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

The strong smell of medicine lingered in the enclosed space, refusing to dissipate and pungent with a bitter odor.

Just smelling it makes my mouth feel bitter.

The little girl lay quietly in bed, looking much thinner.

Yan Xu sat on the edge of the bed and took out a carved small peach wood sword from his bosom, placing it in Li Qingyan's hand.

"Peach wood wards off evil spirits; may His Highness be safe and sound from now on."

Just one sentence, spoken with utmost sincerity and eyes full of tenderness.

He had so much to say, but in the end, he could only utter this one sentence. He held those small hands, which were not even as big as his own palms.

This child shouldn't have to suffer so much.

It's getting late, time to set off.

Just as Yan Xu was about to leave, he suddenly felt his clothes being tugged. It was a very small force, but he could feel it. He turned around abruptly and saw a pair of round, bright eyes staring at him.

"Yan Xu...you...are you...cough cough cough..."

Li Qingyan was somewhat annoyed. She had only said a few words and she was already this weak. Her body was terribly weak.

"Your Highness, please be patient and speak slowly."

Yan Xu held her hand and gently patted her back with his other hand. It took Li Qingyan a while to recover.

"Are we going to gather herbs?"

She tried to ask the most important questions, and although she was unconscious, her ears still managed to hear some words.

It's questionable whether that medicine is even available in the forest now.

That kind of place is a death trap.

She gripped Yan Xu's hand with all her might, and when she saw that he didn't speak, she knew what was going on.

He gritted his teeth and said, "You're not allowed to go."

"Are you just throwing your life away for nothing, Yan Xu?"

"I may die, but you cannot."

Li Qingyan found herself ridiculous. How come someone who was usually afraid of death was no longer afraid of dying?

Perhaps it was out of guilt towards Yan Xu, since she was the one who schemed against him.

Such a good person, because of her existence, can never have a wife and children, and can only be alone for the rest of his life.

He has already given his whole life for me; I can't let him give his life for me again.

Yan Xu held Li Qingyan's hand and wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes. "Your Highness has been exceptionally intelligent since childhood, as I have witnessed."

"I have many things I want to teach Your Highness, but I don't know if I will have the opportunity in the future."

He took a waist token from his pocket and placed it next to Li Qingyan's pillow.

"Your Highness, I have many books that you might find interesting."

He stroked Li Qingyan's hair. Li Yan had raised her very well; she was kind and intelligent.

Yan Xu felt very content to have such a child.

"His Majesty is lonely and suffering. The young prince is the only one who can ease his pain."

"I may die, but Your Highness must not."

Yan Xu returned Li Qingyan's words to her.

But when Li Qingyan tried to speak, she found her consciousness becoming increasingly blurred, and finally, everything went black and she fell asleep.

Yan Xu pulled out a silver needle from the side. His maternal grandfather was a famous doctor, and his grandfather forced him to learn some of the techniques for his safety.

Knowing acupoints is a fundamental skill.

He tucked the blanket around Li Qingyan and wiped away the tears on her face.

"Your Highness...be sure to stay safe and sound."

Yan Xu led a group of people away.

They all knew there was only a 10% chance of survival, but they still went.

Watching the departing figure, Li Yan, standing on the palace wall, closed her eyes.

All I could do was softly murmur, "Come back safely."

The faint sound was easily dispersed by the wind.

The summer rain came at an inopportune time; the cool breeze blew along the palace walls to every corner of the palace, and even carried raindrops into the rooms.

The palace maid quickly closed the window. "Her Majesty the Empress has arrived."

Liu Yao nodded and told them to bring the person up.

A palace maid was bound hand and foot and thrown to the ground. As she struggled, two old women held her down by the shoulders and pressed her to the ground with such force that her face was distorted.

"Did you deliver the meals to His Highness?"

Liu Yao sat up straight, her eyes filled with disdain. During her time in the palace, under the tutelage of the nannies, she was increasingly adopting the demeanor of an empress.

"Yes, it was delivered by this servant, but this servant has not harmed His Highness. This servant has not done anything. I was just delivering pastries and meals as usual."

The palace maid kept kowtowing, and soon her forehead was covered in blood as she desperately tried to prove that she was a good person.

The two maids beside her quickly held the man down to prevent him from killing himself.

Liu Yao had never seen such a scene before, and her face turned pale in an instant.

She's nothing but a paper tiger now; she has the appearance of a tiger but no guts.

Even a paper tiger has to put on a show, so he suppressed his disgust and fear and continued to ask, "To prove your innocence, you need evidence or a witness, don't you?"

This was a ploy to get her to name other people in order to save her life.

The palace maid paused for a moment, then her eyes darted around as if she suddenly remembered something.

"It's Peach Blossom, it's her. That day she suddenly became very enthusiastic in helping me prepare things. And... and her younger brother outside the palace owes gambling debts and used to cry all day long."

"Just a few days ago, she suddenly had money."

"It must be her."

Upon hearing the palace maid's words, Liu Yao quickly realized what was happening, her heart pounding. "Take some people and bring the peach blossoms here, the faster the better."

The nannies hurriedly went out.

Liu Yao frowned, feeling a vague unease, and thought to herself, "Oh no."

If it really is someone else, wouldn't she have alerted the enemy?

Thunder rumbled loudly outside.

Raindrops pattered on the leaves and splashed at Tao Jiannan's feet.

The row of stoves in front of him are all used for decocting medicine.

Without the help of palace servants, he was the only one left to prepare the medicine.

Look at this fan, then look at another one.

This continued incessantly, without a moment's pause.

Li Qingyan has been experiencing high fevers for the past few days. Each time the fever lasts for about an hour before subsiding, but her condition doesn't seem to improve.

Physician Zhao and Doctor Liu were both scratching their heads in frustration.

"His Highness's health is somewhat strange."

Her condition has only stabilized, but it doesn't seem to be getting any better. It's like a torment that won't kill her.

What kind of strange thing is this?

"What did you do, Flying Fork?"

[Host, host, calm down. This is how you save your life.]

"Save my life? Keep me in this state of being neither dead nor suffering from illness, you...&*T^*((&)&"

Feicha quickly pressed the swear word mute function, and a continuous "beep beep beep beep" sound rang in his ears.

Flying Fork in the system space patted his chest, and only continued speaking after the sound stopped.

[Host, please be mindful of your manners]

"What kind of manners are you? Do you really have to go find that medicine? Can't you just treat me?"

[I'm sorry, host, it's my fault for not being able to treat you.]

[You can only be saved by the medicines of this era]

Feicha's tone was full of guilt. Li Qingyan waved her hand, not really wanting to blame it. After all, it must have taken a lot of effort to save her life.

"I wonder how the banquet is going? It's been three days already."

It's pouring rain outside; the mountain roads must be difficult to travel in this condition.

Li Qingyan drifted off to sleep again, feeling that she had been poisoned by taking too much medicine.

The city gates closed precisely at 7:35 PM.

The soldiers guarding the city stood on the city wall, wearing straw raincoats, and from a distance they looked like scarecrows in the rice fields.

The lanterns on the city wall swayed back and forth in the wind.

『Da da da』

『Da da da』

The sound of horses' hooves hitting puddles was particularly noticeable.

The archers on the city wall cautiously drew their bows to the limit.

The dark figure drew closer, holding a token in its hand and shouting, "I am Lin Yi, a member of the Imperial Guard, ordered by His Majesty to find medicine. Open the city gates now!"