The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

Yinzhen has already woken up.

Being awake is worse than not being awake at all.

The pain in my body was one layer, the dull ache in my bones was another, my throat felt like it had been burned, and when I tried to speak, I could only make some intermittent hoarse noises, I couldn't even utter a single word.

Imperial physicians came in waves, offering herbal medicine, acupuncture, and massage—nothing was left out.

But it was of no use at all.

At first, he was furious, his eyes were so sinister that he looked like he wanted to eat people. He struggled to sit up, to write, to ask questions, to take revenge on the fourteenth prince, and to kill that useless and troublesome palace maid!

But he couldn't do it.

The only hand that could still move slightly trembled violently when raised, with trembling fingertips, weak wrist bones, and even the gestures made were fragmented.

About half a month later, he finally accepted the absurd and cruel reality before him.

He's ruined.

Even though he is still alive, he is now in such a state that he cannot speak, has difficulty moving, and has been stripped of all his dignity, almost losing even the most basic human dignity.

At that moment, Yinzhen lay on the couch, his eyes fixed on the ceiling, his face ashen.

He didn't understand how things had come to this.

Before he went to see the fourteenth prince yesterday, he had clearly thought through the path ahead.

The harem was thrown into turmoil. Under the pretext of the imperial concubine selection, the appointment of female officials, and the interference of Lady Nian in politics, the court officials who had been unsuccessful in their attempts to sell their daughters for personal gain and harbored resentment were instigated.

Even if Xiao Shiwu is still determined to protect her and defy the world to place her in the position of Empress, then so be it.

A wicked empress brought ruin to the country, and the emperor lost his virtue.

At that time, he would send another letter to Nian Gengyao in the northwest. Given Nian Gengyao's love for his sister, he would not stand idly by knowing that his sister was being humiliated in the palace and besieged by the court officials.

He doesn't even need to actually start a war; he just needs to make a statement and take some actions that cross the line.

He has the ability to twist his love for his sister into a desire to amass power and to change his statements in the military into treacherous schemes or even treason.

Anything is fine.

If Nian Gengyao can relinquish his military power, or even just lose some weight in the emperor's eyes, this move will be considered a success.

By simultaneously targeting both the inner palace and the outer court, and coordinating efforts from both inside and outside, any loosening of one aspect would allow for a gradual and deliberate plan for what followed.

And the most suitable knife to accomplish all this is the fourteenth prince.

But he never expected that after just one encounter last night, Fourteen would go crazy and beat him up.

They showed him no brotherly affection whatsoever, even breaking one of his arms and legs. In the end, they stripped him and the palace maid of their clothes and left them in the freezing cold, leaving them in this horrific state.

At this moment, what Yinzhen regretted most was not that he had been too soft-hearted to harm Lady Nian and the fifteenth prince back then.

Instead, they didn't kill the Fourteenth Prince earlier!

Suddenly, the sound of arguing came from outside, interrupting his hatred.

"What are you doing, Madam? The Master has suffered such a terrible accident, and we can't even go to see him?"

"Those who know understand that the Princess Consort is considerate of the Prince and wants to take care of him personally; those who don't might think she wants to monopolize the Prince and prevent anyone else from getting close!"

"The sisters are all worried about the master, which is why they pushed me to ask. How is he? They can't just not give us a straight answer. Even a principal wife should have the magnanimity of a legal wife..."

Yinzhen could recognize the voice.

It is the Qi family.

It seems that even gentle and dignified people can speak with barbs now, all for his sake. But Yinzhen still felt that the women in the inner quarters were ignorant and only knew how to make a fuss. Even at this time, they still only knew how to compete for his favor.

However, he was not in a hurry. Although Yixiu had no other strengths, she did have some skills in managing household affairs.

as predicted.

Soon, Yixiu's gentle yet authoritative voice rang out from outside.

"Sister Qi, you've gone too far with your words."

"His health is currently weak. The imperial physician has repeatedly advised him not to be exposed to wind, not to overexert himself, and not to be disturbed by others. If you are truly worried about His health, you should prioritize his well-being instead of scrambling to get in."

