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

"The little princess is still too young to handle such matters."

"This matter concerns the fact that the Emperor Emeritus entrusted the task to the little princess too hastily."

"Why not? The plan to build the Daewoo Canal was proposed by the little princess. I think you're just getting senile. I believe the little princess is capable of handling it."

After Li Qingyan proposed the Dayu Canal, everyone in the Ministry of Works admired her greatly. For a three-year-old child to propose such a beneficial thing for the country and the people shows her intelligence.

"You... how would your Ministry of Works know what an investigation entails? The little princess is exceptionally intelligent, but cheating in the imperial examinations is not that simple!"

Li Qingyan's back molars were about to break.

"Is Old Deng plotting against me?"

She should have known that the old emperor's sudden relent in letting her investigate the case was a trap. Sure enough, he spread the word as soon as he arrived at the morning court, trying to use the opinions of the officials to stop her from investigating the case.

The courtiers argued for a full quarter of an hour.

If it weren't for the countless eyes watching her as she sat on the dragon throne, she would have covered her ears.

Li Qingyan glared at Li Yan silently, then lay on the dragon throne, grabbed his dragon robe, slid down the leg of the throne to the ground, and walked a few steps to the front.

The steps were quite high, allowing a clear view of the expressions on the faces of every courtier below.

"Won't you gentlemen listen to what I have to say?"

Li Qingyan's sweet, childlike voice stood out conspicuously among the group of men. She was so small that she was easily overlooked if one wasn't looking closely.

"This case has gone undetected for many years."

The ministers immediately lowered their heads. They hadn't noticed the incident for so long, and it was only a child who discovered it. Embarrassment was secondary; if His Majesty investigated and punished them for dereliction of duty, they would be in serious trouble.

Those in the Ministry of Rites, in particular, will be investigated. I'm afraid even the retired officials won't escape it.

"I don't have to investigate, but... who among you will volunteer to do so?"

The soft, sweet voice, coupled with a serious tone that didn't belong to her age, was not funny at all; instead, it sent chills down one's spine.

Who dares to step forward? Who really dares to take on this? Do they have nine lives, or are they afraid their nine generations of relatives won't die fast enough?

Which person in the imperial court doesn't have eight hundred cunning schemes?

Knowing that this matter involves a wide range of people, who would willingly offer up their life?

Seeing that no one stepped forward, Li Qingyan raised an eyebrow at Li Yan, "Your ministers are all useless."

Li Yan remained expressionless. "These bastards aren't even as good as my little brat. A bunch of useless trash."

His plan to prevent Lee Chung-yeon from investigating the corruption case has directly failed.

Although the imperial harem was not allowed to interfere in the affairs of the court, everyone had their ears. The news that Li Qingyan had begun investigating the cheating case quickly spread among the concubines in the harem.

"What does Your Majesty mean by this? Could it be...?"

Consort Ling stirred her handkerchief. Her daughter was clearly very intelligent, so why didn't Li Yan give her a second glance?

"How could you or I possibly fathom His Majesty's thoughts?"

Consort Jing flicked the foam off her tea, took a small sip, and found the summer lotus leaf tea rather unappetizing.

For the past six months, Consort Li has been practicing vegetarianism and chanting Buddhist prayers, and even now she is still holding prayer beads.

The sound of the crystal beads clattering together annoyed Lingfei.

"Consort Liu seems to be in a good mood, even fiddling with her prayer beads at a time like this. Don't you even remember the last time His Majesty visited your son?"

Her words were full of sarcasm; in the palace, who wasn't fighting for their own interests? She simply couldn't stand Consort Jian's pretense of being a saint, noble and indifferent to worldly affairs.

The Second Prince has already been named, and she doesn't believe that Consort Liu isn't tempted at all.

"Alas," Consort Lian sighed, "Qingbo only likes books, that's good, the rest is up to his own fate."

They acted as if it were none of their business.

This made Consort Ling furious.

