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

When Li Qingyan counted to three quarters past 9 PM, the door opened from the inside.

Li Qingyan was somewhat shocked when she saw who had arrived.

She had originally thought that Qingchan Shanren was an adult man, but she was surprised to find that he was a thin boy who looked no more than twelve or thirteen years old.

"Why did Qingchan the Benevolent summon me here? It can't just be for tea, can it?" Li Qingyan pushed the teacup in front of her. "That's really boring."

Qingchan Shanren looked at Li Qingyan and clapped his hands. Soon, a middle-aged man came in carrying a box. The box was exceptionally exquisite and contained gold ingots.

"As long as you agree to return the Holy Maiden to us, all this gold is yours," said Qingchan Shanren to Li Qingyan.

Li Qingyan stroked the gold ingot with her hand, "Gold is indeed warmer to the hands, but alas..." The gold ingot rolled out of Li Qingyan's hand and fell into the gray box, "I don't need these things."

Li Qingyan looked at Qingchan Shanren with a cold face. This was the first time someone had tried to bribe her with gold.

"How about we each get what we need?" Li Qingyan suggested first.

"Oh?" Qingchan Shanren became interested. "Tell me about it."

Li Qingyan then said that she had no use for the saintess, so she might as well use the saintess to exchange for the antidote. As long as Qingchan the Benevolent One agreed, the deal could be made.

Qingchan Shanren agreed without hesitation, but agreed to meet again in three days.

Li Qingyan turned and left the mill. Her people were waiting outside. In fact, the Holy Maiden had always brought her with her, but unfortunately... she hadn't used her yet.

"This place really does feel eerie," Cuiping remarked casually, shaking her head.

Li Qingyan turned her head to look over. The courtyard was brightly lit just now, so why did it look so dark from the outside?

Li Qingyan turned around and quickly pushed open the courtyard gate.

The courtyard was dilapidated, and the spot where she had just sat was overgrown with weeds. Li Qingyan laughed out loud, "You've been tricked."

That kind-hearted person, Qingchan, dared to arrange a meeting here because he had made preparations beforehand. There was simply no way to find him.

The mill looked particularly eerie at that moment, truly resembling the rumored haunted place. Li Qingyan, however, wasn't afraid and instead went to check out the well.

The water in the well began to churn and steam. The well water overflowed into the courtyard and flowed to Li Qingyan's side.

Li Qingyan raised an eyebrow slightly. Surrounded her? This was the first time she'd seen this.

The icy well water wrapped around Li Qingyan's ankles. "Cuiping, the sword."

Cuiping quickly threw the sword to Li Qingyan.

Li Qingyan drew her sword and slashed at the water at her ankles, instantly cutting off the flow. He tried to get closer to Li Qingyan, but was startled by the sword in her hand.

"If you don't want to fight me, then get out here." Li Qingyan planted her sword in the ground. "Otherwise, I can have a Taoist priest seal this well."

In the blink of an eye, the overflowing water began to recede back into the well. It looked as if it had been frightened by Li Qingyan.

Soon a man emerged from the darkness.

The man looked to be in his early twenties, with pale, ashen skin. He wore simple, coarse clothes and lowered his head, appearing somewhat timid. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, sir. I was just afraid you would leave, so I dared to ask you to stay in this way."

Li Qingyan looked at the ghost in front of her. It was obviously drowned, and there was a large puddle of water at its feet.

"According to what the city folks say, you're the Dong family's son who jumped into the well and committed suicide, right?" Li Qingyan wasn't afraid of ghosts at all.

The man knelt down immediately, saying, "I am Dong Junsheng, a commoner who makes a living by running a mill with my parents. My parents were engaged to the Zheng family when I was a child."

Dong Junsheng said that the Zheng family later prospered through the sea and wanted to break off the engagement. Dong's parents came to discuss the matter several times.

Dong Junsheng said that his parents had already agreed to the annulment of the engagement and had even prepared to send the gifts back. Unexpectedly, Zheng Hui's parents drugged the three of them.

The three members of the Dong family then started fighting, which ultimately led to tragedy.

"The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was my parents lying in a pool of blood." Dong Junsheng patted his chest. "How can a child kill his parents? I am guilty of heinous crimes and have no choice but to throw myself into the well."

However, Dong Junsheng never expected that after his death, due to his deep-seated obsession, he would be trapped in this small courtyard. Later, he discovered that the souls of his parents had been trapped by the benevolent Qingchan.

Dong Junsheng wanted Li Qingyan to rescue his parents' souls so that they could be reincarnated.

"Even though I was drugged and committed this grave mistake, I cannot forgive myself. I am willing to be trapped here until my soul is scattered. But my parents are innocent." Dong Junsheng kowtowed heavily on the ground.

Li Qingyan looked at him. "Is the Zheng Hui you're talking about the saintess of Qingchan the Good Samaritan?"

Hearing Li Qingyan's words, Dong Junsheng was somewhat confused, "What Holy Maiden?"

Dong Junsheng said he had been trapped in this courtyard for many years because everyone believed it was a haunted house due to what happened back then, and even beggars were unwilling to stay there. He hadn't seen anyone for a long time.

Li Qingyan agreed to help him, and then took Cuiping and the others back to the inn.

-----------------

"Li Yan, don't you think this is strange?" Li Qingyan lay on the bed, and Li Yan patted her back. Li Qingyan had injured her back muscles while practicing swordplay.

After listening to her long explanation, Li Yan said, "Take these next few days to investigate thoroughly, including what happened back then. We can't just jump to conclusions."

Li Yan always remained calm in the face of many things, which Li Qingyan admired. She wondered when she would be able to do the same, remaining unfazed even when Mount Tai collapsed before her.

Li Yan pressed down on her back, "Little brat, don't worry about that. Deal with the unruly fat on your back first. It's all lard, it's useless."

Li Yan was mocking her for not having muscles.

"What you're saying is unreasonable. I'm only six years old. Father, you need to understand that a six-year-old child is different from a sixteen-year-old boy or a twenty-six-year-old adult." Li Qingyan beckoned Yan Xu over.

Yan Xu was mending Li Qingyan's clothes, and went over before he understood what was happening.

Li Qingyan patted Yan Xu on the back, then pointed to her own and said to Li Yan, "Can you feel the difference when you touch it?"

Before Li Yan could even make a move, Yan Xu's ears turned red.

Li Qingyan's lips twitched. "No... people who didn't know better would think he was a virgin. Who were my parents?"

【…】

Flying Fork didn't want to talk.

However, Li Yan also had the idea of ​​teasing Yan Xu, saying, "Our General Yan has become increasingly robust in health over the years, which is truly remarkable."

Li Yan placed her hand on Yan Xu's back, and Yan Xu froze on the spot.

Li Yan picked up Li Qingyan with her other hand and threw her onto Yan Xu's back. "You two who haven't showered, stay away from the bed. Come back after you've showered."

Li Qingyan and Yan Xu were thus kicked out of the room.

Li Qingyan grabbed Yan Xu's face, "Father, is this reasonable?"

Yan Xu nodded. "It's reasonable. His Majesty is the ruler of a country, and everything he does is reasonable."

Li Qingyan closed her eyes. "Let's go, let's go wash up, so that Li Yan won't kick us out of the inn later."

Li Qingyan reached out and let Su Xue hug her.

Li Qingyan felt that she had really had a hard time, having to endure so much at such a young age.

How pitiful...

Flying Fork: This wasn't how you chose your dad back then.