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

Once inside the city, I realized what it had become.

The people living there all have food.

What we could eat was thin porridge, so thin that you could count the grains of rice in a bowl.

This thing can only guarantee that a person won't die, but it won't make them live a healthy life either.

Everywhere you look, you see people sitting on the ground with lifeless eyes.

Why not go home? Because I don't even have the strength to go home. Sleeping on the ground ensures I can have porridge the next day, at least enough to survive.

How can a group of weak people, who struggle to even survive, escape or resist?

The streets were bustling with people at night, yet they were deathly still, the people like ghosts.

The whole city was like a ghost town, or more accurately, like hell.

Li Yan and the others hid in a corner. Not far away, there was a mother and son. The boy looked about the same age as Li Qingyan, but he was so hungry that he was skin and bones.

He lay on the ground like a piece of paper, his wrist bones clearly visible, his large head standing out conspicuously. When he saw a group of people, there was no fear in his eyes, but rather a calmness.

Li Qingyan recognized that look in his eyes; it was the look of someone on the verge of death. She took out a steamed bun, two pieces of pastry, and the dried meat that Aunt Ping had given her from her bosom, and quietly stuffed them into the little boy's hand.

The little boy was so hungry that he had no strength to speak.

Li Qingyan took a piece of candy from her pocket and put it in his mouth. "Eat this and you'll live. Live with your mother."

"Mr. Hong, could you please help me?"

Li Qingyan quietly pulled Hong Yan over.

Only then did Hong Yan notice that there were two people there. He went up to check their breathing and found that they were still alive, and then he breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Qingyan whispered to Hong Yan.

"Since only they, mother and child, are here, no one will find them or steal their food."

"Hide them, and they'll survive."

An orphan and widow with food in their hands would be in danger if they were discovered.

So Hongyan helped Li Qingyan hide the mother and son in a basket in the corner.

Li Yan saw it but didn't say anything; his little brat was all bark and no bite.

The common people lay on the ground waiting to die, while the soldiers of the prefectural government escorted all kinds of prepared delicacies toward the county government.

The aroma of the food wafting through the air was clearly noticeable even in the deepest alleyways.

An old man crawled toward the food; this is a human's survival instinct.

"Get out of here! How dare you touch the food our magistrate is serving to our distinguished guests?"

The old man, so thin he was just skin and bones, was kicked to the ground. No one else had the strength to help him up.

Before leaving, the soldier spat, "If you anger our distinguished guests, you won't live much longer."

Li Yan's eyes were bloodshot as he clenched his fists. His people had suffered so much, while he sat high in his throne, knowing nothing. He was deaf and blind.

Li Qingyan grabbed Li Yan's finger with her small hand, "Dad, we must make these bastards pay the price."

The little creature exuded a murderous aura. Li Yan patted her head and said, "They will definitely pay the price."

The father and daughter always seemed to think alike.

Li Qingyan felt something was wrong. The man's words meant that they wouldn't live for many more days, which meant they had no intention of letting these people live. So why... were they still supporting these people and keeping them half-dead?

And who is that distinguished guest?

Li Yan, along with Hong Yu and several of his men, infiltrated the magistrate's residence.

Li Qingyan and her group were left outside. They didn't know martial arts and couldn't sneak in undetected.

While the rich wine and meat smell, the road with frozen bone.

This is exactly the scene I'm describing.

Inside, there was singing and dancing, and the place was extremely prosperous. The county magistrate, his distinguished guests, and several government officials sat at a table, raising their glasses in celebration. The table was laden with various meat dishes.

The magistrate even tore off a chicken leg and threw it to a dog not far away.

That dog was fat and strong, and ate and lived better than anyone else outside.

"These people are almost starving; it doesn't matter whether they're burned or buried. Then our people can come in."

"Those merchants paid a lot of money for the food. It's all in the warehouse and can be shipped out tonight."

The magistrate raised his cup to the man.

The man laughed heartily, "Good, good, good, our master will be very happy."

The two of them burst into laughter.

With a single glance from Li Yan, Hong Yu vanished in the blink of an eye. Li Yan then led his men out; he had wanted to kill those two bastards, but alas…

There are still many things that haven't been investigated, especially who that man is and who is behind him.

Li Yan withdrew and waited for those people to leave.

