The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

Zhen Huan glanced at him, her face expressionless, but she didn't believe him at all.

She bowed slightly and gave a curtsy: "So it is Prince Guo in person. I come from a humble family, and my words are crude and my manners are improper. I dare not offend the eyes of such a noble family. I will take my leave now."

As she spoke, she secretly tugged at the hem of Liu Zhu's and Huan Bi's clothes.

The two men understood each other and subtly shifted their positions, just enough to shield the young lady behind them. The three of them, mistress and servants, turned around and prepared to leave.

From his elevated position, Yinzhen took in their little antics. He chuckled to himself, but also regretted his sudden rashness. Just as he was about to use her poem to chat about romance and nature to turn the tide, a burst of hearty laughter suddenly rang out.

"Fourth Brother is in high spirits."

Seventeen smiled and strolled out from the other end of the woods. Her gaze swept over Yinzhen's face, then glanced at the backs of the three men, and her smile deepened: "They even used my brother's name to harass respectable women here."

Yinzhen's expression stiffened slightly.

Zhen Huan paused slightly and looked up at the person who had arrived.

It was the same lecherous man we had just met outside the temple.

Seventeen brushed past the mistress and her servants, his gaze briefly meeting Zhen Huan's. A slight smile curved his lips, and in a blind spot where Yinzhen couldn't see, he secretly made a hand gesture, concealed by his fan:

Hurry up.

Zhen Huan understood immediately and left quickly with Liu Zhu and Huan Bi.

Once out of the woods, one could immediately see the driver waiting by the roadside, with Ah Jin standing beside him.

The driver greeted her with a beaming smile: "Miss! The car is fixed, you can get in now!"

Zhen Huan made a quick decision: "Let's go home."

In the woods, Yinzhen, who had been exposed for impersonating his younger brother, showed a hint of embarrassment. He coughed lightly, trying to save face.

"Seventeenth Brother, please don't misunderstand. I only spoke to that young woman because she was quite eloquent and different from others, so I wanted to test her knowledge."

Upon hearing this, Seventeen's eyes lit up immediately. He leaned forward, his face beaming with delight: "Fourth Brother thinks so too?"

Yinzhen was taken aback.

Seventeen continued, her face beaming, "I think so too! The first time I saw her, I knew she was different from other women. Fourth Brother, you don't know, just now..."

As he spoke, he took out the painting he had just made from his bosom, spread it out for Yinzhen to see, pointed to the figure in the painting, and began to ramble on about their previous encounter.

In that painting, Zhen Huan's face was still turned to the side, her expression obscured, and the faces of Liu Zhu and Huan Bi beside her were also covered.

Yinzhen looked down at the painting.

While her painting skills may not be considered exceptionally refined, they possess a unique charm that transcends the capabilities of ordinary artists.

But what he cared about more was the undisguised admiration on Seventeen's face.

A young person's heart flutters, and that flutter is impossible to hide.

When he spoke of that woman, the light in his eyes was clear to anyone.

Yinzhen felt as if something was blocking his heart.

He withdrew his gaze and said calmly, "That woman seems well-mannered, but I never expected her to be so proud. Once she gets married, she'll probably have endless quirks."

Upon hearing this, Seventeen nodded repeatedly, looking as if he deeply agreed: "Fourth Brother is indeed the best. He's a few years older than me and got married and had children early on. He sees things much more clearly than I do."

He sighed, then changed the subject, his face turning worried: "To be honest, Fourth Brother, ever since Sixteenth Brother got married, my mother has gone through countless hair-turned worries about my marriage. She runs to the Empress Dowager every day, begging her to pick a good one for me in the next imperial concubine selection. Alas, I'm afraid we can't afford to delay any longer."

He pinched his cheek and leaned forward pitifully, saying, "Because of this, I haven't been eating well. Fourth brother, look, hasn't my face lost a lot of flesh?"

Looking at his shameless and heartless appearance, Yinzhen realized that the slight wariness and sarcasm he had just noticed seemed to be just his imagination.

He chuckled softly, but there was little joy in his eyes: "You should calm down for a while. The Dowager Consort is right. You're of marriageable age now. It's the right thing to do to marry a proper wife as soon as possible. Only by settling down can you establish yourself."

"Here we go again!" Seventeen slapped his forehead and waved his hands repeatedly, "Good Fourth Brother, please have mercy on me!"

After saying that, he seemed to suddenly remember something and quickly said, "Oh dear, I just remembered I have something important to do, Fourth Brother, I'll be going now!"

Before the words were even finished, the person had already turned around and walked briskly out of the woods.

Yinzhen stood there, watching his retreating figure, which seemed to avoid trouble, lost in thought.

As soon as he turned around, the playful grin on Seventeen's face vanished completely.

Ah Jin was waiting by the roadside with his horse. When he saw him come out, he hurriedly came up to greet him and opened his mouth to speak, but Seventeen glanced at him and gave him a wink.

