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

"Is the Third Princess going to kill my daughter?"

Li Qingyan had barely arrived and hadn't even spoken when Consort Ling accused her of such a serious crime.

Not long after the second princess left, she was suddenly pushed into the pond. Fortunately, she was discovered quickly, otherwise she would have been dead.

Consort Ling looked at Li Qingyan with murderous intent, wishing she could tear her to pieces.

If no one was watching, Li Qingyan was certain that she would rush over and kill her.

Cuizhu kept a close eye on Lingfei's movements, fearing that she might actually do something.

Liu Yao sat in the armchair, like a pillar of strength, with everyone around her standing in the center, not daring to move.

Liu Yao is increasingly displaying the demeanor of an empress.

"You've already falsely accused the Third Princess before even investigating Consort Ling's matter. Do you have the demeanor of a palace matriarch?"

His words, spoken slowly and deliberately, carried an air of authority.

Li Qingyan walked over and gave her a slight bow. Turning to look at Consort Ling, she said, "Since Consort Ling believes that I did it, why not find witnesses and evidence?"

The burden of proof lies with the person who has the suspicion.

Li Qingyan narrowed her eyes slightly, truly believing that she was a pushover who could be manipulated at will just because Li Yan wasn't by her side.

"You...who else could have hurt my daughter besides you?"

Consort Ling couldn't give a clear explanation; she couldn't find any witnesses or evidence.

"With just a few words, you want to tarnish my reputation? What are you trying to do, Consort Ling?"

Li Qingyan took the initiative and made Consort Ling bear the reputation of bullying the imperial heir.

"The Third Princess, Consort Ling, was only a little anxious because the Second Princess was hurt. Why be so petty?"

Consort Jing, who had been watching the show, now spoke up. The eldest prince and the eldest princess stood on either side of her, both looking indifferent.

"Sister Jingfei, it's not wrong for us mothers to protect our children, but it's not good to target the Third Princess, a child without a mother's protection." Consort Jingfei twirled her prayer beads. "Amitabha, it's useless for us to argue about these things here since the Second Princess has suffered an undeserved calamity."

Consort Li never gets involved in these matters, so it's quite strange that she's speaking up for Li Qingyan now.

Li Qingyan raised an eyebrow slightly. These concubines were truly fascinating. Who was putting on an act and who was genuine?

Just then, several rats appeared out of nowhere and rushed towards the people. The concubines screamed in fright, and Cuiping quickly carried Li Qingyan away from the crowd.

In the chaos, the eldest prince and princess were knocked down.

"Your Highness, be careful!"

"Aohiro!"

Consort Jing and the nanny rushed over, but no one paid attention to the fallen princess.

"What's all this commotion about?" The Empress Dowager stood on the second-floor railing, coldly observing the crowd. "Are these trivial matters really worth all this arguing about?"

Her gaze was icy as she swept over the crowd below. She glanced at Li Qingyan, then at the First Prince and the First Princess.

"The second princess slipped and fell into the pond herself; get out of here, you two!"

She glanced in the direction of the eldest prince and princess, snorted coldly, and turned back into the small building.

The noise disturbed the Empress Dowager, so everyone had to leave.

The eldest prince frowned, sensing that something was amiss. Why had the Empress Dowager looked at him and the eldest princess just now?

Not far away, the eldest princess got up from the ground, dusted herself off, and looked at the eldest prince's back with an indelible mockery in her eyes. Her gaze towards Consort Jing was filled with utter disgust.

Li Qingyan, held by Cuiping and standing on high ground, was completely unaffected and even witnessed a good show.

The Empress Dowager clearly knew what had happened, but hadn't come out until now. Her sudden appearance to save the day made Li Qingyan doubt that this person was acting on her behalf. The Empress Dowager's two most wanted killers were Li Yan and Li Qingyan.

So who exactly is this place here for?

Li Qingyan narrowed her eyes.

"interesting."

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

The small building was dimly lit, except for the bright candlelight in front of the Buddhist shrine.

Two people, one standing and one sitting, were in the shadows. The one sitting took a sip of the tea in front of him and said, "It seems that Her Majesty the Empress Dowager believes what I said."

The Empress Dowager looked at him with bloodshot eyes, "My son's child is really alive, really alive."

She knelt before the Buddha statue and kowtowed repeatedly until her forehead turned red before stopping.

"Tell me, what do you want?"

The man put down the cup in his hand.

