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

Lin Yi was one of the people who left with Yan Xu.

The city gate guard ordered the gate to be opened, but Lin Yi didn't even dismount; he shoved the token in the guard's face.

"Clear the way quickly, do not stop them."

These eight characters were the privilege that Li Yan granted them.

The horses galloped through the night, their hooves pounding on the city's bluestone bricks, until they reached the palace gates. Someone had notified the soldiers guarding the gates in advance.

Upon hearing the sound of horses' hooves in the distance, they opened the palace gates wide enough for a horse to pass through.

Even the emperor was not allowed to ride a horse in the palace, but Lin Yi rode his horse at breakneck speed, leaving red bloodstains wherever he went.

The horses galloped swiftly along the palace roads at night, and no one dared to stop them. They arrived at the Misty Palace without incident.

The bedchamber was in complete chaos.

"Why is Your Highness vomiting blood again?"

"Hand me the silver needles."

Dr. Liu gave himself a few needle pricks to prevent his hands from shaking.

Just before he was about to insert the needle, the door was kicked open with a bang.

Lin Yi, his voice trembling as he held up the cloth bag, said, "The medicine is here."

When Physician Zhao saw him, he quickly ran over, opened the bag, took the contents out and smelled them. "Yes, this is it. Quick, young Tao, put it in the medicine pot."

The other medicines have already been decocted, only this one is missing.

Li Qingyan kept her eyes closed, blood gushing from her mouth. Lin Yi stood there blankly under the eaves, a pool of blood beneath him.

We need to wait for the person inside to drink the medicine.

Tao Jiannan's hands trembled as he poured the medicine. These medicines were so precious that they had cost many lives to obtain them.

But even though the medicine was effective, it couldn't be administered.

"Your Highness, drink it, and we'll be fine."

Doctor Liu gritted his teeth and pried open Li Qingyan's jaw, but it still didn't work; he couldn't get the medicine down her throat.

The imperial physician Zhao, who was standing nearby, took a spoon and poured a spoonful of the liquid down the throat, but the patient showed no sign of swallowing it.

"This can't go on."

Just as the group was in a state of panic, a sudden voice broke in.

"I am coming."

Li Yan entered the house barefoot, carrying a sword, followed by several wounded red-armored guards.

Upon hearing the news, Li Yan rushed over, but the Red Armor Guards insisted on stopping him, forcing him to fight them.

It took some time to reach the Misty Courtyard.

Li Yan held Li Qingyan in his arms, looking at the pile of handkerchiefs stained with blood on the ground, and he wanted to kill the group of Red Armor Guards even more.

Looking at the unconscious Li Qingyan, Li Yan pinched her chin.

With a "crack," Li Qingyan's jaw dislocated.

Physician Zhao couldn't bear it and turned his head away, so Doctor Liu handed the medicine over.

With a cold face and trembling hands, Li Yan fed Li Qingyan spoonful after spoonful.

The medicine was finished and there was another "click" sound before Li Qingyan's chin returned to its place. Li Yan held her cheek against her forehead, feeling her body temperature drop, and only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

"Lin Yi, come in."

Seeing that Li Qingyan was much better, Li Yan finally had the energy to ask, "Where are they?"

This was a question that Li Yan already knew the answer to, but she still wanted to ask it.

Lin Yi was a tough guy. He had a deep wound on his arm that exposed the bone, and he didn't utter a sound even though blood was flowing all over the ground. If Tao Jiannan hadn't seen it, he probably would have bled to death in no time.

Lin Yi's face was pale; he had only just relaxed and started to feel the pain, but he still stood upright and answered.

"Your Majesty... all my brothers are gone. General Yan, he..."

Lin Yi's eyes reddened.

"He... rolled down a hillside outside the forest to save me, and his fate is now unknown."

Upon hearing Yan Xu's name, Li Qingyan's hand twitched.

"Yan Xu... Has something happened to Yan Xu?"

The voice was so hoarse it was unrecognizable. Li Qingyan, being held by Li Yan, slowly opened her eyes. Seeing the stranger's bowed head, she felt a sense of unease.

"Is Yan Xu dead?"

A tremendous sense of guilt and sorrow surged into Li Qingyan's small body like a tsunami.

