Afterward, the conversation was steered away to something less serious. They talked about the weather, the flowers, and even Li Xueyue's current body conditions. And soon, enough time had passed for Li Xueyue to be excused. She bid the Empress a good day and went off on her merry way.

However, life doesn't go as planned. It never did. Shortly after Li Xueuyue had departed from the garden, she caught sight of a familiar figure at the end of the hallway.

Li Xueyue suppressed a tired sigh. She was not in the mood to speak in circles. Nonetheless, her shoulders straightened and her chin was lifted.

"Crown Princess, we meet again," Lady Ge Beining greeted with her usual curtsy. She presented the Crown Princess with a bright, cheery smile, despite the laziness in her gaze.

"Yes, what a coincidence," Li Xueyue stated. She did not look forward to this small talk since it wouldn't provide her with any benefits at all. Well, except mindless and spiteful banter concealed under peels of sweet laughter.

"I wish you a good day," Li Xueyue added on when silence settled over them. She nodded her head and brushed past Lady Ge Beining.

Unfortunately, Lady Ge Beinig opened her mouth and asked a question. "Crown Princess, if I may inquire about something…" she trailed off, turning around to face the Crown Princess.

Li Xueyue raised a curious brow. She was intrigued about what Lady Ge Beining had to ask.

"How is your health faring? I hope you are healthy and alright, especially with the…" Lady Ge Beining struggled to find the right word. "...incident."

Li Xueyue chuckled in amusement. She offered Lady Ge Beining an entertained smile and forced it to reach her eyes.

"You can rest assured, Lady Ge. My body has recovered very well."

"Well, I meant your mental health. I know miscarriages take a toll on women."

"How do you know?" Li Xueyue mused. "Have you personally gone through it, Lady Ge?"

Lady Ge Beining's eyes widened. She wasn't expecting such bold and audacious words that questioned her innocence. This conniving little Princess… She ground her teeth.

Even the Crown Princess's maidservants glanced at each other, eager to gossip about this conversation.

Lady Ge Beining was forced to remain civil, even when she wanted to scream and yell at the Crown Princess. Her luck was too rotten today, and all she wanted to do was climb back into bed and have a lovely nap.

Her morning was ruined by Xu Jiaqi and the other ladies-in-waiting, then the Marquis decided to make his presence known, and finally, the Empress had practically kicked her out of the garden. Now, she had to grapple with her sanity while talking to the Crown Princess.

"I was just making a guess based upon observations of the people in my life, and the books I read," she said.

"Oh, you read?"

The maidservants snickered.

Lady Ge Beining's hands twitched to punch something. Why was the Crown Princess so bent on making more enemies in the palace? Wasn't Xu Jiaqi enough? Was one miscarriage not enough?

"Wait, I do not mean it that way," Li Xueyue coyly said with a slight smile. "I meant, what kind of books interest you, Lady Ge?"

Lady Ge Beining didn't know why she was put on the spot so many times today. She tried her hardest to not glare at the ground. How nice it must be to talk freely without a care in the world, and know that every word you say has weight to it.

If only…if only, the Crown Prince was not bewitched by this irritable woman. Then perhaps, the person wielding such a power would be her and not this random Princess from Wuyi.

"I read books of all genres. Anything that piques my interests, I will read it," she said.

Li Xueyue slowly nodded. Wouldn't that mean Lady Ge Beining's interests were just spread out? She supposed they shared some similarities to each other.

"What about you, Crown Princess? What interests you?"

"The same applies to me," Li Xueyue vaguely said. She didn't need Lady Ge Beining to know anything about her personal preferences.

Any word said here could be used against each other. After all, words were the weapons of high society. The sharper a tongue, the sharper the sword, until it drew blood from clenched fists and bit tongues.

"I recall you excel in sword fighting and archery," Lady Ge Beining abruptly said. "Your technique was truly outstanding, will you teach me, Crown Princess?"

Li Xueyue raised a brow. What a peculiar remark, out of nowhere too… She couldn't conclude that the other had any ulterior motive just yet, but she didn't want to waste her time being near Lady Ge Beining any longer. Then again, it would be wise to keep friends close, but enemies closer.

However, not everything was not worth the hassle. Li Xueyue slowly shook her head with a remorseful smile as her brows drew together. She placed a hand upon her stomach.

"I'm afraid strenuous exercise will not do for the time being to prevent unfortunate incidents from happening again in the future…" Li Xueyue said, but it was just an excuse.

"Well," Li Xueyue suddenly added on with a cunning, sheepish look in her eyes. She peered around their surroundings, as if ready to tell a secret. Then she urged Lady Ge beijing to come closer, and the lady-in-waiting did so without qualms.

Li Xueyue cupped her mouth and whispered. "Truthfully, there are tiresome exercises that can be done every morning and night, but those are for a great cause don't you think so?"

Lady Ge Beining stiffened. Her pupils dilated and it took everything in her power not to scream.

A vein popped out as her fingers dug into her palms. Suddenly, she found the excuses for her actions. Initially, she only wanted to warn the Crown Princess. But now that they had both revealed their weapons, why not put it to good use?

Lady Ge Beining tried not to concentrate on the fact that it could've been her who was receiving pleasure from the Crown Prince. It could've been her sitting upon a throne. It could've been her receiving gentle smiles and loving caresses upon the back of her head.

"I-is that so, Crown Princess?" Lady Ge Beining stuttered out, for the first time in their encounter.

Li Xueyue's eyes twinkled. So this was what made the composed lady twitch in fury. She could practically see the bloodlust in Lady Ge Beining's fierce eyes. The facades were dropped now, weren't they?

"So, you must pardon me, I do not have the time to entertain you with archery and sword fighting competitions," Li Xueyue concluded.

She took a step back and widened her smile, pretending that nothing happened between them.

Li Xueyue peered towards the side, where the sun was high in the sky, blazing hot despite the ushering of autumn.

"Well, would you look at that?" she faked a gasp. "Time went by so quickly."

"Yes, it did… Princess," Lady Ge Beining gritted out. She didn't even want to address this wanton woman by her title as a Princess. Who proudly announces the promiscuous things that happened in bed between husband and wife?

Lady Ge Beining certainly didn't want to hear about any of it. Especially when she knew who should have been by his side. She might have not been raised to marry the Crown Prince, but he had humored her before with meager attention and grunts, but they were still something.

"Since that is all, I will excuse myself," Li Xueyue mused. She enjoyed the barely contained rage in Lady Ge Beining's eyes.

Li Xueyue turned on her heels, ready to hurry off. But then something caught her attention. In the far ends of the hallway, she saw him.