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

The wedding of the emperor and empress was a grand and joyous occasion, with celebrations taking place both inside and outside the palace.

There are corresponding rituals arranged for each hour of the day and night.

The enormous fireworks exploded with a golden dragon totem unique to Daewoo, instantly illuminating half the night sky.

Li Qingyan, dressed in a red palace gown embroidered with rabbits in the same color silk thread, sat on the steps, looking utterly bored.

Both Eunuch Laifu and Li Yan went to Fengyi Palace.

The other palace maids and eunuchs were very quiet, even the head maid Su Xue was a taciturn person.

She could only sit listlessly on the steps of the Hall of Diligent Governance, gazing at the square sky.

"Why is Your Highness sitting here?"

Yan Xu held a dough figurine in his hand and handed it to Li Qingyan. The snow-white little rabbit looked like a white ball of fur and somewhat resembled Li Qingyan.

A chubby little hand poked at the rabbit's ears, and a muffled voice said, "So boring."

Yan Xu sat beside her, the two of them, one big and one small, looking up at the fireworks. Their figures looked somewhat alike; if they were wearing the same clothes, they would be two versions of the same person, one big and one small.

"Yanxu, you're the same age as my father, why aren't you married?"

Li Qingyan asked the question casually, but in fact, three years have passed, and Li Yan should let Yan Xu have his own life.

She didn't feel as guilty towards Li Yan, after all, he had killed her three times. But Yan Xu was different; the two had no enmity in their three lifetimes.

When she chose Yan Xu, she was only concerned with finding a good father for herself, but she overlooked the fact that Li Yan would seek revenge.

I thought Li Yan wouldn't do anything because of his childhood friendship with Yan Xu...

Now it seems she was really wrong.

However, she had no grounds to criticize Li Yan, and threatening Yan Xu ultimately earned her the title of "loyal general".

A person as good as Yan Xu shouldn't live a lonely life; he should have his own children.

Li Qingyan turned her head and looked up at him. From this angle, she could see Yan Xu's eyes clearly. In those eyes that had experienced countless life and death, there was no resentment, no sadness, no loneliness, but rather a sense of relief.

"Your Highness is a kind child," Yan Xu said, patting her head unconsciously. "I will only ever have one person in my life, and protecting Your Majesty and Your Highness is enough."

Li Qingyan felt incredibly heartbroken; she was the one who had harmed Yan Xu. However, before her guilt could even surface, she was shocked by what Yan Xu said next.

He said, "His Majesty is a very good person."

Li Qingyan froze. Why did she sense an inappropriate emotion in Yan Xu's words? She suddenly looked at him and asked, "Yan Xu... do you... have some kind of secret?"

Secret? Yan Xu pondered these two words, only to say that everyone has something hidden in their heart.

Some secrets are the same whether you tell them or not, but some secrets, once revealed, will lead to utter ruin.

"From the palace walls, we can see it's quite lively outside today. Would Your Highness like to go?"

We can't just sit here forever. Even though it's not cold at night, children are more susceptible to catching a cold.

Upon hearing this suggestion, Li Qingyan immediately stood up, but the long train of her palace dress nearly pulled her down, and Yan Xu had to pull her arm back.

Feeling the chubby little arm in his hand, Yan Xu smiled slightly, "Your Highness ate well."

Was he implying she was fat? Li Qingyan didn't argue with him and hurriedly ran inside, calling out to Cuiping and Cuizhu to find her some light clothes.

Looking at her lively appearance, Yan Xu shook his head, thinking that she looked just like Li Yan when she was four or five years old.

How long has Yan Xu known Li Yan? He calculated it himself—long enough to add ten months to their age.

At that time, the Great Yu Dynasty had not yet been established, and both families were impoverished families far from the capital.

Before experiencing those betrayals, Li Yan was just as lively and active. When they were eight or nine years old, the two of them were punished by their martial arts master for stealing bird nests, and they had to stand in a stance for several hours at a time.

Their extremely stable lower body is also because they were punished a lot when they were young.

The palace walls were very high, so high that they completely enveloped the palaces inside, preventing those inside from seeing out and those outside from seeing in.

Standing on the palace wall, one can escape the oppressive feeling of imprisonment and have a panoramic view of half the city.

