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

The third brother, born with a silver spoon in his mouth, had a powerful backing that, before he fell ill, even rivaled that of the crown prince. Had he not been poisoned, the crown prince position would likely have changed hands long ago.

Unexpectedly, just as the third brother recovered, his mother, Consort An, became pregnant with the emperor's child.

If another prince is born, then Duan Yuchuan's position will have to be shared with someone else.

Duan Yuchuan also understood his second brother's sarcasm and sneered, "That's right, after all, not just anyone can be the second brother. Don't you think so, second brother?"

Duan Yumou remained noncommittal, his large, well-defined hand stroking the wine cup. His provocative gaze met his third brother's directly.

Everyone in the hall stared at the two in silence.

The Second Prince rarely appeared in the imperial court.

In recent days, the Third Prince's methods have become increasingly obvious and ostentatious as the Crown Prince has been confined to his quarters. Today, due to the incident at Mingyue Palace, there are signs that the Third Prince's power has been targeted. The old ministers present all belong to the Crown Prince's faction, so they are naturally happy to see the Second Prince and the Third Prince quarrel.

After all, if the Crown Prince and the Third Prince's squabbles were just minor behind-the-scenes squabbles, then the Second Prince and the Third Prince's mutual dislike was on the surface. Every time they met, they would inevitably argue for a while.

Seeing that the two princes were at an impasse, Pei Zhiheng slowly broke the deadlock.

"The main hall is not a place for you two to quarrel. I would like to ask the Third Prince to go to Yong'an Palace as soon as possible, since it concerns Consort An."

Upon hearing this, Duan Yuchuan glanced at Pei Zhiheng, his face still appearing calm and collected, but his tone was unmistakably unfriendly.

"I think Second Brother should take better care of himself when he has time."

Duan Yuchuan didn't want to look back at his second brother's smug face, so he strode away from the main hall.

He had no time to think about his second brother's sharp tongue; he remembered that he had specifically reminded Thirteen a few days ago.

Unexpectedly, he was also stubborn and inflexible.

After he left, the eerie atmosphere in the main hall gradually dissipated.

Pei Suisui couldn't help but lean closer to Pei Nanyue and asked in a low voice.

"I noticed that the Third Prince was so angry. Could it really be because Consort An is pregnant?"

She had been well protected by her father and sister since childhood and didn't understand these unspoken, taboo topics. She only noticed that Duan Yuchuan seemed angry from the way he had acted earlier.

Pei Nanyue explained softly

“If Consort An’s child is a prince, the Third Prince’s maternal family will have one more person to support, and all the gains he makes will be taken away by others.”

Pei Nanyue had one more thing to say: if the An family wanted to give up supporting the Third Prince and suggested that the Consort get pregnant again, then it would be an attempt to erase everything about Duan Yuchuan.

After all, Duan Yuchuan had been ill for eight years, and during those eight years his personality had become somewhat eccentric and even extreme. He had grown increasingly estranged from the An family, and recently there had even been subtle signs of him targeting the An family.

Why would the Duke of Anguo want a disobedient prince as his pawn?

Even for Pei Nanyue, she always felt that since the construction of Mingyue Palace began in the past two years, the Duke of Anguo had been making constant small moves. When talking with her father, she always sensed from his words that the Duke of Anguo was no longer content to be just a marquis.

She and her father had once boldly speculated that if the Duke of Anguo really wanted to rebel, would it be more useful to have an obedient young emperor in hand, or a prince with an eccentric and extreme personality and his own thoughts?

This is also why she and her father have increasingly prevented her sister from associating with the Third Prince in recent years.

If that day ever comes, regardless of whether the Duke of Anguo rebels or not, the Third Prince will find it difficult to remain unscathed, let alone protect his wife.

Pei Suisui opened her lips, but said nothing more.

She remembered that at the spring banquet, Consort An had specifically asked Thirteen to stay behind, saying that she was feeling a little tired and wanted Thirteen to take a look at her. She lowered her head dejectedly, staring at the delicacies spread across the table before her.

Perhaps at that time, Consort An had already made up her mind.

Pei Nanyue noticed a subtle change in her younger sister and quickly whispered...

"Sui Sui, are you alright?"

Pei Nanyue knew that if she didn't expose the matter, it might actually make her younger sister happier. However, it was destined that the Pei family could not be involved in this struggle.

"I'm fine." Pei Suisui nodded perfunctorily. Although she wanted to, she was powerless to change the situation. She understood her father and sister's good intentions all too well.

Suddenly, she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure behind the screen in the corner. The two looked at each other, and then the figure retreated back into the background.

She quickly turned to Pei Nanyue and said, "Sister, it's still a bit stuffy here. I'm going out for some fresh air."

Pei Nanyue didn't think much of it and nodded, "Go ahead."

When Pei Suisui left the palace, she bumped into the girl who had been hiding there and was now slinking out of the main hall. The girl had a piece of meat in her mouth and was carrying some food she had stolen from the main hall.

Just as she bumped into Pei Suisui, she turned to run away, but Pei Suisui quickly called out to her.

"Fifth Princess!"

The girl froze upon hearing this, and by the time she reacted, Pei Suisui had already grabbed the hem of her clothes. With her mouth already stuffed with meat, she could only obediently let Pei Suisui lead her to a deserted palace path.

Pei Suisui took a handkerchief from her bosom, wrapped the meat in the girl's mouth, and returned it to her. Then she slowly asked...

"Why did the Fifth Princess run off alone? Didn't she send Granny Qin with her?"

Granny Qin was an old nanny who had always taken care of the Fifth Princess, Duan Yuning, and was once a close friend of her mother.

Duan Yuning freed one hand to wipe the corner of her mouth; having not eaten meat for over a month, she was still somewhat craving the grease on her lips.

"She wouldn't let me come, so I snuck out."

“You!” Pei Suisui shook her head. Duan Yuning was about the same age as her, and they both lost their mothers when they were young.

When her father learned that the Fifth Princess was living in poverty in the palace, he would bring some silver and food with him every time he entered the palace, hoping to find an opportunity to help the Fifth Princess.

She took out some silver from her bosom; after all, it was money she had brought with her before leaving home, though she had hesitated, wondering if she would see the Fifth Princess that day.

"Take this and exchange it for some summer clothes. It's almost spring and you're still wearing the same clothes. Did you secretly sell the dress I brought you last time?"

Pei Suisui stuffed the silver into Duan Yuning's hand, noticing that Duan Yuning was still wearing the same pale yellow tuxedo she had bought for her at the beginning of the year before last.

Perhaps because she wears it often, there are quite a few holes in the hem of the skirt.

Duan Yuning smiled at Pei Suisui and said, "I don't need these. Granny Qin said I can't keep taking your things." She wanted to return the silver to Pei Suisui, but she was stopped by Pei Suisui's big hand.

Although the two were of similar age, she had been bullied by the palace servants since childhood and often went hungry, sometimes eating a meal and sometimes going hungry. Due to malnutrition, she was naturally much shorter than Pei Suisui.

"Take it if you're going to give it to me. Your clothes are all torn. Take them and exchange them for some nice dresses to wear for me next time."

Pei Suisui affectionately poked Duan Yuning's head, as if she had become her older sister in front of Duan Yuning.

She always thinks about her sister, who is not related to her by blood.