The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

The orphanage's courtyard was small, but it was kept very tidy.

Old clothes, washed clean, were drying in the corner, and several pairs of small shoes hung on a bamboo pole. Some of the shoes had worn-out toes and were patched up with dense stitches.

Several small stools were placed under the eaves, and a few children were writing words in the sand with thin sticks in their hands.

Zhao Zhen looked around.

The children's clothes were made of inferior materials, and upon closer inspection, patches could be seen. Some cuffs were joined together, and some trouser legs were of different lengths, clearly indicating that the older children had worn them and then altered them for the younger ones.

Each of them had at least some clothes to cover their bodies, and they were all clean and rosy-cheeked, showing no signs of being pale.

A little girl was holding half a steamed bun and eating it. She wasn't afraid of strangers. She just stared at him with wide eyes for a while, then lowered her head to bite her own bun, her cheeks puffing out.

Standing under the corridor, Zhao Zhen felt a slight sense of relief; this orphanage truly cared for the children.

He led Zhang Maoze slowly along the corridor, but when they reached a small, warm pavilion, they suddenly stopped.

In the wooden box under the window, there were a few things that children often played with.

A wooden top, a bamboo dragonfly, clay figurines, and... an old, faded rattle drum.

Zhao Zhen reached out and picked up the rattle drum.

The wooden handle was cool to the touch, the drumhead was slightly cracked, and when shaken, the sound was not very clear.

It was completely different from what his aunt had given him when he was a child.

I remember that he was frightened at night and refused to sleep, crying and burying himself in people's arms.

She then held him in her arms with one hand and gently shook the drum with the other, soothing him softly, patting his back and saying, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, Sixth Brother, sleep. Auntie is here."

The lamplight was warm, her clothes had a light fragrance, and her embrace was even warmer.

He rested his head on her shoulder, listening to the monotonous, soft thumping sound, and actually felt at ease.

My aunt has been gone for a year.

Zhao Zhen's heart tightened suddenly, and his eyes also felt hot.

Throughout the year, whenever he thought of her, he always thought of that invisible control, her strong choice of an empress for him, her domineering control over the court, and her ruthlessness in refusing to let him know who his birth mother was until the very end.

But at this moment, the suffocation and resentment seemed to be gently brushed aside by something.

What remains is the sense of security from childhood, of being held in someone's arms.

As Zhao Zhen held the rattle drum, a faint smile unconsciously appeared on his lips.

Just then, a child's angry voice suddenly came from behind.

"Sister, it's him!"

Zhao Zhen was startled and turned around.

"He took my toy!"

Springtime is in full bloom in the courtyard.

Not far away stood a child, with a young woman beside him, about fourteen or fifteen years old. Dressed in simple clothes and plain clothes, she was dressed very plainly, but her eyes were extremely bright and clear. When she looked over, she did not flinch or avoid looking away, as if she could see right into people's hearts.

Zhao Zhen's heart skipped a beat, and he then realized that he was still holding someone else's things in his hand. He felt a little embarrassed and quickly handed the rattle drum back.

"Misunderstand."

He said gently, "I was lost in thought and didn't hear you call me. Here you go."

The child was young; he puffed out his cheeks as he took the things, still somewhat angry.

The young woman stepped forward, nodded politely to him, and then looked at the child.

"Yuanbao" (a type of ancient Chinese currency).

Her voice was soft, but extremely gentle.

"Yesterday you taught Yaoyao to be kind to others. Look at this young man; he said he didn't hear you calling him earlier, but now that he knows, he immediately repaid you and apologized. Such a willingness to admit his mistake and correct it is truly a great virtue. If you continue to be stern and don't let him fulfill this virtue, what will happen if he accidentally makes the same mistake again and refuses to apologize? Can you bear to let him abandon goodness and turn to evil?"

The child pursed his lips, finally softening at her words. He glanced at Zhao Zhen hesitantly, then suddenly whispered:

"Then...then I was also at fault."

Zhao Zhen laughed when he heard this.

This young lady's words were truly novel, both quirky and childish, yet surprisingly reasonable.

"It was my rudeness first." Zhao Zhen cupped his hands in greeting, his voice becoming even gentler. "Thank you for not holding it against me."

The boy felt a little embarrassed by what he said and shrank back behind the young woman.

