The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

"Langhua will enter the palace as Empress, as the legitimate daughter of the second wife."

After a moment of surprise, the Queen Mother's face grew even more grim. She gritted her teeth and said, "What do you mean by this, my lord? She hasn't even ascended the heights yet, and you're already on her guard against me?"

Wang's father remained expressionless and pointed at Wang Ruoyu on the ground.

"Third Sister is not even married yet, and she has already schemed against her to this extent. If I hadn't returned in time, her marriage would have been used by you to fill the hole in the Kang family's coffers."

His voice grew increasingly somber as he said this: "Once she becomes empress, do you think any of you will let her go?"

The mother felt a chill in her heart; her husband was unwilling to leave her even the last shred of dignity.

But she also realized more and more clearly that her youngest daughter was probably going to rise to the top and become a phoenix, the queen of the country, and the mother of the nation.

After completely breaking ties with her!

Even after some time, she will no longer be listed as Wang's daughter in the family genealogy.

Instead, it was the daughter of the second wife, a vulgar woman whom she had always looked down upon.

The Queen Mother bit her lip.

How could she accept this!

But her husband's decisions were never something she could change. This was how Erlang was educated, how he was married, and now the adoption of their youngest daughter would surely be the same.

"As for the Sheng family..."

Wang's father turned his gaze to Wang Ruoyu, who was tied to the ground, and his eyes showed an undisguised disgust.

"If you want to marry, then marry. If you don't want to marry, then go and become a nun with your hair intact."

"You are full of hostility and malice, and it is indeed time to use this sacred Buddhist site to cleanse yourself."

Wang Ruoyu, her eyes filled with despair, sobbed and begged for mercy, while constantly looking at her mother, hoping for her help.

...However, the Queen Mother, who had always been so accommodating, didn't even glance at her this time. She turned her face away and let the servants drag her back to the courtyard. She was not allowed to take another step until she figured out whether to get married or become a nun.

-

In the end, the king's father did not divorce the king's mother.

These two words were a weapon he threw out in a fit of rage, meant to quiet his wife down and stop her willful and disruptive behavior.

The knife is drawn; the blood has been drawn, and that is enough.

They were, after all, a young couple.

They've come a long way from nothing to where they are today, sharing joys and sorrows for most of their lives, and entangled for most of their lives as well. Their respective rights and wrongs, grudges, good and evil, and cause and effect have long been intertwined and are no longer distinguishable.

Can he really absolve himself of the sins his wife committed against the children by simply saying he didn't know?

Moreover, with their only son, Wang Shiping, about to get married and embark on a scientific expedition, the impact of his parents' divorce at such a critical juncture would be enormous.

Langhua is about to become the Empress, but before the marriage, she is to be adopted by a second wife, and even her own parents are on the verge of divorce. These rumors are not good to hear if they get out.

Furthermore, with three children and three marriages arranged, it wouldn't make sense without the Queen Mother's involvement.

After considering all these factors, Wang's father did not insist on a divorce, but he did bring up all the unpleasant things upfront.

"Once Zhou enters the family, she will be in charge of managing the household affairs."

"After your wife leaves home, if you have nothing else to do, don't have much contact with her anymore. Since things have come to this, I'm not afraid to be frank with you. The Sheng family isn't exactly a good family. I think Sheng Hong is mediocre in his studies and not very upright in his character. Sooner or later, he'll cause trouble. In this respect, he and your wife are truly a match made in heaven. The two of them are tied together, and who knows who will drag whom down more in the future."

As the father finished speaking, he looked up at the mother, his gaze sharp and penetrating.

"If you insist on interfering, I won't stop you. You have hands and feet, and even if I wanted to stop you, I couldn't. But when that time comes, I won't care about anything else, and I will have to divorce you."

The Queen Mother turned pale. She wanted to argue, but ultimately didn't dare.

