The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

He patiently replied, "When have I ever lied to you?"

Shen Wencheng, however, became even more enthusiastic, and simply rolled up his sleeves, sitting firmly: "Then there's no time like the present, Your Majesty. Why don't you speak frankly with this old minister today? Does Your Majesty already have someone in mind? If so, speak plainly. Among the common people, widows remarry as easily as fish crossing a river, let alone the Emperor? If Your Majesty truly has someone in mind, would we, your ministers, really stand in your way?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhen's heart skipped a beat.

Just then, Zhang Maoze quietly walked to the door and glanced inside.

Zhao Zhen then knew that Third Sister had left the mansion again.

God have mercy!

He stayed up half the night and drafted countless times, finally managing to come up with a set of fluent words that would allow him to both reveal his identity and ask Third Sister if she was willing to enter the palace to become his empress.

Everything is ready. He is just waiting for Third Sister to leave the mansion today so he can go find her immediately and explain things clearly in one go, rather than having a thorn in his heart that keeps scratching at him!

But just then, Shen Wencheng arrived and sat there like a gatekeeper, not moving an inch!

That old scoundrel is always the most stubborn.

Zhao Zhen took a deep breath, his face still gentle, but his tone was more anxious: "My dear minister, you should go back first. Next time, next time I will definitely give you a definite answer."

To everyone's surprise, Shen Wencheng immediately bristled and glared upon hearing this: "No! Your Majesty must give me a clear answer today! Otherwise, this old minister will sit here and wait until sunset, until the palace gates are locked! Or perhaps, Your Majesty will grant this old minister's request to make Lady Cao empress!"

Zhao Zhen was both anxious and bitter, and he almost wanted to stand up and point his finger at him and yell at him!

What a clueless old scoundrel!

I told you to leave so that you could go and find Third Sister and ask her frankly if she would like to be my Empress. What does this talk about the Cao family have to do with her?

But the emperor is the emperor after all, and these words cannot be spoken.

He was so entangled that he was almost about to say "someone has arrived" and was just about to have someone drag this stubborn old scoundrel out when, in the next instant, the hall suddenly trembled violently!

The desk wobbled, the lamp stand swayed, and dust even fell from the beams.

Caught off guard, Zhao Zhen fell to the ground.

Shen Wencheng wasn't much better off; he staggered a couple of steps while bracing himself on a chair and almost fell flat on his face.

The people in the hall gasped in surprise.

"The earth dragon has turned over!"

Someone shouted first, and everyone snapped out of their daze, hurriedly escorting the Emperor and Grand Secretary Shen to an open space outside the palace.

Fortunately, the tremor came and went quickly.

The group stood outside for about half an hour, and only breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that there was no further movement.

But Zhao Zhen's romantic notions had completely vanished by now.

He didn't even bother to brush the dust off his robes before immediately summoning his officials, ordering them to assess the damage in the capital, opening the imperial treasury, dispatching medical officers, and comforting the people. He was so busy he barely had time to breathe.

Fortunately, the earthquake was not extremely severe.

In Beijing, only a few old houses collapsed, and a few people who were slow to escape were injured by falling objects, so casualties were inevitable.

But most people were safe and sound.

The areas that suffered the most damage were actually the outskirts of Beijing.

In several villages in particular, most of the houses collapsed, leaving many people homeless overnight.

When the news reached the court, the entire court was filled with worry.

Just when everyone was in a state of panic, someone suddenly reported that the two villages that were most severely damaged were almost deserted, with most of the elderly and children gone, and the number of casualties was much less than expected.

Everyone immediately felt that it was the Bodhisattva's blessing.

But upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a series of unfortunate coincidences.

Earlier, a wealthy merchant from Jiangnan had bought a manor in the suburbs of Beijing. However, the manor was dilapidated, so the merchant wanted to renovate it. Since the two villages were close to each other, he gradually hired the villagers to work there.

