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

The cicadas chirped incessantly in the dead of night as Li Qingyan slept in bed, holding her dog, Dahuang.

The baby's fair face lay on the big yellow dog's fluffy belly, the two of them looking exceptionally harmonious.

It wasn't that Aunt Ping didn't want to sleep with her, it's just that Li Qingyan would always wake up startled when she slept with strangers, but she felt peaceful when she was with Da Huang.

"Woof woof woof..."

Big Yellow suddenly woke up, squatted on the bed, and barked twice. Aunt Ping heard the noise and quickly jumped up, picked up Li Qingyan, and walked outside. "When we go into the cellar, don't come out unless we call you, understand?"

Li Qingyan stared blankly as the children of the village were stuffed into the cellar. They seemed used to it, hiding inside quietly without making a fuss.

The cellar lid was slowly closed, and some straw was placed inside.

The older child held the younger child and they huddled together like that.

"Woof woof woof..."

Countless barks rang out; the village dogs had come out to roam.

It turns out that Big Yellow was the king of dogs in the village, and those barks were calling all the dogs to come out.

The fire outside was extinguished, and it was exceptionally quiet; even the cicadas had stopped chirping.

It was pitch black outside.

Li Yan raised his hand, and the marching troops behind him stopped. He had attacked many such fortified villages before.

Several people rushed forward and stood at the bottom. The people behind him sprinted and stepped on the shoulders of the people below, and with a burst of strength, they used the people below them to help them jump up and flip over the fence.

"kill……"

Suddenly, the sound of clashing swords filled the air.

The others rushed in in the same way, and the sounds of fighting grew louder and louder.

Li Qingyan wanted to go out, but was grabbed by the children behind her. They shook their heads at her, their eyes filled with fear, yet they still held onto their companions.

They listened to the adults and protected each other, believing that this was the only way to survive.

"Kill them."

This sound is Hongyu.

"Don't make a move, Red Rain, Red Rain."

Li Qingyan pried the hands off her mouth and shouted.

Hongyu had exceptional hearing and heard the sound. She quickly raised her hand to signal everyone to stop, "Your Highness?"

"Woof woof woof..."

Even with his limbs bound and lying on the ground, Dahuang still tried to rush over to protect the children and prevent them from being discovered.

"Sir, the young lady's voice is coming from that direction."

Hongyu pointed to a haystack.

Li Yan's gloomy expression finally eased somewhat. With a single stroke of his sword, he parted the straw, sending it flying like snowflakes scattering across the ground. The wooden planks beneath were revealed, their blackness blending seamlessly with the earth.

"Li Yan, Li Yan, I'm here."

Li Qingyan saw Li Yan rushing out through the crack. She wanted to tell Li Yan that she was alright, lest they really kill the people in the village.

"You little brat, stay away."

Upon hearing Li Yan's voice, Li Qingyan stepped back several steps. With a 'bang,' countless cracks appeared on the wooden board, and the next second, it fell down along the cracks with a crackling sound.

Li Qingyan swallowed hard. "Old Deng was still showing me mercy." A single palm strike shattered a thick wooden plank; his martial prowess was undeniable.

When I spank her normally, I probably don't even use a tenth of my strength.

"Little brat."

"Li Yan, Li Yan."

Li Qingyan rushed towards Li Yan and threw herself into his arms.

Only when she held her little cub in her arms did Li Yan finally let out a heavy sigh of relief.

"What are you doing? Don't hurt the child."

"Let her go. Let her go now."

Aunt Ping, her eyes bloodshot, charged forward despite the knife at her neck. Luckily, she quickly withdrew the knife, or she would have been killed.

Tao Jiannan, who was being held down, shouted, "It was my idea to rob you! Release them and these children, do whatever you want with them!"

Li Qingyan quickly jumped down from Li Yan's arms. "This is my father, he's not a bad person." She then said to Li Yan, "Li Yan and the others didn't hurt me, there's a misunderstanding here."

The small group stood between the two sides. For a moment, everyone fell silent, their faces full of doubt, and they had only one question in their minds: what was going on?

Hongyu led the assassins to treat the wounded villagers with Doctor Liu, and also gave the tied-up Dahuang a meat bun.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you were here for disaster relief."

Tao Jiannan immediately knelt down, but Li Yan helped him up. Li Yan had arranged for himself to be a minister in charge of disaster relief.

Tao Jiannan only trusted him after seeing the document.

"Ignorance is no excuse, but didn't a minister send relief grain before? Why did you still go up the mountain and become bandits?"

Tao Jiannan gave a bitter smile. "Sir, we are all from respectable families. If we could survive, who would want to go up the mountain?"

Tao Jiannan and his companions were villagers from villages under the jurisdiction of the seven southern counties. These villages had suffered successive disasters but were left unmanaged. They tried to enter the county to escape but were driven away. When they tried to leave, government soldiers arrested them.

After a month, the villagers either starved to death or died of disease. Those who survived had to find a way out, so they had to go up the mountain, where at least they could find some food.

As a result, more and more people fled, and more and more people ended up on the mountain. Seeing this, Tao Jiannan found a place where everyone used the things on the mountain to build houses.

Over the months, a village was formed, and robbing passersby was a last resort. Those people always went to the seven southern counties, but once they went in, they could not come out.

"We escaped here without any travel documents, so we had no choice but to hide in these deep mountains and forests to survive."

Aunt Ping's voice was low; she was the only one left in her family. Doctor Liu was the only person left in the entire village.

It is said that the common people cannot fight against the officials; they just need to survive.

"Ministers have already come to provide disaster relief; haven't you seen them?"

Li Yan frowned and asked.

"You jest, sir. There is no such thing as a Minister of Disaster Relief. The only Minister of Disaster Relief we know of is you."

Tao Jiannan shook his head and smiled bitterly.

At this moment, Hong Yan walked in and was surprised to see Tao Jiannan. "Brother Tao? Are you the bandit leader here?"

Upon seeing this person, Tao Jiannan was somewhat puzzled. "You are...?"

Hong Yan quickly removed the disguise from his face, saying, "It's me."

The two knew each other before. Tao Jiannan personally saw Hong Yan and the others off, but there was no news of them. Everyone thought they had died on the way, but unexpectedly they brought a minister to provide disaster relief.

Hong Yan reacted quickly. Hearing Tao Jiannan's words, he knew that Li Yan did not want to reveal his identity and only said that they were people sent by the imperial court to rescue them.

Li Qingyan climbed onto Li Yan's lap and sat on it. "Father, should we go into the city first? How about we have Hongyu disguise Mr. Tao as well?"

Li Yan raised an eyebrow at Li Qingyan. She was just coaxing that angry dog, and now she's coming over to talk. What's going on in the little brat's head?

"Since Mr. Tao can bring so many people out, he can also let us in quietly, right?"

Li Qingyan smiled slightly at Tao Jiannan.

That smile was so lovely, yet Tao Jiannan felt like she had been tricked.

He seems to have said something he shouldn't have.

With so many villagers able to escape to the mountains with their families after the soldiers blocked the roads, Tao Jiannan must have put in a lot of effort. If they can get out, they can get in.

They investigated the case openly and honestly, but found nothing.

"Qingyan is indeed clever. What she says is true. Young Master Tao is the savior of everyone on this mountain, and he certainly wouldn't let the people of the seven southern counties suffer. So, Young Master Tao, would you be willing to help?"

Li Yan smiled too; the smiles of both father and daughter were identical. A few words were enough to get him on board.

Tao Jiannan couldn't refuse even if he wanted to.

All I could say was two words: "Naturally."