Zhao Zhen then raised his eyes and truly looked at the girl.

She was dressed very simply, with only a wooden hairpin in her hair, looking no different from an ordinary girl.

Standing amidst the patched clothes and the smell of cooking fires in this courtyard, I felt both harmonious and incongruous.

He was slightly surprised, and just as he was about to look again, the other person had already given him a generous bow.

"Young master, has come to the orphanage on some urgent matter?"

She asked naturally, "If so, I will go and invite a stewardess for my husband."

Zhao Zhen snapped out of his reverie and hurriedly said, "I have an elder who was very kind-hearted and always worried about the children here. I've come today to see if there's anything I can do to help."

She nodded gently after hearing this: "In that case, please wait a moment, my lord."

After saying that, he curtsied again and turned to go inside.

She walked slowly, the hem of her skirt brushing the ground without getting out of place.

A gentle breeze carries a delicate fragrance, almost imperceptible.

Zhao Zhen's nose twitched, but his eyes politely looked to the other side.

Not long after, an elderly woman hurried over.

"The girl said that a kind-hearted young man came to see the children."

Zhao Zhen returned the greeting, but didn't say anything else. He first asked if they had enough food and clothing, whether they lacked rice, grain, and charcoal, and if the children were sick, if they had medicine to take.

The elderly woman answered each question with a smile on her face.

"There are enough children now. Thanks to the peace and prosperity of recent years, everyone's life is better than before, and there are far fewer children coming here. Most of the children sent here now are those whose parents have had an accident, and the other parent has either remarried or remarried and simply can't take care of the children, so they are sent here."

Zhao Zhen initially had a slight smile on his face when he heard that the world was at peace, but as he heard the second half, his smile gradually faded away.

He glanced back at the courtyard.

Several children were sitting in a row in the sun, two older ones with a younger one, counting on their fingers and laughing carefree.

These vibrant lives were all abandoned.

After a long silence, Zhao Zhen said softly, "Thank you for your hard work."

The woman in charge smiled and waved her hand.

"What's so hard about it?"

As she said this, the wrinkles around her eyes smoothed out a bit.

"I grew up here too. If it weren't for the help from all the kind people back then, I would have starved to death long ago. How could I be alive today?"

She paused, then continued, "Later, I got married and had a son. But my husband wasn't lucky and passed away early. The previous stewardess was kind-hearted and took us in, helping us here and raising my son all the way. Now that he's gone out to find work, I'm thinking of staying."

"Now that we've survived, we can't just live in vain."

"If I can use this life to save more lives like mine, then I will have done right by those benefactors."

These words were spoken plainly and without any fervor.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhen suddenly stood up and bowed respectfully to her.

The stewardess was startled and quickly moved aside.

"My lord, you mustn't!"

"Yes."

Zhao Zhen straightened up, his expression extremely serious.

He didn't want to say much, only saying, "After I go back, I'll have my servants bring some rice and grain over. From now on, someone will come once a month. If you need anything, just tell them."

Upon hearing this, the stewardess simply bowed deeply and said, "Then I won't stand on ceremony any longer. We only get this job because of the kindness of our esteemed guests, so saying more would only seem pretentious."

"Thank you, my lord. May you be blessed with good fortune and prosperity."

Zhao Zhen listened, said nothing more, just nodded slightly, and turned to walk out.

Just as I reached the courtyard gate, a familiar little voice suddenly rang out behind me.

"Big brother!"

Zhao Zhen turned around.

It was the same Yuanbao from before, panting as he ran over, clutching a rattle drum in one hand and a small bouquet of flowers in the other, trying to stand on tiptoe to present the flowers to him.

"You are a kind person."

"It was my rudeness that was wrong just now, please don't hold it against me, big brother."

Zhao Zhen was slightly taken aback, then smiled, squatted down, and took the bouquet of flowers.

He patted Yuanbao's head, and his voice softened.

"I was also at fault; I was rude first. Thank you for not holding it against me."

Upon hearing this, Yuanbao immediately became happy, and his eyes lit up.

"My name is Yuanbao, big brother, what's your name?"

Zhao Zhen paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "My surname is Li, and I am the sixth child in my family. If you are willing, you can call me Brother Li Liu."

"Brother Li Liu".

Yuanbao immediately agreed.

Zhao Zhen responded with a smile in his eyes and brows.