Originally, only the able-bodied men were needed to work in the fields, while the women spun thread and cooked. However, the wealthy merchant was kind-hearted and saw that only the elderly, weak, women, and children remained in the village, struggling to make ends meet. So he generously invited them all back and assigned them tasks within their capabilities.

The earthquake has now miraculously saved the lives of people in both villages!

This story was astonishing to tell and amazing to hear, so it spread like wildfire, eventually reaching the circle of nobles and even the ears of Emperor Zhao Zhen.

Out of curiosity, Zhao Zhen ordered someone to investigate the background of this benevolent merchant. To his surprise, he discovered that the man's name was Wang Shinian, who was none other than Minister Wang's nephew.

That is, the third sister's cousin.

Moreover, the person who made all the decisions—choosing the location of the manor, hiring workers, and being kind enough to save lives—was none other than the Third Sister herself.

Zhao Zhen was both surprised and delighted. He was about to draft an imperial edict to praise her, but San Niang was not willing to stop there.

Although she saved nearly two hundred lives from two villages, many more disaster victims suffered and were displaced as a result.

She simply stepped forward, contacted several noble ladies and women of noble birth in the capital with whom she had a good relationship, and, using the name of the orphanage, took the lead in raising funds for food, medicine, and quilts to settle the people.

For a time, carriages and horses were constantly coming and going in the city.

Some people donated rice and grain, some donated herbs, some donated old clothes and quilts, and some even took out money to hire craftsmen to repair houses in the suburbs of Beijing.

Wang San Niangzi became famous as a result.

Everyone praised her for not only being kind-hearted but also insightful and methodical in her actions. It was truly remarkable that she could manage such a major event as disaster relief so well at such a young age.

Not long after the disaster.

For the first time, Zhao Zhen saw the name of Wang's second daughter in a memorial requesting an empress.

He stared at it for a long time.

Suddenly, I felt at peace.

After a long pause, he only uttered a low voice: "Maoze, where is Third Sister?"

Zhang Maoze laughed and said, "They should still be in the orphanage."

Zhao Zhen looked up: "Change your clothes."

-

Wang Ruoyu sat in the sedan chair, most of her lip rouge had fallen off, but her eyes were still sparkling and her cheeks were flushed with spring.

Back home, at the suggestion of her maid Liuyun, she even had to cover her face with a handkerchief. She returned to the courtyard in fear and anxiety, afraid that someone would see her like this and then tell her mother, which would lead to a barrage of questions.

When I returned to the courtyard and asked, I found out that my mother wasn't home at all.

"The lady went to the orphanage with the third young lady to help take care of the women and children affected by the disaster."

Wang Ruoyu curled her lip upon hearing this, her face full of disapproval.

"Pretending to be something you're not."

Even if a fool comes back, he's still a fool. Didn't we have this earth dragon reversal in our past lives? Only some lowly people died. Why make such a big fuss and go to such lengths?

Instead of wasting time on this, you should choose a better husband for yourself.

but……

Wang Ruoyu thought about it again and realized that she had found the answer.

Of these noble families, apart from the Ningyuan Marquis's family, most of them will eventually fall from grace.

Even the Ningyuan Marquis's mansion wouldn't have survived without Bai's dowry of several boats full of real gold and silver.

All things considered, among the powerful and wealthy people in the capital who are of marriageable age and have the potential to have the last laugh, only the heir of the Prince of Yan remains.

Unfortunately, that fool Wang Ruofu, who had foresight, still couldn't win against Qin Yanwan!

waste!

Thinking of this, Wang Ruoyu couldn't help but feel a sense of condescending pity.

So be it.

She is, after all, my sister.

Since she herself is incapable of making plans for herself, then she, as the older sister, should choose a path for her.

Wang Ruoyu leaned against the sedan chair wall, a confident smile slowly appearing on her lips.

Kang Haifeng is more than a match for her.