The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

Li's mother seemed to have her throat choked, and her crying stopped abruptly.

She turned her head to look at Shilan's expressionless face, and felt a chill run down her spine, making her shiver involuntarily—

Because she was acutely aware that this woman truly wanted her dead.

Empress Cao was also startled.

She looked at Shilan, the wife of the Marquis of Jingbian, who was always flamboyant and proud, not easy to get along with, but she usually had her own way of dealing with people, and sometimes she could even be described as tolerant.

But unexpectedly, he turned out to be a truly ruthless person.

When talking about life and death, he spoke so casually.

...as if his hands were truly stained with a lot of blood.

"Madam Qin," Empress Cao said softly, "please be careful with your words."

Shilan looked up at her, gave a light snort, and didn't reply, but the arrogance in her eyes remained undiminished, showing that she would not give up until she got a satisfactory result today.

Empress Cao felt a sudden headache coming on, and couldn't help but think of another Consort Zhang from a few years ago in the harem, who was arrogant and domineering because of her favor with the emperor and always wanted to be first in everything.

Ke Shilan was, after all, a first-rank imperial consort, with two marquisate mansions and a duke's mansion standing behind her. Now that she was in the right, the empress couldn't retaliate.

This is a tough one.

She could only turn to Madam Li: "Madam Li, I am now largely aware of what happened today. Your son's actions were indeed inappropriate."

Li's mother wanted to argue, but Empress Cao raised her hand to stop her.

"It was impolite of Miss Zhang to spill wine in public; but it was also unethical of your son to bring people to surround and block him afterwards. It was also wrong of Madam Qin to hit someone. However, there were reasons and circumstances that could be excused."

This statement, while seemingly assigning equal blame to both sides, actually sets the tone: the fault lies with Li Wei.

This can be seen as an acceptance of Shilan's explanation that she brought it upon herself.

Madam Li's face turned deathly pale, her lips trembling. She was about to say something when Empress Cao continued, "This matter ends here. Madam Li, go back and discipline your son properly. If there is a next time, he will be punished severely for both offenses."

"As for Lady Qin," Empress Cao looked at Shilan, "she has committed a breach of etiquette before the Emperor, and is therefore punished by returning to her residence for three days to reflect on her actions. Are you satisfied with that?"

Shilan lowered her eyes.

How could she be satisfied with not being able to kill that little beast Li Wei?

But she also knew that expecting the two emperors and empresses, who were known for their "benevolence," to severely punish the little beast was indeed wishful thinking.

Well, at least we've gotten back some interest. There's plenty of time to settle things eventually.

Thinking of this, Shilan rose, curtsied, and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for acting impartially."

Li's mother, however, stared wide-eyed in disbelief. "Three days of reflection?" she thought. "How is this any different from being completely unharmed?"

Are we just going to let it go after the beatings, injuries, and humiliation we suffered with our son?

She wanted to argue a little, but Empress Cao had already stood up and gently flicked her wide sleeves.

"Everyone, step back."

The palace maids stepped forward and, half-inviting and half-helping, led Li's mother out.

Princess Pingning breathed a sigh of relief and quickly took her leave.

Shilan followed closely behind, but the Empress said softly, "Madam Qin, I know you love your daughter dearly, but such actions do absolutely no good for a young woman's reputation. If I remember correctly, many years ago, you were also burdened by your elder sister's reputation. Shouldn't you take this as a warning now?"

"Your Majesty."

Shilan raised her head, the fierceness in her eyes had mostly faded, but her arrogance remained undiminished: "No one is a saint, able to manage all the injustices of the world and seek the well-being of everyone in every way. Back then, my eldest sister acted only for herself. I naturally resented and hated her, but I never thought that she shouldn't have acted that way."

Empress Cao's eyes flickered slightly.

"It's perfectly understandable for people to plan for themselves and fight for themselves," Shilan continued, her tone carrying a certain clear-eyed coldness. "If I am burdened by her and live a bad life, it is certainly not due to the favor of fate, but it is also due to my own incompetence and lack of courage to act. So in the end, it has nothing to do with anyone else."

The Qin family had their own schemes in fighting for hers.

However, Lady Qin had no reason to sit idly by and wait for her fate.

"Now..." She paused, then suddenly chuckled softly, "Now I've met a good man, and I live a comfortable and peaceful life. Is it because I've received someone's mercy or leniency? Isn't it the result I fought for and fought for myself? If I have to fight for it, what about others?"

"Besides, why should I care about what others do? I only have one daughter. She came into my womb and called me 'Mother.' I want her to live a happy and carefree life without suffering any grievances."

She looked at Empress Cao, and something burned intensely in her eyes:

"My daughter is my life. People are already risking their lives for me, why should I care about others?"

After she finished speaking, she said no more, quickly and properly bowed, then turned around and strode out of the hall.

Empress Cao stood alone in the center of the empty hall, remaining motionless for a long time.

(This is the first chapter; I'll only have time to sit down and write now that I've been transferred to a new job.)