The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

He had only made a casual remark, but unexpectedly, Zhang Maoze actually went to investigate and reported back.

"The children the official saw earlier did not belong to any family, but were orphans raised in an orphanage."

Zhao Zhen was at a loss for words, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

He assumed it was a large and prosperous family, and even felt a touch of unspoken envy.

If this misunderstanding were to get out, it would probably make people secretly laugh for a long time.

But then he quickly remembered something else: "The people in the sales home can afford horse-drawn carriages now?"

"Of course not," Zhang Maoze quickly replied. "That carriage belongs to Minister Wang of the Ministry of Revenue, and his youngest daughter, Wang San Niangzi, is in it. The other carriage comes from the Dongchang Marquis's residence, and also carries his youngest daughter, Qin San Niangzi. Both young ladies are kind-hearted, and over the years, several orphanages in the capital have benefited greatly from their kindness, receiving rice, flour, medicine, winter clothes, toys, and everything else they need."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhen couldn't help but say, "They are indeed two kind-hearted young ladies. Minister Wang is one thing, but I didn't expect Marquis Dongchang to be such a good father to his daughters."

After praising that, his gaze fell upon the bright spring scenery outside the hall. After a moment, he suddenly asked:

"Who runs the sales home?"

Zhang Maoze said softly, "It was personally ordered by the Empress Dowager when she was alive. It was originally intended to take in homeless and desperate children. It has been done every year since then, but recently, thanks to the help of these young ladies, it looks more presentable than before."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Zhen's expression became somewhat complicated.

He sat there, not saying a word for a long time.

After a long while, as if from the deepest part of his heart, he slowly uttered a sentence:

"Auntie is kind-hearted after all."

Zhang Maoze heard this, but only lowered his head even further.

-

On the other side, Langhua and Qin Yanwan had just come out of the orphanage.

The children gathered at the doorway, chattering as they said goodbye. A few of the younger ones even presented them with wildflowers that the children had secretly gathered along the way.

Langhua smiled and accepted it, then bent down to straighten the collar of a little girl with messy hair before getting into the carriage.

After Qin Yanwan came in and sat down, Langhua said:

"Let me take you home first."

The carriage curtain fell, blocking out the sunlight and the children's laughter.

The smile on Qin Yanwan's face vanished almost instantly.

She leaned back, her previously ramrod straight back relaxing.

"I don't want to go back."

Langhua glanced at her, but didn't ask any further questions; she had a general idea of ​​what was going on.

Four years ago, not long after they started their shop together, Gu Yankai, the heir of the Marquis of Ningyuan, fell in love with Miss Qin at first sight and insisted on marrying her. This marriage caused a great uproar, making the whole capital laugh for half a year before he finally got his wish.

Now, Qin Yanyun has been married for more than two years.

The Ningyuan Marquis's Mansion is one of the few noble families in the capital that has not yet shown signs of decline, and Gu Yankai can be considered one of the outstanding sons of dukes and marquises.

This marriage did indeed bring tangible benefits to the Dongchang Marquis's family. The most obvious example was that later, when Qin Yanwan went out to banquets, there were many more people surrounding her and laughing with her.

However, that period of glory did not last long.

Not long after Miss Qin married into the family, it became known that she was too weak to perform the morning and evening rituals and was also unable to manage the household affairs.

People in Beijing are very good at judging people by their appearance.

Once they think you're weak, everyone will dare to step on you.

Sure enough, the next moment, Qin Yanwan suddenly spoke:

"Lady Gu wanted to give her head maid to Gu Yankai as a concubine. She put it very nicely, saying that she would bring her into the room first, and if she had a child in the future, she would take her to my eldest sister to raise. When the child was older, she would find a respectable future for the maid and send her away from the mansion."

She gave a slight twitch at the corner of her mouth.

"My eldest sister has fainted again, of course."

"Now the whole family is backing her up. My father went, my mother went, and even my second brother was dragged back from outside."

"Right now, the house is probably empty."

"No one cares when I go back."

Langhua listened quietly.

This scenario has played out countless times in the past three years.

She had assumed that after Qin Yanwan finished speaking, he would curse a couple of times as usual, or at the very least, look somewhat indignant.

But she only remained silent for a moment before suddenly raising her head and saying without warning:

"I've chosen the right person."

Langhua paused.

"He will send someone to propose marriage as early as tomorrow, or at the latest the day after tomorrow."

These words came so suddenly that Langhua didn't even have time to react.

After a long pause, he widened his eyes in disbelief: "What? Who?"

