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

The next day, after noon, Li Qingyan, along with several palace maids, "coincidentally" encountered the First Prince.

Li Qingyan quickly bowed to him, "Elder Brother."

The eldest prince returned the greeting, "Little princess, where are you in such a hurry? The roads have been slippery these past few days, so please be careful."

Li Qingyan looked troubled. "My eldest brother isn't afraid to tell you." She leaned closer to the eldest prince with a mysterious expression.

Suddenly approached, the eldest prince instinctively tried to back away, but Li Qingyan grabbed his arm and he couldn't escape.

"My elder brother knows that my horse was startled last time."

She glanced at the eldest prince and continued, "During my investigation, I discovered some secrets. Should these deadly secrets be revealed, or kept secret?"

Li Qingyan didn't speak very clearly, but her attitude was very serious.

It seems that the secret was referring to the eldest prince.

The eldest prince's pupils contracted slightly but returned to normal in the blink of an eye. "This is my little princess's matter, and I shouldn't interfere. She is intelligent and can make her own decisions."

After saying goodbye to Li Qingyan, his expression and figure remained unchanged, but his pace was slightly faster than usual, which would not be noticed unless one looked closely.

Li Qingyan's lips curled up slightly.

"I feel guilty."

Did he create the host?

"No, didn't you see he didn't have much of an expression when I said the horse was startled? But his eyes changed completely when I said I'd discovered a secret."

Li Qingyan had always felt that there was something wrong with the eldest prince, and sure enough, he was hiding a secret. What exactly was it? She really wanted to know.

Royal secrets are never trivial.

Li Qingyan led her people and belongings towards Jianjia Palace. As soon as she arrived at the gate, she saw the Second Prince pacing back and forth outside with a book in his hand.

He looks like he's reciting a poem.

Seeing Li Qingyan enter, she realized what was happening and asked, "Little Princess, are you here to see my mother?"

Li Qingyan nodded and said in a soft voice, "I didn't expect that Second Brother would be reading as soon as he got back from class. No wonder Mr. Shao kept praising Second Brother after he substituted for me last time, and said that I am not as hardworking as Brother."

That aggrieved look on his face actually makes him look quite innocent and cute.

The Second Prince smiled slightly, "Mr. Shao, you flatter me. My little sister is truly intelligent. Please wait a moment, little sister. Mother is chanting scriptures, and no one is allowed to enter the Buddhist hall without permission. I will go and inform her."

The second prince was gentle and always humble and polite when speaking to anyone.

He opened the door shortly after and let Li Qingyan in.

In Consort Li's room, a small Buddhist shrine was set up separately. The door to the shrine was covered by a bamboo curtain, so the view inside could not be seen. However, a faint wisp of smoke drifted out, the scent of burning incense.

"Greetings, Consort Jian."

Following protocol, Li Qingyan bowed and had something delivered, saying it was to thank her for speaking up for her by the pond that day.

Consort Ling, holding her prayer beads, looked at the gifts that had been brought and said that as a Buddhist, she was not suited to use too much gold, silver, or jade. She also reassured Li Qingyan that Consort Ling was not a scheming person and was only worried about her daughter.

"Although I am young, I know that my mother is most worried about her children. I can't blame Consort Ling for being suspicious, after all, my second sister and I had just had a fight at the time."

Li Qingyan smiled slightly. What was strange was that, after her later investigation, no one had told Consort Ling that she and the Second Princess had argued during the period between the time the Second Princess fell into the water.

Why did Consort Ling say it was her fault back then?

Li Qingyan glanced at the Second Prince, who was reading a book to the side.

"Second brother still doesn't like to talk much." Li Qingyan sighed. "I just don't know who poisoned my cloak back then. If it weren't for Father, I'm afraid I would be dead by now."

Consort Li said "Amitabha" and, holding Li Qingyan's hand, said, "Poor child."

Li Qingyan looked at the orchids growing in the room and quickly got up to examine them. The flowers looked very familiar.

