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

early morning

Having recovered from his illness, Prime Minister Pei opened the door early in the morning and sat by the window to await his arrival.

So much so that as soon as Shen Mu stood firm in the courtyard, he looked up and saw Pei Zhiheng, who had been waiting for a long time, looking in his direction with a normal expression.

"Since you sent the scrolls through someone, I was wondering if you would come to see me."

Pei Zhiheng turned around and personally poured him a full cup of hot tea.

"How is Lord Pei's health?"

Shen Mu entered the house with a wave of his hand, and Hao Jing followed behind, closing the door behind him and standing guard outside.

Pei Zhiheng looked up at the travel-worn man, his eyes filled with admiration.

"My body is what it is, but I never imagined that you would guess everything so accurately after I left, even my attempt to save your beloved..."

"Sweetheart?"

Shen Mu frowned slightly upon hearing this.

"Isn't that Thirteenth Miss Lord Shen's beloved?"

Pei Zhiheng glanced sideways. Although he was getting on in years, he was not so old that his eyesight was failing. There was no other girl in the entire Nanyang who could capture Shen Mu's heart like this.

Even the premise for cooperating with oneself is to make Thirteen the top priority in the plan.

Such attentiveness

Who wouldn't overthink it?

Shen Mu's expression froze, and even Hao Jing, who was listening outside, couldn't help but chuckle.

"Ahem...Lord Pei, you..."

"I understand. Nothing is set in stone yet. I will keep it a secret for you, Thirteenth Miss."

Pei Zhiheng, seemingly understanding, patted Shen Mu's hand and, before Shen Mu could finish speaking, took out the scroll that Haojing had sent the previous night.

"There are still some things I don't quite understand, and since you're here, I'd like to ask you about them."

“If you look at the markings on the scrolls, these were left to you separately.”

Shen Mu revealed the annotation at the top of his scroll and showed it to Pei Zhiheng.

"Oh... I see. I thought I just didn't understand it."

Pei Zhiheng lowered his head and flipped through the scroll he had been holding. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was marked with number seven. He figured he had skipped the earlier parts and that's why he hadn't understood it.

"I'm leaving these books for you to use in the future, Prime Minister Pei, but I still have something to discuss with you right now."

"I know, it's because of that girl."

Pei Zhiheng reluctantly closed the scroll in his hands. He was so delighted with the gift from Shen Mu that he hadn't slept all night, wanting to read the entire scroll.

Shen Mu's lips curled into a slight, seemingly unintentional smile.

"Prime Minister Pei is joking. The matter is urgent, and the Crown Prince is unconscious... You probably plan for him to wake up on the day of your return journey, right?"

"The Crown Prince is injured and unconscious; this is not a matter for me to decide."

Pei Zhiheng turned his head away guiltily. He had indeed tampered with the Crown Prince's horse in secret, but he was prepared to deny everything that followed.

After all, it hurts the royal family and relatives.

For such a heinous crime, he probably couldn't kill them all even after searching through the Pei family's genealogy twice.

"Yes, but I have a plan to wake the Crown Prince up ahead of time."

Shen Mu nodded, not intending to expose him.

"What do you mean?"

Pei Zhiheng slowly turned his head, a crack suddenly appearing on his feigned composure.

"With the Crown Prince still unconscious, does Prime Minister Pei think the Emperor won't send anyone to Philadelphia again?"

"I have a plan, and I think it would be better to send another veteran."

Pei Xiang rubbed his forehead, feeling somewhat tired. After all, he hadn't slept all night, and now that his mind was relaxed, he felt a little listless.

"How can such a matter of training a prince be handled by a military officer? There is a third prince in our court who is eyeing us covetously."

Shen Mu's reminder suddenly brought Pei Zhiheng to his senses.

He looked up at him blankly and said...

"You mean the Third Prince will come to replace the Crown Prince? Then let the Crown Prince wake up..."

"It's precisely to make them fight amongst themselves. Otherwise, if you can't stir up trouble in Philadelphia, how will you rescue your daughter?"

"But it will take some time for the Third Prince to arrive. If there is internal strife in Philadelphia, how will we deal with the covetous southern barbarians?"

Pei Zhiheng was immediately puzzled by Shen Mu's actions. If they really did as Shen Mu suggested and sent the Third Prince, then even if the Crown Prince and the Third Prince were to fight amongst themselves...

It's actually the foreign barbarians who benefit more.

"If the Third Prince truly receives the order, he will definitely rush to Philadelphia before the Crown Prince wakes up. If the Crown Prince wakes up early, wouldn't that mean he, the Third Prince, would lose his military merit?"

Shen Mu saw through it all.

On the contrary, it made Pei Zhiheng look at him with new respect.

"So you mean let the two of them fight amongst themselves while we sit back and relax?"

"Not only will you be sitting alone at the fishing platform, but I've also prepared a gift for the Third Prince. At that time, you just need to guard Philadelphia with General Weiyuan and let the two of them fight amongst themselves. This will also relieve General Weiyuan's worries."

Shen Mu naturally learned of this as well. Initially, Prime Minister Pei had General Weiyuan and the Crown Prince feign internal strife, but unexpectedly, the charade turned into reality, and the two of them genuinely disliked each other.

So much so that these military orders excluded General Weiyuan from the list.

This still made General Weiyuan somewhat unhappy.

"It's good that you know. I suppose your plan is more thorough. But what about the capital..."

"You mean the Gu family's Eagle Guard?"

Shen Mu suddenly remembered that Hao Jing had mentioned it to him. Fortunately, it was his own men who were guarding outside General Weiyuan's courtyard at the time, and they had overheard the entire old story of the court.

"how do you know?"

Pei Zhiheng suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. He vaguely remembered that on that day in the study, it was just him and General Weiyuan...

Could it be that someone overheard them?

Seeing the doubt on Pei Zhiheng's face, Shen Mu quickly explained.

"Prime Minister Pei, there's no need to panic. It just so happened that my men were on duty that day, keeping watch in the courtyard to prevent outsiders from eavesdropping..."

Pei Zhiheng leaned back slightly, feeling quite emotional.

He still didn't know how much the man before him truly knew about him, or how much more...

He knew it.

"Pei Xiang, rest assured, now that I have told you all this, we are in the same boat."

Shen Mu thought Pei Zhiheng still didn't trust him.

Yoshihisa

Pei Zhiheng then slowly raised his hand and waved it.

"That's not what I meant. You've misunderstood me. After all, my Pei family owes you... far too much."

He understood that from the moment he agreed to help Shen Mu, he had no other choice.

Now that this matter has reached Shen Mu's ears, it's likely that other things can no longer be kept secret.

Pei Zhiheng's lips suddenly curled into a bitter smile. He recalled how he had just pretended not to know about the Crown Prince's injury, and how his clumsy acting had been seen through by the other party.

It's like he's some kind of clown.

“The Pei family owes me nothing; what the Pei family owes is justice for the entire Nanyang. If Pei Xiangru is unwilling, I will not continue with our plans, but I still promise to guarantee the safety of the entire Pei family.”

Shen Mu thought the other party had given up.