Ah Jin wisely didn't ask any more questions, but silently handed over the reins.

The two mounted their horses and rode away with a flick of their whips.

A moment later, Yinzhen slowly rode out of the woods, and Su Peisheng emerged from the shadows and bowed to greet him.

"Why is Seventeen here?" Yinzhen asked.

Su Peisheng bowed his head and said, "Reporting to Your Excellency, it is said that the birthday of Consort Shu is approaching. Since Consort Shu went into seclusion at Lingyun Peak, she said that she did not want to have much involvement with the secular world, nor did she want to see the Seventeenth Prince again. The Seventeenth Prince had no choice but to come here to make a portrait of her as a way of showing his filial piety, having heard that the Bodhisattva here is very efficacious."

Yinzhen did not speak.

After a while, he said again, "Send someone to follow her and see. Whose family is that woman?"

"Yes, sir."

Su Peisheng agreed, then hesitated slightly before raising his head and whispering, "Sir, the incense maker... has been found. He does have an incense recipe, which Doctor Liu has already examined. He said it's... crude and utterly worthless, not even worthy of being called an ordinary incense recipe."

Yinzhen's face darkened.

"So, it's fake news again?" His voice turned cold. "Did I make another wasted trip?"

Su Peisheng knelt down with a thud: "This servant deserves to die!"

Su Peisheng inwardly groaned. This was the second time something like this had happened. Each time, the clues they found were clear and unambiguous, which was why they had alarmed the master to come in person.

Who knew that last time it was a false alarm and nothing was found, this time it's even more amazing!

The person was caught, but he was a complete fraud. The so-called fertility incense recipe was utter nonsense. He never made incense according to the recipe. Instead, he used whatever he could find on the spot and mixed it up randomly. Sometimes it was flowers that were in full bloom, and sometimes it was withered fruits and vegetables from the garden. Therefore, the taste was different every time.

The incense offered to Princess Fei this time was even more exquisite.

It turned out that this swindler had swindled his way into the backyard of a wealthy family, had an affair with one of the family's concubines, and casually took some rouge from her dressing table and mixed it into the incense.

Surprisingly, they actually created a unique fragrance and sold it for a good price...

Of course, Su Peisheng was determined not to reveal this detail unless asked by his master.

If the master knew that the incense he used to burn every day and loved so much actually came from this...

A bloody storm is about to break out in Prince Yong's mansion.

At that time, not only will Fei Gege not fare well, but he will also be at a disadvantage.

Anyway, the incense was made by that swindler himself. I didn't ask what the ingredients were, and it had nothing to do with what I was investigating, so I simply didn't mention it.

As expected, Yinzhen only looked unpleasant and didn't say anything more.

But he was unwilling to let these clues go easily.

"Keep him under surveillance," he said in a deep voice. "Continue to investigate whether he came into contact with any suspicious persons during that period."

He paused, his gaze drifting into the distance, his expression growing increasingly somber.

He had a strange intuition that things had developed to this point, with everything that was once within his grasp vanishing, because there must be an invisible hand manipulating everything behind the scenes.

in other words.

He had fallen into someone else's trap without realizing it.

Thinking of this, Yinzhen tightened his grip on the reins.

He cannot sit idly by and wait for his death.

Su Peisheng bowed his head and accepted the order: "Yes, sir."

-

At the entrance of the Zhen residence.

The coachman reined in the horses, turned around, and smiled, "Miss, we're home."

Zhen Huan let out a long sigh of relief, and her whole body went limp.

Liu Zhu and Huan Bi also came back to life, breathing heavily.

"That was terrifying!" Liu Zhu patted her chest, rattling off a string of words: "Today's events were more dramatic than a play! First, I ran into that painter, then that horseman, and then the two of them got together. Miss, who are those two people? Could they really be...?"

"Liu Zhu," Zhen Huan interrupted her softly, "Let's go home first. We'll talk behind closed doors."

Liu Zhu quickly agreed.

Once the carriage came to a stop, Huanbi jumped down first, followed closely by Liuzhu.

Once they had steadied themselves, they turned around and helped Zhen Huan up.

Huanbi glanced up unintentionally and caught sight of two more figures out of the corner of her eye.

Her expression changed drastically.

As soon as Zhen Huan got off the carriage, before she could even stand properly, Huan Bi grabbed her and dragged her towards the gate of the mansion.

"Quick! Close the door!"

Liu Zhu was taken aback by this sudden turn of events and quickly followed. The three of them, master and servant, staggered into the mansion. Huan Bi turned around and slammed the gate shut, bolting it before leaning against it, panting heavily.

Zhen Huan helped Liu Zhu to her feet and asked, "What's wrong?"

Huanbi, her face contorted in distress, lowered her voice and said, "Miss, that scoundrel... he's followed us!"

Zhen Huan's expression changed slightly.

Liu Zhu was taken aback and blurted out, "Which one? The old one, or the young one?"