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

The palace road was exceptionally grand on a winter night.

At 7:45 PM, only the Imperial Guards remained to patrol in the dead of night.

"General...a dark shadow just passed by and headed towards the Jingye Palace."

The guard whispered something in Yan Xu's ear.

The Imperial Guards were all handpicked, and each of them possessed hearing and eyesight far exceeding that of ordinary people.

The Jingye Palace they mentioned was where erring concubines copied palace rules; they could only leave when they finished copying them.

Although it wasn't the Cold Palace, it was almost the same.

Yan Xu waved his hand, "There's nothing there."

"It must be my eyes playing tricks on me."

Yan Xu is a first-rank general with the title of "God of War," so why would he need to personally patrol?

However, starting three years ago, Yan Xu placed himself in the patrol team. Some say this shows Yan Xu's loyalty to the emperor, while others say he's just putting on a show.

Three years later, he never slacked off in his patrols and banquets within the palace, which earned him even greater respect from the soldiers. He ordered everyone to pretend they hadn't seen anything.

Watching the few dark shadows streak across the night sky, Yan Xu shook his head. Li Yan had summoned him specifically today, only saying that someone would be handling some business tonight, so Yan Xu naturally had to pretend to be deaf and dumb, as if he hadn't heard or seen anything.

"The young prince is known for holding grudges." Yan Xu shook his head and led the group away from Jingye Palace.

As a place for reflection, Jingye Palace was naturally not lively. It was located in a remote part of the palace, surrounded by low shrubs, and there were no other palaces nearby.

Upon entering, the first thing you see is white silk cloth covering the entire palace.

The rustling of the fabrics in the wind echoed through the empty palace, occasionally sounding like whispers.

At night, the palace maids of Jingye Palace rarely move around, because open flames are not allowed to appear in any place other than the sleeping quarters, where these hanging cloths are placed.

It was quite startling when someone suddenly walked out from behind the white cloth.

Rumor has it that a palace maid was once scared to death.

These white cloths are not just white cloths; if you look closely, you can see that they are sewn with palace rules using the same colored thread.

The concubines who made mistakes had to recognize and copy down each word during the day.

The mental and physical torture is more terrible than any bloody punishment.

Suddenly a gust of wind blew by, causing the fabric outside to rustle, and with a whoosh, the window was suddenly blown open.

A cold wind suddenly rushed in, and Han Fei rubbed her shoulders as she went to close the window. Out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly saw something flash by in the yard.

"Guards! Guards!"

She called out a few times, but the palace maid on night watch did not respond, which made her somewhat flustered.

The day before yesterday, when a palace maid committed suicide at night and was being carried out, Consort Han happened to see it and still remembers those unclosed eyes.

She quickly closed the window, and as soon as she turned around, the candles inside went out without any wind.

A silvery laugh rang in my ears.

"Who? Who's playing tricks in the Palace of Still Night?"

Han Fei pressed her body against the window, her eyes scanning every corner of the room, afraid that something might crawl out.

"Ha ha ha ha……"

The sound surrounded her, as if someone was speaking into her ear.

With a bang, a pale hand tore through the window paper and pressed down on Han Fei's shoulder, its bright red nails reeking of blood.

"Has Your Highness forgotten your servant?"

A faint voice echoed, a voice... a voice all too familiar. Han Fei wanted to run, to escape, but her body was stiff, only her eyes could move.

A head popped out from behind her, its cold, lifeless skin pressed against her face, still damp.

"Your Majesty, Hui'er misses you so much."

Han Fei turned her eyes, and that face... that face was Hui'er's face, pale and bloodless, with pitch-black eyes, and the skin that touched her was so cold that it made one shiver.

After Hui'er pushed Li Qingyan, she was pushed into the lake and drowned by Consort Han's confidant.

This is a vengeful ghost coming to claim my life.

Han Fei's eyes widened.

"Waaah..."

The vibrations in his throat prevented him from making a sound.

The moment the sharp nail struck Han Fei's face, she fainted instantly. Her body, however, remained stiff, as if nailed to the ground.

"You fainted from fright?" Li Qingyan pushed open the door and came in, her small frame standing with her hands on her hips. She said with a hint of disdain, "You're such a coward."

