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

When Li Qingyan returned after running around, Li Yan grabbed her by the collar and pulled her out of the water.

"There are fifty people here, you can choose any of them, or you don't have to choose if you don't like them."

Choosing these fifty people took a lot of effort from the banquet organizers.

But if Li Qingyan doesn't like him, he can choose another one.

Li Qingyan's eyes sparkled.

"I didn't look down on them all; some of them were indeed very capable."

"Then point them out and take them away." Li Yan pinched her chubby little face. He held her and stood in front of the line of fifty people.

Li Qingyan pointed with her little finger, "You...you...you..."

Li Qingyan selected ten people from the fifty.

Five men and five women, of varying heights and builds, but all of them were in good spirits.

Li Qingyan clapped her hands. "That's all."

Just then, a man stepped forward and said, "Why didn't Your Highness choose me? I'm the strongest here."

Li Yan and Yan Xu both frowned.

Yan Xu frowned even more deeply, after all, he had personally selected these people. To question them in public like this was to disrespect His Majesty.

Li Qingyan leaned on Li Yan's shoulder, her head tilted, looking exceptionally innocent. She smiled at Yan Xu, pointed at the man, and said, "Yan Xu, hit him."

The next second, Yan Xu rushed out. Before he could even see clearly, the man who had been shouting just moments before was now sprawled on the ground.

Although Yan Xu did not kill him, he still beat him severely, and he collapsed to the ground in an instant, unable to get up.

Li Qingyan got down from Li Yan's arms and squatted down in front of the person. "You're too weak."

She had a smile on her face, and although she was clearly a cute little girl, the words she said were particularly hurtful.

Those grape-like eyes held an icy glint. "I don't want arrogant and conceited people. Are you stronger than Yan Xu?"

Before he could speak, Li Qingyan stood up, dusted herself off, and called out to Yan Xu, "Yan Xu, hug me, let's go back."

Yan Xu took out a handkerchief to wipe his hands before picking up Li Qingyan.

Not far away, Li Yan watched as Li Qingyan's proud expression vanished in the blink of an eye.

"The chubby kid doesn't want to walk a single step."

Li Qingyan leaned on Yan Xu's shoulder and said, "Li Yan, I'm protecting my legs so that when your arms and legs get old, I can push you in your sedan chair."

Li Yan reached out to pinch her ear, but Li Qingyan took the opportunity to snuggle into Yan Xu's arms, preventing Li Yan from touching her.

The ten people disappeared just before they entered the palace.

"Was Your Highness frightened?" Laifu untied Li Qingyan's cloak and placed it aside. "What did you eat outside today? Are you hungry?"

Li Yan, who hadn't yet taken off his cloak, took a deep breath. Who was the emperor, him or Li Qingyan?

With a wave of her hand, Su Xue and several people rushed over to Li Yan, quickly removing his cloak and outer garment and dressing him in a bright yellow dragon robe and a golden dragon headdress.

Li Qingyan was carried to the table by Laifu and sat down, where she told Laifu what she wanted to eat.

Li Yan sat on the dragon throne while Yan Xu ground ink beside him.

Su Xue suddenly froze in place, "Protect the Emperor."

She roared, and the palace maids surrounded Li Yan and Li Qingyan. Su Xue, seemingly out of nowhere, produced a hidden weapon and threw it directly onto the roof beam, causing four people to fall down with a 'crash'.

Just as Su Xue was about to deliver the fatal blow, Li Yan slowly said, "Stop."

"These are the brat's bodyguards."

Su Xue waved her hand expressionlessly, and the surrounding palace maids quickly dispersed, each going about their tasks—sweeping and folding clothes as if nothing had happened.

Li Qingyan's lips twitched as she looked at her people on the ground, then at the palace maids around her, and glanced at the completely calm Li Yan, Yan Xu, and Lai Fu.

"Who exactly are they?"

Li Qingyan looked puzzled. She had noticed something was wrong with the group of palace maids a while ago, but she hadn't figured out what was going on until she saw Su Xue's skills just now.

Suddenly, many images flashed through her mind. Several times, her things almost fell to the ground, and Su Xue caught them in the blink of an eye. She thought it was because Su Xue was quick and agile.

This isn't just agility, it's clearly high-level martial arts skill. Are they taking advantage of her being a child who doesn't know martial arts?

Li Yan put down the brush in his hand and handed it to Yan Xu, "Just a suicide squad, the same as Hong Yu and the others."

Li Yan had placed assassins both openly and covertly, and as for his personal guards... only he knew where to use them.

Li Qingyan always thought that the people in the Diligent Governance Hall were tight-lipped, and that no one would know what she said here.

It turned out that the place was full of assassins. She was extremely glad that she was too young to fight Li Yan, otherwise she would have been dead before she even made a move.

"Old Deng is really cautious."

Seeing her shocked expression, Li Yan shook his head. Sure enough, his little brat was still a bit slow. He hadn't realized these people were assassins all these years.

Should he consider placing some other people around her?

Li Qingyan felt Li Yan's gaze, which looked at her like she was an idiot, so she grabbed his hand and bit him with a "woof".

Laifu was so frightened he froze. "My little darling, my little darling, why are you biting me? His Majesty just got back and he's still covered in dust. Oh dear, what if he gets a stomachache?"

Laifu was so anxious that he stomped his feet but dared not get close.

Yan Xu was startled; he had witnessed firsthand that "even a rabbit will bite when cornered."

Li Yan calmly pinched Li Qingyan's face, forcing her to open her mouth. He looked at his hand, then at Li Qingyan's teeth, and said, "Little brat, you still have teeth that haven't grown in?"

When Li Qingyan first started teething, she always liked to chew on things. In the end, Li Yan learned from the hunting dog trainer and found a craftsman to make several chew sticks for Li Qingyan before she finally stopped.

Li Yan glanced at Li Qingyan's teeth; they were all fully grown. She could only frown and look at Yan Xu standing to the side, "Yan Li likes to bite dogs?"

This little brat is biting both the horse and people; it seems he's really been corrupted by Yan Li.

Even Yan Xu looked troubled. "I'll go back and ask the steward if Yan Li has still not corrected his bad habits."

Li Qingyan rubbed her cheek, which had been pinched so hard, and looked at their expressions as if they wanted to pull out Yan Li's teeth. She had no choice but to change the subject, "I'm going to the inner palace tomorrow to have a chat with the First Prince and Consort Liu."

Li Yan raised an eyebrow. This wasn't telling him where to go; it was clearly saying he was going out to cause trouble.

"What did you find out?"

Li Qingyan shrugged. "The other party has been very discreet, which only narrows down the scope. We only suspect the First Prince, the Second Prince, and Consort Jian. Moreover..."

Li Qingyan narrowed her eyes. "There might not be any evidence pointing to them."

This was done so meticulously that not a single clue could be found. This was the first time Li Qingyan felt she had met her match.

She couldn't even be sure that the people she suspected were the ones who had drugged her.

Li Yan narrowed his eyes. It was normal that Li Qingyan couldn't find anything. Even he had only found a trace, and that person was just an insignificant palace servant. He couldn't even find out who was connected to her.

Li Qingyan pursed her lips, "I'll try to see if I can push the person behind this to the edge and throw out a scapegoat. Maybe that will give us some clues."

Since things are already like this, let's try to see if we can solve it.