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

"Where is he? Why hasn't he come back yet?"

Li Yan frowned. It was already three-quarters past dusk, and the little brat still hadn't returned.

Lai Fu quickly replied, "His Highness said he won't be returning to the Hall of Diligent Governance today."

Upon hearing this, Li Yan suddenly stood up and ordered someone to bring the person back. Eating in the Misty Courtyard was one thing, but even sleeping there was unacceptable. Had he been angered by this?

Lai Fu's brow twitched, and he only said that Yan Xu was guarding the Misty Courtyard.

Li Yan stopped walking out, took a deep breath, and said, "If he can go, why can't I? I think this little brat is just asking for trouble."

The father and daughter were about to clash again when Laifu quickly stopped them, saying, "His Highness sent someone back with a message that there are still some unresolved matters over there, and they should be able to come out by tomorrow. Please be patient."

"Well... if His Highness is really unhappy, the Imperial Study will probably suffer again."

"His Majesty……"

Li Yan closed his eyes. It wouldn't look good to tear down the study right after returning. "I want to see what tricks this brat is up to this time."

The lights in the Misty Courtyard have already been turned on.

The women in the inner palace were abuzz with discussion about this matter.

"Does a princess aspire to become the crown prince?"

Consort Ling tossed her handkerchief, looking quite angry. To others, it didn't seem to matter much that she only had one daughter and no son.

But Consort Ling felt unbalanced. Why were they both daughters? What was the difference between her daughter and Li Qingyan? Her Qingxi was clearly beautiful, intelligent, and had helped her avoid several schemes.

Why is it that the emperor doesn't treat her differently?

"My sister, you seem to have forgotten. She was also named, but she's the only princess to be named. There hasn't been one like her in all these years." Consort Jing wiped her mouth, put down her teacup, and said, "Perhaps His Majesty really intends to let her live in the Eastern Palace?"

Even the plaque for the East Palace was removed and replaced with "Misty Courtyard," what an honor!

Moreover, the other princesses and princes were raised in the Twelve Eastern and Western Palaces, and their biological mothers could not raise them by their side.

He also had to pay his respects to the Empress every day.

But what about Li Qingyan? She was raised in the Hall of Diligent Governance, personally taught by the Emperor, and now she even chooses her own teachers, separating her from others.

Not to mention the matter of paying respects to the Empress.

The Empress probably has never actually met Li Qingyan.

"Has Your Majesty not yet met that little princess?"

As soon as Han Fei spoke, everyone's eyes turned to Liu Yao.

Liu Yao is the youngest among them. Although she holds a high position now, she is only in name and has no real power. The Phoenix Seal is not even in her hands.

"You all entered the palace much earlier than me, and you are not familiar with that little princess, let alone me."

In one sentence, she referred to herself as "I" and "this Empress," and the others' eyes flashed with mockery, which vanished in an instant.

"Your Majesty the Empress is still young. Once she has children, she will understand how different Li Qingyan is." Consort Ling's tone was full of dissatisfaction with Li Qingyan.

Unfortunately, even if they wanted to cause trouble, they couldn't get close to Li Qingyan, because she was being raised in the front, not in the harem.

The area in front was not to be easily entered by the imperial concubines.

They used to think that the emperor just liked younger children, since he had no time to enjoy family life due to the constant fighting in the past.

However, the palace has had many more children in recent years, including several princesses and princes who are now one or two years old. Yet, Li Yan has not shown any particular affection for them, and has barely even seen them a few times.

The harem is now managed by Consort Li. Her purpose in coming today is to deliver memorials, which are the allowances for each palace.

"This year, there are a few more princes and princesses in the palace, so the allowances have increased as well. In a few months, they will all be sent to the Twelve Eastern and Western Palaces, so we need to prepare them in advance."

"Your Majesty, please take a look."

Consort Li placed the document in the hands of a palace maid beside the Empress, who then presented it to her.

Liu Yao was never valued at home, and although she had been taught by the nanny for several months, she was still unfamiliar with the accounts. She only glanced at them as a formality. "Sister Consort Liu has been in the palace for a long time, so I trust you to handle things. But here... why isn't the little princess you mentioned here?"

Consort Han smiled slightly, "The little princess's allowance is not with us; her things all come directly from His Majesty."

All of them were emphasizing how much Li Qingyan was favored, which made Liu Yao feel a little strange.

After the concubines finished speaking and completing their tasks, they left one by one. The vast palace was once again left with only the Empress.

The old nanny beside him said, "If you see this little princess in the future, you should say as much as you can, so that she doesn't become arrogant because of her favor."

"In the future, even if you have a legitimate son or daughter, you will suffer from her temper."

Liu Yao sat down and sighed heavily. "Does the nanny know who this little princess's mother is?"

The old woman shook her head. No one in the entire palace knew who the little princess's mother was. Moreover, it was said that this little princess was favored, and the other princesses had all been given titles, even the little princess who had just been born had received a title.

But this little princess is still called a little princess to this day.

"Perhaps this is related to her mother; since her mother's identity is unknown, she cannot be given a title."

At that moment, Li Yan, who was in the Hall of Diligent Governance, sneezed and looked at the titles on the folded paper in his hand: Zhenguo, Huguo, Chixiao, Junao... Each title was astonishingly grand.

Li Yan had been choosing for several years without success, and... his daughter was only missing the character "长" (meaning "long" or "advanced"). It would have been perfect if she had been the firstborn.

Lai Fu had seen this title several times, closing his eyes and opening them again, not daring to look at it at all.

These titles were used for bestowing titles upon kings and generals, princess...

However, their little prince is quite good.

Lai Fu was constantly switching between fear and pride, while Hong Yu, hiding in the shadows, twitched at the corner of her mouth.

If I hadn't known Grandpa Laifu for many years, I would have mistaken his expression just now for that of a treacherous assassin.

After comparing the last character, Li Qingyan's hands were trembling. She then looked at the name Zhao Ke on the screen.

She had never seen this person when she attended court.

That's outside.

"Cuizhu, put the things away and bring them to your side." Li Qingyan looked at Cuizhu. "You and Cuiping were sent by Li Yan. It's safer for the things to be with you than with me."

Cuiping, standing not far away, shuddered. "It's over, it's over! We've been exposed! The leader's probably going to send me back for retraining."

The thought of this made Cuiping break out in a cold sweat.

Cui Zhu respectfully clasped her hands in a fist and palm salute, "Yes, young master, your subordinate will do everything in her power to protect these things."

Cuiping followed behind and bowed, "Yes, young master."

Li Qingyan stretched. That was it for tonight. She'd settle accounts with Li Yan tomorrow. She knew these people were all up to something, and sure enough…

"The banquet begins, the banquet begins."

Li Qingyan ran for a long time before finally getting outside from the dormitory.

"Your Highness should send someone to fetch me."

Yan Xu took out a silk handkerchief embroidered with two rabbits, one black and one white, from his bosom. He handed the handkerchief to Li Qingyan so she could wipe her sweat.

Looking at the handkerchief, Li Qingyan felt that the embroidery looked familiar, as if she had seen it somewhere before... but she couldn't remember where.

She looked up at Yan Xu and said, "Yan Xu, can you help me find someone named Zhao Ke? He ranked seventh in the imperial examination the year before my father ascended the throne."

"But here..."

Yan Xu hesitated.

Li Qingyan shook her head, "Don't worry, there are so many people here, nothing will go wrong."