The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

"Auntie!"

"mother!"

The room was instantly thrown into chaos.

Wang Rucheng tried pinching her philtrum and calling her name, and after a while, he finally woke her up.

When Zhou Wanru woke up, she was still dazed, but her eyes were already darting around, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up in a little bit.

"Empress..."

She murmured, "My dear Third Sister, is she going to be Empress?"

As she was talking, she suddenly sat up straight, started gesturing wildly, and laughed so hard that her eyes disappeared from her mouth.

"That's wonderful! That's wonderful! I knew my third wife was blessed with good fortune; she's destined for great wealth and honor in this life!"

She was laughing so heartily that she couldn't wait to rush out and tell all the neighbors the good news.

But halfway through her laughter, it abruptly stopped as if someone had grabbed her by the neck.

Then, she suddenly grabbed Wang Shi'an's sleeve, looking very nervous.

"Son, son! How old is the current emperor...? He can't be some old geezer, can he?"

"Mother! Bah! Bah! Bah!" Wang Shi'an said in a terrified voice, "You dare not talk nonsense! The Emperor ascended the throne at the age of thirteen, and it has been exactly ten years now."

"Ten years..." Zhou Wanru did some quick calculations, "That's twenty-three?"

Her eyes lit up again.

"Oh! Twenty-three is a good age! A good age indeed!"

She slapped her thigh and laughed so hard her whole face lit up.

Langhua couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Zhou Wanru chuckled to herself for a while before finally snapping out of it, her smile fading slightly as she began to ask about serious matters.

"Since you've secured such a wonderful marriage, something countless people could pray for through eighteen generations of good deeds, why do you still want to register it under my name?"

"Your mother... actually agreed?"

The smile on Langhua's face faded slightly.

She didn't hide anything and told him everything she could about how Wang Ruoyu schemed against her and how he ultimately suffered the consequences.

The more Zhou Wanru listened, the darker her expression became.

After listening, he slammed his hand on the table, gritting his teeth.

"That little bitch! How could she have such a vicious heart!"

After she finished scolding, she hurriedly pressed Langhua for an answer: "Did your mother really agree to the Kang family's request to marry you off to them to fill their financial hole?"

Langhua nodded.

Although it did not succeed, if the imperial decree had not arrived in time, the Queen Mother might have actually done so.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Wanru rolled up her sleeves and rushed out in a flurry.

"I'm not done with her yet!"

Langhua quickly got up to stop them.

But this time, Zhou Wanru stopped after taking only two steps.

"No! I can't completely break ties with her right now."

She turned and grabbed Langhua's hand, her eyes full of seriousness.

"To avoid her using this as an excuse to cause trouble and delay things. Let's wait until the ancestral hall is opened, and until you are truly my daughter, then we won't be afraid of being dragged down by her anymore. At that time—"

She gave a cold laugh, her murderous aura palpable.

"Watch how I deal with her."

Langhua smiled and nodded.

Wang Shi'an suddenly spoke up from the side: "In that case, my third sister will be my real sister from now on."

He cleared his throat and said in a serious tone, "From now on, you should call me Second Brother, just like when we were little."

Looking at his feigned maturity, yet his eyes were full of anticipation, Langhua couldn't help but smile.

"Second brother."

That call was crisp and sweet.

Wang Shi'an's eyes narrowed with joy, and he loudly replied, "Yes! Third Sister!"

Everyone in the room burst into laughter.

Langhua turned to look at her uncle and aunt again, the meaning in her eyes was all too clear.

Zhou Wanru also thought of this.

almost.

Once the ancestral hall is opened, she will truly be his daughter.

She can finally call herself "mother" now.

Just imagining it brought tears to her eyes again. She held Langhua's hand and stroked it incessantly, completely overwhelmed with love.

At this moment, Wang Shi'an suddenly remembered something else.

"If my elder brother knew this news, he would be overjoyed."

"Don't mention that brat!"

The moment her eldest son was mentioned, Zhou Wanru's face darkened, and her eyes, which had just been moist, were instantly filled with anger.

Seeing Langhua looking at her with confusion, Zhou Wanru explained, "That boy is really wild! He's been away from home for so many years and has only come back twice. Now that I know you're in trouble, I immediately sent someone to Yangzhou to urge him to come to the capital as soon as possible, so he can at least support you. Even if he's useless, he's still a man. How can he not step up when his sister is in trouble?"

She got angrier and angrier as she talked.

"Who knew he'd still be here! He's utterly useless! All that tall stuff is no use at all! Just wait until he gets here, then I'll show him what I'm made of!"

Langhua quickly spoke up for her eldest cousin.

Over the years, Wang Shinian has lived in Jiangnan. To outsiders, she only saw her as glamorous, but she knew that beneath that glamorous facade, she had truly endured hardship.

Moreover, during the previous disaster relief effort in the outskirts of Beijing, if it weren't for Wang Shinian's cooperation from the inside and outside, and the timely and proper allocation of funds, supplies, and manpower, she wouldn't have been able to spread her virtuous reputation so smoothly and compete for the empress's position.

But before she could even finish speaking, Zhou Wanru waved her hand and said, "It's only natural for an older brother to help his younger sister!"

"At most I won't punish him, but this time he's late, so that won't do."

She sighed again, "Oh, Third Aunt, we're all family here, so I won't beat around the bush. That brat has really grown up, and he's even more unruly now. I can barely control him. That little rascal, he actually wants to become someone's live-in son-in-law!"

"what?"

Langhua was truly stunned this time.

How come she's never heard of this?

Zhou Wanru became increasingly exasperated as she spoke: "If I had known this brat was obsessed with money, with nothing but making money on his mind! Why did I bother whipping him with that cane three times a day back then, forcing him to study and improve himself!"

"He finally passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, so I happily sent him off to study abroad. Who knew that this unfilial son would run off to Jiangnan without a word, become a shopkeeper, and even borrow capital from you to start a business!"

"That's fine. But I later heard that he returned your principal the following year and even gave you a considerable dividend. Otherwise, I would have personally gone to Jiangnan and torn him to pieces!"

At this point, she became even angrier.

"But I never imagined he would be so hopeless. For someone else's vast wealth, he's actually willing to sell himself and become a live-in son-in-law! What a disgrace to the family! What a disgrace to the family!"

Wang Rucheng, standing to the side, also looked utterly ashamed.

Langhua suppressed a laugh and asked, "What kind of family is it?"

Zhou Wanru gritted her teeth: "A salt merchant from Yangzhou. He's got money; I heard his family has at least a million in assets. He only has one daughter. If he really becomes this live-in son-in-law, he can live a life of leisure and still have mountains of gold and silver to spend!"

As she spoke, she became so angry that she laughed at herself.

"But is that how I taught him?"

"If people knew I had a son who would eat up my family's wealth, I would be utterly disgraced!"

She suddenly remembered something, quickly sat up straight, and looked at Langhua warily.

"Oh dear, I hope I won't drag you down with me in the end?"

Langhua did not answer immediately.

Yangzhou, a salt merchant, an only daughter.

Why does this sound so familiar?

She paused, then asked, "What's this salt merchant's surname?"

Zhou Wanru thought for a moment, then frowned and said:

"It seems to be... his surname is Bai."

Langhua: ?