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

The red fireworks exploded, and Li Qingyan shrank back in fright.

She felt a little unsteady sitting on Yan Xu's shoulders, and suddenly felt a pair of hands behind her. She didn't know when Li Yan had stood behind her to support her.

Feeling someone supporting her from behind, Li Qingyan deliberately leaned back.

"You little brat!"

Li Yan quickly grabbed her waist, and the little bundle of flesh fell into his arms. So chubby.

Li Yan slapped her buttocks twice, "Nonsense."

In a good mood, Li Qingyan didn't argue with him. Instead, she climbed onto Li Yan's shoulder and sat down.

She was the only one in the world who dared to sit on the emperor's shoulders.

Yan Xu took a half step back and stood behind the two of them, quietly protecting them.

"coax"

Fireworks explode with a deafening roar, and a golden dragon soars, heralding a bountiful year.

Every year at the very last moment of midnight during the Lunar New Year, a golden dragon firework explodes, circling twice in the sky before disappearing.

The cheers of the people could be heard very clearly from the palace walls.

Happy birthday, little one.

Li Yan grabbed Li Qingyan's small hand and shook it.

Li Qingyan tugged at his hair ribbon, "Thank you, Dad~"

This time, at least, he didn't have any bad intentions.

The banquet hall was positioned so that the father and daughter could see each other's profiles perfectly. They looked like little rabbits hopping around on a big rabbit's head.

The lively night will pass and the new year will begin.

Li Qingyan was dressed in a purplish-red dress embroidered with golden carrots. She rubbed her cheeks, and as soon as she entered the Dali Temple, she heard several New Year's greetings.

She naturally didn't have the opportunity to give the officials a reward; she could only offer a few words of greeting.

Once inside the prison, she gave some gold leaves to the guards and the jailer.

The jailer helped Yan Li up while bowing to Li Qingyan, "Thank you for the reward, Your Highness. I must escort Young Master Yan back now."

As he spoke, Yan Li leaned to the side, and Cui Ping supported him from the other side to help him regain his balance.

Yan Li opened his eyes a crack and saw Li Qingyan drunkenly saying, "Your Highness, this kid can really drink. I'll go back first; he's not drunk yet. You..."

Before he could finish speaking, he fell asleep.

The jailer quickly carried the man outside. He received a larger reward than others, so he worked even harder when escorting the young master of the Yan family home. Moreover, he was escorting the young master home on the first day of the Lunar New Year, so the Yan family would naturally not be short of reward money.

He's got a good job today; he can take these things home and his wife and children can buy more food and clothing.

Watching the person leave, Li Qingyan approached the cell. She spread her cloak on the ground and sat down to one side; the cloak she had given to Xi Zhao last time was neatly folded and placed to one side.

Upon seeing her arrive, Xi Zhao leaned against the wall to stand up, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Your Highness."

Li Qingyan waved her hand, "Don't be so polite, sit down."

Xi Zhao sat opposite her with his legs crossed and his body upright, with a table between them.

The food and drinks on the table were quite good. Li Qingyan casually picked up a piece of roast chicken and took a bite. "It tastes good. The banquet organizers chose very well."

She wiped her hands and looked at Xi Zhao. "If you've thought it through, just say it. You seem really anxious."

Xi Zhao felt somewhat helpless. Yan Li was quite adept at using the phrase "winning hearts and minds," and with just a few words, he had made Xi Zhao want to live. Yan Li had discovered that his sister was still alive, which forced him to live as well.

"I wonder if Your Highness has heard of the Yi family of the previous dynasty?"

Li Qingyan had read through some historical records from the previous dynasty. The Yi family was a family of upright officials, but unfortunately, a corruption case occurred twelve years ago. In addition, the previous dynasty's foolish emperor had long been dissatisfied with the Yi family and severely punished them, even executing nine generations of their relatives.

Even with the pleas of high-ranking officials, and with Duke Wencheng leading over fifty senior ministers kneeling for three days and three nights, they still could not save a single child from the Yi family. Thus, the century-old family of civil officials vanished from the world.

