The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

"What are you saying!"

This time, Qin's mother really couldn't hold on any longer. Her body swayed, and she almost fainted.

Qin's father was filled with shame and anger, and raised his hand to hit her.

Qin Yanwan did not dodge or avoid it. Instead, she tilted her head slightly to meet the hand, her eyes shining brightly.

"Go ahead and hit me."

Her voice was not loud, and it didn't even have much variation.

"Even if Father beats me to death today, it will not change the fact that you have treated me and her differently all these years."

Qin's father's hand froze in mid-air.

"Wan'er..." Qin's mother clutched her chest, tears streaming down her face. "How could you think of us like this?"

"So what should I think?"

Qin Yanwan finally turned to look at her, her eyes icy cold.

"Do you want your love and care? Do you want me to be in your hearts? Or do you think that you've just been too busy all these years to think about me, and that once you're done with Qin Yanyun, you'll eventually remember your daughter?"

"I've been waiting all these years."

"Wait for Father and Mother to turn around and look at me, wait for you to think about me."

"But what did I get in return?"

She laughed, as if she had seen the biggest joke in the world.

"Her marriage is more important; my affairs should be put on hold. It's never too late."

"She suffered injustice in the Gu family, and the entire household had to stand up for her, even if it ruined their reputation and made outsiders laugh at the Qin family for failing to raise their daughter properly, repeatedly jeopardizing my marriage—you were all willing to do it!"

"You all have your reasons for thinking about me, but every time I think about it, I still feel that she is more important."

The room was eerily quiet.

Qin's father's face turned pale, his lips trembled slightly, and he couldn't utter a single word.

Qin's mother looked astonished, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"She's more important, so you feel sorry for her when she cries, and I should just endure it and give in."

"She is more important, so you should plan ahead for her to get what she wants. As for me, I'll just make do for now."

"She will always be the most important person, and I am not important."

She paused for a moment as she spoke, a hint of barely suppressed pain flashing across her eyes.

"You keep saying that I'm your daughter too. But ask yourselves honestly, how much do you value me as your daughter?"

"Is it worth a bowl of medicine while she's ill, or worth the dignity she showed for her family?"

"If she doesn't live a good life, does that mean I don't deserve to live a good life either?"

"What was the point of you having me? Was I just a scapegoat for her?"

Upon hearing this, Qin's mother felt as if she had been stabbed in the chest, her face turning deathly pale: "No, that's not how it is, Wan'er!"

"Don't call me!"

Qin Yanwan took a step back abruptly, as if this call was more painful to her than anything else.

Late, late, late.

She was always one step behind Qin Yanyun in everything.

"Mother, Mother, tell me, if it weren't like this, what would it be like?"

"Is it that you haven't ignored me all these years, or have you already made plans for my future?"

"Or do you really think that Qin Yanyun's current behavior in the Gu family, and the jokes she's made out to be, will help me find a better match than Zhao Xu?"

Qin's mother cried even harder, but couldn't answer.

Qin's father finally seemed unable to hold on any longer and fell heavily backward into the chair, looking as if he had suddenly aged several years.

As Qin Yanwan looked at them, the last bit of hope in her heart gradually cooled down.

She finally admitted that she hadn't lost to Qin Yanyun all these years.

It's because I lost to myself that I'm unwilling to give up.

She then turned her head and looked at the betrothal gifts filling the courtyard, tears silently streaming down her cheeks, yet her voice was almost cold:

"I know our family is not what it used to be. As for my dowry, I don't ask to be on par with Qin Yanyun's. I only ask that it be the same for you, the last one."

She raised her hand to wipe away her tears, her movements swift and decisive: "Don't make me look too ugly when I go out, so ugly that the whole capital knows that the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Dongchang is gold and jade, and the second daughter is worthless grass."

"otherwise--"

She slowly turned her head around.

The last bit of warmth and expectation in his eyes had vanished, leaving only a clarity that was almost indifferent after seeing through everything.

"I'll make the unpleasant things clear from the start."

"How you treat me today is how I will treat you tomorrow."

