The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

Everyone was stunned by Shilan's sudden slap.

Even the emperor on his throne subconsciously leaned back, his fingers trembling slightly. It took him a long while to regain his composure before he whispered to the eunuch beside him, "Quickly, quickly, summon the Empress!"

Li's mother, clutching her burning cheek, stared wide-eyed and screamed incredulously, "You dare hit me?!"

Shilan sneered, the sharp aura in her eyes almost tangible: "I'll hit you whenever I want, do I have to pick a day? As the saying goes, 'If a son is not taught, it is the father's fault.' Your son has grown into the kind of person he is today entirely because of your excellent upbringing!"

She stepped forward, her presence even more intimidating: "Princess Pingning is right. In broad daylight, your son Li Wei, with five or six burly men, surrounded a young unmarried woman. What does he intend to do? Hmm?!"

The last syllable suddenly rose in pitch, causing the candlelight in the hall to flicker.

"Even if he only has a few broken ribs, and was beaten to death on the spot, he would deserve it!" Shilan's voice grew even colder. "You parents, your son has done such a despicable thing, and instead of feeling ashamed and covering your faces, you should quickly drag him home and discipline him severely. You even have the nerve to come before the Emperor to complain? You are truly shameless bastards! A family of filthy scum!"

Li's mother also came from an official family. After marrying into the family of the emperor's brother-in-law, she lived a life of luxury for decades. She had never been insulted in public like this before.

She was so angry that she trembled all over, her face turning pale and then red, until her last bit of reason was burned to ashes by her rage.

"I'll fight you to the death!"

She screamed and lunged at Shilan, baring her teeth and claws!

Shilan didn't dodge at all.

She even took a half-step forward, taking advantage of her height, and swiftly grabbed Li's mother's wrist as she swung it, twisting it sharply. Li's mother winced in pain, and her strength immediately diminished. Shilan's other hand was already raised high—

"Snapped!"

The second slap was harder and more severe than the first.

Li's mother was knocked to the side by the blow, her hair was disheveled, and a strand of hair hung down in a sorry state.

She froze for a moment, then let out an even more piercing wail, reaching out to grab Shilan's face without a care in the world.

The two first-rank imperial consorts then began to tear each other apart in public in the Wende Hall.

Of course, while it was called a "tearful struggle," it was actually a one-sided suppression by Shilan.

The foundation she built in riding and archery when she was young was not for nothing. Although she has lived a life of luxury in recent years, she still often goes out to race horses and her skills remain as sharp as ever.

In contrast, Li's mother was all show and no substance, just as useless as her son.

The palace servants inside were all dumbfounded. They wanted to step forward to stop her but dared not, and could only watch helplessly as Li's mother was grabbed by the collar by Shilan and hit several times.

The hairpins fell to the ground, and clear finger marks quickly appeared on her face.

"Stop! Stop right now!"

When Empress Cao rushed over, this was the chaotic scene she saw.

She gasped, and immediately shouted, "Separate the two ladies at once!"

Only then did the female officials dare to step forward, and it took them a great deal of effort to pull the two apart.

At this moment, Li's mother had disheveled hair, her face was red and swollen, and she was crying so hard that she could hardly breathe.

Although Shilan's hair was slightly disheveled, her breathing remained steady. She coldly straightened her rumpled sleeves, her eyes still sharp as knives.

Upon seeing the Empress arrive, the Emperor felt as if he had been granted a pardon and quickly rose, saying, "Your Majesty's arrival is timely. Most of those present are noblewomen; the matter should be entirely entrusted to Your Majesty for decision!"

Having said that, he didn't want to stay a moment longer, so he hurriedly got up from his seat and walked so fast that he almost ran.

The Empress watched his retreating figure, which was almost a hasty escape, and sighed inwardly before turning to the people in the hall.

"Summon the imperial physician first."

Empress Cao glanced at the injuries on Li's mother's face, frowned slightly, and then turned to the palace maids: "Please take a seat."

Princess Pingning was already pale with fright. She quickly moved to the Empress's side, her posture of pleading for protection was very obvious.

The seats were neatly arranged, but Li's mother refused to sit. She knelt down with a thud, wailing and crying, "Your Majesty! You must do justice for me! Qin Shi... she dared to lay a hand on me before the Emperor! She has no respect for His Majesty, she is utterly arrogant!"

"The Empress, as the mother of the nation, should naturally make the decisions," Shilan interrupted before she could finish, "For example, severely punish the madman who harassed a respectable woman in broad daylight, and the parents who failed to educate their son and allowed him to commit such a heinous act!"

She bowed respectfully to Empress Cao, her voice clear and bright: "If it weren't for Young Master Qi's righteous intervention today, I don't know how badly my daughter would have been bullied by Li Wei. Your Majesty, the Li family has failed in their parenting, producing such a scoundrel. They deserve severe punishment!"

"You...you're talking nonsense!" Mother Li shrieked. "Your daughter is unharmed, but my son is lying on his bed, his life hanging in the balance, and you've beaten me like this without any regard for reason! Is your Zhang family trying to use your power to oppress us and force our Li family to our deaths?!"

Shilan scoffed, "You talk a big game of bullying and driving people to their deaths. Anyone who didn't know better would think I was the one who caused all this trouble."

"Fine." Shi Lan sat down calmly, flicked her wide sleeves, her posture elegant and dignified, but the words that came out were icy and chilling: "If that's the case, then go die, take your Li Wei with you, and if that's not enough, send your whole family. Two worthless lives are nothing to me, Qin Shi Lan."

That's a very harsh and extreme statement.

The hall fell silent instantly.

Even Princess Pingning couldn't help but gasp and instinctively clenched her handkerchief.