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

Lee Ching-yam's short ear-like hairstyle, combined with her wide-eyed expression, made her look a bit like a startled rabbit.

Those who don't know her well might think she's scared, but only those who have known her for a long time will realize that she's thinking of a solution.

The retired emperor patted the bed beside him, and a hidden compartment suddenly appeared before him. He took out stacks of yellowed papers, along with tokens and seals, and placed them all in front of Li Qingyan.

"I just want to know who from the Yi family survived, so that I can face my old friend with a clear conscience."

Li Qingyan looked at these things, her eyes lowered, "Perhaps it's better not to see him. I will make arrangements for the Emperor Emeritus."

These items are evidence of what the former Prince Linping did. He took advantage of the old man of the Yi family's trust in the retired emperor and obtained the so-called evidence of treason in the name of the retired emperor.

"I discovered the truth back then, but it was all too late. The Yi family is all dead. I kept this evidence only so that one day I could take it down to give my old friend an explanation."

However, the letter mentioned a person who shouldn't be there: Yi Luofeng, Xi Zhao's youngest uncle. How could he be in contact with the Prince of Linping?

"The retired Emperor Yiluofeng is......"

Upon seeing that Li Qingyan could quickly find the key information among hundreds of letters, the Emperor Emeritus narrowed his eyes slightly.

"The little thing is quite clever."

Li Qingyan rolled her eyes at him. "Of course, if my father is smart, then I'm smart too. It's a pity I don't know who my father took after."

She sat on the jade pillow, resting her chin on her hand, and said, "My father's father wasn't much, and my mother was just average. But a genius was born out of a pigsty."

The retired emperor was so angry he laughed. They were cursing him right in front of him? Did they think he was too old to understand such a veiled insult?

Seeing that he was about to speak, Li Qingyan immediately changed the subject, "How did Yi Luofeng escape? Does the Emperor Emeritus know?"

As he spoke, a smile appeared on his face, as if to say, "I've already smiled, why are you still going to hold a grudge against a child like me?" This made the Emperor Emeritus swallow back the words he was about to say.

He was so angry that he patted his chest and simply turned his head away, refusing to look at her.

"Yi Luofeng is an anomaly in the Yi family. The rest of the Yi family has always remained neutral. But Yi Luofeng has sided with the former crown prince. The Prince of Linping is also a member of the former crown prince's faction."

The retired emperor spoke at length, and his mouth became dry.

Li Qingyan handed her a water glass.

Looking at the water in the cup, the Emperor Emeritus's eyes flashed with suspicion. 'What's this little rascal up to now?'

Seeing his expression.

"Old Deng is really something else. We're giving you face, but you don't want to drink it or not."

Li Qingyan gulped down the water, then used her hands to support herself and jumped to the ground, letting the palace maids she had brought take away her belongings.

Before leaving, Li Qingyan, with her hands behind her back, asked, "Your Majesty, who exactly is in charge of this Wenmian Palace?"

After saying that, he walked out, leaving the retired emperor alone sitting on the chaise longue with a frown.

Li Qingyan led the people out, but just as they were about to leave the inner palace area, she suddenly felt someone watching her. When she turned her head, she saw only a corner of her clothes fluttering past from the corner.

"Your Highness..." Cuiping bowed, "Should we follow them?"

Li Qingyan shook her head. "No need."

Those clothes are clearly those of a princess; the gold-woven Shu brocade with auspicious cloud patterns can only belong to the eldest princess.

Li Qingyan sensed something was off about her from the banquet for all the officials on New Year's Eve.

"Interesting. What's this little gadget trying to do?"

Li Qingyan narrowed her eyes. She couldn't tell whether the other party was well-intentioned or malicious. However, if she really wanted to have a fight, she wouldn't mind eliminating one or two opponents first.

The flying fork twitched.

Being targeted by its host is never a good thing.

The sky was dark, and the entrance to the prison looked like a bottomless black hole.

Li Qingyan walked in carrying a bundle and a lantern; this time she didn't bring anyone with her.

"Xi Zhao, I have investigated everything you said."

Li Qingyan sat opposite him and placed the bundle on the table.