Li Qingyan sat in the corner, feeling drowsy, and Li Yan wrapped her in his clothes and held her.

Half an hour later, a few bird calls were heard. Li Qingyan groggily opened her eyes and heard Li Yan say two words, "Go."

Honest words vanished in the blink of an eye.

Li Qingyan tugged at Li Yan's sleeve, somewhat shocked, and said, "Father, is this how you two communicate? How do you say it? Can you teach me?"

She has always had a strong curiosity about things she doesn't understand.

This is a self-preservation instinct; the more you learn, the more life-saving skills you acquire.

However, she overlooked the fact that this was Li Yan's way of communicating among his assassins, and that it would not be easily known to others.

Li Yan smiled slightly and said, "Go back and let Hongyu teach you, but it's not easy to learn. Don't throw a tantrum if you can't learn it."

Li Qingyan snorted coldly. Can't learn it? Then she'll just tear down Li Yan's study. It's not like she hasn't done it before.

The moment Li Yan's eyes lit up, he knew what she was up to. His imperial study had been renovated several times, and each time it was destroyed by this little brat. He didn't know what her hobby was, but she just liked to dismantle the study.

Well, his study hasn't been repaired in six months anyway, it's time to fix it.

At three-quarters past 9 PM, Hongyu and Chengyan came out with a stack of letters. Li Yan casually picked one up and glanced at it; it was covered in poems, so it seemed to be a secret letter.

These are all the original letters, and Cheng Yan went in to imitate the handwriting and replace the originals with copies.

Just as midnight was approaching, there was a sound coming from inside.

Five people dressed in black came out and entered five identical carriages, even the lanterns on them were the same.

Five carriages headed off in different streets.

Li Yan and his men were unfamiliar with the streets and had no way to pursue them.

"Truly cautious."

Tao Jiannan gritted his teeth, never expecting that this person would be so cautious as to be on guard even on his own turf.

The men were all annoyed and wanted to resolve the matter quickly to find out who was behind it so they could send troops to arrest these bastards.

If we don't nip the problem in the bud and eliminate the root cause, then more people will suffer.

Li Qingyan yawned. "That person went to Nuanchun Pavilion."

As soon as the name "Warm Spring Pavilion" was mentioned, several men's eyes turned to the little baby.

This is not a place a child should know.

Li Yan then looked at Tao Jiannan, "What did you teach her?"

His words carried a hint of gritted teeth.

Tao Jiannan felt a little guilty. It seemed that the minister in charge of disaster relief's child had been corrupted, but he hadn't said anything like that...

"It was Aunt Ping who told me. Aunt Ping used to be a weaver."

The girls at Nuanchunlou changed their clothes frequently, so the fabric they used didn't need to be of very high quality. To differentiate them, the weavers used different patterns, and only experienced weavers could tell the difference.

When the lanterns were swaying, Li Qingyan noticed that the fabric used for the curtains on the carriage was from Nuanchunlou.

Li Yan gave Li Qingyan a big kiss on her chubby little face. "Little brat, you've been a great help. You're allowed to dismantle the study a couple more times."

Originally, Li Qingyan was somewhat disgusted by wiping her face, but upon hearing this, her eyes lit up immediately. Then she had several places she wanted to dismantle.

The opportunity to use the study twice could be used to demolish other palaces.

She's already starting to plan where to demolish.

Despite the current situation in the seven southern counties, Nuanchun Tower is still a place of nightly revelry, with many people still going in; they all look like wealthy families.

There were too many people around, so besides Hongyu and Chengyan, Li Yan only had Li Qingyan with her. Everyone else had gone back.

As they approached, Li Yan noticed that someone was monitoring the area. Hiding would likely expose them.

"Young master, you've come to have some fun? Oh my, why are you here with a little girl?"

The madam glanced at Li Qingyan.

Li Qingyan's appearance was altered by Hong Yu, and now she looks thin and small.

"A new maidservant we bought for our mistress," Hongyu said coldly. "Why not?"

Hong Yu's face was cold and her murderous aura was particularly strong. The madam quickly gave up her seat, "No, no, we're just buying a maid for the madam to keep as a little toy. The young master is also a family man."

Li Qingyan's lips twitched; she could say anything, no matter how ridiculous.

However, they didn't see a pair of eyes staring intently at them from the building across the street.