"And who are you?"

Li Qingyan's voice trembled. If he were a member of the Yi family... But what did that have to do with that old Deng? When the Yi family was raided, the old Deng and Li Yan were still fighting on the border. At that time, they were irreconcilably opposed to the previous dynasty, so it was impossible for them to enter the capital, let alone contact the Yi family.

My original name was Yi Zhao.

"My sister was jilted before her wedding because she fell seriously ill, and she had to go to the countryside to recuperate. I went with her."

"It's a shameful thing for a woman to be jilted at an engagement. Our family kept our whereabouts a secret. Apart from our old servant and grandfather, no one knew where we went."

"That's how I survived."

"The retired emperor was a close friend of my grandfather, yet he handed over the so-called evidence to my grandfather's political enemies, just to throw the previous dynasty into chaos."

"The lives of my entire family of 132 people were lost just like that."

Xi Zhao's voice was filled with sorrow as he covered his face. Twelve years ago, Xi Zhao was already six years old and had memories of it.

Although the Yi family was a large clan, there was no infighting; they were exceptionally harmonious. Xi Zhao's mind was filled with images of the entire family enjoying each other's company...

The happier those memories were, the more painful they were for him as a living person.

Li Qingyan frowned deeply. "Did that old man do something so despicable?"

This matter is of great importance. Li Qingyan stood up. "Do you have any evidence?"

Xi Zhao wiped his face. "There's a dilapidated house in the suburbs. Under the ninth brick from the east corner, there's a letter from back then. My family's secret guards risked their lives to deliver it."

The matter was too big for Li Qingyan to decide on her own. She hurriedly rushed to the palace.

"Oh dear, little darling, slow down, slow down, the ground is very slippery."

Laifu followed closely behind. The last time the young prince looked so serious was when he was tricked by His Majesty, which was quite a scene.

Well... His Majesty hasn't offended the young prince these past two days.

Her round face has become so long, is she really going to tear down the house on the first day of the Lunar New Year? That's not good luck. Can't she tear it down after the fifth day?

Li Qingyan pushed open the palace door. Her strength had increased considerably after practicing martial arts.

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

Li Yan sat on the dragon throne, and Yan Xu knelt at his feet.

She shouldn't have come in.

"Dad, I'm going out for a bit."

Seeing that she seemed to have misunderstood something, Li Yan covered her forehead and said, "Come in."

Li Qingyan steeled herself and walked inside, only to see Yan Xu holding a token in his hand, indicating he was receiving orders. She finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Walking up to Yan Xu, she asked, "Yan Xu, are you leaving again?"

Yan Xu simply nodded.

Li Yan pulled her onto his lap and sat her down. "Same as always, no questions allowed."

Li Qingyan shrugged. "Okay."

Seeing that her hair was disheveled, Li Yan casually began to untie the hair ribbon on her head.

Yan Xu took the peach wood comb from the side and handed it to Li Yan. Following his movements, he handed him a hairband and a pom-pom. Although it was the first time he had accompanied Li Yan to comb Li Qingyan's hair, they cooperated with remarkable tacit understanding.

Laifu tidied up the things on the table and placed pastries on it. Without anything to eat, their little prince had no patience to have his hair combed.

Li Qingyan slowly ate the pastry and shouted loudly, "Hongyu, go to the dilapidated house in the suburbs. There's something under the ninth brick from the east corner of the wall. Please retrieve it for me."

Hearing only the sound of wind, Li Qingyan knew that the person had already left.

Li Yan sighed, "My loyal bodyguards have become your errand boys."

Li Qingyan narrowed her eyes slightly, "Father~ then I have no one else to use. I can only use your people."

"Would you like to have your own bodyguards?"

Upon hearing Li Yan's words, Li Qingyan's eyes widened, and she tilted her head back to look at him. "Really, it's possible?"

"nature."

Li Qingyan was laughing when she suddenly realized something was wrong and almost forgot something important.

She said with a serious expression, "Li Yan, that Xi Zhao is from the Yi family, a prominent family of civil officials from the previous dynasty."