"Oh, she's here."

"Is the news that I heard true?"

"Of course, it's true," Wei Xiao Hua said with a faint smile. She looked in Wei Liuying's direction with a faint smile on her lips. She wanted to know what Wei Liuying would do now that her reputation had plummeted.

Based on the novel, she would be desperate enough to try achieving her own happiness to the point that her own reputation was completely destroyed.

"That's so nasty."

"You're so pitiful, Miss Xiao Hua."

"Yes. I can't believe that you have to stay under the same room with that malicious woman for so long."

As they continued to talk, Wei Liuying was trying her best to ignore them. She had already have them talked bad about her over and over. Normally, she would never mind them and now, it was not an exception. Wei Liuying simply stayed on her table and looked at the book that she brought.

It was poem book that her mother had prepared for her. Even though Wei Liuying herself rarely used it in the end, it was still necessary for her to learn some arts.

"Please excuse me for a moment," Wei Xiao Hua said and walked to the front. Her servant, that she ordered to keep watch of Wei Liuying was there. She listened to her servant with a smile hung on the corner of her lips.

'Just like the novel, she sold her servant to the famous merchant Shi Yan. However, her attempt is futile because merchant Shi Yan will die in the north during Prince Ji Sheng's attempt to create peace. Just like that, everyone in Wei Liuying's side will die one by one.'

Wei Xiao Hua felt that her confidence grew. Since the events that occurred now followed the course of the book again, she knew that it meant she still has a lot of advantage in the long run. This made her terribly excited.

"You can go now."

"Yes, Miss."

The class started, but Wei Xiao Hua was not in the mood to listen. She was busy arranging the plot around this event. This was one of the biggest early event that occurred in the novel. At the same time, it was the first time Prince Ji Shu made his first move that would pave the way to the throne.

Nothing should go wrong.

'It's too bad the book never focused on the side characters. I really want to know the details of Prince Ji Shu's attempt.'

Wei Xiao Hua sulked a bit. However, she also knew that it was impossible for the author to give so much screen time to the side characters. She could only know part of their plans based on her memory of the book that she read.

"Alright, it's time for break."

'Break time!'

At this time, Wei Xiao Hua was excited. She glanced to Wei Liuying from the corner of her eyes and noticed that Wei Liuying had stood up and made her way out. She smirked. It had started. All she needed to do was to wait and Wei Liuying's reputation would hit rock bottom.

She felt excited.

Wei Liuying naturally didn't know what Wei Xiao Hua was thinking. She walked to the back courtyard and looked around. The area between the boys and girls were separated with a fence. It was easy to cross if one knew martial arts, which was why the boys were not usually allowed to get close to the fence.

On the other hand, the girls loved the view of the garden. It was beautiful, so many of them came here occasionally. Today, no one was there yet, so Wei Liuying sat on the grass and leaned on the fence.

"If I were you, I would not stay there for a long time."

Wei Liuying frowned and raised her head. On the tree, Yang Xian was sitting with a bamboo scroll in his hand. "I didn't know Strategist Yang loved to stay here."

"If you're hoping to find a man through this way because you're desperate, you should consider better," Yang Xian said and leapt down. With his martial arts, it was easy for him to bypass the guards and sneaked to this place. His dark eyes were looking straight at Wei Liuying.

"I don't think any of it mattered anymore."

"Because you're going to leave?"

Wei Liuying arched her eyebrows and looked at Yang Xian. There was faint coldness within her eyes. "I believe it's not your business, Strategist Yang."

"It's indeed not my business, but I don't like the idea of you seeking for men randomly. Aside from making your reputation stain even further, what can you possibly get from coming here?"

"If…"

"Also, there's no way your father will dissolve the engagement simply because you come here. Instead, he'll make sure that you can get married earlier by using the north's law and make you part of Officials Mu's Household so that you won't tarnish his name any longer. Do you think it'll be easier for you to get out of your house when it happens?"

Wei Liuying stared back at Yang Xian and averted her gaze. "You sure know so many things, Strategist Yang."

"I want you to be part of Prince Ji Sheng's men and also fellow strategist. But for that, I want you to understand that you need to learn how to take care of yourself better," Yang Xian said with a chuckle.

"There are many things that I can't get without betting with everything."

"You're not alone."

Wei Liuying raised her head and looked back at Yang Xian, who was also staring back at her. The two of them didn't say anything else, but their gazes seemed to contain so many words that was left unsaid. There were many things that should never be said aloud.

Finally, Wei Liuying averted her eyes. "Many thanks for your reminder, Strategist Yang. If I survive this ordeal, I'll make sure to make your goal come true."

Yang Xian smiled and turned around. "I believe you can do it. When you finally join in, I'll tell you the truth."

Truth?

Wei Liuying looked back and saw Yang Xian's departing back. There was traces of loneliness from his visage that couldn't be explained. She turned her body around and walked back to the direction of the academy.

Not long after she disappeared, Wei Xiao Hua appeared along with her friends. She was smiling widely and chatted with her friends merrily. However, her body stiffened when she realized that there was no one on the back courtyard.

It's impossible.

Wei Xiao Hua looked around in confusion. She was following after the novel's time tightly, so she didn't try to make any mistake in the timing. After all, the novel mentioned that if she came any longer, Wei Liuying would have already left.

Did she make a mistake in the timing?

Internally, she complained why novels loved to make scheme that was so detailed to even seconds. It made it harder for her to count everything properly because her brain could not catch up with the original transmigrator.

"First Miss Wei, what are you looking for?"

"Ah, I'm surprised that there's no one else aside from us who are using this place," Wei Xiao Hua replied with a smile.

Her friends giggled. "They might have picked a different place for today."

"Isn't it good that we can use this place freely?"

"Yes~."

"Let's have lunch."

Wei Xiao Hua forced herself to smile while her brain was in a mess. She couldn't believe that she had made another mistake in the timing counting. It seemed that following after the novel was not as easy as she expected.

Well, it didn't matter.

She's the protagonist in this story, so she would be able to reach the highest stage in the end.

With that thoughts in her mind, Wei Xiao Hua calmed down and began to chat with the other girls merrily. They were talking about some hottest rumors and many other things that occurred in the capital city.

Unbeknownst to them, Yang Xian was still watching on top of the tree. After bidding his farewell to Wei Liuying, he didn't depart right away and instead stayed on top of the tree to have some rest and watched over everything. Little did he expect to see Wei Xiao Hua came here.

And that girl's attitude before was clear to him.

Wei Xiao Hua was looking for Wei Liuying.

'I wonder if you're truly that perceptive or it's simply because you have the power to see the future,' Yang Xian thought internally. His gaze was profound and deep. 'But no matter which one it is, I would not want someone like her who couldn't even protect herself and only know how to rely on Prince Ji Shu.'

Standing up, Yang Xian dusted his clothes. He smirked. 'And like what Liuying said, the future will only set in stone when it becomes the present. Before that, it's merely the probability of something that might happen in the future. Too reliant of those vision will only make you fail to analyze what happened in your surroundings.'