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

It was just getting light on the fourth day of the lunar new year.

Screams echoed from the twelve prisons, east and west.

"ah!!!"

The sound came from the second princess's bedchamber. Her wet nurse was shouting, "What are you looking at? Untie the ropes quickly!"

At this moment, the second princess was hanging from the roof beam. There was also a trap set inside the room. The moment the palace maid opened the door, several basins of charcoal ash fell from the roof beam and hit the second princess directly.

Moreover, the other party had smeared paste on the second princess, and the ash directly stuck to her body.

The second princess angrily ripped the cloth out of her mouth, threw it on the ground, and stomped on it several times. "Are you all dead? How could you not hear someone breaking into my bedchamber last night?"

The roar echoed through the courtyard.

The eldest princess coldly ordered the door to be closed, leaving only the words, "Noisy."

At noon, many palace servants entered the twelve palaces in the east and west, all of whom were added to serve the princes and princesses.

The person who brought the people was the newly appointed female official Dai Yan. She said with a kind face, "The Misty Courtyard is uninhabited and is used as a school. There are too many people. I am here on His Majesty's orders to send people to the Twelve East and West Courtyards to serve Your Highnesses."

This female official appeared suddenly, and in less than a year she rose from a low-ranking ninth-grade official to a fourth-grade official, now in charge of the management of palace staff.

She didn't belong to any faction. The ladies of the harem all tried to win her over, but they all failed miserably.

Li Qingyan used the proper channels to bring the people in. Their movements had already been recorded in the palace register. Moreover, Li Qingyan had mixed up the people who had been sent to the Misty Courtyard and sent them back to their side.

In other words, each of them had spies from other princes and princesses around them.

Only the eldest princess hadn't sent any spies, and this time she had no one by her side. She stood at a distance that was neither too close nor too far, her eyes remaining calm and expressionless. Only when she saw the eldest prince did a flash of disgust appear in her eyes.

The other princes and princesses looked like they had swallowed a bitter pill, but they had no choice but to kneel down and say, "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."

The Twelve Institutes of East and West are now outwardly calm, but the balance that they have maintained for many years has been completely shattered.

When Li Yan learned what Li Qingyan had done all day, he burst out laughing. "That little brat really settles scores on the spot."

He beckoned Su Xue over, "Go and quietly check if there's anything else in the Misty Courtyard, and make sure no more small fry get in."

"Yes, Master."

Su Xue clasped her hands in a fist salute and left quickly, her steps light as the wind.

Lai Fu felt dizzy and his vision blurred as he looked at the palace etiquette. All the palace etiquette he had learned was for nothing. He had almost worked himself to death teaching them palace etiquette, and now it all seemed to have been a waste of time.

"Where's the little one?"

Where did the person who made such a mess of the East and West Twelfth Institutes go?

No one could have imagined that Li Qingyan, after making a move in the Wenmian Palace, would calmly pick up a pastry and start eating it.

The retired emperor glanced at the chessboard and then at Li Qingyan, repeating this several times, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"Terrible chess player."

"A meddlesome old man."

Li Qingyan didn't stand on ceremony with him.

She had finished her business and was planning to return to the Hall of Diligent Governance when this old man personally stopped her on the way. She thought he was going to do something else, but it turned out he just wanted to bring her here to play chess.

The retired emperor covered his forehead, a gesture exactly the same as Li Yan's when he was helpless.

She put down what she was holding, looking disgusted. "Old man, just say what you have to say, lest I say something unpleasant and make you angry."

This guy clearly doesn't like me, yet he still calls me over. He's just being a busybody.

If Li Yan hadn't said that bloodshed was forbidden during the New Year, she wouldn't have needed to hold back her words.

What is your birth chart (Ba Zi)?

The Emperor Emeritus's sudden, cryptic remark put Li Qingyan on alert.

"Old man, are you planning to kill me with magic because you can't argue with me?"

He snorted coldly, "If that thing were truly useful, I wouldn't need to lead people to conquer the world. I want to see if you're my nemesis."

Li Qingyan rolled her eyes blatantly, showing no mercy whatsoever.

Why don't you just say you're my nemesis?

That's really going against the grain.

The retired emperor felt he was just making trouble for himself, but he still had to ask.

"How is that child from the Yi family doing?"

Li Qingyan put down the pastries in her hand and wiped her hands.

"I'm doing well."

She jumped to the ground and looked at the retired emperor.

"Does the old man have any more questions?"

It was clear she was getting impatient. The Emperor Emeritus shook his head. This impatient look was exactly the same as when Li Yan was a child, but it seemed that Li Yan hadn't shown this expression since she was a child.

Or rather, he doesn't show as many expressions in front of him...

"Tomorrow, when we go to the imperial mausoleum, we should try to avoid arguing with the Empress Dowager

Li Qingyan fastened the blue cloak with rabbit ears and put on the hat. The rabbit ears drooped down, making her look like a little lop-eared rabbit, and she looked much more docile than usual.

"As long as she doesn't provoke me, I won't provoke her."

After she finished speaking, she walked out, but suddenly stopped and looked back at the Emperor Emeritus. "You asked me to come and ask about the children of an old friend, and you talked about your wife. But you didn't mention Li Yan at all."

"Old man, your father is no match for mine."

As the Emperor Emeritus watched Li Qingyan's retreating figure, he felt a throbbing pain in his forehead.

Hu Xu quietly entered, "Isn't the Emperor Emeritus's third princess a bit...?"

The Emperor Emeritus glanced at him. "She's just a child. Why bother arguing with her? Do you want the whole palace to see me bullying a child?"

After being reprimanded, Hu Xu lowered his head and retreated.

Only the retired emperor remained in the room. He closed his eyes, and suddenly a voice rang in his ears: "Father, Father..."

Young Li Yan was not favored by her mother, so she clung to him especially, standing in front of him and saying that she wanted to become as powerful as her father.

The retired emperor covered his face and said, "He did give birth to a child who knows how to pierce the heart."

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

"You're so embarrassed, all you did was get up a little earlier!"

Li Yan handed Li Qingyan a piece of mint leaf and told her to chew it.

The way they were biting the leaves so hard it looked like they were gnawing on meat, so vicious.

It's not like she got up a little earlier; who's so lucky as to get up at midnight? She still has dark circles under her eyes.

Like an angry little rabbit eating grass, especially with its little feet swaying back and forth, it looks just like a rabbit stomping its feet when it's angry.

"You'll see Yan Xu in a bit; he didn't return to the capital but went directly to the imperial mausoleum."

Upon hearing Yan Xu's name, Li Qingyan's eyes lit up, but then she frowned and asked, "When did Yan Xu write the letter? Why didn't I know? And why didn't he write to me?"

Li Qingyan, who had just cheered up, turned unhappy again, her face showing displeasure. "Fairness, hmph."

Her already round face puffed up like a pufferfish because she was angry.

Li Yan took out a wooden bird from a box next to her; its wings and head could move flexibly.

"The banquet was made for you."

Li Qingyan saw the wooden bird and took a look at it.

"snort."

He may say he's dissatisfied, but the smile on his face doesn't lie.

Seeing her like this, Li Yan felt somewhat helpless, a smile flashing in his eyes followed by a hint of loneliness.

There were many people heading to the imperial tombs, and no one noticed a few extra people at the end of the soldiers' ranks. They followed the procession forward with their heads down.