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

Li Qingyan had the confidence to stand up to Li Yan, after all, Li Yan had killed her in her previous lives, so she was in the right.

But she felt guilty towards Yan Xu.

I think... we don't need to...

Flying Fork trembled slightly upon seeing Yan Xu's dark face; someone who had killed on the battlefield was truly different. When his face was dark, he resembled the King of Hell, even more terrifying than the main system.

The flying fork shuddered and quickly hid itself.

Li Qingyan moved back, making room for Yan Li, and knelt beside him.

"Your Highness, you don't need to kneel."

Yan Li hurriedly reminded him.

Li Qingyan rolled her eyes at him. "Shut up and kneel down."

Yan Li shut up. His elder brother's dark face reminded him of the scene when his brother beat up the former crown prince years ago. That scene was truly...

At that time, the former crown prince was at the height of his power, and in the end, his elder brother was able to escape unscathed. What were the two of them compared to him?

"I sent Yan Li there. That's my place, used specifically for gathering information."

After Li Qingyan finished speaking, she rubbed her nose. She had such good taste; the two fathers she found were not only of high status and position but also very capable.

However, having such a skill is a double-edged sword; she can't keep any secrets.

Li Qingyan was confident that if she didn't reveal the truth today, Nuanchunlou would be demolished in a reasonable and compliant manner tomorrow.

"Xiao... Yanli has extensive connections and doesn't like officialdom, so sending him there is just right."

"And none of the girls there were interested in him..."

Li Qingyan felt a little guilty at this point.

"Huh?" Yan Li's eyes widened, and her voice suddenly rose. "Why does everyone look down on me now?"

"Slap!" Yan Xu slammed his hand on the table, his tone icy.

"What are you shouting for?"

Yan Li shuddered. He was still traumatized by his older brother's beatings, and he was terrified whenever his brother slammed his fist on the table.

Li Qingyan rolled her eyes. Is that the point? Why bother with this?

"This matter has been covered up, and the Yan family's reputation will not be damaged."

Yan Xu nodded. "It's good to have His Highness's guarantee. But since it involves the entire Yan family, I'm afraid His Majesty will have to intervene."

He bent down, picked up Li Qingyan, patted the dust off her legs, glanced at Yan Li, and said, "You continue kneeling."

Yan Li, who was about to stand up, could only remain kneeling on the ground. The butler sighed and placed an incense burner in front of him.

You can only get up after burning three incense sticks.

Yan Xu carried Li Qingyan out, saying, "You have your own territory and people, that's fine, but right now you still need to rely on His Majesty. Otherwise, it would be troublesome if someone accused you of treason one day."

Li Qingyan hugged his neck, frowning as she seriously considered his words. Indeed, ever since handling the case of favoritism and corruption, Li Qingyan had clearly felt that someone was watching her, and countless eyes were secretly waiting for her to make a mistake.

Once this intelligence network was officially recognized and approved by Li Yan, things changed. If anyone else investigated and found out about the emperor, they would be severely punished, if not killed.

"I understand."

Yan Xu patted her head and said, "Your Highness is the heir to the throne, so you can't kneel down to others so easily in the future."

Li Qingyan had actually only knelt before Li Yan a few times, but she couldn't say that too much.

"Know."

She thought for a moment, then said, "Yanxu, I want to learn martial arts. Could you be my martial arts instructor?"

Yan Xu paused, for the martial arts master was also his teacher, like a father.

But he shook his head. "No, I know someone more suitable than myself."

Li Qingyan's eyes widened, and she asked, "Who?"

"His Majesty."

Yan Xu picked her up and mounted his horse.

"Your Majesty is proficient in all eighteen martial arts. Although you cannot use your internal energy now, you are more suitable than me to teach the young prince."

Just thinking about how Li Yan spends his days from morning court to bedtime either reading, reviewing memorials, or discussing state affairs with his ministers gives Li Qingyan a headache.

Is someone this busy sure they won't end up teaching themselves to be a mediocre person?

Seeing the doubt in her eyes, Yan Xu said, "As long as the young prince brings it up, His Majesty will definitely agree."

