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

Who would have thought that the palace of the emperor's favorite concubine in Nanyang actually contained the blueprints for the Mingyue Palace?

"So, the map is in Yong'an Palace, how can we steal it?" Zhou Jinghuai's words pulled Shen Mu back to reality. Zhou Jinghuai pursed his lips. "We can't just let Thirteen go, can we? We can't reveal our identities right now."

Shen Mu leaned back slightly, his tone somewhat indifferent, "She might think that the Demon Lord will appear on the Emperor's Birthday."

Zhou Jinghuai was taken aback upon hearing this. He had almost forgotten the real purpose of burning down Mingyue Palace. He asked somewhat excitedly, "Does that mean the Taoist priest won't appear that day?"

"I sent Xie Qiao to Baiyun Mountain, but the Taoist priest has disappeared."

"disappeared?"

"Yes, I've already sent people to investigate, but now the only way is to burn down Mingyue Palace." Shen Mu raised his hand, and Hao Jing then slipped into the pavilion.

"Haojing, during the Emperor's birthday celebration, go to Yong'an Palace and steal the blueprints."

"Yes." Hao Jing nodded, but unexpectedly Zhou Jinghuai put his arm around his shoulder and asked him with a roguish air, "Why don't you go and set fire to Mingyue Palace for me? I don't have the key right now, so I can't climb over that high wall."

Hao Jing expressionlessly let go of the arm that was around him. "Young Master Zhou is joking. If you couldn't even get over the arm you were hitting me with back then, you can forget about me." Hao Jing smiled at him and stepped to stand next to Shen Mu.

When Shen Mu and Zhou Jinghuai first met, they mistook each other for the Demon Lord's subordinates and started fighting.

Although Shen Mu was ruthless and Zhou Jinghuai was immediately at a disadvantage, Hao Jing did not expect Zhou Jinghuai to launch a sneak attack from the side, causing him to recover from his injuries for more than half a month.

Seeing that his attempt to fool them had failed, Zhou Jinghuai feigned anger, pointing at Haojing and looking at Shen Mu, "Shen Mu, your men are no good. Why don't you send them to my men to train them? They can't even do something as simple as scaling a wall properly."

Shen Mu frowned and said seriously, "Stop joking. Although the Taoist priest has disappeared, I will keep watch at the banquet to prevent him from suddenly appearing."

Seeing this, Zhou Jinghuai had no room for negotiation and could only sigh, "Alright, I just hope we can get it done this time, otherwise I don't know when we'll be able to catch Chongming."

He looked up at the bright moon in the sky, then suddenly remembered something and turned to ask, "Have you investigated your men thoroughly?"

Their previous plot to steal the blueprints in the Shen residence's study seemed to have been leaked beforehand. Choosing this location today was likely to prevent those hiding in the Shen residence from overhearing their plans.

Shen Mu's expression changed slightly, but only for a moment before he became calm again and said, "No, it was probably just a coincidence at the time."

"Really?" Zhou Jinghuai raised an eyebrow slightly, not too surprised, but he still felt that this was not a coincidence.

Ultimately, how could ordinary people in the mortal realm be involved with Shen Mu's people?

"By the way, did you know that the Khan of the Western Regions has come to Nanyang?" Zhou Jinghuai recalled the overly ostentatious carriage he had encountered on the road earlier that day. He couldn't see the people clearly through the curtain, but he heard the people along the way discussing that the Khan of the Western Regions had brought tribute to celebrate the birthday of the Emperor of Nanyang.

"Helian Nash? Do you know that the Third Prince spoke to him in the street today?" A hint of sarcasm flashed in Shen Mu's eyes. Some people seem to be too hasty; the Crown Prince is only under house arrest, not deposed.

"Nothing escapes your eyes, Lord Shen."

"Who told you to choose such an easy identity? With my position, the emperor would call me at least several times a day." Shen Mu deliberately poked at his sore spot, and Zhou Jinghuai could only grit his teeth and glare at him.

There was nothing he could do; he couldn't beat Shen Mu.

