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

With a "plop," Duan Yuyan fell into the lush green pond.

Thirteen stood steadily by the pond, her delicate face expressionless. She couldn't hide the hatred in her heart; the scene of Duan Yuyan pushing her into the water at the spring banquet a few days ago was still vivid in her mind. If it weren't for Shen Mu's appearance at that time, she probably would have drowned in that lake too.

Unfortunately, she had just noticed that the pond was not deep enough to be life-threatening, which was why she dared to lure Duan Yuyan into the water, intending to use a little trick to teach this spoiled princess a lesson.

Duan Yuyan never expected that Thirteen would actually dare to make her fall into the lake. The cold, foul-smelling lake water poured into her mouth and nose, and she instinctively cried out, "Help!"

Despite her desperate cries, no one came to her aid. After all, she had already offended all the servants in the Shen residence when she forcibly broke in.

Seeing Duan Yuyan struggling, Thirteen couldn't help but laugh and slowly said...

"Fourth Princess, this pond is really not deep. Why don't you stand up and try?"

Duan Yuyan, who was still struggling and splashing water, only came to her senses after hearing what Shisan said. It turned out that after falling into the pond, she had been half-lying in the water, and that's why she subconsciously thought she was going to drown.

She stood up awkwardly and realized that the pond only reached her waist.

"You lowly commoner!"

Duan Yuyan was furious and pointed at Thirteen, roaring. As the most noble fourth princess of Nanyang, when had she ever suffered such humiliation?

She caught a glimpse of the Shen family servants standing around, pointing and whispering about her, which only fueled her anger.

"Get out of here, all of you!"

Thirteen looked at Duan Yuyan, whose peach-colored gown was now covered in green algae from the pond, her exquisite makeup was filthy, and she even smelled faintly of the pond water. She certainly didn't look like the most favored princess of Nanyang.

At this moment, Shen Mu finally arrived.

Upon entering the hospital, he saw the complete mess in the garden, and his face darkened even more.

"Someone, rescue the Fourth Princess first."

After the Imperial Guards behind her pulled Duan Yuyan ashore, she preemptively accused Shen Mu, slowly walking up to him and saying in a coquettish voice...

"Lord Shen, quickly arrest this lowly commoner who plotted to kill this princess!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Mu glanced at Thirteen, his face revealing no emotion, but his dark eyes held a turbulent undercurrent that left Duan Yuyan speechless.

Thirteen, who was not far away, felt a sudden jolt in her heart. She had originally intended to take this opportunity to teach this shrewish and unreasonable princess a lesson, but she hadn't expected Shen Mu to suddenly return. Instead, Duan Yuyan had already complained to her first.

"Haojing!"

Shen Mu didn't want to pay attention to Duan Yuyan's chattering and said somewhat impatiently.

Hao Jing, who had been watching the show from the shadows, had no choice but to walk up to Shen Mu and bow with his hands clasped in greeting.

"grown ups!"

"What happened?"

Haojing glanced furtively at Thirteen by the pond, then at the Fourth Princess, who was soaking wet. He immediately understood and quickly lowered his head to explain.

"Your Excellency, the Fourth Princess forcibly broke into the manor seeking you just now. I was unable to stop her, and it was the Thirteenth Master who intervened and stopped the princess from beating the servants. But unexpectedly..."

Hao Jing seemed to feel Duan Yuyan's venomous gaze fixed on him, and couldn't help but swallow hard.

"Unexpectedly, the Fourth Princess wanted to kill Mr. Thirteen directly, but accidentally fell into the pond."

Hao Jing thought to himself that if Thirteen hadn't stopped him, the Fourth Princess's whip would probably have really come down.

Although Shen Mu had given orders not to take action in the mortal realm, if they hadn't been able to stop them just now, those brothers were not to be trifled with. If they had accidentally injured the Fourth Princess, it would have made things even more inconvenient for them to act in Nanyang.

Shen Mu pursed his thin lips slightly, his deep, dark eyes casually glancing to the side, exuding arrogance.

"Fourth Princess, why do you trespass into my home?"

Duan Yuyan was frightened by Shen Mu's gaze. She hadn't expected that Shen Mu's men wouldn't be afraid of her, and what Hao Jing had said earlier was indeed true. She frowned tightly and bit her lip.

“I wrote to you a few days ago, but you didn’t reply. I was planning to invite you out for a spring outing today… but that Mr. Thirteen spoke rudely to me…”

Before she could finish speaking, Duan Yuyan squeezed out a few tears as if she had truly been wronged. Thirteen watched her act with such skill and was truly impressed. If she hadn't been born in ancient times, she would definitely have won an acting award in her era.

However, Shen Mu wasn't buying into the Fourth Princess's act and maintained his icy tone.

"Since the Fourth Princess has not received my reply, then I must be too busy. Does the Princess know what crime it is to trespass into the residence of a high-ranking official?"

"Ah?" Duan Yuyan looked up at the sound of her voice, her small face still wet with tears. But in her current state, she didn't look like someone who would feel sorry for her.

"I hope the princess will not do it again. Guards, escort the fourth princess back to her residence."

As soon as Shen Mu finished speaking, he saw two Imperial Guards behind him step forward and half-support the princess as they walked out of the courtyard.

"Shen Mu!"

Duan Yuyan was furious. She never expected Shen Mu to be so heartless. Instead of teaching Thirteen a lesson, he watched her fall into the lake without even offering her a piece of clothing.

Although the servants of the Shen family all lowered their heads in tacit agreement along the way, when they arrived outside the Shen family mansion, passersby could not help but see the Fourth Princess in such a disheveled state.

"Princess."

Man'er, the maid waiting by the carriage, hurriedly stepped forward. The servants of the Shen family had blocked her way so tightly that she couldn't get in at all. She was quite surprised to see the Fourth Princess in such a disheveled state.

"Hurry up and leave!" Duan Yuyan said fiercely. She glanced at the pedestrians around her and saw them stop to look. Her resentment grew even stronger.

She instinctively reached out to cover her face, but she didn't realize that she was covered in mud from the pond. The slippery surface made her fall in front of the carriage.

"Ouch—"

"Princess, is the princess alright?" Man'er quickly helped Duan Yuyan into the carriage.

"Don't call me princess!" Duan Yuyan pinched her secretly. In such a disheveled state, she still called her name. Wasn't that obviously telling everyone that she was Duan Yuyan?

The idle passersby gathered together, pointing and whispering around the Fourth Princess's carriage. Although they were talking in hushed tones, their voices still reached Duan Yuyan's ears.

"Don't leave yet!"

She cursed viciously, and only then did the carriage slowly depart.

In the courtyard, Thirteen looked shocked, but her heart was pounding. She had thought that Shen Mu would stand up for the Fourth Princess and teach her a lesson, but she didn't expect that he would send the princess away first.

Shen Mu glanced at her briefly, then turned and went back inside.

"You're going back already?" Thirteen looked surprised. She thought Shen Mu would scold her, but instead he just glared at her.

"Sir, let me take you home first." Hao Jing walked up to her.

"No need, I can go back by myself. I still have to thank you for what happened earlier, otherwise I would have been scolded by your Master Shen."

"Sir, there's no need to thank me. If you hadn't stopped the Fourth Princess just now, those servants and maids would probably have been caught in her clutches."

Haojing smiled sheepishly at her and led Thirteen out of the mansion.