The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

"Don't stand at the door anymore."

Mr. Wang smiled and said with a rare hint of ease in his voice, "Come inside, the hot tea is ready."

Only then did everyone walk inside.

Throughout the journey, Zhou Wanru held Langhua's hand tightly, her eyes constantly lingering on her face, looking at her forehead, her eyebrows, and her figure, as if she wanted to make up for all the things she had missed in the past few years.

Langhua's smile never faded.

The Queen Mother walked ahead, and when she caught a glimpse of this scene out of the corner of her eye, her expression turned slightly cold, and she felt an indescribable tightness in her chest.

Upon entering the main hall, everyone took their seats in turn.

The maids filed in, carrying copper basins of hot water and towels, and invited the second family to wash their hands and faces.

Unlike before, Langhua did not simply sit quietly to the side. Instead, she stood personally beside them, helping one person tuck their sleeves or handing another a handkerchief.

He did everything himself, paying meticulous attention to detail.

Seeing this, Wang's father was first taken aback, then a slightly bitter smile appeared on his lips.

In the five years since San Niang returned home, she has never missed a day of paying her respects to her parents morning and evening.

Even though his wife was as hard-hearted as iron and never responded, she never complained. Everyone who saw this praised her for being filial.

But now, seeing her so eagerly and diligently running around, I realize that...

Obedient filial piety and heartfelt affection are ultimately different.

It turns out that she wasn't actually mature beyond her years.

It turns out she also has this girlish side.

It's simply a matter of exchanging hearts, feelings, and rules.

They treated her coldly, so how could they expect her to open her heart?

Wang's father sighed softly to himself.

So be it.

His decision was perhaps a way of fulfilling everyone's wishes.

After he came to terms with it, he took the initiative to strike up a conversation, asking his younger brother Wang Rucheng if his journey had been smooth, if everything was alright at home in Sichuan, if it had gotten cold on the road, and if he had had a good rest.

Wang Rucheng answered them one by one, and the two brothers chatted casually for a while, which was quite peaceful.

After talking for a while, Wang's father said, "You must be tired from your journey. Go and rest in the guest quarters first, Third Sister."

He looked up at Langhua.

"Take your uncle and aunt over. After they've rested, come back for dinner and we can talk together."

Langhua immediately replied, "Yes."

Wang Rucheng nodded with a smile.

After leaving the main courtyard and returning to the guest courtyard prepared for the second wife, Langhua could no longer hide the joy on her face.

She got busy as soon as she entered the room.

"Uncle and Aunt, this is the most comfortable room for you to stay in. It faces south, is warm in winter and cool in summer."

"I specially asked someone to fill the pillow here with extra new cotton, so it won't be too soft and cause your neck to hurt."

"My second brother's courtyard is right next door. If you find it stuffy here, you can open the window and see the bamboo grove behind it."

As she spoke, she hurriedly urged someone to fetch hot water: "Have the kitchen bring two more buckets of hot water first. It's windy on the way, and Uncle and Aunt must be tired. Also, have the stove simmer a bowl of warm soup, something light and not too oily."

In short, it was thorough and considerate in every aspect, leaving almost no room for oversight.

Zhou Wanru was initially watching with a smile, but the more she looked, the redder her eyes became.

Finally, she grabbed Langhua and forced her to sit down next to her, her expression suddenly becoming serious.

"Third Sister".

"If you truly consider your aunt as family, you're not allowed to pretend to be happy in front of me."

Langhua was taken aback.

Zhou Wanru held Langhua's hand, her eyes filled with heartache: "Tell your aunt the truth, how have you been these past few years in the capital? Has your mother made things difficult for you?"

Langhua felt a warmth in her heart, but still shook her head: "No."

"How could there be nothing?" Zhou Wanru exclaimed anxiously. "If there was nothing wrong, why would your father have called us here in such a hurry? He even specifically instructed us to bring the family genealogy as well, saying that he wanted to register you under my name."

Langhua was taken aback again.

"Should I... be registered under your name?"

Didn't your uncle and aunt come all the way from Sichuan because her wedding is approaching?

At least when she went to ask her father to bring her uncle and aunt to the capital, her father just smiled and said, "They are already on their way, so don't worry, Third Sister."

Then she was so excited about her uncle and aunt's upcoming arrival in Beijing that she didn't ask any more questions.

This time, it was Zhou Wanru's turn to be stunned.

"You still don't know?"

Before Langhua could reply, she slammed her hand on the table and stood up abruptly, her face flushed with anger.

"A bunch of bastards! Are they looking down on you? Did they arrange some lousy marriage for you and come up with this idea because they're afraid of disgracing their family?"

"Damn it! They're all children, born after ten months of pregnancy, how can you be so biased!"

She got angrier and angrier as she spoke, rolling up her sleeves and rushing out.

"I'd be overjoyed to have you as my daughter! Go back to Sichuan then! My dowry includes two more shops; that'll be more than enough to support you, a young lady!"

"But we can't just leave like this! I have to at least scratch her face raw first!"

Hearing this, Wang Shi'an silently looked around the room, then picked up the wooden stick he used to prop open the window and followed closely behind Zhou Wanru.

His face was full of determination.

Langhua was both moved and amused, and quickly got up to stop one of them with each hand.

"Auntie, second cousin!"

Only then did she belatedly realize that when her father wrote the letter, perhaps out of anxiety or perhaps because he had already planned it, he hadn't written the matter too clearly. After all, the imperial edict appointing the empress wouldn't be officially issued and spread throughout the court and the country until several days later. Given her father's composed nature, it was understandable that he wouldn't mention such an important matter before everything was settled.

But no matter what, her heart was filled with warmth.

Her uncle and aunt didn't know what had happened, but they still came without hesitation, as if they were afraid that she would suffer more grievances if she stayed any longer.

"No, no, that's not true." Langhua pushed the person back while laughing, "I actually found a good marriage."

"This is an excellent marriage. Aunt, please sit down and let me tell you about it."

A moment later.

"What?! You're going to marry an official?!"

Zhou Wanru exclaimed in surprise.

Wang Rucheng nearly spat out his entire mouthful of tea.

The stick in Wang Shi'an's hand fell to the ground with a thud.

Langhua couldn't help but chuckle: "If Aunt doesn't believe me, you can come with me to Zhaoshui Pavilion now. The female officials sent by the palace to teach me manners are still here."

Zhou Wanru was completely stunned.

After a long pause, she asked in a daze, "So... my Third Sister is going to... be a lady in the palace?"

"Mother!" Wang Shi'an quickly corrected, "Not 'wife,' but 'Empress'! The Empress of the Central Palace!"

Zhou Wanru's eyes widened, and then her body went limp, and she leaned back.