Reincarnated as the daughter of my mortal enemy, all I want is to ascend the throne.

Yan Xu followed closely behind, holding Li Yan's fox fur cloak. After a long struggle, he caught up and draped it over Li Yan's shoulders. "Your Majesty, please calm down. The young prince is safe in my residence."

Li Yan nimbly mounted his horse without saying a word.

His face was even colder than the snow and ice.

"Achoo~"

Li Qingyan sneezed, feeling as if someone was cursing her, and began to eat the pastries in small bites.

Waiting for someone is a very boring thing.

Besides, she was exhausted after running around all day and was already sleepy.

Her fair, delicate little hands rubbed her eyes.

He curled up in the chair.

The housekeeper asked a maid to take her to bed, but Li Qingyan waved her hand, saying, "I want to wait for Yan Xu to return."

Seeing that she insisted, the housekeeper didn't want to continue trying to persuade her to go to sleep.

Since Yan Xu's two younger sisters got married and his younger brother went to the military camp for training, Yan Xu has been living alone for more than a year, and the mansion has become increasingly deserted.

Two more children were in the main hall today, and the maids were happy to serve them. Without the steward having to tell them, one brought some tea and snacks, and another changed the tea.

Make sure everything is hot when you put it in your mouth.

Li Qingyan, sitting in the chair like a little red dumpling, secretly glanced at Yan Feizhang a few times.

Yan Feizhang sat upright in a chair to the side, his back straight. From a distance, he looked like a young master from a noble family. Even in coarse linen clothes, his temperament could not be concealed.

Despite their poverty, they remained as resilient as pine and cypress trees.

Such a person has his own bottom line, and Li Qingyan wanted to keep him here.

Princes and princesses all need to have their own trusted confidants raised by their side since childhood. She had long heard that her three older brothers and two older sisters, whom she rarely saw, all had their own people, but she had nothing.

Now that I've found one ready-made, I can raise her and nurture her well, and she can help me in the future.

However, Yan Feizhang was a bit stubborn. He was about to leave after sending her to the general's mansion. If she hadn't stopped him, he would have already run away.

She yawned, her eyelids grew heavier, and she nodded repeatedly like a chick pecking at rice.

Yan Feizhang reached out and caught her face as she was about to hit the chair.

Children who are pampered have much more delicate skin than their peers, and their chubby little faces are softer than cotton.

Yan Feizhang was afraid that his rough hands would hurt her.

Footsteps were particularly noticeable in the quiet courtyard.

Upon hearing the noise, Li Qingyan quickly opened her eyes. Her already round eyes widened even more, becoming sparkling as if they contained stars.

"Yan Xu is back." Yan Feizhang lifted her to the ground, and she ran quickly outside on her short legs, "Yan..."

Before the word "preface" could be uttered, a pair of shoes embroidered with dragon patterns appeared.

"Oh no."

Li Qingyan instinctively turned and ran, only to find her body slowly lifting into the air, her feet flailing aimlessly.

"Li Yan, let me go, you bad person!"

As soon as he said this, a whole group of people knelt down behind him. Publicly addressing the emperor by his name was a capital offense.

Even when Li Qingyan was being silly, she would still know her limits. She would only call him by his full name when there were no officials from outside the Hall of Diligent Governance.

Yan Xu knew Li Yan's temperament well; anyone who challenged his authority would have their grave overgrown with weeds.

"His Majesty……"

Li Yan raised her hand to signal him to shut up, then lifted Li Qingyan to sit in the main seat, placed the little dumpling on her lap and made her lie face down, and then slapped Li Qingyan's buttocks several times.

Things happened so fast that Li Qingyan's eyes widened in shock, and she even forgot to struggle and run away.

It wasn't until Li Yan finished adjusting her cloak that Li Qingyan realized she had been spanked in public.

in public!

She may have the physical characteristics of a three-year-old, but mentally she's a twenty-something adult.

This is clearly an insult.

"You..." Li Qingyan pouted, her eyes instantly reddening. She wanted to scold him, but then she thought that there were too many people around, and she might get a spanking again.

