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

"..."

Pei Zhiheng turned around, somewhat speechless, and sat back down in his original seat.

It turns out I really spoke unnecessaryly just now, and all I did was let my friend misunderstand my good intentions.

He raised his hand and touched his head, momentarily speechless, unable to explain himself after being stumped by the other person's words.

"Is that what you mean? Tell me quickly! We still don't know what to do about the injured prince!"

Gu Changzhe suddenly felt somewhat helpless and became angry.

You see, although he does have some grievances against the Emperor, the Crown Prince is still at his Gu Marquis's residence. If anything were to happen to him...

I'm afraid he won't be able to explain it to others.

"Although our relationship is not bad, it's not worth me giving up the entire Pei family for you. If you want my old life, then take it without hesitation."

Pei Zhiheng thought for a long time, and finally managed to come up with just this one sentence.

"So after all this talk, you didn't just tamper with the Crown Prince's horse so you wouldn't let me report you to the Emperor? Oh, and those few from the Imperial Hospital who offended me just happened to have their medicine mixed in by you?"

Gu Changzhe couldn't help but curl a self-deprecating smile. He naturally didn't believe that Pei Zhiheng would help him for no reason.

Although this old fox always liked to put on airs, Pei Zhiheng was his closest friend among them.

This is one of the reasons why he dared to openly entrust the entire Gu Family Eagle Guard to him back then.

Pei Zhiheng felt a sudden tingling sensation, and after finally calming himself down, he slowly spoke.

“Since the Crown Prince is targeting me, he must be wary of you as well. Since he is naturally suspicious, I might as well take the initiative and start with the people around him.”

"You mean you're suggesting sending your men to him while he's injured..."

"That's right, I've thought about it again and again but I still can't figure it out. Why is the Crown Prince so intelligent that he can strike at my weakness so easily, and even dare to openly contradict you? Even though he is the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace..."

Pei Zhiheng didn't finish his sentence; he merely glanced at his friend.

"The Crown Prince is a humble and friendly man. His reputation had spread to my Philadelphia before, but now that I've met him, he is indeed not as humble as the rumors suggest. I thought you and he had some kind of conflict on the way."

Gu Changzhe's expression also turned serious.

Although he was rarely in the capital, he still secretly sent messages to the future emperor.

Now I see

Indeed, it's different from what was written in previous letters.

"If that's the case, what should you do? Does the Crown Prince truly have a powerful patron by his side?"

Gu Changzhe couldn't help but meet Pei Zhiheng's gaze, his eyes full of inquiry.

"This is also one of the reasons that gives me a headache. Now my two daughters are in his hands, and I can't do anything about it."

"Then I'll go. Do you think I, a mere warrior, am afraid of this greenhorn?"

After saying this, Gu Changzhe prepared to roll up his sleeves and go find him.

"Wait, wait!"

Pei Zhiheng quickly pulled him back and hurriedly said...

"Now I'm just looking for an excuse to see if I can get the people around me closer to him. Otherwise, it's best if we just stay put."

"And what exactly is your intention regarding the Emperor?"

Gu Changzhe frowned. Now that he knew the Emperor had plotted against his Gu family more than a decade ago, he could no longer pretend not to know.

Based on his past behavior, he's probably already on his way to the capital.

Now he understands.

The Emperor, following protocol, summoned his wife and daughter to the capital, simply because he feared the man might rebel in Philadelphia.

"The Emperor's side... is not easy to deal with! But I think his thoughts might coincide with the Crown Prince's..."

"You mean..."

"Right now, the Emperor has ordered me and several former members of the Crown Prince's faction to join the army. His intentions are quite clear. Can't you see that?"

Pei Zhiheng couldn't help but roll his eyes at him. If he weren't his best friend, he would indeed find it quite distasteful to have such a slow-witted close friend.

Gu Changzhe coldly mocked.

"You mean, your position is in jeopardy too?"

Pei Zhiheng nodded solemnly, though he felt it would be embarrassing, he still had to admit it.

"I don't care who sits in my position, I just hope the Emperor can spare my two daughters, then I can say I died a worthy death."

"Pah, pah, pah! What nonsense are you spouting!"

Gu Changzhe couldn't help but glare at him.

"I think you're destined to be a grandfather, and you seem to have even greater fortune ahead of you. So, when you told me earlier that you were with that Shen Mu... does he know about this?"

Gu Changzhe was far away in Philadelphia, so naturally he had never heard of Shen Mu's name.

In addition, since Shen Mu had led an elite force away from the main army to the southern barbarians more than half a month before their march, they naturally had not met General Weiyuan.

“I had no intention of cooperating with him until he told me about you. I thought about it for a long time. In the end, even if we don’t care about ourselves, we have to consider our families.”

Pei Zhiheng patted Gu Changzhe heavily on the shoulder, sighed deeply, and continued...

"Originally, I thought I would retire and return to my hometown, far away from the strife of the court. Living a mundane life would have been enough to end my days, but unfortunately, that person doesn't want to let me go so easily."

He exchanged a glance with Gu Changzhe.

The latter immediately understood.

"You mean to say that the Emperor is also afraid that you'll tell about what happened back then..."

Pei Zhiheng sneered

“A narrow-minded person, no matter where they go, will choose to abandon others in order to protect themselves. This was true then and it is true now.”

"Now? But Nanyang is currently prosperous and its people live in peace and contentment. What changes could there be?"

"The Bright Moon Palace has already drained most of Nanyang's national treasury, are you aware of that?"

Pei Zhiheng's face suddenly fell, and he looked at Gu Changzhe with a serious expression.

"You mean that altar? I've heard of it, but it claims to grant immortality. I suppose that's just the talk of charlatans. Does Your Majesty really believe it?"

"If that's not the case, why is the Crown Prince leading the troops?"

Pei Zhiheng gave a cold snort.

"This force of 100,000 against less than 50,000 is clearly a military achievement, which is why the Crown Prince is giving it to the Crown Prince as a political achievement?"

Gu Changzhe couldn't help but shake his head. This seemingly good thing should, by all accounts, be given to the Crown Prince to lead the troops.

Unless the emperor never favored this crown prince.

"Most of the military funds for this campaign came from the Bai family, the maternal family of the late Empress. The Crown Prince specifically requested this from the Bai family."

"You know about this? Wait a minute, are you saying that the national treasury can't even afford to pay this much military pay?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Changzhe's already furrowed brows tightened even more.

Although he was a warrior

But do they still know?

The principle of "supplies must precede carriages and horses"

Without military pay, even with 200,000 men, they wouldn't be able to win the war.

"So you still don't understand why even Vice Minister Cui of the Ministry of Revenue came to Philadelphia with me?"

Pei Zhiheng glanced at him.