The city was ablaze with lights, and the sky was filled with Kongming lanterns. It was as lively as the Lunar New Year.

"Where is the young prince?"

Li Yan changed into a dark blue-black outfit and hurriedly returned to the Qin Zheng Hall at night, afraid that Li Qingyan would be frightened by the noise of the fireworks.

As it turned out, the person wasn't in the bedroom. Li Yan squinted, worried that the little brat had run away from home again, especially since it was so lively today; the little brat had plenty of ways to sneak out.

"Your Majesty, General Yan led the young prince to play on the palace walls."

Su Xue quickly returned the greeting, but this greeting was a fist and palm salute.

Li Yan nodded, telling the others not to follow him. He was supposed to stay with the Empress all night, and if others knew he had left in the middle of the night, it would make things difficult for the Empress in the palace.

He can't make a big fuss about where he goes tonight.

Having not climbed the palace walls for a long time, Li Yan felt somewhat out of place. The last time he had been here was when he was six months pregnant with Li Qingyan. For a few days, Li Qingyan was very restless in his belly, and he couldn't sleep well and was very irritable, so he stood here alone.

Li Qingyan would calm down as soon as she stood on the palace wall and looked into the distance.

So he came very frequently during that period.

As soon as they climbed the palace wall, they saw Yan Xu holding Li Qingyan, their faces illuminated by the fireworks.

For a moment, their profiles overlapped, making Li Yan slightly dazed.

Everyone says Li Qingyan looks like him, but actually the person whose profile most resembles Yan Xu is Yan Xu, though no one would think of that.

Li Qingyan fell asleep quickly and before she knew it, she was asleep in Yan Xu's arms.

"His Majesty?"

When Yan Xu was about to send Li Qingyan back, he saw Li Yan standing not far away.

Li Yan did not reprimand him, but simply told him to return to the Hall of Diligent Governance.

"Yanxu...where's the rabbit?" Li Qingyan asked, still half asleep, wanting the dough rabbit from earlier.

Yan Xu patted her back and told her it was on the dressing table. Only then did Li Qingyan feel relieved and continue sleeping with her arms around his neck.

Li Yan sometimes felt jealous of Yan Xu. He would give Li Qingyan many gold, silver, and jade items, which she liked but didn't truly cherish. However, she would carefully store the small gifts Yan Xu gave her in a treasure box, not allowing anyone to touch them.

Nowadays, people even cherish a small clay figurine, as if afraid someone might steal it.

Li Qingyan, of course, wouldn't tell anyone why.

She was an orphan, so she envied children who had parents who loved them. She had seen toys made by the fathers and dolls sewn by the mothers of families that were not well-off.

Those things that looked "cheap" were things she could never have obtained, even if she begged for them.

After years of performing system tasks, Li Qingyan thought she would become numb and no longer crave these things.

It wasn't until Yan Xu presented her with the "unremarkable" little trinket that Li Qingyan knew she still wanted... she wanted something made by her father's own hand.

Neither Li Yan nor Yan Xu would know her thoughts. Just as Yan Xu said, everyone has some secrets, some of which cannot be spoken aloud.

When Li Qingyan woke up again, she felt the bed swaying beneath her. She sat up abruptly, realizing something was wrong. This wasn't the bed in the Hall of Diligent Governance. Shouldn't it be time for the morning court session?

She rolled off the bed with a sudden movement, but didn't fall because Li Yan grabbed her by the collar and suspended her in mid-air halfway down.

"Li Yan... what are you doing? Put me down. You just married the Empress and you're already selling me out?"

She looked like a little steamed bun with her puffed-up cheeks. Li Yan poked her cheek with her hand and dodged away the moment she bit him.

"You little brat," Li Yan cursed, "did you forget you were going to the summer resort because you were having so much fun?"

Li Qingyan stopped rolling her eyes. She hadn't expected Li Yan to be so quick; it was only the second day and they were already at the Summer Palace. "I want to go too."

She also wanted to go to the seven southern counties, but Li Yan shook her head, "No, it's dangerous there. You have somewhere else to go."

Li Qingyan's eyes darted around. "Dad, I'll be good. That place is dangerous, so I won't go."