The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

Her sudden sharp voice startled Sheng Hong.

However, assuming she hadn't understood at first, he explained softly, "My lady, my assignment has been decided; I'm being sent to Dengzhou."

Wang Ruoyu blurted out, "Why not Xuzhou?"

Upon hearing this, not only was Sheng Hong taken aback, but even Madam Xu looked up at her.

After asking the question, Wang Ruoyu seemed to suddenly understand something, and her face turned very ugly.

Why not Xuzhou?

In their past lives, she and Wang Ruofu married one after the other; one married Kang Haifeng, and the other married Sheng Hong. They were both Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) in the same year, but in terms of ranking, Kang Haifeng was even slightly lower than Sheng Hong.

However, when he was assigned to a post outside the capital, his mother secretly pulled some strings and arranged for Kang Haifeng to be sent to Xuzhou, which was closer to Bianjing and more prosperous, without his father's knowledge.

Sheng Hong then took Wang Ruofu to Dengzhou.

At that time, she felt it was only natural. She was her mother's most beloved daughter, while Wang Ruofu was just a country girl brought back from Sichuan. How could she compare to her?

In this life, she married Sheng Hong, while Kang Haifeng didn't even pass the imperial examination.

Why was Sheng Hong still sent to Dengzhou?

Wang Ruoyu's heart sank suddenly.

Dengzhou, that's the closest place to the sea, far and remote, bitterly cold and impoverished. How could its food, clothing, and daily necessities compare to Bianjing?

She still remembers that in her previous life, after Wang Ruofu married Sheng Hong, she foolishly followed him to Dengzhou, where she gave birth to her and Sheng Hong's eldest daughter. To the outside world, they pretended to be a harmonious couple living a peaceful life, but when they returned to Bianjing later, they were incredibly shabby.

All the refined manners she had cultivated before her marriage were gone. Her behavior upon returning was even more vulgar than when she first came back to the Wang family.

That's absolutely embarrassing.

She absolutely must not become like that!

"My wife?"

Seeing that her face suddenly turned pale, Sheng Hong couldn't help but call out softly.

Wang Ruoyu suddenly came to her senses, but she couldn't say this in front of Sheng Hong and the old woman because her family was unwilling to help. So she forced a smile and said, "I... I just didn't remember for a moment, I misremembered."

Madam Xu remained indifferent, as if she hadn't noticed the strangeness in her words, nor did she press further about the origin of the name "Xuzhou".

She simply placed the teacup back on the table and said, "Alright, it's nothing, you can go back now. You don't need to come and have dinner with me tonight, and you can skip the formalities of morning and evening greetings. Our Sheng family is simple and doesn't have many rules. You're newly married, just take care of yourselves."

Sheng Hong frowned slightly.

My mother's words were so tolerant and generous, even considerate. I doubt you could find another mother-in-law in the entire capital of Bianjing who was more tolerant and kind than her.

However, he sensed that there seemed to be another layer of meaning in his mother's words.

It's as if we're drawing a line between ourselves and them, with everyone shutting themselves off and living their own lives, with less involvement and interference between us.

"Mother……"

Wang Ruoyu, however, did not notice any of this.

She immediately smiled and replied, "Thank you for your understanding, Mother. Everyone outside says that Mother is kind and benevolent, and it's true."

Marrying into the Sheng family was definitely the right decision.

You see, in her past life, when she married into the Kang family, that old hag gave her a hard time on the very first day. After serving tea and returning home, she had to face a room full of seductive women flirting with her, which almost drove her crazy.

Unlike the Sheng family.

Knowing that she was not Sheng Hong's biological mother, Xu did not dare to use her status as a mother-in-law to pressure her.

If there really is no need to set rules, then she will be very relaxed in the future.

Wang Ruoyu became more and more satisfied as she thought about it, and the smile on her face became more genuine.

Although Sheng Hong still felt that something was wrong, Wang Ruoyu had already stood up and bowed with a smile, so he couldn't say anything more and could only take his leave.

The two left Xu's courtyard together.

Once their figures had completely disappeared under the eaves, the room fell silent again.

Xu stared at the empty doorway, remaining silent for a long time before finally letting out a slow sigh of relief.

