The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

Wang Shinian knew this in his heart.

If we only consider his own situation, Master Bai would most likely still insist on marrying into the family.

But things are different now.

My sister is going to be the empress; the second branch of the Wang family will surely be rich and powerful in the future.

Since the founding of the nation, the emperor's brother-in-law, who was born into a noble family, could at least obtain the title of Duke. Although it could not be inherited, he was still a legitimate member of the empress's family. If the Bai family girl could marry into the royal family and have children, the status of both mother and child would only rise in the future.

Moreover, even for the sake of their younger sister, their family would never have the idea of ​​squandering their inheritance.

This is the real reason why Master Bai was completely at ease, took the initiative to propose marrying his daughter off, and even lowered his stance to the very end.

Therefore, his statement about benefiting from the situation was entirely accurate and not an exaggeration.

The room fell silent for a moment.

Langhua simply smiled, her eyes gentle: "What's this about taking advantage of someone? Since we're family, we naturally share in each other's glory. If my position as Empress can help my elder brother have fewer obstacles in his marriage and marry someone he truly loves, making him happy, then it won't be a waste of my efforts."

Wang Shinian was deeply moved and was about to say something more when Langhua suddenly changed the subject: "How is your injury now?"

Her reminder brought everyone back to their senses.

"Yes! Where's your injury?" Zhou Wanru slammed her hand on the table, both anxious and annoyed. "Where is the injury? How serious is it? Why didn't you mention it at all in the letter? Do you think you're thick-skinned, or do you think your mother is blind and heartless?"

Wang Shinian hurriedly replied, "It's really not heavy, it's already healed."

"Even if you're better, you still need to see a doctor!" Zhou Wanru didn't believe it at all: "Someone, go and fetch a doctor."

Wang Shinian wailed, "Mother!"

Wang Rucheng said slowly, "Shouting won't do any good. Just listen to your mother."

Wang Shinian had no choice but to accept his fate.

After the doctor examined her and confirmed that it was just a superficial injury that had almost healed, Zhou Wanru's complexion improved slightly.

"What kind of thugs are so audacious as to break into a private residence and kidnap someone in broad daylight?"

Wang Shinian sneered: "Who else could it be but those money-grubbing, unscrupulous members of the Bai clan?"

Zhou Wanru gasped, "They're really this fierce?"

Wang Shinian sighed, "People die for money."

Wang Rucheng, who rarely spoke, said, "In this light, the concerns of the Bai family lord are understandable. Rather than saying he wants to curry favor with the powerful, it's more accurate to say that his deep love for his daughter is truly touching."

Zhou Wanru nodded, agreeing with those words.

If she also had only one daughter, and with heartless clansmen watching her like hawks, she would probably be even more shrewd and ruthless than the Bai family.

Zhou Wanru slammed her hand on the table and said directly, "We don't want that 30% of the assets."

She looked at Wang Shinian and said, "It's a perfectly good marriage. You're not against the girl's beauty, so why are you taking money? If you do, it'll sound like you're being sold to the Bai family. Does that sound good? Besides, once money gets involved in a marriage, even the best of relationships can easily turn sour."

"Master Bai dotes on his daughter, and how much dowry he's willing to give her is a matter for the Bai family. Naturally, Miss Bai should manage that dowry herself; our Wang family won't interfere or even covet it."

"As for the child taking the Bai family surname..."

She thought for a moment and then said decisively, "Whatever you want. There are plenty of people with the surname Wang in the world. It doesn't matter if there's one more or one less. As long as the child is yours and still calls me grandmother in the end, that's fine."

After saying that, she turned to look at Wang Rucheng: "What do you think, husband?"

Wang Rucheng smiled and said gently, "I'll listen to whatever you say."

Zhou Wanru looked satisfied.

Wang Shinian's eyes lit up: "Then I'll go and write a letter to Master Bai, and tell him we've agreed?"

Seeing his barely concealed joy, Zhou Wanru felt both amused and disgusted: "Go ahead."

Wang Shinian immediately stood up.

Zhou Wanru stopped him again: "There's just one thing, our family really doesn't have time to hold another wedding this year. Your sister's wedding is the most important thing, everything else has to wait. We'll take care of yours after we're done with hers."

Wang Shinian quickly replied, "Of course."

