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

"Yes, Princess."

Two guards behind Duan Yuyan stepped forward and restrained Thirteen. The man whose branding iron Duan Yuyan had just taken drew his sword and slowly walked towards Thirteen.

This secret room was built by Duan Yuyan for her own killing pleasure, so the guards under her command also have the lives of many innocent people on their hands.

Thirteen sneered

"What's wrong, Princess? Are you furious?"

"Cut out your tongue, then we can talk slowly." Seeing that the time was ripe, Duan Yuyan calmly sat back down in her chair, ready to enjoy the scene she had been waiting for.

Thirteen stared at the gleaming longsword, which reflected his own image, and instinctively wanted to break free of the shackles and awaken the sealed divine power within him.

At the critical moment

"Bam—"

A powerful surge of force shattered the door to the entire dark room.

As the door to the darkroom collapsed, the still-warm sunlight instantly illuminated the entire room, startling everyone inside who looked up.

The figure moved swiftly, knocking down the approaching guards and seizing their swords.

Duan Yuyan subconsciously raised her hand to brush away the dust that had been blown into her eyes. The bright, vivid red color startled her so much that she immediately stood up.

"It's you--"

Thirteen tilted her head slightly; her face was covered in blood, making it impossible to see who had come.

In a daze, she felt a man walking towards her against the light. She was already exhausted and felt her eyelids getting heavier and heavier before she fainted.

Zhou Jinghuai drew his sword and wounded the two servants who were holding Thirteen, just in time to catch Thirteen himself.

He saw Thirteen lying in his arms like a rag doll. Looking at the bloodstains all over the room, he guessed that the Fourth Princess must have tortured Thirteen. He frowned and glared at Duan Yuyan.

"Fourth Princess, the Emperor only ordered you to arrest Thirteen, not to use torture."

Duan Yuyan said in a fit of anger

"You surnamed Zhou, how dare you trespass into my princess's residence? Aren't you afraid I'll report you to my father, the emperor?"

Ignoring the injury on his back, Zhou Jinghuai swept Thirteen up in his arms, her broken legs dangling in the air. He was consumed by rage, his tone becoming increasingly harsh.

"Let the princess file a complaint. Anyway, it's just a few broken doors, and our Zhou family can afford it."

He was about to carry Thirteen away when he saw Duan Yuyan grab a sword from the side and stretch it out in front of him, blocking his way.

"You dare take her away? Believe me, this princess will chop you up!"

Zhou Jinghuai glanced at Duan Yuyan, his tone full of disdain.

"His Majesty has ordered that I take Thirteen to the Dali Temple for custody, to await His Majesty's judgment." He narrowed his eyes slightly, noticing Duan Yuyan's defiant expression.

"What, does the Fourth Princess intend to defy the imperial decree?"

"You..." Duan Yuyan's gaze was like poison, coldly staring at Thirteen in Zhou Jinghuai's arms. She was unwilling to let Zhou Jinghuai take her away like this.

"Princess--"

Man'er arrived late, panting heavily as she rushed into the room. Duan Yuyan glared at her with displeasure.

"What are you here for?"

"Princess, Eunuch Tao from the palace has arrived... He says you must come to the palace immediately." Man'er lowered her head, afraid that the Fourth Princess would take her anger out on her.

Duan Yuyan, sword in hand, turned and glared at Zhou Jinghuai, secretly gritting her teeth.

"So what if it's the Dali Temple? This princess will kill them without hesitation!"

After saying that, she threw the longsword on the ground, ignoring her wounded subordinates lying on the ground in the dark room, and hurriedly walked out.

Zhou Jinghuai glanced coldly at Man'er, said no more, and hurriedly carried Thirteen out of the darkroom.

Just as they left the princess's residence, they saw Haojing coming to greet them after hearing the news.

He came looking for Zhou Jinghuai.

"My lord, this is..." Hao Jing looked at the unconscious Thirteen in Zhou Jinghuai's arms with surprise.

Her legs hung in the air like a rag doll, lifeless.

"Let's go first, it's not convenient to talk here," Zhou Jinghuai said sternly. He glanced coldly at the princess's residence behind him, which was indeed a man-eating cage.

There were rumors in Nanyang that the Fourth Princess was fond of martial arts and knew some fighting skills, so she would beat her subordinates every day. She even frequently captured refugees from the outskirts of the capital and brought them back to kill for her own amusement.

Looking at the mottled walls of that dark room today, Thirteen is definitely not the first person Duan Yuyan has locked up there.

"Should we go back to the Embroidered Uniform Guard first?" Hao Jing hesitated, looking at Thirteen's injuries, which were too horrifying. She was covered in blood and dirt, and it was not yet possible to tell the extent of her injuries.

Zhou Jinghuai's tone turned cold as he glanced at Haojing and said...

"The Emperor has decreed that I take Thirteen to the Dali Temple for detention, but I have a friend there who might be able to get her a clean cell."

Hao Jing nodded upon hearing this. They were on the street, surrounded by people, and it wasn't convenient for him to relay Shen Mu's instructions.

"Then I'll go with you, sir. I'll also have someone fetch my medicine box while I'm at it."

He thought that if Shen Mu knew that the Fourth Princess had harmed the Thirteenth Princess, he would probably not let the princess off the hook.

Pei Mansion

Pei Nanyue, lying on the couch, groggily opened her eyes and saw the bed curtains in front of her, slowly regaining her senses.

"Miss."

Her maid, Ameng, pushed open the door with a basin of hot water and just in time to see her mistress wake up.

She quickly put the basin aside and helped Pei Nanyue sit up.

In a daze, Pei Nanyue suddenly remembered her younger sister and hurriedly asked...

"Where is the second young lady? She..."

A-Meng didn't dare to hide it and quickly replied

"The Second Miss is alright for now. The Emperor has sent an imperial physician to take care of her. She may have been scratched by rocks when she fell off the cliff. They are all superficial injuries. The physician said she needs to rest for a while."

Ah Meng recalled that when she helped her unconscious master back to his room, she had accidentally seen the bloodstains that the second young lady had brought out of her room, which had truly frightened her.

Fortunately, the second young lady was blessed with good fortune and a long life.

Pei Nanyue couldn't hide the sadness in her expression, and couldn't help but feel a little regretful.

"It's all my fault. If I had gone to fetch Mr. Thirteen out of the city in her place, I would never have let her suffer like this."

Their mother died in childbirth, and their father, heartbroken and afraid that remarrying would cause them both suffering, raised them alone. He especially doted on his younger sister, treating her like a precious gem.

Although she was only three years older than her younger sister, because her sister had never experienced maternal love since childhood, she took on the role of a mother and cared for her sister as she grew up.

Whenever something happens, she is the one who stands in front of her younger sister, protecting her from any harm.

"Miss, don't blame yourself. Who could have guessed that the Fourth Princess would actually dare to lay a hand on the Second Miss?"

A-Meng soaked the handkerchief in hot water, wrung it out, and gently wiped the fine sweat from Pei Nanyue's forehead.

She had been by the eldest young lady's side since childhood, and she understood that the second young lady's injury would make the eldest young lady extremely worried and guilty.

When she was little, the second young lady was playful and insisted on flying a kite. As a result, she accidentally bumped into the stone embankment of the fishpond.

The second young lady, her face all wrinkled and covered in blood, ran to find the eldest young lady. The eldest young lady regretted not taking good care of the second young lady and locked herself in the ancestral hall for three days without eating or drinking.

Later, the second young lady sneaked into the ancestral hall and coaxed the eldest young lady back to her senses.

"The Fourth Princess..."