't for Prime Minister Pei's kind reminder, she probably wouldn't have remembered them at all.

Xie Qiao glanced at Zhou Jinghuai's pathetic appearance and spoke first, asking...

"Where did the young lady go? We've searched every inch of Philadelphia for the past three days but haven't found any trace of her."

Ever since Thirteen regained her feminine appearance, Xie Qiao has started calling her "Miss Shi".

Thirteen surnames

That's quite reasonable.

Thirteen looked away, deliberately avoiding Zhou Jinghuai's burning gaze, and turned to meet Xie Qiao's probing eyes.

"Originally, Sui Sui and I were invited by the Crown Prince to have tea, but unexpectedly, Prime Minister Pei came to visit Sui Sui and took the opportunity to take me away from the villa. Now, in order to get closer to the Crown Prince, I disguised myself as a maid in the mansion."

"A maid?"

Xie Qiao lowered her eyes to look at Thirteen's maidservant attire.

"I suppose you never imagined I was at the Gu family mansion, which is why you haven't been able to find me."

Thirteen couldn't stand Zhou Jinghuai's glaring eyes any longer, so she picked up a teacup from the table and wanted to smash it at the scoundrel.

"Don't you know how worried I am about you?"

At this moment, Zhou Jinghuai looked like a lover who had been abandoned, just short of having tears in his eyes and bursting into tears.

Upon hearing this, Thirteen pursed her lips, suppressing her discomfort, and slowly walked to the window, pushing open the wooden lattice. It seemed that only the cold night wind could help her suppress the nausea in her heart.

"I've come to you now because I need your help."

"What matters to the girl is what matters to us."

Xie Qiao nodded. Ever since Shen Mu left, he had taken on the responsibility of looking after Thirteen. Thirteen's disappearance these past few days had truly filled him with anxiety and fear.

He was afraid that Shen Mu would find out about this and punish him.

"Do you want us to go rescue Pei Suisui?"