Only four words were on her mind: "Yan Xu is dead."

As soon as she uttered those words, Li Qingyan coughed violently again, and blood flowed down the corner of her mouth.

Li Yan's eyes widened. "Zhao Zheng, come and take a look."

Physician Zhao quickly pressed several acupoints on Li Qingyan and inserted needles. "Your Highness, calm down, calm down. The medicine has just taken effect. If you are emotionally unstable, it will damage your heart meridian."

The worst thing about strong medicine is when people are emotionally unstable; if that happens, it can be fatal.

No one expected Li Qingyan to wake up so quickly; normally, it would take at least ten hours for her to regain consciousness.

Who would have thought that Li Qingyan would open her eyes so soon after drinking the medicine.

Li Yan's hands trembled as he held her, his voice urgent, "Calm down, Li Qingyan, calm down. Yan Xu isn't dead, he's just missing. I'll send people to look for him immediately, understand?"

"Don't worry, he'll be fine. Calm down, calm down."

Li Yan squinted. "Lü Rui is taking people to find Yan Xu. They should leave the city tonight. Hurry! We need to see him alive or dead."

In the blink of an eye, a man in black appeared in the house. Lü Rui was also one of the assassins and was very good at tracking. She grabbed Lin Yi by the collar and disappeared into the courtyard in the blink of an eye.

This was the first time Li Yan had felt so scared. Why did his little brat value the banquet order so much?

Doctor Zhao used a few needles to force Li Qingyan to fall asleep.

Li Yan held her against the bedpost, afraid to let go, lest she disappear. He hadn't seen his little one for many days, and now she looked so thin.

"Why are you so concerned about the order of the banquet? You little brat."

Li Yan pressed his forehead against hers, and he somewhat regretted letting Yan Xu touch his little brat.

As soon as the wind and rain stopped, the temperature quietly rose again. Li Yan wrapped Li Qingyan in a quilt and opened the window for ventilation.

"The moon is bright, the breeze is gentle..."

The gentle singing drifted out the window.

The retired emperor stood in the courtyard, watching for who knows how long.

In the end, only a sigh remained in the courtyard.

"How is it?"

Liu Yao didn't dare to sleep. Peach Blossom drowned in the pond, and everyone said she slipped in after going out.

Then I heard that Li Qingyan was seriously ill at the Misty Courtyard.

Liu Yao quickly ordered a news blackout, preventing anyone from knowing that she was investigating the matter.

The fact that Li Qingyan didn't die is a great gift to her. If she had died, she would have evidence if anyone implicated her. If she wasn't implicated, she could simply pretend she knew nothing and live a life of ignoring everything in her palace.

Looking at the empty, deserted palace, Liu Yao closed her eyes. She had never intended to harm anyone; she only wanted to survive.

Lu Rui released Lin Yi only after they reached the outskirts of the city. There were four men in black around them, their faces covered, all obeying Lu Rui's orders.

Lin Yi led the way up the mountain.

Lü Rui touched the grass beside her. "Let's go down here to find someone."

Before Lin Yi could even speak, he was kicked down the slope, with Lü Rui following closely behind.

But when she got down there, Lü Rui's expression changed drastically. She touched the marks on the ground and said, "It's...it's a tiger."

There were a few pieces of torn clothing nearby. Lü Rui's face darkened further; an injured person had encountered a tiger...

"Yan Xu... Yan Xu, where are you?"

Li Qingyan waved her hand to clear away the white mist in front of her, revealing a pair of golden eyes larger than her head, staring intently at her.

A deep and authoritative voice echoed in my ears: "Come back with me."

Li Qingyan ignored it, looked at the figure lying in the distance, and was about to run towards it.

"Banquet Prelude... Banquet Prelude..."

A golden dragon claw pressed down on Li Qingyan's shoulder. "Go back. This is not a place for you."

Li Qingyan narrowed her eyes. "Get out of here."

She ran towards Yan Xu; he was still alive, and she wanted to save him.

The golden dragon flew past her and headed towards Yan Xu, its huge claws grabbing Yan Xu's body.

With a gentle flick of the dragon's tail, a gust of wind rose, and Li Qingyan's body soared into the air, growing ever farther away from Yan Xu.