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

Cheng Qiangong

The woman in the emerald green blouse gently stirred the incense burner on the table, and wisps of incense smoke rose slowly. Through the smoke, she looked up at Pei Nanyue with a bright and flamboyant gaze.

The woman had an oval face, delicate willow-leaf eyebrows, and a face as beautiful as a lotus flower.

Her eyes, as clear as autumn water, still shone with the carefree innocence of a young lady even after many years in the palace. Today, though she wore an understated tobacco-colored robe, the intricate cloud patterns embroidered on it subtly shone with a golden luster, all of which highlighted her status as a woman.

Even Pei Nanyue would feel inferior to her.

Pei Nanyue, dressed in a well-fitting smoky blue dress, sat upright at one side of the table. She lowered her head slightly, staring absently at the porcelain teacup in her hand.

She searched for a long time on her way to the palace, but could not find her sister.

Currently, trapped in the palace and cut off from news, she was extremely anxious. After all, she had seen the Pei family's carriage outside the palace, so Sui Sui must have entered the palace.

Seeing Pei Nanyue's thoughtful expression, the woman suddenly chuckled.

"Miss Pei, you've come to see me today, surely it can't be just to catch up?" Her voice was different from her bright appearance, carrying a hint of hoarseness.

Upon hearing this, Pei Nanyue's hand, which was holding the teacup, trembled slightly, but she quickly recovered and raised her small face to whisper to the woman.

“Your Majesty is wise. I have come to see you today because I have something to discuss with you.” Pei Nanyue glanced at Consort Ning in front of the table, then turned her cold gaze to sweep over the other palace maids in the hall.

Consort Ning naturally understood and quietly dismissed the maids.

After everyone had left, the entire Chengqian Palace became even quieter. Unlike Consort An's flamboyant nature, Consort Ning preferred quietude.

If there is nothing important, she stays in the house all day without going out.

With no worries or troubles, she actually looked much younger than An Ruyi.

Seeing that everyone had left the hall, Consort Ning spoke up.

"Now you can tell me, what exactly do you want from me?"

"Your Majesty, my sister is missing." After pondering for a long time, Pei Nanyue finally spoke up about her biggest concern.

Consort Ning raised an eyebrow slightly, subtly withdrawing her gaze from Pei Nanyue.

"You're asking me? You've probably come to the wrong person."

"Your Majesty, my sister was pushed off the cliff by the Fourth Princess."

"So?" Consort Ning lifted her eyelids slightly, seemingly unconcerned by Pei Nanyue's words. Seeing Pei Nanyue put down her teacup, she continued...

"Duan Yuyan is not my daughter. You should go find Consort An instead."

Consort Ning had also heard about Duan Yuyan pushing the second young lady of the Pei family off the cliff, but at the time she was quite surprised that the fourth princess was so bold as to dare to lay a hand on the prime minister's daughter.

But then he heard that Prime Minister Pei wanted to marry his second daughter to the third prince.

This action made her look down on the Pei family's daughter.

Thinking of this, Consort Ning looked at Pei Nanyue with a hint of inexplicable mockery and continued...

“I don’t have such an unreasonable daughter.”

Consort Ning had no children of her own, except for the Crown Prince, whose mother had died young, whom she raised herself.

It's not that she can't have children, but that she doesn't want to.

As a princess from the Western Regions, she was willing to marry the Emperor of Nanyang in order to seek peace between the two countries. How could she possibly be willing to have a child with the emperor?

Pei Nanyue naturally understood that Consort Ning's words had a double meaning.

Instead of being angry, she smiled and slightly raised her head. Her bright gaze made Consort Ning's breath catch in her throat.

“Consort An’s family is powerful and she enjoys the Emperor’s favor in the palace, so her status is naturally noble. It is the best policy for Your Highness to temporarily avoid confrontation. But now that the An family has broken ties with the Pei family, my Pei family will naturally not tolerate An Ruyi.”

Pei Nanyue's eyes seemed to have taken on a hint of ruthlessness, unlike her usual cold demeanor.

She directly exposed the subtle tension between the An and Pei families, casually mentioning her plan to deal with the An family, which made Consort Ning raise an eyebrow and become interested.

"From what you're saying, the Pei family won't let the An family off the hook? What does that have to do with me?"

Her words were flawless, and there was no way to find any fault in them.

Pei Nanyue frowned slightly, thinking that Consort Ning must have been struggling in the deep palace for many years. She must have suffered a lot in her early years because of her temperament. Now it seems that she has indeed made a lot of progress.

She watched as Consort Ning lowered her head, leisurely fiddling with the incense burner on the table, seemingly completely indifferent. After a moment of contemplation, she slowly spoke.

"Your Majesty needs support to ensure the Crown Prince's smooth ascension to the throne."

"Oh?" Consort Ning paused slightly.

Seeing that Consort Ning had reacted somewhat, Pei Nanyue understood and immediately added...

"Although the Crown Prince is the legitimate son of the late Empress, she had already severed ties with her maternal family, the Bai family, when she married into the palace, leaving her with little power. After the late Empress's death, Her Majesty, feeling sorry for the young Crown Prince, raised him under her care, and to this day has no other children, but..."

Pei Nanyue glanced around the room discreetly, then looked at Consort Ning and said...

"But you are also from the Western Regions, and you have no power in Nanyang to support you. If Consort An gives birth to a prince and becomes empress, then the position of crown prince will definitely be shaken."

Consort Ning raised her head, meeting Pei Nanyue's probing gaze, and then smiled slightly at her.

“If the Crown Prince cannot become the new emperor, I will be the future Empress Dowager.”

What Consort Ning said was true; even if the Crown Prince were deposed, she would still be the future Dowager Consort of Nanyang. Already powerless, she posed no threat to An Ruyi.

"But Her Majesty is not willing to be subordinate to An Ruyi, or rather, the An family is not one that can coexist peacefully with the Western Regions."

Pei Nanyue hit the nail on the head; everyone knew that the An family intended to rebel.

However, An Jia's attitude towards the Western Regions is little known.

"What do you mean?"

Consort Ning paused, her eyes narrowing slightly as she looked at Pei Nanyue with a strange hostility. How could she let a young lady from the Pei family know things that she herself didn't?

Pei Nanyue calmly picked up the teacup again, took a small sip, and said...

"Why did the assassin who tried to kill Lord Qin go to Zuixianlou? Why did the clues investigated by the Embroidered Uniform Guard point directly to the Western Regions from the beginning? It was all just a play orchestrated by the Duke of Anguo."

"You mean the Duke of Anguo killed Lord Qin of the Imperial Guard and then framed the Western Regions?"

“Indeed, if Consort An were to become Empress one day, then both the Third Prince and the unborn Sixth Prince would become pawns of the An family. At that time, the first thing the An family would do would be to target the Western Regions.”

Pei Nanyue's few words stirred Ning Pin's interest slightly.

It's not that she doesn't want to fight, it's that she's too lazy to fight.

She had promised that person that she would marry into Nanyang, and she already harbored resentment.

Let alone bearing a child for the emperor?

But if An Ruyi were to actually ascend to the position of empress, it is likely that, as Pei Nanyue said, the first thing the An family would do is target the Western Regions.

How could they easily let themselves off the hook?

Thinking of this, Consort Ning suddenly remembered something, and a sly glint flashed in her eyes.

“But there’s one thing you didn’t say right. The Emperor intends to marry the Fourth Princess to a man from the Western Regions. If this goes through, the An family will inevitably become related to my people from the Western Regions through marriage.”