The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

On the other side of the polo field, in a quiet bamboo path, Qi Heng followed Xingluo, An Jie'er's personal maid, into the depths with trepidation.

My heart is pounding.

Just now, that kid Cui Ziping brought out a bunch of strange gadgets from somewhere, such as a little wooden dog with a moving tail, a mechanical raccoon with claws that could make money-making gestures, and finally even brought out an extremely realistic model of a Hongyi cannon, which made Anjie exclaim in admiration and ask him all sorts of questions.

He saw this and his jealousy was boiling over. Finally, he couldn't help but say coldly, "Brother Cui, you have quite the interest. With the imperial examinations just around the corner, you still have the leisure to ponder these strange and ingenious skills."

As soon as he finished speaking, Cui Ziping's smile froze, and he awkwardly took his leave.

When Qi Heng realized he had lost his composure, An Jie'er's gaze was already scrutinizing him, her eyes clear and sharp, as if she could see right through him.

Just as he was about to find an excuse to escape, Sister An unexpectedly spoke up: "Qi Xiao Er, come with me."

Then he was brought here.

At the end of the bamboo path, An-jie stood with her back to him, her scarlet riding outfit standing out brightly against the backdrop of green bamboo. She turned around, her face expressionless.

Qi Heng's throat tightened: "Chao Yu, I..."

"Qi Xiaoer," An Jie'er said calmly, but with a hint of warning, "it seems we're not yet at the point where we address each other by our full names."

Qi Heng's face turned pale: "Second Miss Zhang."

"You love me?"

The question was so sudden and direct, it was like a thunderbolt striking Qi Heng's head.

His mind went blank, his face instantly burned, and his lips parted several times before he managed to squeeze out a few broken syllables: "I...I...I..."

"But I don't like you."

Another thunderclap.

Qi Heng froze, the blush on his face receding like a tide, and the color drained away quickly, leaving only a deathly pale face.

He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

"I don't like Cui Dalang either," Anjie continued, her tone as casual as if she were just saying how nice the sun was. "So stop being sarcastic towards him. In short, you should let me go as soon as possible, focus on your studies, and marry a gentle and virtuous wife in the future. That's the right thing to do."

After she finished speaking, she was about to leave.

Qi Heng seemed to be jolted awake by these words. He abruptly stepped forward, blocking her path, his eyes reddening, and stared at her stubbornly: "Why?"

Anjie laughed at his expression: "What do you mean, why? Then let me ask you, what do you like about me?"

Qi Heng insisted, "Because you are very good. You are very good, very good."

"How good am I?" Anjie raised an eyebrow. "Am I good at polo, or good at swearing?"

"Everything is fine." Qi Heng's voice trembled, but every word was clear: "You are righteous, straightforward, and decisive; you are good in every way."

"So, if you're going to say that, you like me because I'm good. And I don't like you because you're not good enough?"

The hurt in Qi Heng's eyes deepened, clearly indicating that what was said had come true.

An Jie sighed helplessly, "Qi Xiao Er, you can't think like that. Why don't you think that I'm blind to your true feelings because I don't like you?"

Qi Heng looked at her, his stubbornness undiminished: "Then are you?"

"Of course not," An-jie answered matter-of-factly. "But you should think of it this way. Otherwise, how can you let me go?"

The wind rustles through the bamboo, making the leaves whisper.

Qi Heng stared at her for a long time, until the stubbornness in his eyes slowly settled into a kind of almost desperate calm.

He suddenly spoke, his voice unusually calm: "We are of similar age and our families are well-matched. My room is still spotless, without even a maidservant. If you are willing to marry me, I will certainly be like the Marquis of Jingbian, never taking another woman for the rest of my life."

He paused, then continued, as if reciting a carefully crafted essay: "If you think my writing is lacking, I'll immediately go back and study late into the night. I vow to be on the list for this year's imperial examination. If you think my martial arts and horsemanship are lacking, I can also get up at dawn to hone my skills and practice relentlessly. In short—"

He looked up, his gaze intense: "Whatever you like, I can be you."

These words were extremely sincere.

A hint of emotion flashed across An Jie'er's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a trace of confusion.

She tilted her head slightly, looking at him with confusion: "Just because I don't like you doing these things, does that mean you won't do them?"

Qi Heng was taken aback.

"The imperial examinations are for your own future, martial arts are for strengthening your body, and if you combine the two and have even greater ambitions, you can achieve national stability and benefit all the people." An Jie'er's tone became serious: "Qi Xiao'er, in this life, do you have to do things that others like? What about yourself? To put it another way, if I didn't want you to do these good deeds, but instead asked you to kill, set fires, and commit crimes, would you still do it?"

Qi Heng was stumped by the question and stood there dumbfounded.

Looking at him like this, Anjie gently shook her head: "Take your time to figure it out."

She turned and left, her clothes fluttering in the breeze.

Qi Heng stood there, stunned, watching the crimson figure disappear into the depths of the bamboo path.

The conversation just now felt like a dull knife, cutting into my heart again and again. The bleeding wasn't much, but the pain was unbearable.

He stood there for a long time, until a scream came from afar—

"girl!"

It was the voice of Xingluo, the girl beside Anjie, filled with obvious panic.

Qi Heng snapped out of his daze and rushed toward the source of the sound without a second thought.

Not to follow closely behind.

Turning past a rockery, the sight before Qi Heng made his eyes widen in horror.

Li Wei, accompanied by three or five burly followers, surrounded Sister An and her servants.