"The Crown Prince of Yan, Zhao Xu."

The car fell silent.

Langhua was genuinely surprised.

"Didn't you say..." she said slowly, choosing her words carefully, "that he's a lecher?"

Ever since they played a game of polo a year ago, Zhao Xu had been constantly pestering Qin Yanwan, and it was obvious to anyone with eyes that he was interested in her.

He certainly had a status; he was the only adult heir of the Prince of Yan, and everyone had to give him some respect. However, he was frivolous, ignorant, and incompetent, and was one of the most notorious playboys in Bianjing.

Relying on his status as a member of the royal family, he was used to acting arrogantly and domineeringly. His methods of harassing Qin Yanwan were always shameless and utterly unseemly.

Qin Yanwan never had a good word to say about him in the past.

But now, she simply said, "Even the most lecherous man is still the only son of the Prince of Yan. If I marry him, I will be his principal wife, the wife of the heir apparent. In the future..."

She paused, leaving the rest of her sentence unfinished.

Langhua could also understand.

Zhao Xu inherited the title, and she became the Princess Consort of Yan, naturally elevating her status.

Langhua looked at her intently for a while, then suddenly asked:

Are you willing to accept this?

"I was unwilling before," Qin Yanwan answered quickly. "Because I always thought that I had a good family background, good looks, and I was good at everything from playing the zither and chess to calligraphy, painting, tea ceremony, incense burning, horseback riding, archery, and polo. If I wasn't the best man in the world, I wouldn't be worthy of him."

When she said this, the youthful pride between her brows was still there, but it had faded somewhat compared to when they first met.

"But as you've seen over the years, throughout the capital, which of the sons of noble families with even a slightly decent background haven't had a multitude of wives and concubines, and been addicted to wine and women? Which one can be considered a truly virtuous man?"

"But if you really want me to lower my standards and look for someone with outstanding character but an unremarkable family background, I'm still not willing to do that."

"In that case, we shall choose the lesser of two evils."

"No matter how absurd Zhao Xu is, at least he listens to me. As long as he can carry me out of the Qin family in a grand manner, that's enough."

If Zhao Xu is still willing to let her control him after marriage, and she gives birth to a child and inherits the title, she will still be able to make a future for herself.

If things really don't work out, we can always get a divorce.

Why should Qin Yanyun be the only one to ruin the reputation of the Qin family's daughter?

Over the years, she followed Langhua, opening a shop and doing good deeds. When riding horses and playing ball, she also learned to temper her temper a bit, becoming more considerate and proper in her dealings with people, no longer as arrogant and unapproachable as before.

But so what?

The little reputation she's built up, in the eyes of outsiders, amounts to nothing more than this:

"Mrs. Qin is a good person, it's just a pity..."

She and Langhua are ultimately different.

No matter how foolish Wang Ruoyu was, Minister Wang was ultimately a pillar of integrity. No matter how biased Madam Wang was, she still had to consider Minister Wang's reputation. No matter how biased she was in her heart, she had to pretend to be sensible and force Wang Ruoyu to restrain her words and actions.

Her home was different.

Over the years, she has seen things more and more clearly.

My parents were truly willing to give everything for my eldest sister.

The Dongchang Marquis's mansion, and even the entire Qin family, including her as the second daughter, are not worth anything.

If she doesn't start planning for herself now, she'll truly have no more chances.

She was unwilling to marry down.

They marry into wealth, but most of them are just like everyone else.

Apart from the sons of the Duke of England, there were no better ones.

However, the eldest son of the Duke of Yingguo's family was already married, the third son was still a child, and the second son had returned to the capital some time ago but soon went back to the frontier. It was clear that he had not taken a fancy to any of the noble ladies in the capital.

She didn't want to make a fool of herself.

Besides...

She gave a cold smile to herself.

Just because something looks good on the outside doesn't mean it's really good on the inside.

The eldest sister married Gu Yankai, wasn't he praised by everyone as the best among the heirs of this generation? He made such a grand spectacle of his pursuit of her. Now that she's married, he still can't protect her, letting her remain sick and weak, secretly ridiculed throughout the capital?

Ultimately, it's all show and no substance.

Even just considering this point, Zhao Xu, who is just as persistent and tenacious, has kept his voice down until now, without letting any outsiders know a thing or two. He is far superior to Gu Yankai!

And one more thing, and this is the last one.

The title "Lady of the Heir Apparent" sounds more respectable than "Lady of the Marquis".

No matter how unbearable the inside may be, as long as the outer layer of gold and jade remains, others will not dare to make fun of her.

That's enough.