He couldn't let his younger sister suffer, nor could he let the Bai family girl suffer. Both marriages needed to be handled properly and with care, so there was no need to rush.

Zhou Wanru then let him go.

Wang Shinian happily went to write the letter, his light and quick steps prompting Wang Erlang to watch from behind and marvel at his appearance.

"So this is how silly my older brother was when he was getting married."

Wang Shinian abruptly turned around and glared at him, his face flushed red: "Say that again, and you might as well never get married!"

Wang Erlang turned and ran, laughing as he went, "Even then, he's definitely not as stupid as you, silly brother!"

Langhua watched from behind and couldn't help but laugh.

The family dinner finally came to an end.

Everyone returned to their respective rooms.

When Langhua returned to her courtyard, it was already late at night.

As usual, Ah Chang and Yu Die served her as she washed up.

Langhua sat in front of the dressing table, letting Yudie remove the pearl hairpins from her hair, but her mind was still on the Bai family.

Thinking about it carefully, this marriage isn't actually that bad.

In the original story, the Bai family was portrayed by the Gu family as shameless merchants who were insatiable and greedy.

Putting aside the fact that both sides were open and frank from the beginning, and each got what they wanted, Bai Shi should be an excellent person.

After she married into the family, even Gu Tingyu, the eldest son left behind by the Qin family, was treated as her own son. Later, she discovered the truth about Gu Yankai marrying her. She was so caught up in the situation that she went into labor and lost her unborn child.

It is evident that he is gentle in nature and simple in character.

The eldest brother has now completely given up on the path of the imperial examinations and only wants to go into business.

The Bai family's businesses are just what he needs to fully utilize his talents.

Besides, judging from his appearance today, he clearly has a genuine liking for that Miss Bai.

If that's the case, then granting your wish is not out of the question.

As for Gu Tingye...

Langhua paused slightly at the tip of her finger.

According to Wang Ruofu's memory, Gu Tingye was indeed very ambitious and had a lot of flaws. He was a reckless person when he was young, and he was used to doing anything to achieve his goals when he grew up.

But one has to admit that he is indeed intelligent and promising.

If that child is to come again in this life, whether he ends up with the surname Wang or Bai, as long as he is properly raised, he will be able to carry on the family line.

Moreover, his temperament, in the final analysis, is not necessarily entirely innate; about 70% of it is due to the deliberate over-praising and undermining by his stepmother, Lady Qin.

Now that Yanwan has found his own home, there will be no more Xiao Qinshi, no more stepmothers for him, and no one will deliberately corrupt him anymore.

If she gets her older brother to put in more effort, he should be able to change his mind.

If things can't be changed back, she'll just stop him from benefiting from it.

Since we're all surnamed Bai, let's go to Yangzhou to do business.

Just then, Ah Chang suddenly smiled and reminded her, "Miss, don't forget to reply."

The tone was slightly ambiguous, yet also slightly teasing.

Langhua was taken aback, then realized what was happening.

Today, she was so focused on her older brother returning home and the family eating and talking happily that she forgot to even read the letter Zhao Zhen had given her.

She gave Ah Chang a reproachful look: "Have you finished all the work? If you're done, hurry up and go rest. Stop bothering me here."

Ah Chang and Yu Die exchanged a glance, smiled, and withdrew.

Langhua then walked to the desk, where a letter was indeed quietly placed.

She picked up the letter with a smile and opened it.

But after reading the first page, the smile on his lips slowly froze.

After reading the whole thing, she couldn't help but sigh softly.

"They still came."

The letter contained nothing other than a follow-up to the previous earthquake in the suburbs of Beijing.

At the time, she organized the female relatives of nobles to donate clothes and supplies, and resettled many elderly, weak, women and children. It seemed like a grand gesture, but in reality, she only saved the elderly and weak from one or two villages. Most people, especially the young and strong, still had to rely on the imperial court for resettlement.

At that time, Zhao Zhen's first thought was to follow her example, to have able-bodied men participate in work-for-relief programs, and to place the elderly, women, and children in orphanages, where the court would allocate funds to care for them.

This was originally a good policy.

Unfortunately, the incident led to the exposure of a corrupt official.

That corrupt official was still dealing with old, long-standing issues.

The imperial court investigated thoroughly and discovered that many noble families had been borrowing money from the national treasury since the founding of the dynasty.

And to this day, they have never repaid a single penny.