"Qi’er, you are the Crown Prince. How can you bicker with someone like this? Have you forgotten what your Imperial Father taught you just yesterday?" Consort Yuan chided.

Sang Qi snorted indignantly and glared at her. ’You damn fatty, just you wait.’

Ye Qianning gave an insolent smirk and shrugged. ’Bring it on if you’re not afraid to die.’

"Heh heh, Miss Xiang is truly exceptionally talented. I heard your score on the last monthly exam was among the top, even a little higher than the Crown Prince’s. Is that true?" the Empress chimed in at the perfect moment.

The anger Sang Qi had just managed to suppress flared up again.

Consort Yuan’s expression grew even gloomier. ’The Empress is clearly trying to humiliate the Crown Prince.’

"A single monthly exam means nothing," Consort Yuan said. "The Eighth Prince has studied at Lou Mountain for years and always ranked at the top, yet he still failed this time around."

"Indeed. The Crown Prince will have to try harder next time." 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"I will definitely score higher than her on the next monthly exam!" Sang Qi was already fuming. ’Next time, I’ll crush her under my heel. We’ll see how arrogant she can be then.’

Ye Qianning replied coolly, "Beat me first. Then we’ll talk."

"You... Just you wait." Sang Qi met Consort Yuan’s gaze and forced his anger down.

Ye Qianning didn’t even spare him a glance.

Lady Zhan also took an extreme disliking to the Crown Prince. ’Even if the Emperor himself orders my granddaughter to enter the palace one day, I’ll find an excuse to refuse.’

’This one time has been more than enough.’

Consort Yuan had now seen the little girl’s true nature. ’She’s so calculating. At only six years old, she can already read people and her words are razor-sharp. A person like this must not be allowed to grow up.’

’And she can forget about marrying the Crown Prince. I won’t allow it, even if it’s the Emperor’s will!’

Princess Heliang was puzzled. ’Miss Xiang seems even more unhappy about this than Consort Yuan. The position of Crown Princess Consort is incredibly prestigious; she could become the Empress of the nation one day.’

’It’s an honor the children of countless noble families can only dream of. Why would the Xiang family be displeased?’

’The officials at the banquet who begged the Emperor to reconsider were either Xiang Minghou’s rivals or simply felt a girl from the countryside was unworthy of the position.’

’If Lady Zhan hadn’t brought the child herself today, she would have assumed that the Qian family, like everyone else, was afraid of General Xiang gaining too much power.’

Palace maids served tea and pastries.

"Come, everyone, please try the new Floating Cloud tea and these aromatic pastries from the Western Regions." The Empress handed a piece to Nanxiang.

Nanxiang took one and had a bite, but she didn’t feel like eating any more.

’It’s not as good as the pastries Pangtuan sends...’

"Why just one bite?" the Empress noticed, leaning in to ask.

"Imperial Aunt, I ate too much before I came. If I’d known you had such delicious pastries here, I wouldn’t have eaten at all," Nanxiang said, staring at the pastry with a look of regret.

"Heh heh, if you like them so much, Xiang’er, I’ll have someone pack some for you to take with you later," the Empress chuckled.

"Thank you, Imperial Aunt."

"You little charmer." The Empress tapped her on the nose.

Princess Changyang knew her daughter didn’t actually want to eat it. ’The girl has become quite the picky eater since she started her studies at Lou Mountain. I have no idea what they’re feeding her up there, but it’s certainly spoiled her palate.’

’Whenever she comes home for a break, she won’t even touch the pastries she used to love. She’ll take one bite and declare it tastes awful.’

Ye Qianning also took a piece. After one bite, her brow furrowed slightly. The pastry had an odd, unpleasant aroma, and the taste was strange. She put it down.

"Not to your liking, Miss Xiang?" The Empress looked up just in time to see her put the pastry down after a single bite.

"I’m used to the pastries from home, so this flavor is a little unfamiliar," Ye Qianning answered honestly.

"Nanyuan’s cuisine is different from Beili’s. You’ll get used to it once you start eating in the palace more often."

These pastries from the Western Regions were made with tribute ingredients; not even the General’s estate would have access to them.