"It seems I didn't choose the right thing; I didn't expect Consort Jian to like orchids."

Consort Li smiled and said that she kept the orchid out of boredom. She touched the orchid leaves with her slender fingers.

"This flower, called Cinnamon Orchid, is extremely difficult to cultivate. I tried over forty plants before only managing to grow these few." She sighed. "There are even people in the community who use the blood of young women to nourish Cinnamon Orchids—it's utterly sinful. 'Amitabha.'"

She looked at Li Qingyan, patted her head to reassure her that she was just a child.

Li Qingyan wasn't afraid; she just glanced at the orchid a few more times. After chatting for a few more minutes, she left.

As soon as Li Qingyan left, Jianjia Palace fell silent. Consort Jian twirled her prayer beads, while the Second Prince sat opposite her reading a book.

Consort Li sighed, "It's a poor child who has no mother, and she's been harmed like this."

The second prince turned a page of his book, dangling his foot in the air. "Mother, you can rest assured. There will be evidence for my little sister. She won't be unable to find out."

"That's good."

Consort Jian touched the cinnamon orchid beside her and said, "This flower is really beautiful, but it must be very expensive to maintain."

The second prince looked up and glanced at the cinnamon orchid.

In the sunlight, the leaves faintly shimmer with a golden light, dazzling as if sprinkled with gold.

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

"This is the twenty-first lap. Aren't you dizzy, Your Highness?"

Laifu poured Li Yan a cup of tea, and the two of them watched Li Qingyan pacing back and forth in the imperial study.

Her small face was furrowed in worry.

"Is there no clue?" Li Yan tapped the table, and Su Xue and her men immediately laid out mats near Li Qingyan to prevent her from getting dizzy and falling.

Li Qingyan shook her head, turned around, and lay down on the cushion. The palace maid moved her position to ensure she was completely on the cushion.

Li Qingyan looked at the rotating roof and said, "We found it, and we have evidence."

The person has been arrested; she is a palace maid named Murong Qiulan. (Li Qingyan)

This person was a spy from the North, chosen to participate in the sacrifice.

The medicine was hidden in the surrounding woods beforehand, and she concealed it in her sleeve while resting.

The original plan was to drug Li Yan, startling her horse so much that the eight-horse carriage would run out of control, and then her people would lead her to a cliff where she would fall to her death.

However, having no chance to get close to Li Yan, he could only sprinkle it on Li Qingyan when the palace concubines were making a ruckus.

After all, Li Qingyan and Li Yan had always been the same, but no one expected that Li Qingyan could ride a horse.

Upon hearing Li Qingyan's words, Li Yan frowned.

The father and daughter had identical expressions, both sensing that something was wrong.

It went so smoothly it was almost unbelievable.

Li Qingyan sighed heavily, "Li Yan's evidence came too easily, it's like someone deliberately guided me."

What chilled Li Qingyan the most was that she couldn't tell who the other person was at all; it was as if a hand was secretly pushing her along.

"Was the person killed?"

Li Yan asked directly.

Li Qingyan shook her head. "No. She wanted to commit suicide."

But how could Li Qingyan let her have her way? Her arms and legs were rendered immobile by Li Qingyan's men, and even her teeth were pulled out.

She then had another person, disguised and killed, who resembled Murong Qiulan among the death row inmates. The body was then burned in a mass grave.

Hearing Li Qingyan do this, Li Yan looked pleased; the silly rabbit was still quite shrewd.

Li Qingyan sighed.

"Li Yan, you'd think a cornered dog wouldn't jump over the wall, but why did it dig a pit for itself? It's a miscalculation."

She scratched her head, her once neat hair now a mess. Before anyone could speak, she consoled herself, "Oh well, I'll keep them alive. I'll definitely do it again after this."

After saying that, she squinted and sat up. "Dad, what about the gift you promised?"

She changed the subject very quickly, extending her hand to Li Yan without any hesitation. Li Yan raised an eyebrow as she looked at her chubby little hand.