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

Shen Mu's eyes gradually dimmed. Although he was anxious, he knew what Thirteen was thinking at this moment.

His heart sank, and his hand unconsciously tightened its grip on the armrest of the armchair. He realized he was being too hasty and didn't want to force Thirteen to tell the truth.

Actually, that's really relative to his current situation.

It was something we were powerless to change.

Instead of dwelling on the past, it's better to focus on the future.

Perhaps this is the only thing he can do.

"That object must be a treasure, you must protect it well. No one else should know about it except us."

After careful consideration, Shen Mu concluded that it must be that thing.

“I haven’t even told Zhou Jinghuai about this, unless the two of you tell others.”

Thirteen's gaze drifted towards Haojing, who was lost in thought to the side.

He immediately felt a burning gaze upon him and trembled, straightening up as he spoke.

"Don't worry, Master and Miss Shi, I didn't hear or see anything!"

“He won’t tell anyone. I’m still not at ease leaving you alone in Philadelphia. I think it’s better to leave Haojing with you.”

After much deliberation, Shen Mu still didn't trust Xie Qiao.

Previously, the Crown Prince's open abduction of Thirteen had made him doubt Xie Qiao's abilities. If it weren't for Prime Minister Pei's timely appearance, Thirteen would probably still be under house arrest in the Crown Prince's villa.

"I'm perfectly fine. If you give Haojing to me, what will you do then?"

Thirteen shook her head slightly. In the end, she still felt that Shen Mu's situation was more dangerous than her own.

Not to mention that the current crown prince is someone who needs to rest in bed, and even if he wanted to take action, he would be powerless to command others.

The medicine in her hand will surely help the Crown Prince recover before he returns to the capital.

"Haojing is of little use to me."

After Shen Mu finished speaking, he glanced at Hao Jing out of the corner of his eye. Although Hao Jing was also his right-hand man, it was better to keep a brainless Hao Jing by his side.

It's really not very useful.

Upon hearing this, Haojing touched his nose sadly. In the end, he was still disliked by his master.

But when he looked at Shen Mu again, he suddenly realized what was happening and quickly said...

"Yes, Miss Shi, now it seems that all the imperial physicians in the Imperial Hospital rely on you. And you have to go out at night to examine the Crown Prince. Why don't you let me stay and help you?"

Thinking about it, if he could stay in Philadelphia...

Surely I will be able to see her.

Thirteen glanced at him; how could she not see through Haojing's thoughts?

If it were before, it wouldn't have mattered; she could have simply turned a blind eye.

But ever since Shen Mu told me that Hao Jing might really be in love with the second young lady of the Pei family...

She really didn't want to leave Haojing behind.

"He stayed... to help me or to help himself?"

Thirteen suddenly felt a headache coming on; she wasn't unaware of Haojing's intentions.

"Miss Shi, I..."

"I'll help you, but everything else has to wait until this is resolved before we can talk about anything else."

Shen Mu interrupted Hao Jing, giving him a deep look that signaled him to be quiet.

He knew about Thirteen's worries at this moment, but if he didn't keep Haojing by her side, he wouldn't be able to rest easy even if he returned to the Southern Barbarians.

Seeing the two men's resolute gazes, Thirteen's resolve began to waver.

She was indeed in dire need of help from the Imperial Hospital, which had suddenly run out of manpower, and since she was using the identity of Grand Tutor Ye's medical apprentice, there were now more and more places where she was needed.

In addition, she had long since lost her divine power.

My body is failing me day by day.

She was starting to feel overwhelmed.

"Fine, since Haojing is left to me, I'll listen to you when I leave and to you when I go."

"what do you mean?"

"Haojing, stay here and help me cure those imperial physicians in the Imperial Hospital. Then, let him go back to the Southern Barbarian Lands to find you."

This is arguably the only reasonable solution Thirteen could come up with.

Once those imperial physicians recover, she'll have far fewer chores to deal with.

"Yes, I will listen to Miss Shi."

Hao Jing was afraid that Thirteen might change his mind later, so he quickly agreed.

Seeing their reactions, Shen Mu didn't say anything more and could only shake his head helplessly. It seemed that he, as their master, was not well-regarded by Hao Jing.

It's that they are becoming less and less influential than the thirteenth generation.

But how could he have imagined?

Haojing simply wanted to stay in Philadelphia longer so he could see the second young lady of the Pei family again.

That was his greatest wish.

A moment later, Shen Mu and Hao Jing, seeing that it was getting late, left Thirteen's residence.

As the two walked on the stone path in the courtyard, Shen Mu said in a somewhat cold tone.

"Have you gone to see Prime Minister Pei?"

"Yes, I have been there. That's exactly what I wanted to report to you."

Once outside Thirteen's room, Haojing immediately reverted to his serious demeanor, becoming rigid and unsmiling.

"What's wrong with Prime Minister Pei?"

Shen Mu immediately noticed Hao Jing's expression and had some questions in his mind.

"When I went to deliver the books to Prime Minister Pei's house, I happened to see him... feeling unwell, leaning against the bedside coughing up blood."

"Coughing up blood? Why would this happen? Is it because of overwork or..."

Hao Jing licked his lips, glanced around to make sure no one else was eavesdropping, and then lowered his voice.

"It was poisoning, but the poison is too strange. It should only cause symptoms at night, while it will be harmless during the day."

"Have you found out who poisoned him?"

Shen Mu's heart sank; he hadn't expected someone to make a move against Prime Minister Pei beforehand.

Haojing shook his head

"Not yet, but I've already ordered people to investigate, and I expect to have results by tomorrow."

"Why didn't you say this inside the room just now? Were you afraid Thirteen would find out?"

Shen Mu glanced at him, then continued walking out of the mansion.

"Indeed, I was worried that Miss Shi might overwork herself, so I made sure to check Prime Minister Pei's pulse again before I left..."

"If even you can see that, how much more so would she?"

Shen Mu sighed softly.

He understood that Thirteen must know about Prime Minister Pei's poisoning.

Otherwise, given her calm and collected nature, she certainly wouldn't have put herself in this game and become someone else's pawn.

It must have been because Thirteen learned of this matter that he made up his mind to sneak into the Gu family mansion and wait for an opportunity to stay by the Crown Prince's side.

"You mean the young lady already knew? Then why did she stay at the Gu Marquis's residence to take care of the Crown Prince?"

Haojing didn't quite understand the reasoning behind it.

"Since the Crown Prince has the ability to place the Second Miss Pei under house arrest, he must have spies around Prime Minister Pei. If the act isn't convincing enough... then why should the young Crown Prince get involved?"

Shen Mu narrowed his eyes slightly, his seemingly indifferent gaze sweeping over the entire back garden of Marquis Gu.

He flipped himself up and landed steadily on the roof of a building in the Gu family mansion.

Haojing followed immediately, landing right behind him.

"Does Master have something else to say?"

He didn't quite understand Shen Mu's actions at this moment.

“If the Gu family is going to be in chaos, it has to be completely chaotic. Otherwise, I’m still not comfortable with her, Thirteen, facing all the conspiracies and schemes in this mansion alone.”

Shen Mu raised his hand and pointed to a brightly lit side room not far away.