The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

Yan Zhi lowered his eyes to look at the booklet in his hand, and did not speak immediately.

The hall fell silent. Shen Meizhuang and Wen Shichu stood below the steps, neither daring to urge them on, and simply waited quietly.

After a long while, Yan Zhi closed the booklet, looked up and said, "Granted."

Shen Meizhuang's eyes lit up, and Wen Shichu visibly breathed a sigh of relief. The two bowed in unison, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Yan Zhi did not stop there, and slowly said, "But simply clearing one's name is not enough."

Shen Meizhuang was taken aback.

Yan knew: "A girl is not considered grown up when she starts menstruating, nor is she obligated to marry as soon as she turns fourteen or fifteen. Since we know that early marriage is not only useless but also harmful, we should not follow those foolish rules and urge girls to marry early."

As she spoke, images of her past life, which she thought were long gone, suddenly flashed before Yanzhi's eyes.

At that time, she was not yet Lady Qin, but the Third Miss Qin of the Dongchang Marquis's Mansion.

It was only past the fifteenth day of the lunar month, and the marriage had not yet been finalized, but gossip was already circulating outside.

When she was sixteen or seventeen, she actually dared to go out to the polo match, to Jinming Pond, and to the countryside for a spring outing, despite all the stares and gossip. She dared to fight for herself amidst the rumors and gossip, and to find a husband to entrust her life to.

But later, the mourning period for her parents was postponed, and the news of her older sister being sent home became the talk of the town. One delay after another, day after day, wore her down until she was twenty years old.

At that time, let alone a good marriage, even the way others looked at her was no longer with pity, but with indifference and disdain that she had become accustomed to.

It was as if she had no hope for the rest of her life.

This damned world, these rules that should be eradicated.

A cold glint flashed in her eyes, but her expression grew even calmer: "This imperial edict must be issued. In addition, another one should be drafted and proclaimed to the world—"

She said, word by word, "A girl must not marry before the age of sixteen."

Upon hearing this, not only Shen Meizhuang but even Wen Shichu were taken aback.

It's not that what they said was wrong, but that this step was further away and more difficult than they had originally expected.

Wen Shichu instinctively said, "Your Majesty, this..."

Yan Zhi glanced at him and said in a calm tone, "I know that if I were to take it one step at a time and make all women in the world wait until they are twenty to discuss marriage, those old fogies in the court would probably jump up on the spot and say that I am disrupting the moral order and disregarding human relations."

As she spoke, a faint hint of sarcasm appeared on her lips.

"In that case, let's start at sixteen."

"Tear a slit first. The rest, we'll do slowly."

Shen Meizhuang and Wen Shichu exchanged a glance, both seeing a kind of almost passionate joy in each other's eyes.

The two bowed their heads simultaneously and replied, "Yes."

-

As expected, the imperial edict caused an uproar in the capital.

First, Wen Shichu wrote down in detail that a woman's menstrual period does not necessarily mean she can marry and conceive, and that the theory of spotting is not a medical principle for determining chastity. This was then reviewed by the Imperial Hospital, the Ministry of Rites, and the Imperial Household Department, and then widely disseminated throughout the country with the Empress's decree.

Immediately following, a second imperial edict was issued—

A girl under the age of sixteen is not allowed to be married, and even if she is married, she is not allowed to consummate the marriage.

The former only touched upon some worldly prejudices, while the latter almost blatantly challenged an old rule that had been passed down for nearly a thousand years.

The situation in the court was indeed in an uproar.

The next day at court, as expected, someone stood up first and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that although the Empress is kind-hearted, if women do not marry and have children early, the population will inevitably decrease in the long run, which is not good for the country and tax revenue."

Someone else immediately chimed in, "Exactly. Ordinary families rely on the continuation of their lineage. If everyone waits until after sixteen to discuss marriage, wouldn't that disrupt the farming season and hinder childbirth?"

"They are worried about a decrease in population."

After the court session, Yan Zhi summoned all those who had spoken during the session to the Imperial Study.

Seeing their trembling silence, he smiled and said, "Then let the widow remarry."

Everyone was stunned for a moment.