"So you mean the Third Prince is going to make a move?"

"I don't know, I'm not an all-hearing person." Shen Mu frowned, and seeing the other party's questioning expression, he slowly explained, "I guess he saw that the Crown Prince was under house arrest, and he had some ideas. But now the Khan's own sister is raising the Crown Prince, so Helian may not accept the Third Prince's offer."

When Shen Mu and Zhou Jinghuai descended to the mortal realm, they had a plan. The first step was to find a way to eliminate the Demon Lord and destroy the altar. They would only consider another path if the first one failed.

Emperor Duan Yuan of Nanyang has been on the throne for more than ten years. Although he cannot be considered a diligent and wise ruler, he has at least ensured that the people of Nanyang have enough to eat and wear.

However, ever since Duan Yuan began to show signs of fatigue, he sought the secret to immortality and was bewitched by Taoist priests, leading to the massive construction of the Bright Moon Palace. This caused the power of Nanyang to gradually decline, and the people were filled with resentment, with some areas even experiencing famine.

If the Taoist priests cannot be dealt with, the only option is to target the ruler of Nanyang and replace him.

But this is something we only consider when there's no other way.

"In my opinion, the Third Prince is not a good person." Zhou Jinghuai recalled his few encounters with Duan Yuchuan. Although the man pretended to be kind, he was actually ruthless towards his servants and was really not fit for a great responsibility.

If Nanyang were handed over to him casually, I'm afraid the predicament of Nanyang might not be resolved.

"Let's not talk about him, it hasn't come to that point yet anyway. I reckon there will be some big moves in the palace that day, so be careful in everything."

“That’s natural, but I have another question.” Zhou Jinghuai met Shen Muqing’s cold gaze and asked with a doubtful look, “Why do you think the Duke of Anguo would steal the blueprints of Mingyue Palace? And why did he hide them in Yong’an Palace to avoid being discovered?”

"What do you think?" Shen Mu asked instead of answering.

“I suspect that Duke Anguo is also dishonest. Building an altar is a lucrative job, so maybe he’s trying to make some money off it?” Zhou Jinghuai hesitated for a moment, then said, “Maybe he embezzled a lot when he was building the Bright Moon Palace, and he sent someone to steal the blueprints from my residence because he was afraid of being discovered.”

Shen Mu glanced at him, then chuckled, "If it were just embezzlement, that would be fine. I'm afraid he has other plans. Don't forget, the people from Nanyang were involved in the plot to send the assassin who wanted to kill Lord Qin of the Imperial Guard to the Western Regions."

At that time, someone wanted to make the Embroidered Uniform Guard offend people on both sides, and even used assassins to put the Crown Prince in confinement for three months.

Zhou Jinghuai was slightly taken aback, then understood what Shen Mu meant and hurriedly said, "You mean, the Duke of Anguo is the one who started the scheme against the Western Regions? If the Crown Prince is to be punished, it shouldn't be the Third Prince's turn, right?"

"Have you met the Second Prince?" Shen Mu asked with a light laugh. Since he came to Nanyang, he had only seen the Second Prince a handful of times. Everyone said that although the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace did not have the support of his maternal family, he was still the emperor's legitimate son and had the protection of his adoptive mother from the Western Regions.

Although the third prince was not in line to the throne, fortunately his mother was the most favored concubine in Nanyang, and his maternal family was the most powerful Anguo Marquis's mansion.

The only exception was the Second Prince, Duan Yumou, who had neither maternal family support nor anyone to protect him. He was also less talented and was sent to the border for five years of training when he was young, but when he returned, he was still an incompetent ruler.

Shen Mu took out a Jinyiwei token from his pocket and handed it to Zhou Jinghuai. "Let's not talk about them for now. With this token, you can enter and leave the inner palace directly. But it's still best to be careful. The Jinyiwei guards who were guarding the palace that day may not have been the only ones."

"Don't worry, as long as no one is waiting for me." Zhou Jinghuai gave him a sly smile and put the token into his pocket.

It seems that the Emperor's birthday celebration will be a lively affair.