The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

On her wedding day, Zhen Huan went to her maternal grandparents' house to personally do her makeup.

The woman in the mirror had dignified features and wore light makeup, which made her eyes appear even more gentle and clear. Zhen Huan helped her put on earrings, looked her over for a while, and finally smiled and said, "Sister Mei, you look so beautiful today."

Shen Meizhuang smiled upon hearing this, her eyes and brows filled with joy.

Zhen Huan adjusted her phoenix crown again, then suddenly remembered something and asked in a low voice, "Did Her Majesty the Empress really say that you can continue to serve as the Shanggong after marriage?"

"Yes." Shen Meizhuang nodded with a smile. "I was also surprised at first. But what Your Majesty said makes sense. Men should continue to do the same things they did before marriage. Why should women be confined to the home just because they got married? Besides, Your Majesty is really short-staffed right now."

As she spoke, she laughed again: "It's not just me. Rong'er can't stay idle either. She and her mother both have to work at the newly established weaving bureau. I'm the only one left to handle things in the palace. We'll have to wait until next year after the performance evaluation before we can decide on another head maid. Right now, I'm still very busy."

If the wedding date hadn't already been set and the invitations hadn't been sent out, she would definitely have postponed it for another six months.

Zhen Huan's heart stirred slightly upon hearing this.

Shen Meizhuang noticed her expression and gently took her hand: "Huan'er, I know you have ambitions. Before, when the children were still young, you couldn't let go of them. But now that Hongzhan and Lingxi are older, it's time for you to pick up your own heart."

Zhen Huan was taken aback.

It's not that she wasn't tempted.

In previous years, after Wen Shichu realized that it was not good for the health of young girls to marry too early, the Empress immediately issued an imperial edict that all women in the country should wait until they were sixteen years old before discussing marriage. Later, she also allowed widows to remarry.

These two new regulations are nothing to wealthy families, but they may not be entirely good things for poor families.

After all, in many people's eyes, daughters are a money-losing commodity. Originally, they could be married off at thirteen or fourteen and the dowry was barely enough to break even. Now, they have to raise them to sixteen, which is considered an even greater burden.

They dared not openly defy the imperial decree, so they outwardly complied while inwardly resisting.

For this reason, after Prince Zhi brought back the Western loom, the Empress took a liking to the machine's ingenious uses and wanted to establish a weaving bureau.

If we could truly use machines to assist in textile production like in the West, not only would production increase significantly, but it would also provide a way out for daughters who were originally helpless and whose awkward situation at home was due to their postponed weddings.

The Empress even stated explicitly that if the wives of officials were willing to participate at this time, the corresponding share of the textile bureau's assets would not belong to their husbands' families, but only to them, and would be considered their private property.

They will have full control over any future profits.

To put it bluntly, it means that women should also have something they can truly hold onto.

Zhen Huan was the wife of Prince Guo, so she naturally had the right to be so.

She was even more willing.

Years ago, when she saw Sister Mei and Wen Shichu working side by side to make such a contribution to women all over the world, she was filled with envy.

Now that she has finally gotten another opportunity, how could she possibly let it slip away?

If a textile manufacturing bureau could be established, it could save countless women.

Thinking this, she could no longer suppress her desire and finally nodded gently: "You're right. I'll mention it to Yinli when I get back."

Upon hearing this, Shen Meizhuang smiled as well.

Given Huan'er's temperament, if she says she'll go back and bring it up, it most likely means it's done.

Everyone in the capital knew that Prince Guo always had no choice but to obey his wife.

She suddenly remembered something amusing and asked, "Speaking of Hongzhan and Lingxi, why didn't you bring them along today?"

Zhen Huan chuckled: "Today, someone with discerning eyes has taken a fancy to my Cai Ping and is trying every trick in the book to seduce her. I'm afraid she'll come uninvited today as well. I asked Cai Ping, but she's unwilling. Since the children can't be left alone, I'll just leave her in the mansion to look after them."

Shen Meizhuang, intrigued, couldn't help but ask, "Who is it?"

Zhen Huan gave her a meaningful look: "Even if I told you, you probably wouldn't believe me, Hongshi."

Shen Meizhuang was taken aback: "Prince Yong's son? Prince Hongshi?"

"Exactly."

"Cai Ping wasn't tempted?"

Although he lost his title of Prince, he was still a Dorobele. Moreover, the Emperor was kind and did not take back the mansion. He also took good care of Prince Hongshi.

