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

"His Majesty."

"The White Tiger army stormed into the imperial city, and rumors are spreading. There must be an explanation."

"Your Majesty's city guards are practically useless in front of the White Tiger army; this is already an overreach."

……

A large group of old ministers knelt inside the main hall of the imperial palace.

Li Yan blew on the teacup in his hand and took a sip. It had been quite a while since he had drunk Longjing tea, and he was still not used to the taste.

Li Qingyan sat next to him, swinging her chubby little legs as she munched on pastries.

"Those old fogies timed it really well; if we hadn't been quick, they would have discovered the fake emperor."

Her round eyes were filled with anger.

Forcing Li Yan to subdue the White Tiger Army—it's truly remarkable that they came up with such a plan. Behind these people are either the retired emperor or the empress dowager.

"Shouldn't my esteemed ministers be asking why everyone from the Zhou and Xun royal families has been taken to the White Tiger Camp?"

Li Yan slightly raised his eyes, his gaze filled with an icy chill. Those whose eyes he swept over lowered their heads; how could they dare ask a question?

"Father, is this what they call avoiding the important issues and focusing on the trivial?"

Li Qingyan slightly raised her head, displaying an innocent demeanor.

But those four words terrified everyone, and they dared not breathe. Everything they had done had been pointed out by a three-year-old child.

Innocence without malice is more terrifying than malice.

How can they argue with children who have done them no wrong? Are they supposed to force the children to have a grudge against them?

The eloquent ministers fell silent in fear.

Meanwhile, the ministers on Li Yan's side looked at Li Qingyan sitting next to Li Yan with sparkling eyes, thinking that she had asked an excellent question.

Only Li Yan present knew that the little brat was doing it on purpose.

"You're quite clever." Li Yan patted Li Qingyan's head. Because these people had arrived in such a hurry, Li Yan hadn't yet braided Li Qingyan's hair into rabbit ears.

Now there are just a few braids, which Li Qingyan likes, but Li Yan doesn't.

Rabbit ears are still the cutest.

Li Yan's words caused the assembled ministers to break out in a cold sweat.

Watching their transformation from questioning to feigning guilt, Li Yan found it all rather amusing. The conflict between the old and new nobles had a long history, but today, in order to deal with the White Tiger Army, these civil officials were surprisingly united.

The court was a complex web of power struggles and conflicting interests.

Li Yan took a few sips of tea and deliberately left these people waiting for a while. Seeing their amusing expressions of daring to speak but not daring to, he finally took pity on them and spoke.

"Since the ministers have all arrived in such good order, the interrogation shall be held today."

Li Yan slightly raised his hand, then turned around, straightened his back, and shouted, "Bring the prisoner into the hall!"

The first sound to enter the hall was the sound of iron chains scraping against the ground. Just by listening, one could tell how heavy the chains were, and such shackles must belong to someone who had committed a heinous crime.

Upon seeing these prisoners, the ministers' eyes widened in astonishment. The Zhou family patriarch, the emperor's brother-in-law, and Prince Xun were all brought before him.

The emperor's brother-in-law was not only Li Yan's maternal uncle, but he also took a sword for Li Yan on the battlefield and almost lost his life.

Now, with shackles and chains on your body, you are as if you are being pressed to the ground in the main hall.

"this……"

Minister, you look at me, I look at you, we don't understand what's going on.

Yan Xu led the people in from outside.

"We have counted 200,000 taels of silver and 1,000 shi of grain in a house in the suburbs."

This amount could support a city for a year without any work.

Is this a scheme to amass wealth? But neither the Zhou family nor the Xun King have any real power, so how can they amass wealth?

"Your Majesty, these are the inventory lists and land deeds."

Yan Xu handed the items to Lai Fu, who then presented them. Li Yan glanced at the amount listed and a smirk crept onto his lips—a laugh born of irritation.

That smile sent chills down Li Qingyan's spine.

"Old Deng is really scary; that kind of smile never means anything good."

"Your Majesty, these land deeds have nothing to do with me. I only own the Xunwang Mansion; the rest are shops."

King Xun hurriedly said, trying his best to distance himself from the situation.

"I don't know why I was arrested. I'm innocent! If you're going to arrest someone, arrest me alone. My father is old and can't bear this suffering."

The emperor's brother-in-law was clever; he immediately used filial piety to pressure him. After all, the Zhou family patriarch was Li Yan's maternal grandfather. Even if you are the emperor, there are still blood ties.

Li Yan nodded slightly, while Lai Fu shouted outside, "Physician Xuan Liu and Tao Jiannan are here to pay their respects."

Doctor Liu and Tao Jiannan were led into the main hall. The two knelt on the gold bricks and kowtowed, saying in unison, "This humble subject greets Your Majesty, long live Your Majesty!"

"Rise. Tell me about the affairs of the seven southern counties, so that my beloved ministers may also hear them."

Li Yan's voice turned cold as he spoke of the seven southern counties, for he had personally witnessed their devastation.

The situation in the county town is relatively good, but in the surrounding villages, every place is filled with graves.

"The commoner Tao Jiannan led the villagers up the mountain to become bandits because the magistrate of the seven southern counties was inhumane..."

Tao Jiannan described how no disaster relief funds or grains had been received in the county town, and how the only food available each day was porridge with just a handful of grains of rice. As a scholar with exceptional literary talent, he vividly described the appalling state of the seven southern counties in just a few words.

Even seasoned military officers who had seen blood couldn't help but gasp, and one of them cursed in the main hall, "Beast! This is a beast!"

Li Yan did not blame anyone. Who wouldn't be angry upon hearing this? Who wouldn't be saddened? If there truly was no food, that would be one thing, but while the officials in the county government were feasting on meat and fish, the common people were starving and sleeping on the streets, fearing they wouldn't even get a bowl of rice porridge.

"The villagers of Caomin Erdong Village are the village's doctors..."

As Dr. Liu recounted the burning of Erdong Village, tears streamed down his face, and he nearly fainted several times.

The attending physician, Zhao, quickly gave him several acupuncture treatments, and he barely recovered. Doctor Liu kowtowed heavily on the ground, "When I arrived at the village, there were still several children alive. I heard their screams of agony as they were burned."

"After those people left, I went to rescue them, but the house was locked with iron locks. I could only watch as the living were burned to death in front of me. They reached out their hands for help in my dreams day and night."

"After the fire was extinguished... everyone inside was together, and even I couldn't tell who was who. The oldest was eighty-one years old, and the youngest was only three years old, just three years old."

These accusations, like the mournful cry of a cuckoo, were like slaps to the faces of the ministers.

Doctor Liu told Li Yan many details he hadn't mentioned: "The leaders were the county magistrate and a young man. I've never seen that man before, but the magistrate treated him with utmost respect."

Doctor Liu didn't say anything, and Li Yan didn't blame him. Who can a person who carries the grievances of an entire village on his shoulders trust?

What could he do if he was a foolish emperor and didn't allow him to come to the capital?

"Take a look around, do you recognize anyone here?" Li Yan's voice trembled. He had experienced the horrors of war but had never seen such a scene.

Physician Liu looked at the group and shook his head. "There is no such person."

Lai Fu quickly added, "This old servant heard that the Crown Prince went to visit his maternal grandparents a few months ago and only returned half a month ago."

Li Yan narrowed his eyes and ordered his men to bring the Crown Prince of Xun forward. Before the guards could force him to kneel, Doctor Liu lunged forward and grabbed the Crown Prince by the neck, shouting, "It was you! You killed my entire village! It was you…!"