"Your Majesty, you have a distant cousin named Liang Jin, who is often away on business. I would like to know his identity. What do you think?"

Substituting a living person is certainly easy to expose, but what if that person dies? The Empress Dowager turned her prayer beads. "It would only increase the sins of killing. I agree. Someone will make arrangements for you in seven days."

"Then thank you very much, Your Majesty."

The two left through a secret passage in the small building. The candlelight shone on them, and their clothes were clearly identical to those of the guards outside.

The mantra for rebirth echoed again from the small building.

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

Li Qingyan tapped the table with one hand and twirled the wooden apple in her other hand, which Yan Xu had just given her.

She squinted at Li Yan, who was sitting opposite her.

"So you knew what happened to me just now?"

"Li Yan! You've gone too far! How could you just stand by and watch me get bullied?"

Li Qingyan had just let her hair down and hadn't even had a chance to comb it when Li Yan and the others returned. She then learned that the two men had been watching her from a short distance. She was so angry her hair stood on end.

Li Yan gently stroked her hair, which was sticking up like a bird's nest. He picked up a wooden comb and combed it while explaining, "Don't worry, little brat, I won't let you get angry for nothing."

The key point is that he didn't see Li Qingyan being bullied. If she really had been, he would have stepped in to resolve the situation long ago. The brat's aura just now was that of someone who was about to wreak havoc.

"Does getting angry actually do you any good?"

"There are naturally benefits."

Li Yan smiled, and Yan Xu took out a few sheets of paper from his pocket and handed them to Li Qingyan, "Your Highness, take a look."

Li Qingyan looked at the papers with suspicion, her eyes widening as she read them. "Grain...granary?"

This is not the country's granary, but half of the granary and farmland belonging to the Qian family, one of the five major grain merchants.

Consort Li's mother also came this time. She had witnessed what had happened and knew that her daughter had made a mistake. As a mother, she naturally understood her daughter. If it weren't for Cuiping by Li Qingyan's side, she would probably be dead by now.

Thinking of this, Consort Jian's mother felt her legs go weak.

In particular, Yan Xu said, "I have watched the young prince grow up, and this is the first time he has suffered such an injustice."

Yan Xu's White Tiger Army guards vital grain transport routes. If he refuses, the Qian family's grain cannot be transported out.

In particular, Li Yan added a sentence later, "I am also very gratified that General Yan feels sorry for the Third Princess."

Doesn't this mean he agrees with Yan Xu's idea?

The Qian family, as the head of the five major grain merchants, was already feared by all sides. In order to protect her maternal family, Consort Qian's mother had no choice but to hand over the granaries and fields near Shangyancheng as an apology.

"Are you sure you want to give this to me? Wouldn't it be more useful for the White Tiger Army to keep it?"

As Li Qingyan spoke, she folded the papers and put them into her bosom.

"Since you think the White Tiger Army is more useful, how about handing them over?" Li Yan tied her hair up and put on a pom-pom. This was much more comfortable than those gold and silver headdresses.

He held Li Qingyan in his arms.

Li Qingyan turned around and glared at him. "Li Yan, you're such a 'good person'."

The words "good person" were emphasized even more.

Yan Xu nodded, "Your Highness, I may accept it."

Yan Xu spoke in a very serious tone, which made Li Qingyan's eyes widen in surprise.

"Yan Xu, you've been corrupted by Li Yan."

She tossed the small apple in her hand toward Yan Xu, who caught it without even looking at it. Then he walked over and put it in her hand.

"His Highness's aim when throwing things is far inferior to His Majesty's."

Li Yan was not a good-tempered child either. When he was eight or nine years old, he was impatient and liked to throw things at people, especially when calling Yan Xu, he liked to throw dates at him.

At that time, Yan Li was only three or four years old and had just begun to remember things. He remembered seeing Li Yan bully Yan Xu, and from then on, Li Yan was not a good person in Yan Li's memory.

Li Qingyan reached out to let Yan Xu hug her.

Yan Xu picked her up, and saw Li Qingyan climb onto his shoulder and sit there. She then removed his headdress and took out a red hair ribbon embroidered with auspicious cloud patterns from her bosom and tied it on his head.

She perched on Yan Xu's head like a little rabbit, saying, "Let's reciprocate and see if it looks good."

Wearing a red headband, Yan Xu exuded a more youthful charm.

A hint of melancholy flashed in Li Yan's eyes as she tapped her fingers on the armrest, her expression one of impatience.