The 'female ghost' from before saw her tear off the human skin mask, revealing a pure and beautiful face, and asked, "Where is Your Highness going next?"

Li Qingyan stroked her chin, a slightly 'wicked' smile playing on her lips. "Let's call a few more people over, and have some fun."

It was almost midnight, and the game of chess between Master Qingshan and the Emperor Emeritus was still not over.

"If we don't have a clue, we can try again later." Master Qingshan smiled slightly; he had plenty of time.

The Emperor Emeritus shook his head, holding a black chess piece. "The Taoist's chess skills are becoming increasingly refined, but I still have a solution."

"Ah... Help! There's a ghost!"

Suddenly, a scream rang out outside. The Emperor Emeritus's hand trembled, and the black piece fell into the trap set by Taoist Master Qingshan.

Once a move is made, there's no going back. What seemed like a chance to turn the tide turned into a crushing defeat. The Emperor Emeritus wanted to send someone to investigate, but was stopped by Master Qingshan.

"If you don't listen or look, you won't be bothered."

The retired emperor sat calmly, tidying up the chessboard. "What does the Taoist priest know?"

Master Qingshan smiled slightly, flicked his hand gently, and said nothing.

The next morning, after accompanying Li Yan to the morning court session, Li Qingyan sat obediently and had breakfast with him.

Lai Fu hurriedly reported that the First Prince, the First Princess, and the Third Prince had all developed fevers the previous night, and Consort Jing had remained secluded in her quarters, fainting several times. Consort Han had even fainted in Jingye Palace, and upon waking, she muttered that she had seen a ghost.

Even the palace maids in the Emperor Emeritus's palace saw something and were so frightened that they went insane.

Li Yan glanced at Li Qingyan beside her, "Aren't you going to tell us?"

Since the Empress Dowager was far away in the imperial mausoleum, she couldn't take revenge on her, so she could only deal with Consort Jing, Consort Han, and their children.

However, the Empress Dowager's behavior was partly due to the Emperor Emeritus's indulgence, so she decided to cut off the Emperor Emeritus's long beard under the cover of night.

However, they were blocked by a golden light and could not enter the Wenmian Palace no matter what they did.

The assassin beside her didn't have time to remove his mask, which frightened the innocent palace maid.

"Master Qingshan is in the Wenmian Hall, so naturally you can't get in."

Li Yan agreed with Li Qingyan's plan, especially the matter of cutting off the Emperor Emeritus's beard.

With such a major incident occurring in the palace, Li Yan naturally had to appease the situation and clean up the mess for Li Qingyan.

It just so happened that Master Qingshan was in the palace, so he took the opportunity to lead the women of the harem in performing a ritual in the Wenmian Hall.

These things were nothing more than a psychological comfort to everyone in the palace.

Li Yan stood at the very front, with Li Qingyan standing beside him, who was not even as tall as his legs.

Li Qingyan yawned quietly. She had been up all night and now had to go to court early, so she felt unsteady on her feet. Li Yan, without saying a word, let her lean back slightly.

At the end of the ceremony, Master Qingshan waved his whisk, and golden dust fell on everyone, which was Master Qingshan's blessing and protection.

He had stayed in the palace for several days, and now it was time for him to leave.

"Your Majesty, the Taihao Palace will open in two years." Daoist Qingshan glanced at the princes and princesses and continued to Li Yan, "Before I leave, I need to take attendance."

The "roll call" is the first hurdle to overcome before entering the temple; only those with a suitable destiny can enter the Taihao Palace.

Some people are simply not born to be emperors.

At the beginning of the Great Yu Dynasty, Daoist Qingshan also called out the names of Li Yan and the former Crown Prince in the same way. Both of them entered the Taihao Palace.

Unable to choose between the two, Taihao Palace sent them out to wait a few more years.

The retired emperor and empress dowager favored the former crown prince and, disregarding the so-called Taihao Palace, directly appointed the former crown prince as the new crown prince.

Later, the Vermilion Bird Gate Incident occurred, and Li Yan led eight hundred elite troops to massacre the Vermilion Bird Gate.

After that, Li Yan was not allowed to enter Taihao Palace.

The retired emperor, standing not far away, glanced at the princes and remarked, "Making such a fuss over a daughter, doesn't it all come down to relying on the princes in the end?"

His words were full of sarcasm towards Li Yan.