Li Yan reached out and covered her mouth. "Don't cry. Do you know what crime it is to call me by my name in public?"

Li Qingyan quickly covered her neck, her small hands covering her chubby neck, making her look like a doll from a New Year's painting.

Others only saw her cuteness, but overlooked the fear in Li Qingyan's eyes. After spending a long time with Li Yan, she actually lowered her guard against this madman.

The person who killed her three times might kill her a fourth time.

"Come back to the palace with me."

"I do not want."

Li Qingyan rolled down and, like a small cannonball, rushed into Yan Xu's arms, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"As expected, Yan Xu is the most composed. Li Yan, that madman, would kill anyone, whether he's a father or a mother."

Yan Xu instinctively hugged her, but he was originally kneeling, and now holding a child in his arms was a really uncomfortable position.

Li Yan, in a moment of great compassion, waved his hand and told them to rise.

"Come here, let's go back to the palace."

Li Yan repeated himself once again.

But Li Qingyan was defiant, hugging Yan Xu's neck and saying to Li Yan, "I'm not going back."

"Once you have an empress and legitimate children, you won't want me, this motherless child."

"You said no one can compare to my mother, you're lying. You just don't want me anymore. I'm not going back."

Even though she knew that her mother was Li Yan, Li Qingyan had always been an orphan, so she became more and more aggrieved as she talked, and finally she buried her face in Yan Xu's shoulder and cried so hard that she hiccuped.

Where have I ever seen a child cry like this?

His younger siblings, though young, rarely shed tears because they had endured much hardship, let alone looked like this.

"Your Majesty, I will take the young prince to rest for a while."

Yan Xu quickly patted Li Qingyan's back to help her catch her breath.

"Get out of here."

Li Yan waved his hand, rubbing his temples in annoyance. What a brat! He argued with him and made Li Yan cry uncontrollably. Li Yan hadn't even said a word, yet Li Yan acted as if he were a sinner.

For a moment, only Laifu remained in the room with Li Yan.

"Your Majesty, the little princess is exceptionally intelligent despite her young age. If she understands what's going on, she won't throw a tantrum."

At this time, only Lai Fu dared to speak to Li Yan.

Parents all hope their children are intelligent, especially those from imperial families, who believe that intelligence is essential for self-protection.

But Li Qingyan was so clever that she gave Li Yan a huge headache. "Take some men and lead her to deliver the white jade ruyi to Liu Yao."

The future Empress Liu Yao is the granddaughter of the former prime minister Liu Chengzhi.

Li Qingyan was reluctant to run errands, especially since she was giving this future empress someone who could potentially endanger her life.

The emperor's favor is a double-edged sword for both concubines and children. It can make you a person of high status and power, but it can also make you a thorn in everyone's side that everyone wants to get rid of.

Lai Fu was Li Yan's chief eunuch, and his presence represented Li Yan's reputation, especially when he came to deliver gifts.

Even Liu Chengzhi had to come and receive them personally.

Liu Chengzhi is sixty-five years old, and although he has a full head of white hair, he is full of energy.

Li Qingyan looked up at him. She disliked this old man Liu the most. The first time Li Yan carried her to the morning court, it was this old man who kept saying things that were unreasonable.

The thought of unhappy things immediately caused his pale, dumpling-like face to fall.

"I've summoned A-Yao to collect the reward."

"No need."

A voice, both childlike and authoritative, rang out. Liu Chengzhi seemed to only then notice Li Qingyan, "This is...?"

Lai Fu's expression was not good. Was he not seeing it, or was he deliberately not seeing it?

Li Qingyan raised her head and squinted her eyes.

His appearance was somewhat chilling, and his threatening demeanor suggested that a mature soul resided within his body.

"My name is Li Qingyan. I am here on my father's orders to deliver a white jade ruyi to the future empress. I will personally deliver it to her room."

While other people's three-year-old children can't even speak clearly, Li Qingyan, at the age of three, dared to argue with the former prime minister.