"If you still treat me as a patch to mend Qin Yanyun's holes, don't expect me to still consider myself a daughter of this family in the future."

I'm fourteen.

"I'm no longer that little kid standing outside the door, waiting for you to turn around and look at me."

"From now on, I will earn my own marriage and my own future."

"If I earned it, it's because of my own ability."

If I can't earn it, then it's my fate.

After Qin Yanwan finished speaking, she turned around and left the main courtyard.

As soon as they stepped through the hanging flower gate, they saw a figure standing under the corridor, as if he had been waiting for a long time.

It is Qin Zhengyang.

He looked at her with a complicated expression, and hesitated several times as if he wanted to say something but couldn't bring himself to do it.

Qin Yanwan glanced at him indifferently, then walked past him as if she hadn't seen him at all.

Qin Zhengyang immediately became furious, jumping up and down behind her: "You blind brat! I shouldn't have been soft on you! What do I care if you're upset or sad? What sisters are you talking about? None of them are easy to deal with! Qin Yanyun isn't a good person, and you're not much better!"

"When you grow up and suffer any injustice, don't expect me to stand up for you!"

Qin Yanwan stopped.

She slowly turned around and gave a cold laugh:

"You?"

"You're good for nothing, good for nothing, and never serious. You're the most useless person outside of the Dongchang Marquis's mansion. How can I expect you to back me up? I'll be thanking my lucky stars if you don't drag me down with Qin Yanyun in the future."

Upon hearing this, Qin Zhengyang's handsome face flushed crimson with anger. His finger, pointing at her, trembled uncontrollably. After a long while, he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence through gritted teeth:

"Fine... I knew it, you looked down on me from the bottom of your heart."

Qin Yanwan took two steps forward with an air of righteous indignation: "Then what have you done to earn my respect? You're three years older than me, and the only male in this Marquis's mansion. If you were truly capable, matchmakers would have worn down your doorstep long ago. Qin Yanyun has tarnished my reputation; what good have you, Qin Zhengyang, done?"

"Outsiders look down on me, but do they really only look down on me? No matter what, it's because you're not respectable enough to be considered worthy of their status!"

She scoffed, her words growing increasingly harsh: "At least I can still find someone like Zhao Xu. And you? Are you genuinely unaware, or are you pretending? In recent years, those who have come to you seeking marriage have all been impoverished families!"

"you!"

Qin Zhengyang was so angry that he started trembling, as if his heart had been truly struck.

But ironically, he couldn't refute a single one of these words.

Looking at his expression, Qin Yanwan felt a surge of satisfaction. What brotherhood? She and everyone in this family were clearly enemies, having disliked each other for years. They were about to leave the family and never speak to each other again, so she might as well take this opportunity to tear off the mask of formality and vent all the words that had been bottled up in her heart for so many years.

She ignored him, snorted coldly, and turned to leave.

Behind him, Qin Zhengyang was still standing in the same spot, his face turning red and white in turns. After a long while, he kicked the pillar hard.

-

After returning to her own courtyard, Qin Yanwan did not have anyone serve her; instead, she sat alone at the stone table in the courtyard.

The bright sunlight shone down, making all the flowers and trees in the courtyard glow, and Qin Yanwan felt the gloom in her heart disappear.

She said everything that should and shouldn't have been said today.

The extent to which Qin Yanyun's parents will sacrifice, and how long Qin Zhengyang will remain unambitious until he finally realizes the consequences, whether the Dongchang Marquis's Mansion will rise or fall in the future, all depends on themselves.

Ultimately, she was powerless to help them all.

From now on, everyone should rely on their own abilities to make a living!

While I was lost in thought, Jian tiptoed over.

"girl."

Qin Yanwan lazily raised her eyes.

"What is it?"

Jian glanced around and lowered his voice:

"On my way back from the orphanage today, I overheard people talking outside, saying that something big had happened in the palace."

Qin Yanwan didn't take it seriously and casually asked, "What's the big deal?"

"Your Majesty... has deposed the Empress."

Qin Yanwan was taken aback.

She looked up, and the weariness in her eyes vanished instantly, replaced by genuine disbelief.