Li Wei even had a sinister smile on his face as he lunged at An Jie'er.

An Jie'er nimbly dodged to the side, then pushed Li Wei with her backhand, causing him to stagger two steps.

But the attendants rushed forward and were about to grab her arm.

"stop!"

Qi Heng roared angrily and rushed forward.

He had never been violent before, but without thinking, he swung his fist and slammed it hard into the face of the nearest attendant who was trying to tug at An'er's sleeve.

A muffled thud.

The man was knocked to the side, and blood instantly appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Li Wei stared wide-eyed, as if he couldn't believe that this usually gentle and refined young master would actually make a move.

But seeing that he only brought Buwei alone, and recalling that day at the teahouse, if Qi Heng hadn't repeatedly paved the way, Zhang Chaoyu might not have succeeded.

"Alright, so you and this bitch are in cahoots. Attack together!"

New and old grudges surged into his heart, and Li Wei, disregarding everything else, commanded, "Grab those two, strip them naked, and throw them into the lake! They dare to conspire against me? I'll show them what true humiliation is!"

The entourage rushed forward.

Not only did he have some quick wit, but he also managed to restrain the two of them and shouted to Xingluo, "Go find someone quickly!"

Then he said to Qi Heng, "Young Master, to catch the thief, you must first catch the king!"

Qi Heng looked at Li Wei, his anger rising, and bypassed the crowd to punch Li Wei directly in the face.

The stinging sensation on my fist felt so real, and the pent-up emotions in my heart finally found an outlet.

He didn't stop.

The second punch, the third punch... fists rained down.

Li Wei initially wanted to fight back, but Qi Heng seemed like a different person at this moment. His eyes were fierce, and his moves were chaotic yet powerful, forcing Li Wei to retreat step by step. Although there were two attendants restraining him, they still couldn't stop his rising momentum.

Upon seeing this, Anjie'er's eyes lit up.

She shook off another maid, Yunzhi, who was trying to pull her away, took a few steps forward, and kicked a follower who was about to attack Qi Heng.

"Get out of here!"

The servant was struck in the calf and fell to the ground with a scream.

Anjie became more and more courageous in the fight, rushing to Li Wei's side and kicking him whenever she could find an opening, or grabbing Li Wei's hair, making him suffer in pain and unable to fight back.

Anjie beat and cursed, her voice clear and loud: "You have the guts to mess with your grandma! You bastard! You toad trying to eat swan meat! You pig-headed idiot! You piece of trash! Go to hell—"

She kicked Li Wei in the back of the knee, and Li Wei fell to his knees with a thud.

Qi Heng seized the opportunity and punched him in the nose, causing blood to splatter.

At the other end of the bamboo path, Ru Jin and Zhao Xin, who had rushed over upon hearing the commotion, stared in disbelief at the scene before them.

Ru Jin opened her mouth wide, while Zhao Xin touched his chin, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, which then turned into an admiring smile.

Before long, the guards arrived and quickly subdued Li Wei and his group.

-

"Your Majesty, please be wise!"

Inside the Wende Hall.

Li Wei's parents knelt before the emperor, weeping uncontrollably, almost fainting.

Mother Li, the plaintiff, declared: "It must have been that Second Miss Zhang who deliberately sought revenge! The incident at the teahouse that day was merely a quarrel between juniors, yet she held a grudge and today set a trap at the polo field to beat my son! And the young master of the Qi State Duke's mansion, aiding and abetting her, the two of them joined forces to severely injure my son… The imperial physician said his nose is broken, and two of his ribs are broken! If His Highness Prince Wei had arrived even a moment later, he might have died. Your Majesty, we beg Your Majesty to do us justice!"

She wept bitterly, while Li's father repeatedly kowtowed, pleading, "Your Majesty, please grant justice for my son!"

Upon receiving the news, Princess Pingning rushed into the palace in a panic. She immediately knelt upon entering the hall: "Your Majesty, please forgive me! Everyone knows that my Heng'er is the most gentle, kind, and frugal man; he wouldn't even step on an ant! This must have been started by the Li family! Why would they bring five or six strong men to surround a young lady? What are they trying to do? Is there no law in broad daylight?!"

As she spoke, she glared fiercely at Li's mother: "You must have gone too far first, otherwise why would my Heng'er have resorted to violence?!"

Seeing that she was in the wrong, Li's mother hurriedly splashed all the dirty water on An'er: "How can you be so unreasonable? Your Qi Heng is a good man, but what's wrong with my Li Wei? I know, it must be that little slut from the Zhang family who is unfaithful and restless, seducing two young men into fighting over her, which caused all this trouble!"

Before the words were finished, a clear, cold female voice came from outside the hall:

"Who are you calling a slut?"

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Shilan slowly stepping into the hall.

Without glancing to the side, she walked straight to the emperor and bowed: "Your subject, Qin, greets Your Majesty."

After the ceremony, before the official could speak, she turned to look at Li's mother, her gaze as sharp as ice.

"What did you say about my daughter just now?"

Li's mother felt a tremor in her heart as she looked at her, but she forced herself to say, "Am I wrong? As the saying goes, it takes two to tango—"

"Snapped!"

A crisp, resounding slap echoed throughout the hall.

"Yeah?"

Shilan withdrew her hand, slowly straightened her cuffs, and looked up at the dumbfounded Li's mother, a cold, mocking smile curving her lips:

"Then listen to this slap of mine, does it make a sound?"

The hall was deathly silent.