Xi Zhao placed a woven grasshopper on top of the bundle and asked in a calm voice, "Are you here to kill me?"

He knew very well that no matter how principled a member of the royal family was, the most important thing was to uphold royal dignity.

Li Qingyan toyed with the grasshopper on it. "I'm about to kill you, but you're not planning to kill me?"

Xi Zhao suddenly laughed, "Why would I kill you? You're not my enemy. It's my incompetence not to take revenge. Do you think I'd drag you down with me?"

He shook his head. "If I go down there, my grandfather and father will each kick me into the animal realm."

Upon hearing his words, Li Qingyan suddenly burst out laughing, though it was somewhat inappropriate... After exchanging a glance, the two couldn't help but laugh as well.

They share some common traits; they are all "unfilial descendants."

Li Qingyan untied her bundle and pushed it towards Xi Zhao, saying, "Take a look."

Xi Zhao picked up the contents and looked at each piece of paper. Each confession had a name and a fingerprint on it, and some even had the person's seal on it.

The collection of this evidence lasted for three years before it was completed.

In order to find out the truth of what happened back then, the retired emperor allowed the former Prince of Linping to live for three more years.

Upon seeing Yi Luofeng's name on the package, Xi Zhao's eyes widened in disbelief. He frantically rummaged through the bundle, each sheet of paper weighing down his wrists.

Until I turned to a few envelopes.

The envelopes were unremarkable; Li Qingyan looked them over and found nothing strange about them.

But after Xi Zhao looked at it, he suddenly roared, "Ah!!!"

It sounds like a wild beast roaring.

Other evidence can be forged, but the contents of these letters could never have been written by anyone other than a member of the Yi family. These are secret letters passed down in the Yi family for a hundred years.

His uncle, Irofeng, truly betrayed the family and participated in the massacre.

Xi Zhao's eyes were bloodshot. "Why is this happening? Why? Why? Yi Luofeng, why did you betray the family?"

He was still relatively calm when he asked that question, but when he saw the edict from the retired emperor ordering the execution of the Prince of Linping, he suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"Why are they all dead? Why?"

He was on the verge of a mental breakdown.

"Flying Fork, give me one Qingxin Pill. Quickly."

A pill instantly appeared in Li Qingyan's palm, and she quickly stuffed it into Xi Zhao's mouth.

This medicine can protect the heart and prevent damage to the heart when a person is emotionally agitated.

This medicine is extremely precious; Li Qingyan only has four pills in total.

[Host, what's wrong with him? Wouldn't it be better to know his enemy is dead? Why is he breaking down?]

"A person who lived on the belief of revenge, only to find that he hated the wrong person and that his enemy had already been killed, had lived for so long for a hatred that no longer existed..."

Li Qingyan narrowed her eyes.

"If you don't break down, you're practically a god."

Xi Zhao, who had been given the drug, lay on the ground, his eyes devoid of light.

Li Qingyan squatted down beside him, placed a woven grasshopper on his forehead, and said, "You're already breaking down? Xi Zhao, your sister is still missing, and Yi Luofeng hasn't been found yet."

"It's too early for things to collapse now."

Li Qingyan didn't offer any of the usual words of encouragement to live; instead, she pointed Xi Zhao in the right direction. Xi Zhao closed his eyes, then opened them again after a few breaths, sat up, and knelt on one knee before Li Qingyan.

"I want to make a deal with His Highness."

Li Qingyan stood up, dusted herself off, and asked, "What kind of deal?"

The fact that one can change their emotions so quickly is truly remarkable, befitting someone from a prestigious family. I imagine they must have analyzed the pros and cons during that brief moment of closing their eyes.

Li Qingyan liked this kind of smart person very much, especially since Xi Zhao was highly skilled in martial arts and would be very useful to have by her side.

She had originally been planning how to recruit people as her subordinates. Now that she had fallen into the trap herself, Li Qingyan naturally wouldn't hold back.

"There's an intelligence agency expanding outwards from the capital; that should be His Highness's territory, right?"

Li Qingyan narrowed her eyes, a murderous intent flashing within them. This time, she truly wanted to kill Xi Zhao.

"Oh? Trying to threaten me?"