Not only were the officials kneeling before the prince stunned, but even Yinwu turned his head slightly to look at her, a faint smile flashing in his eyes.

After a moment of silence in the hall, someone hesitated before saying, "Your Majesty, this...this might not be appropriate, would it?"

"What's wrong with it?" Yan Zhi's voice was so calm it was impossible to tell whether he was happy or angry. "Aren't you the ones who keep saying that population is the most important thing? Those widows are already of age, strong and healthy, some have even given birth before, they know how to manage a household and take care of children. If it's truly for the sake of the country, wouldn't such people be more worthwhile than marrying off thirteen or fourteen-year-old children so early?"

The person below opened his mouth, but couldn't respond for a moment.

Yan Zhi, however, gave them no chance to catch their breath, continuing, "I've wanted to say this for a long time. Throughout history, which dynasty has ever advocated such a foolish and ignorant idea as widows remaining chaste? They want healthy, young, and fertile widows to remain chaste, exchanging them for a worthless memorial archway, and then they have the nerve to say they're not strong enough, or that they won't marry off their unborn children, thus hindering their ability to bear children? Have you all wasted your time reading books?"

The hall grew eerily quiet.

"By imperial decree, no widow may be prevented from remarrying by the government, her clan, or her husband's family. If her husband's family obstructs her remarriage in the name of chastity, in addition to returning her dowry in its original form, they shall also compensate her with half of the deceased husband's estate!"

This made the court officials truly uneasy.

Someone instinctively wanted to voice their opposition, but before they could even take half a step forward, someone else suddenly stepped forward and said loudly, "Your Majesty's insight is brilliant! I believe this is a long-term solution that will not only bring peace to the people but also benefit the foundation of the nation. It is truly visionary."

The crowd looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was Censor Zhou from the Censorate, who was known for his prudence and taciturnity.

Yinwu lowered his eyes to look at the crowd below and said calmly, "I think the Empress's words are quite right. The Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Justice shall immediately draft regulations, send them to the Empress for review, and then order their implementation."

A hammer is fixed.

The officials who had spoken out turned pale, but they dared not argue in court any longer and could only retreat sheepishly.

After leaving the Imperial Study, the official who had been about to speak up to stop the censor but was preempted by Censor Zhou finally couldn't hold back and directly attacked Censor Zhou: "Lord Zhou, aren't you usually the most principled in upholding etiquette? How come you've suddenly turned against us? A widow remarrying—such a breach of female virtue is simply outrageous!"

Censor Zhou paused, turned around and looked at him.

He was usually polite and well-mannered, but today, for some reason, his eyes held a hint of fierceness.

"Outrageous?" He sneered. "Don't you people know anything else besides talking about female virtue and chastity?"

The courtier was taken aback.

Censor Zhou continued, "What about women's virtue and chastity? Can chastity put food on the table? Can women's virtue be used to pay taxes? Can it add to the imperial family's population or support the people's livelihood?"

"You spout Confucian classics all the time, but when it comes to the fields, the kitchens, and the homes of ordinary people, what do you know? Your Majesty couldn't be simpler: a widow of marriageable age is capable of managing a household and bearing children. If she remarries, it's not only her own way of survival but also a way for another family to have more members. Yet you insist on using those pretentious articles to oppress people, as if forcing someone to remain a widow for life, until death, is the only way to be considered virtuous!"

When he got excited, he almost pointed at the court official's nose and cursed him.

"All you do is talk the talk, you have absolutely no practical skills or vision! And you dare to spout nonsense about the fate of the nation! Get the hell out of here!"

The courtier was stunned by his tirade and remained speechless for a long time.

Censor Zhou, however, was too lazy to pay him any more attention and turned to leave.

He flew back to the mansion as fast as he could.

As soon as the gate closed, he could no longer contain his joy. He threw off his robes and rushed to the backyard, calling out, "Madam! Madam!"

Madam Zhou was sitting on the veranda looking melancholy when she saw him like this, and she was startled: "What's wrong?"

"Quickly!" Imperial Censor Zhou exclaimed, barely catching his breath, "Quickly, help me change my clothes, I'm going to fetch Zhenniang!"