Mr. Wang sighed softly, softening his tone as well: "There are some things I've kept in my heart for years, things I intended to take to my grave. In this life, what couple is without any disagreements? If you give in to me and I give in to you, this life will pass by, and maybe we can even earn a reputation for being loving and devoted to each other until old age... But now, I have no choice but to say them."

"I know you've always felt that I value Erlang more, which is why I didn't choose the teacher you carefully selected, but instead took time out of my busy schedule to personally teach him."

"Therefore, you concluded that I was harsh on your aunt, who raised you and whose temperament and appearance are extremely similar to yours. You believed that I was biased and were even determined to compete with me in this regard, to prove that the aunt you raised was the best and most successful child in the family, and that no matter what good things the family received, they would send them to her without any regard for the consequences."

"I originally thought that my daughter would eventually get married, and she would only be able to enjoy her father's company for a few more years. It wouldn't hurt for you to spoil her a little more. Erlang is a man after all. If he was mistreated or suffered a bit when he was young, it would be good for him to toughen up."

He paused slightly as he spoke, and when he spoke again, he sounded even more tired.

"When Third Sister returned, I knew the rift in your heart was still unresolved. You still remembered how you almost died on the delivery bed when you gave birth to her. You believed you had given her two lives, that you owed her nothing, only that she owed you, so you could never be close to her, and instead treated her more harshly and critically than anyone else."

"I can only let you have your way. After all, you are my own flesh and blood. Even if I can't really get close to you, as long as we can live our lives peacefully, that's enough."

In the end, the father's voice turned completely cold.

"But you should never have dragged down all the other children in the family just because of this one wretched child."

"That doesn't make sense!"

"If you insist on going your own way..." He stared at the Queen Mother, saying each word clearly, "Either I resign from my official post, and Erlang doesn't need to take the imperial examination anymore. Our family can simply return to Shu and become ordinary people again. Or we can get a divorce."

The Queen Mother initially found it extremely difficult to accept.

In the end, however, she lowered her head and agreed.

She has completely lost face.

But face is something that's only useful when things are going well. If her husband really divorces her, if the Wang family really falls back to commoners, and she loses her status as a noblewoman, then even if she gains face, who will she show it to?

As for Wang Ruoyu, he kept muttering about some kind of lonely ghost for two whole days.

At first, people were a little horrified when they heard this, but after hearing it more often, they thought she had been driven mad by the shock.

In particular, Wang's father frowned and said, "Why don't we send him to the temple to stay for a while and calm his mind?" After that, Wang Ruoyu immediately dared not mention it again.

Langhua was not worried about this.

Not to mention that she had already agreed to switch bodies with Wang Ruofu, there was no question of her being resurrected or having her body forcibly taken over.

When she came into this world, she was not even three years old. Now, as she grows up day by day, everything about her—her food, clothing, shelter, her handwriting, and her speech—is traceable.

She was always Langhua, and never pretended to be anyone else.

Therefore, they were confident and composed.

Besides, she doesn't have much time to think about these things right now.

The imperial edict appointing her as empress has spread throughout the court and the country, and the wedding date is set for June of the following year.

Just a few days after the imperial decree was issued, many palace ladies arrived at the Wang family's residence. They were all ordered to teach the future empress etiquette and regulations and to prepare her for marriage.

But when they arrived, they discovered that this Third Sister's rules were flawless.

His demeanor, appearance, posture, speech, and laughter were all impeccable and dignified.

Even the strictest lady-in-waiting in the palace, after observing her coldly for two days, was completely convinced.

Just two days later.

Ah Chang and Yu Die stood under the eaves, staring blankly at the girl leaning against the couch, idly flipping through the account books.

She was dressed in her usual attire, in the Zhaoshui Pavilion, and her expression was no different from usual. Yet, when she casually reached out to accept the tea offered by the lady-in-waiting, the natural nobility and composure she exuded gave rise to an almost awe-inspiring feeling.

The girl was clearly still their girl.

But then again, it doesn't seem so.

She was a true empress, ruling the world with dignity and sitting upright in the central palace.