The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

He arrived home travel-worn, but a smile graced his face. Upon seeing the people at the door, he called out loudly, "Father, Mother, I'm back!"

Upon seeing Langhua, his smile widened even further: "Little sister!"

Then he was met with a cold laugh from Zhou Wanru.

"So you finally decided to come back? I thought you'd died out there!"

Even so, Zhou Wanru still cooked a full table of dishes for dinner that evening, almost all of which were Wang Shinian's favorites.

Wang Shinian glanced at it, and his smile deepened.

He poured the wine first, offering the first glass to his parents.

"I knew it, Mother still loves me. Mother, I toast you, wishing you eternal youth and longevity."

Zhou Wanru reluctantly picked up her wine glass: "What do you mean by 'springtime' or 'old age'? Wouldn't that make you an old hag? You little bastard, just stop annoying me a few times, that's better than anything else."

Wang Shinian pretended not to hear, drank it all in one gulp, poured himself a second cup, and turned to Langhua.

He held up his wine cup, his smile even more solemn than before.

"Third sister," Wang Shinian said, "we are finally truly a family."

Langhua's nose tingled with emotion.

Langhua recalled that three years ago, Wang Shinian, who had passed the imperial examination, traveled alone with a merchant caravan to the capital to find her. However, he witnessed his elder brother, Wang Shiping, bringing back two hairpins. One was originally intended for Wang Ruoyu, and the other for her. But Wang Ruoyu's domineering nature flared up again, and she insisted on keeping both for herself. She implied that she was the one who came later, and that if Wang Shiping valued Langhua more, it would mean disregarding their past relationship.

After she made a scene, Wang Shiping had no choice but to give in.

Seeing this from the shadows, Wang Shinian didn't say anything on the surface. He even borrowed some capital from her and pretended to go back to Sichuan. In the end, he went to Jiangnan without looking back and plunged into the business world.

At the end of that year, Wang Shinian gave her ten exquisitely crafted hairpins as a New Year's gift.

"We've been family for a long time."

She said it with certainty.

Wang Shinian then smiled.

Everyone burst into laughter.

That night, the family had a very lively reunion dinner.

Wang Shinian was asked about his business by his father, about his health by his mother, teased by his younger brother, and gently cared for by his younger sister.

He sat under the lamplight, listening to his family members chatting, and suddenly felt that much of the fatigue from years of traveling had dissipated.

It's so good to be home!

"Father, Mother, what are you doing?"

Wang Shinian forced a smile and asked.

After the meal, he wanted to go back to his room to rest. Only he and his buttocks knew how much hardship and exhaustion he had endured on this long journey.

No sooner had he stood up than his younger brother pushed him back into the chair.

Zhou Wanru and Wang Rucheng sat back down at the head of the table.

One is holding a cup of tea.

One with a cold face.

Wang Shinian swallowed hard, feeling as if he had suddenly transformed from a beloved child returning home after a long journey into a suspect being tried in court.

Zhou Wanru spoke first: "Tell me about it."

Wang Shinian blinked: "What did you say?"

Zhou Wanru sneered, "Still playing dumb? What's with that live-in son-in-law in the letter?"

Wang Shinian's ears turned slightly red, revealing a rare hint of youthful embarrassment.

"No, I don't need to be a live-in son-in-law anymore."

Zhou Wanru was taken aback at first, then turned pale with shock.

"What? You can't even be a live-in son-in-law anymore? You've been rejected to this extent?"

Wang Shinian's expression cracked slightly as he gritted his teeth and said, "Mother! Are you even my own mother?! Can't you even wish for your son to be well?"

"I'd like to ask you the same thing," Zhou Wanru said bluntly. "At your age, you still can't find a wife. Nobody wants you as a live-in son-in-law. I'm ashamed to be your mother. From now on, you should tell everyone you're adopted."

Langhua lowered her head, her shoulders trembling slightly.

Wang Shinian looked at his younger sister with grief and indignation: "Third sister, you're laughing at me."

Langhua raised her head, her expression both serious and innocent: "No."

Wang Shinian sighed and quickly explained, "It's not that they look down on me, it's that Master Bai has changed his mind. He said I don't need to marry into the family and is willing to marry his daughter to me. There's just one condition."

Zhou Wanru and Wang Rucheng exchanged a glance.

Wang Rucheng then put down his teacup: "What are the conditions?"

Wang Shinian said, "After we get married and have children, I hope one of them will take the Bai family name and inherit the Bai family business."

There was silence in the room.

Zhou Wanru frowned: "What do you mean by that? Explain yourself carefully."

Wang Shinian then recounted the story of the Bai family in detail.

It turns out that the Bai family, salt merchants in Yangzhou, may be famous and wealthy now, but when the head of the family, Master Bai, was a child, he lived a really hard life.

His father died early, leaving only an orphan and his widow at home.

Instead of helping them, the clansmen bullied the mother and son even more severely in order to seize the few acres of meager land left by his father.