Zhen Huan shook her head: "That's how it is now. What will happen in the future is unknown. In any case, nowadays, women have more options than just getting married."

At this point, she couldn't help but let out a soft sigh.

Shen Meizhuang raised her hand and pushed her away: "Stop being so pretentious in front of me. Everyone knows that you and Prince Guo are now inseparable, like honey and oil. Getting married isn't the only good path, and getting married is good too. As long as you marry the right person and live a happy life, anything is fine."

Zhen Huan laughed when she heard this.

Yes, that's right.

At this point, the auspicious time was approaching.

An Lingrong walked in, holding a veil.

When the veil was lifted, even Zhen Huan couldn't help but take a second look. The patterns on it were exquisite, the stitches were fine, and the auspicious clouds and phoenixes seemed to come alive under the lamplight.

Zhen Huan couldn't help but exclaim, "What skillful hands!"

An Lingrong smiled and accepted the offer without hesitation.

Zhen Huan looked at her, and her heart stirred slightly.

She didn't have much contact with An Lingrong. Apart from speaking up for her on the day of the talent show because of Xia Dongchun, they didn't have much interaction afterward. But over the years, through Shen Meizhuang and Yanzhi's relationship, she had heard quite a bit about An Lingrong.

This once inconspicuous young lady, who even on election day could only wear a hastily made dress and carry a half-worn hairpin and table, is now the Empress's most favored person.

I heard that the Crown Prince and Princess Ningshou both trust her greatly.

One sentence from her is more effective than ten or a hundred sentences from others.

With her own abilities, she bought a house near the Wen family's residence, brought her mother from Jiangnan to the capital, and with Wen Shichu's help, cured her eye disease.

Now, both mother and daughter have been selected by the Empress to work at the Imperial Textile Bureau.

If she were to truly become involved in the affairs of the Imperial Textile Bureau, she would inevitably have to deal with An Lingrong frequently in the future.

Thinking of this, Zhen Huan's gaze towards An Lingrong became even more serious.

An Lingrong, however, walked behind Shen Meizhuang and carefully adjusted her veil, saying softly, "Sister Mei, the auspicious time has arrived."

The two sisters, one on each side, saw Shen Meizhuang off at the door.

The autumn sun shines brightly outside the door, and the breeze is just right.

-

Time marches on, year after year.

The children have grown up.

Hongwei is increasingly resembling the Crown Prince; Ningshou, however, remains the same energetic little sun, bringing excitement wherever he goes.

Her archery skills on horseback were particularly outstanding.

Whether it's playing polo or jacks, it's often the little people riding horses who exude an indescribable agility.

Yinwu was pleased to see her more than once, and said with a smile to Yanzhi, "This girl really does resemble you a bit when you were young."

Yan Zhi listened and simply smiled.

She knew better than anyone that her two children, though outwardly well-behaved, sensible, polite, and flawless, were by no means soft-hearted or easily manipulated.

Looking at them, she felt truly at peace.

Hongwei goes without saying.

He is no longer the child who panicked at the first sign of trouble, always tried to have the best of both worlds, and always looked pitiful to everyone.

Nowadays, he appears gentle and refined, treating everyone with humility and politeness, embodying the most upright and proper image of a crown prince.

In reality, they have their own ideas. Once they've made up their minds about what to do, they won't be easily swayed by others.

He possessed both the noble air of Yinreng, who believed in taking on all challenges, and the courage to face difficulties head-on, like Yinti.

Yet he skillfully concealed all these sharp edges beneath his gentlemanly and refined appearance.

He was neither as aloof as Yinreng nor as impatient as Yinti.

He is humble and polite to everyone, and knows how to use people well, but he never truly entrusts himself to anyone.

Others can be used by him, but they must never turn around and bind him.

As Yan Zhi watched, a deep sense of satisfaction slowly welled up in his heart.

This is her son.

This should be her son.

(This world is nearing its end. I will write two extra chapters later, where Yanzhi and Shilan will return to the mysterious space.)

I'm also thinking of adding a side story about Sheng Hong. What do you all think?

Then I wrote about the exchange between Wang Ruofu and Fucha Langhua.

Let's start with Lang Hua's story in The Story of Ming Lan. I miss everyone from The Story of Ming Lan a bit. I haven't been paying attention to the Sheng family's affairs for a long time, hahaha.