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

The scale of imperial tomb worship ceremonies is naturally grand.

Flags fluttered in the wind on a platform several meters high. The priest's chanting seemed to come from the void and drifted in the air.

Li Qingyan stood beside Li Yan and offered incense with him.

The father and daughter wore bright yellow dragon robes and bright yellow palace attire, respectively.

The Empress led the other concubines to stand behind her in turn.

Only the Empress and the Crown Prince could stand shoulder to shoulder with the Emperor to pay homage to their ancestors, but now standing with Li Yan was Li Qingyan, whose clothes spoke volumes about the Emperor's attitude.

The decision of who should be chosen as heir is not something the emperor alone can decide.

The relationship between the ministers and the emperor was one of mutual support and constant struggle.

Even if the emperor favored a particular child, if these ministers were not convinced, they would fight against the emperor.

Without even turning around, Li Qingyan could feel the burning gaze behind her. After today, there would probably be many more people who wanted to kill her.

The master of ceremonies chanted, and the music echoed around the beams.

The sacrificial dance was like fairies flying to heaven.

The women performing the sacrificial dance looked like fairies who could ascend to heaven at any moment.

Li Qingyan rubbed her eyes and left the venue.

There are some follow-up matters that she doesn't need to be involved in.

Li Qingyan led Cuiping to the main hall at the back, where the women rested.

"It's finally coming to an end."

Li Qingyan tapped her shoulder. The ceremony had only been going on for two-thirds of its duration, yet it had taken two hours.

"I've prepared plenty of delicious food for you. Shall we go and rest?"

Cuiping took out a piece of candied fruit from her bosom and handed it to her. Before leaving the palace, Laifu wished he could move the entire imperial kitchen to Li Qingyan's place.

Li Qingyan put the fruit in her mouth, and her little face immediately puffed up. She nodded eagerly when she heard there was food.

She was wearing a bright yellow palace dress, embroidered with pythons in gold thread. This was a breach of etiquette.

With Li Yan around, anyone with grievances would have to swallow them.

This palace dress is made of real gold and silver thread, and even the decorations on it are genuine red coral.

It is luxurious, but it has one drawback: it is exceptionally heavy.

Even with Cuiping's help, she was still covered in sweat after walking a few steps, so she rested temporarily in the warm pavilion in the courtyard.

She saw Yan Xu standing at the very front of the military ranks when she left, and she wouldn't see him again until she returned to the palace.

"I never expected to run into the Third Princess here."

The second princess appeared out of nowhere, I don't know.

Li Qingyan narrowed her eyes. This wasn't enough of a lesson; they still dared to provoke her. Even brothers and sisters had to greet each other with bows and formalities. These were all just formalities, but given the established court etiquette, Li Qingyan still observed them to some extent.

But she was in a bad mood today, so she couldn't be bothered to follow the rules, especially when she encountered someone who annoyed her; she just wanted to kick them away.

"I heard this morning that the East and West Twelve Palaces were haunted yesterday," Li Qingyan said with a smile and a mocking look in her eyes. "The Second Princess was somehow tied to a roof beam, and I heard she was covered in soot."

Her tone was relaxed yet excited, which made the Second Princess's head spin. She hurried towards the pavilion, but was stopped by Cuiping.

Cuiping stood there with a cold face, looking like a small mountain.

"Open your dog eyes and see who I am. Get out of here!"

The second princess was already angry, and being stopped by a palace maid only fueled her anger.

Li Qingyan walked over with her teacup and patted Cuiping, asking her to make way. Cuiping stepped back to her side.

"Splash!"

A cup of tea was spilled on the second princess's head, and a few tea leaves even stuck to her face.

"Ah!!! Li Qingyan, you're a madwoman! Don't think I don't know you did all those things!"

The second princess was furious, her face turning red. She was two years older than Li Qingyan, turning six after the New Year, and was more than a head taller and stronger than Li Qingyan. The palace servants, worried that she might actually hurt Li Qingyan, quickly stopped her.

Li Qingyan calmly sat back down in her original seat.

"Whose servants are you anyway?" the second princess roared, and the palace servants around her all knelt down. She slapped the nearest palace maid across the face.

The palace servants around stared wide-eyed.

Li Qingyan frowned. One should not hit someone in the face, and even when punishing subordinates, one must follow the palace rules.

Beating one's own palace maids in front of others shows a lack of respect for these women.

"Is the Second Princess going to resort to vigilante justice?"

Before Li Qingyan could speak, the Second Prince suddenly appeared.

He glanced at the kneeling palace servants and the second princess, then looked at Li Qingyan, and handed the book in his hand to the little eunuch behind him.

The voice was stern, "Second Princess, do you know that abusing your power through private punishment will result in you being confined to your quarters?"

The punishment of palace servants must be carried out in accordance with palace rules, and the Second Princess is now clearly violating those rules.

"Is Second Brother going to meddle in other people's affairs?"

The second princess's face was gloomy, as if she was about to attack the second prince at any moment.

"I'm just advising you, Second Princess. These palace servants are stopping you for your own good. If you were to fight with Third Princess here, have you considered the consequences? Don't you even look at what Third Princess is wearing?"

These words calmed the initially angry second princess down, who belatedly realized she was afraid. She glanced at Li Qingyan's bright yellow palace dress, which was embroidered with python patterns.

Although Li Qingyan did not have a title, this outfit represented imperial power. Wearing it, even if she was not the crown prince, she was practically in the same position as him. To slap her was to slap the emperor's face and trample on imperial power.

At that point, it won't be something that can be covered up by simply saying "children playing around."

The second princess flicked her sleeves. "Second brother really knows how to meddle in other people's business." She snorted coldly and left in a grand procession with her entourage.

As he left, he muttered, "Hypocrite."

Li Qingyan sat there, raising her eyebrows as if watching a play.

The second prince's personality resembled that of his mother, Consort Liu, who was unassuming and never competed for anything. Consort Liu was gentle and spent most of her time worshipping Buddha at Jianjia Palace. The second prince, on the other hand, loved reading the most.

Li Yan's attitude towards them, mother and son, was also strange. No, it should be said that his attitude towards Consort Li was strange—polite, respectful, yet distant.

The Second Prince, who was so unassuming and unambitious, had come to her rescue today. Li Qingyan found it rather amusing.

"Thank you for coming to my rescue, Second Brother. You are truly amazing; you managed to get rid of Second Sister with just a few words and prevent her from biting anyone further."

Li Qingyan's words weren't particularly intimate; they were just normal politeness.

Walking along the long corridor leads to the palace for rest, and further back is the Empress Dowager's residence, where there is a large lake. The other princes and princesses all went there.

Li Qingyan was too lazy to go over there to avoid causing any more trouble, especially since it was the Empress Dowager's territory, and that old woman wanted nothing more than to strangle her.

She didn't want to jump into a trap herself.

However, things don't always go as planned; just because she doesn't provoke others doesn't mean others won't provoke her.

Li Qingyan had just dozed off for a while when a palace maid from the Empress's side suddenly came to see her, saying that she wanted to invite her to the pond in the back.

Liu Yao is the kind of person who avoids trouble whenever possible, so the fact that she was suddenly called over today suggests that something bad has happened to her.

"These guys are really annoying."

She rubbed her face, "I'll wipe out those bastards sooner or later."