He snorted coldly, turned his head away, and ignored her.

"No one has known who the little princess's father has been for so many years, which shows how much His Majesty values ​​that person. Perhaps..."

Consort Jing didn't say what came next, but she implied that Li Qingyan had a greater chance.

The room fell silent for a moment, with only the chirping of birds outside the window audible.

This little princess, whose mother is unknown, is posing an increasingly greater threat.

Inside the Imperial Study.

Grand Tutor Shao glanced at everyone's homework and nodded in satisfaction.

"Each essay has its own merits, and all meet the requirements of the topic I set. Today's lessons are all graded A, and there is no homework."

Grand Tutor Shao stroked his snow-white beard.

He is now teaching the eldest prince, the second prince, the third prince, as well as the eldest princess and the second princess.

These princes and princesses are all five years old.

Each of them is diligent, studious, and exceptionally intelligent, and they all have beautiful handwriting.

He had five such outstanding students at once, which was truly an honor.

But sometimes I worry about them growing up... After all, when outstanding people get together, there will always be competition.

As soon as the bell rang to signal the end of get out of class, Shao Taifu was helped away by his page.

The five people inside the school did not move; they would always stay for half an hour.

The Second Prince, Li Qingbo, was holding a scroll and flipping through it.

"Second Brother seems to be in a good mood, not afraid of being pushed down."

The second princess, Li Qingxi, inherited Consort Ling's good looks; even at five years old, it was clear she was a beauty in the making. She rested her chin on her hand, looking at the second prince with a mocking expression.

"Why are all the little kids in ancient times so curled up? I almost couldn't keep up with them."

The second prince glanced at her. "Second sister, you should really watch yourself. Always messing around with all sorts of nonsense. One day, someone might find out you shouldn't be in the palace..."

"I'm afraid I'll lose my head."

The second prince spoke in a calm tone, appearing quite old.

"You..." The second princess was furious and stood up.

"What do you ancient people know? That's technology..."

But how could she dare to say it out loud?

The Third Prince, Li Qingyan, was painting when he heard the sound. His hand trembled, a drop of ink smeared, and he frowned slightly before folding the paper, throwing it on the ground, and stomping on it twice. Such an imperfect thing should not be in his hands.

Princess Li Qingci frowned slightly, "Second Princess, it's better to stay put."

"Eldest Princess makes it sound so easy."

The second princess always spoke with barbs, so the eldest princess shut up and ignored her.

"It's getting late. Decide whether to go pay your respects to your mother or go back now." The eldest prince, Li Qinghong, adopted a patriarchal demeanor. "Isn't all this arguing disregarding the dignity of the royal family?"

A blame was suddenly pinned on his head, and the room fell silent instantly.

The second princess shuddered. She always felt that the eldest prince was sinister. He was clearly only five years old, so why did he always try to trap people with his words?

After leaving the Imperial Study, the princes and princesses went in different directions, abandoning the brotherly and respectful demeanor they displayed in front of Grand Tutor Shao. Instead, they acted as if they didn't know each other, even the eldest prince and princess, who were twins.

"Your Highness...where are we going?"

The eldest prince's personal eunuch carried the book box and quickly followed.

"You should pay your respects to your imperial grandfather."

A barely perceptible smile curved the corners of his mouth.

"Achoo~"

Li Qingyan frowned and rubbed her nose, feeling like someone was insulting her. She looked down at Li Yan, who was sitting below the bookshelf, and muttered, "Old Deng."

Li Yan crossed his arms and met her gaze. "You little brat, get down here."

"Li Yan, you untrustworthy person!" Li Qingyan gritted her teeth. "You actually schemed against me. Today I'm going to tear this study down."

Eunuch Laifu paced anxiously to the side. Demolishing the study was a minor matter; the little princess was now staying in a place that was too high up. She could climb onto the roof beam if she stood up.

"You little brat!"

"Li Yan!"

Neither the father nor the daughter would give in.