"Que'er, where does the Third Prince usually keep his skateboard?" Li Shi suddenly asked, startling Que'er who was standing to the side.

"It's in the Third Prince's room. I've seen it several times already," Que'er whispered.

"Go and show it to him now, and tell the kitchen to prepare a few more of the dishes the Third Prince likes," Li said calmly. What she was about to do was enough to turn the Fourth Prince's household upside down. She had just recalled the sweet days she and the Fourth Prince had spent together. She hadn't wanted to be so ruthless, but the current situation forced her to do it. She wanted to make her only legitimate eldest son disappear, so that her own son could rightfully become the Fourth Prince's heir apparent.

"Yes, this servant will go right away, Madam..." Que'er was about to speak when Li interrupted her, "I want to sit here alone for a while, you may go."

After Que'er left, Li Shi, dressed in a lotus-colored silk robe, had her black hair simply tied in a bun, with a strand of hair hanging down her chest. If it weren't for all the scheming and intrigue, she would indeed be a woman who was both bright and beautiful, as well as gentle and lively. No wonder the Fourth Prince had favored Li Shi for almost ten years.

But all of this is destined to be like the lotus flowers in the lotus pond, blooming only for a moment before withering away with time.

She was past the prime of her youth, and looking at her reflection in the water, Li felt a pang of pain in her heart.

You forced me to do this! Yinzhen, you forced me to become like this!

Li kept repeating this sentence in her mind until the sky was gradually dyed into the evening glow by the red sun!

The Third Prince came to Li's courtyard for dinner as usual, but because of Li's words, he lost to several of the other children in the competition that day.

Seeing the sullen Third Prince, Li put his favorite perch into his bowl.

"Jun'er, what's wrong? Is something on your mind? Tell your mother, okay?" Madam Li coaxed gently.

"Mother, I noticed today that my eldest brother's pulleys are indeed very fast, even faster than usual," the Third Prince said to Madam Li after sullenly eating a few bites of food.

“That’s it. Your mother saw it with her own eyes in the main courtyard. The Fujin (Prince Consort) hired someone to make it especially for him. It’s definitely better than the ones for the rest of you.” Madam Li knew that the Third Prince was currently like someone who suspected their neighbor of stealing their axe—his inner demons were at play. And she was the one who had stirred up those demons within him. If one day the Third Prince learned that his pregnancy was entirely a scheme orchestrated by his mother, she wondered what he would think.

"Then I'll go ask my elder brother for it tomorrow and see?" The Third Prince finally completely believed Li's provocative words.

"Wait a few more days. Besides, I think you should speak to the eldest prince privately to avoid embarrassing him in front of others. Or you don't need to speak to him; you can just switch your skateboard with his, so that your eldest brother won't feel awkward in front of you." Madam Li had already ordered the people in the small house to make a copy of the third prince's skateboard overnight.

The Third Prince nodded as if he understood, and Lady Li took in all his reactions.

Everything is ready, we're just waiting for the Third Prince to go and exchange skateboards with the First Prince!

Hundreds of miles away, the Fourth Prince was strolling through a temple fair in Baoding with Emperor Kangxi and others. No matter how talented he was in both literature and martial arts, he could not fathom the horror of human nature, much less know that an irreversible tragedy was unfolding in his own household.