Li Yan's martial arts skills were taught by the same martial arts master when he was a child, but his elder brother and younger brother's martial arts skills were personally taught by the retired emperor.

Li Yan never said anything about this, but it was easy to tell at a glance which of the two styles of the brothers did not come from the same family.

Because of this, Li Yan was the subject of much private discussion, with many people speculating whether she was abandoned because of her lack of ability.

But the truth is that the Li family child, who was taught by Master Wu, was actually the one with the best martial arts skills among the brothers.

Yan Xu escorted her to the palace gate, patted her head, and took out a small peach wood sword from his bosom, placing it around Li Qingyan's neck.

"Peach wood wards off evil spirits and harms, so it's good that Your Highness wears it all the time."

Li Qingyan rubbed the peach wood sword a few times, smoothing away the thorns. Before leaving, she glanced at Yan Xu and said, "Don't punish Yan Li, it's all my fault..."

Every family has its rules.

Yan Xu didn't try to fool her by saying she wouldn't punish Yan Li; some rules couldn't be broken.

At this hour, Li Yan was still in the Imperial Study. Li Qingyan, with her short legs, stepped up the stairs, crossed the threshold, and ran inside.

"Li Yan, Li Yan, I have something to tell you."

Upon hearing the sound, Li Yan stopped writing and set the brush aside. Lai Fu quickly and efficiently removed the inkstone, brush, and other items.

Sure enough, as soon as these things were taken down, Li Qingyan climbed up the dragon throne and onto the table.

Li Yan looked at the little brat sitting cross-legged in front of her like a little fairy boy, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Oh? What is it?"

Li Qingyan took out a token from her bosom and handed it to Li Yan, saying, "Nuanchunlou is where I gather intelligence. Yan Li is the main person in charge. Now that I'm handing it over to you, it's considered legitimate."

Li Yan held the token and pulled it back and forth with Li Qingyan like a tug-of-war for a long time before finally pulling it out of her hand.

"So you're so reluctant to part with it, yet you still want to give it to me?"

Li Qingyan had a long face. "If I don't tell you, my building will be demolished tomorrow."

Her round eyes glared at Li Yan. Don't think she didn't know; Yan Xu must have been informed by Li Yan so quickly. Li Yan was the kind of person who used others to do her dirty work, making Yan Xu talk about it and forcing her to hand over the items voluntarily.

Seeing her resentful look, Li Yan found it amusing and pinched her cheek. "Since you've handed it over voluntarily, just accept your fate. Hongyu, take it and make arrangements."

Li Yan casually tossed the token aside, and it disappeared before Li Qingyan could even see it clearly.

Once a move is made, there's no going back. She's no match for the dog in terms of skill, but Old Deng has no choice but to accept defeat this time.

Li Yan pinched her chubby cheeks and asked, "How exactly do you find the time to do all this?"

Li Qingyan stepped back. It wasn't her doing; it was Fei Cha. The system's methods were such that there were no clues to be found.

But of course, these things could not be told to Li Yan.

She had no choice but to change the subject, "Li Yan, I want to learn martial arts, can you teach me?"

Upon hearing this, Li Yan paused, and her expression turned serious.

"If you want to learn martial arts, how about I find you a martial arts teacher?"

"There are countless martial arts practitioners in the world, and the imperial court produces a martial arts champion every few years. I know they can skip the banquet. But guess why I don't find someone else to be my martial arts instructor?"

Li Qingyan curled her lip and said, "Old Deng is giving you face and you're still refusing."

She crossed her arms, looking somewhat disgruntled, but Li Yan raised his hand, gesturing for her to continue.

"I'm clumsy and awkward. If another teacher were to teach me, he would probably say that the third princess you're raising is a good-for-nothing."

This kind of provocation tactic is ineffective against Li Yan, but if Li Qingyan uses it, he can make it seem effective.

"Indeed, I've raised a good-for-nothing." He sighed. "Since that's the case, I'll have to teach him myself. Otherwise, others will see how useless he is and embarrass me."

His tone was full of disdain for Li Qingyan, but Lai Fu could clearly see a smile on his lips.