In the end, they were forced to leave the clan voluntarily in order to survive, and were even removed from the family genealogy.

At a young age, Master Bai went to work as an apprentice in a shop.

He endured countless scornful looks and suffered countless hardships, step by step, before finally learning how to make a living.

Later, through a series of events, he gradually built his fortune and became one of Yangzhou's leading wealthy merchants, thanks to his own abilities and indomitable spirit.

However, he only had one daughter.

That daughter was born to his first wife, and he doted on her from a young age, raising her like a precious jewel.

But precisely because he only had this one daughter, his clan, who had previously abandoned him like trash, shamelessly came knocking on his door again.

Those people first took it upon themselves to rewrite his name back into the family genealogy, saying that blood ties cannot be severed.

Later, when Master Bai ignored him, he started using the pretext of doing it for his own good to force him to adopt a male member from the clan.

They said they were afraid he would have no descendants, and that his daughter would be looked down upon by others after she got married because she would have no brothers to support her.

But who can't see what he's really thinking?

They're simply envious of the Bai family's vast fortune and want to repeat the same exploitative tactics that Old Master Bai used on them when they were children.

Master Bai naturally refused to surrender.

Several years ago, they began looking for a son-in-law to live with their daughter.

It's just that this person is really hard to find.

He only has one daughter, a vast family fortune, and is at odds with his clan. After he passes away, this enormous fortune will likely become his daughter's death warrant.

However, if the only son-in-law who moves into the family is not chosen well, it is no different from inviting a wolf into the house.

After much deliberation, Master Bai was still not satisfied.

Some are too cunning, some lack the ability, and even those with upright hearts are not capable of managing such a large operation as the Bai family.

They are all of decent character and ability, and their morals are upright, but they are too embarrassed to marry into the family.

Just when they were in a dilemma, Wang Shinian appeared.

The young man from Sichuan had already achieved the title of Juren (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations) by the age of fifteen or sixteen.

His eldest uncle was the Minister of Revenue, but he himself was interested in business, had no prejudice against any particular faction, was quick-witted, and had a keen eye for business.

What's even more remarkable is that, despite his many schemes, he has a bottom line.

Mr. Bai has seen too many clever people in the business world.

Being smart is not unusual.

It's rare to be smart enough to know what money you can earn and what things you can't do.

He had been secretly observing Wang Shinian for nearly a year, and the more he looked at him, the more suitable he felt Wang Shinian was.

She then invited him to her home, where he met her daughter, and subtly brought up the matter of him marrying into her family.

At this point, Wang Shinian touched his nose, looking even more embarrassed.

"Master Bai is both a teacher and a friend to me. Over the past two years, he has taught me many things and taken good care of me. As for Miss Bai..."

Zhou Wanru immediately narrowed her eyes: "How about the Bai family's daughter?"

Wang Shinian's ears turned even redder.

"She's doing well too."

The room fell silent for a moment.

Wang Shi'an: "Oh..."

The tone was deliberately drawn out.

Wang Shinian raised his leg to kick, but Wang Shi'an dodged quickly and even turned around to grin, perfectly embodying the phrase "a petty person who has achieved success."

Zhou Wanru glared at her two sons: "Continue."

Wang Shinian then coughed lightly and continued, "So when Master Bai proposed to marry into the family, I was indeed somewhat tempted, which is why I wrote back to ask my father and mother what they thought."

Before he could figure it out, he received a letter from his mother saying that his third sister had been wronged in Bianjing and ordering him to set off immediately to return to the capital to support her.

His sister's matter was naturally more important than anything else. He almost immediately put down everything he was doing.

But before leaving, I inexplicably went to the Bai family's house to say goodbye.

But then, on that very day, an accident occurred.

Someone has kidnapped the Bai family's daughter.

Wang Shinian happened to see the thieves' carriage rushing out of the back alley.

The wind was strong that day, and the carriage curtain was blown open for a moment. He met the eyes of the Bai family girl and recognized her at a glance.

He didn't care about anything else at the time and immediately led his men to chase after them.

Fortunately, the incident ended without serious injury, and the person was rescued. However, I was also slightly injured and had to stay to recuperate, which delayed my trip to Bianjing.

It was during the time she was recuperating from her injuries that news of the Emperor's investiture of the Empress reached Yangzhou.

The second daughter of the Wang family is about to become the empress.

Wang Shinian knew more than others. He received a letter from his mother and learned that the girl was his third younger sister, Langhua, whom he had grown up with. He also knew that this younger sister was about to become his real sister.

That same afternoon, Master Bai arrived in person.

He didn't beat around the bush.

Tell Wang Shinian directly that the marriage proposal is off.

He is willing to marry off his daughter.

He only hoped that one of his daughter's children would take the Bai family name and inherit the Bai family business.

He knew this request was a bit excessive, so he was willing to voluntarily give 30% of his assets to the Wang family as compensation and a sign of sincerity.

After Wang Shinian finished speaking, he looked at Langhua somewhat embarrassed: "Third sister, I'm only getting this credit because of you."