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

At this moment, the main hall was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

The emperor was furious, and his rough fingers tapped the table absently.

His Highness's courtiers displayed various expressions, each harboring their own thoughts.

Pei Zhiheng remained calm. Just as he was about to drink his wine in one gulp, he noticed that the Duke of Anguo opposite him seemed to be about to break the chopsticks in his hand. A subtle smile appeared on his lips.

It seems the fish has taken the bait.

He was seated in an excellent position, with a clear view of the various expressions on the faces of the officials at the table.

It's not hard to guess that, regardless of whether the person who killed the Imperial Guard was from the Western Regions or the Southern Barbarians, there must be a traitor within their Nanyang court.

Duan Yuyan's face showed barely suppressed anger; she was afraid that her father would really blame Shen Mu.

At that point, she won't even be able to protect him.

Just as she was lost in thought, Duan Yuchuan handed her a glass of wine.

She frowned and glanced at Duan Yuchuan as she looked at the somewhat cloudy liquid in her wine glass. Ever since her older brother fell ill, she had completely ignored him.

Even though he has recently recovered, perhaps because of Thirteen's excellent medical skills.

She never even considered him.

"What?" she asked in a low, displeased tone.

"I'm afraid you'll rush out and beg your father."

Duan Yuchuan calmly glanced at Shen Mu standing in front of the hall and kindly reminded Duan Yuyan.

"None of your business?" Duan Yuyan naturally didn't appreciate it.

As if he had guessed correctly, Duan Yuchuan shrugged and leaned back in his chair.

On the contrary, Duan Yumou, who was sitting directly below the two of them, subtly withdrew his probing gaze.

He looked at the delicious food on the table but had no appetite.

He looked thoughtfully across the street, but when he saw the empty seat, he was taken aback.

When did the person disappear?

At this moment, a hoarse voice broke the silence in the hall.

"Shen Mu, is this confession true?"

Duan Yuan's face showed barely concealed anger as he tore at the blood-stained confession in front of him.

“At Fengyazhai, I deliberately spared the assassin’s life to mislead everyone. I never expected that I would actually find out who was behind it.”

"Is the assassin still alive?"

Duan Yuan's tone was indifferent, making it impossible to discern his true attitude towards the matter.

"Yes." Shen Mu composed himself, appearing confident, which made the Duke of Anguo, sitting beside him, furrow his brow even more. He clearly remembered that his informant, hidden within the Embroidered Uniform Guard, had reported back that the assassin had already perished at Fengya Zhai.

Why are they jumping out now to claim they're identifying the murderer?

Despite his burning anger, he maintained a calm facade. He had no right to question the Embroidered Uniform Guard's testimony about its veracity.

"Then how do you explain the evidence regarding the Western Regions?"

Duan Yuan had thought it through clearly. He didn't care whether a court official was assassinated; what he cared about was offending people from both sides because of a mere Vice Minister of the Imperial Guard.

Their current national treasury is insufficient to support a confrontation with them.

"The assassin said that their master had deliberately planted evidence about the Western Regions on them. If they were captured, the trouble would be directed at the Western Regions, and then the capital would be seized while the emperor was trying to clean up the Western Regions."

Shen Mu's voice fell upon the court, silencing the officials who had questioned him earlier.

The group exchanged glances, wondering who would dare to plot against Nanyang and the Western Regions from behind the scenes. It was probably only the Southern Barbarians, who had been stirring up trouble on the border.

The Duke of Anguo gripped the wine cup with such force that his fingers were bloodless. He failed to notice Pei Zhiheng's gaze, which remained fixed on him, a calculating glint in Pei's eyes.

Seeing that Duke Anguo was rarely showing his true colors, Pei Zhiheng could easily guess that this was definitely related to him.

Duke Anguo was An Ruyi's biological father.

Duan Yuchuan is An Ruyi's biological son.

If the An family were to covet the throne, they would inevitably have to rely on external forces to overthrow the emperor and the two princes who were standing in Duan Yuchuan's way.

He just didn't expect that the Duke of Anguo would be so audacious as to kill their Nanyang court officials.

"Ridiculous! They dare to touch my Nanyang territory. The southern barbarians are truly tired of living."

Duan Yuan's words were like revealing the final mystery, and everyone's expressions were quite interesting. Just as they had guessed, the Southern Barbarians were trying to sow discord between Nanyang and the Western Regions.

Sitting to the side, Pei Suisui suddenly felt her hands and feet turn ice cold. She hadn't expected that the assassins who had tried to kill her at Fengyazhai were from the Southern Barbarians.

Before she was born, the power of the Southern Barbarians was considered greater than that of the Western Regions.

However, because the southern barbarians were inherently warlike, their repeated attempts to invade Nanyang failed. Therefore, they sent people to sow discord between the Western Regions and Nanyang, intending to incite war between them.

As they expected, after killing the previous priest of the Western Regions, they deliberately left clues about Nanyang. The Western Regions believed them and mobilized the entire tribe to attack Nanyang.

The Southern Barbarians, being cunning, took advantage of the Western Regions' sword pointing towards Nanyang to launch a sneak attack from behind, directly killing Helian Nash's biological father, the previous Khan of the Western Regions.

Helian Nash had lived in Nanyang, and being naturally intelligent, he immediately understood the tricks of the southern barbarians.

In exchange for paying annual tribute to Nanyang and sending his own younger sister to Nanyang as a hostage, he quelled the war with Nanyang and then, with Nanyang's help, drove the southern barbarians out of the border.

Unexpectedly, after more than a decade, the Southern Barbarians have returned with renewed force. This time, they intend to shift the blame for the chaos onto the Western Regions, using Nanyang as a front to annihilate the people of the Western Regions.

"Your Majesty, I implore you to thoroughly investigate this matter and restore the reputation of the Western Regions."

Shen Mu's voice pulled everyone back to reality.

Immediately, all the court officials rose and walked to the table, echoing Shen Mu's sentiments towards the emperor.

"We beg Your Majesty to thoroughly investigate this matter and restore the innocence of the Western Regions!"

At this moment, Hernández turned his head to look at Shen Mu beside him, his expression somewhat complicated.

His original intention was to find out the murderer himself and then appease the Emperor of Nanyang. But at this moment, Shen Mu's evidence was known only to him among everyone present, and that evidence was most likely forged!

He didn't understand why Shen Mu wanted to help him.

Duan Yuan sat on the dragon throne, deep in thought. He knew that the national treasury was empty, and this was not the best time to launch a war. He looked at the court officials below, unsure of what to do.

"Your Majesty—Your Majesty—"

A sharp sound suddenly shattered the silence in the hall.

When the young eunuch rushed in, he tripped and fell in front of the door.

The ministers looked on, their faces filled with disdain. How could such a person intrude into the main hall when they were discussing matters of state?

The young eunuch was so anxious that he didn't even bother with the proper etiquette. He quickly ran to Duan Yuan's personal steward, Eunuch Tao, and whispered a few words in his ear.

Shen Mu looked up and saw that Eunuch Tao's face had turned deathly pale.

He understood immediately, guessing that Zhou Jinghuai had succeeded.