"I understand the feelings of my sisters. But right now, the Prince's mansion is in dire need of manpower. If even the inner courtyard falls into chaos, I will truly be letting the Prince down."

Finally, Yixiu added, seemingly out of great concern, "If you are really worried, once the imperial physician says that the master is able to see people, I will send someone to invite him. Now, my sisters, you should all go back home, so as not to stand in this wind for too long and hurt yourselves."

The area outside was quiet for a moment, then it finally dispersed.

Yinzhen lay on the couch, continuing to live like a living dead.

As always, I missed the changes in Yixiu.

Days passed by, and imperial physicians came in waves, trying every possible method.

Yinzhen's condition did not improve.

Not only that, she also discovered that the power of the household had unknowingly fallen entirely into her hands.

People from the palace came to offer their condolences and asked her, as the primary consort, to deal with them.

All matters in the manor must be discussed with her, the primary wife, first; and it is only necessary to consult her.

Those women who used to always try to outdo her gradually quieted down.

Those with children obediently stayed by their children's side. Geng Shi, who had originally thought of competing with her for Hongzhou, is now as docile as a different person and dares not make any small moves anymore.

Yixiu suddenly felt that this kind of life was very good.

It was so good that it even gave her a secret sense of pleasure.

Yinzhen was in the room next to hers;

Every day when she went there, she would see him lying there quietly. He would no longer show favoritism or protect anyone in front of her, nor would he criticize her for being harsh or intolerant because of other women. He would no longer demand that she fulfill the duties of a primary wife, but would be stingy in giving her the dignity that a primary wife should have.

He finally belonged only to himself.

With this thought in mind, Yixiu felt even better, so much so that even Yu Ying'er didn't want to deal with it immediately.

That woman was the one who caused this trouble. Logically speaking, the women in the backyard could have drowned her with just a spit from each of them.

However, Yi Xiu seemed to be too lenient. She only had someone allocate a side room for her to live in and sent her some food and drink every day as usual. Although it was just the rations for a servant, at least she wouldn't starve.

"After all, this is someone the master has been with. Now that the master is ill, no one can predict what will happen in the future. If the master wakes up in the future and wants to keep this person, it would be inappropriate for us to overstep our bounds and make decisions for him."

She spoke very politely.

As for whether Yu Ying'er would cause trouble or be secretly bullied or harassed after moving in, Yi Xiu didn't care.

She had to take care of Grandpa.

She is very busy.

Later, Yu Ying'er and Lü Yingfeng had another falling out.

It was just a few words of verbal sparring, but Lü Yingfeng took the opportunity to punish her by making her kneel in the wind for half an hour.

When the time finally came, she struggled to get up, but before she could recover, her concubine Li Jingyan found a pretext to force her to go into the pond to retrieve a painting that the Third Prince had fallen into.

Most of the people in the backyard watched coldly, and no one was willing to say a word for her.

Even Qi Yuebin, who was known for his magnanimity, just sat quietly under the eaves watching, expressionless.

Yu Ying'er was truly frightened then.

She finally understood that in this Prince's mansion, she was nothing more than a thing that everyone disliked and hated, yet people couldn't openly kill her because of the fact that the Prince had touched her.

Living like this might not be much better than dying.

That very night, she came to Yixiu crying and begging for help.

"My lady, what happened that night was not something I intentionally sought to gain favor with. There are other reasons why Your Highness has fallen to such a state!"

Yixiu listened.

She dismissed everyone in the house.

Only Jianqiu remained.

The lights were dim as Yu Ying'er knelt on the ground and recounted how she had been on night duty at Yimei Garden on New Year's Eve, how she had heard the noise, how she had hidden herself in the shadows, and how she had been caught by the Fourteenth Prince by accident.

During that argument between the brothers, all the things that shouldn't have been said were said.

Yixiu sat in meditation for a long time.

Suddenly, she chuckled softly.

It turned out to be the case.