Standing to the side, Mrs. Fang called out softly, "Girl..."

Madam Xu lowered her eyes and said calmly, "From now on, they don't need to report to me about everything in their courtyard. As long as they don't cause any major trouble, let them do as they please."

Mrs. Fang immediately responded happily.

As long as the girl can come to her senses and cut her losses in time, that's better than anything else!

Over the years, it's common knowledge that their daughter has gone through countless hardships to raise that ungrateful brat to adulthood. Even if things stop here, if he ever becomes successful in the future, he will still have to respect their daughter as his legal mother.

If he dares to openly disobey his parents, there are plenty of ways to deal with him.

But if he causes trouble in the future, keeping a distance now will protect yourself.

That would be perfect!

Meanwhile, Sheng Hong and Wang Ruo returned to their own courtyard.

As soon as he entered the room, Sheng Hong couldn't help but say, "Mother is acting a little strange today."

Wang Ruoyu's heart skipped a beat, but she pretended to be puzzled: "What's wrong? My mother seems quite healthy, and she speaks very kindly. She seems much easier to get along with than the average mother-in-law."

Sheng Hong shook his head: "It's not the body."

He thought for a moment, then said, "I have a feeling that what my mother said just now was as if she didn't want us to bother her anymore."

Wang Ruoyu disagreed.

It's best not to disturb them.

Who would want to serve an old woman meals and greetings every day?

Besides, Xu Shi isn't even Sheng Hong's biological mother, so why is she putting on airs like a mother-in-law?

But of course, these words could not be said aloud.

She simply said softly, "Perhaps Mother is considerate of our new marriage, and knowing that you will be going to Dengzhou soon, she was afraid we would be too busy, so she specially waived these formalities. Why should you think so much about it, my lord?"

Sheng Hong was still somewhat hesitant: "No matter what, I'll still go to my mother's courtyard tonight and have dinner with her."

Wang Ruo's expression nearly cracked.

Let her serve that old slut?

Don't even think about it.

A thought flashed through her mind, and she immediately stepped forward, gently tugging at Sheng Hong's waist belt, looking up at him with her eyes brimming with affection.

"My lord, since Mother has given such instructions, if we still insist on going, wouldn't we be going against her good intentions?"

Her voice softened.

"not to mention……"

Sheng Hong looked down at her.

Wang Ruo twirled her fingers around his sash, smiling shyly, "My lord, wouldn't you like to spend a little more time with me?"

Sheng Hong's breath hitched slightly.

The enchanting atmosphere of last night, with its red candles and soft curtains, has not yet faded.

Now that his new wife was pleading with him so sweetly and was so charming and beautiful, he had no idea that anything was wrong.

"My wife..."

He called out softly and then pulled the person into his arms.

Wang Ruo leaned against his chest, a smug smile playing on her lips.

man.

In the end, it's nothing special.

The two of them actually spent the whole day shamelessly cuddling together in the house.

The door was tightly shut in broad daylight, and although the maids and servants who came and went dared not say anything openly, they couldn't help but secretly smile.

When the news reached Madam Xu, Madam Fang hesitated, fearing that her daughter would be upset.

To everyone's surprise, after listening, Madam Xu simply said, "From now on, they don't need to report back to me about matters in their courtyard."

Mrs. Fang quickly replied, "Yes."

On the day of the third-day return visit, the Sheng family courtyard was bustling with activity early in the morning.

Wang Ruo and He Shenghong also got up very early.

Upon exiting the courtyard, the first thing Wang Ruoyu saw was a cart full of return gifts parked in the courtyard.

The trunks and baskets were neatly arranged, and the etiquette was impeccable.

However, Xu was nowhere to be found.

When asked, the maidservant simply lowered her head and replied meekly, "The mistress is worshipping Buddha in the Buddhist hall."

Upon hearing this, Sheng Hong felt a strange unease.

He already felt a little guilty that his mother hadn't let them pay their respects yesterday, and now that his mother wasn't showing up on such an important day as their homecoming, he felt something was off.

He was about to say something when Wang Ruoyu grabbed his sleeve and said with a smile, "My lord, it's getting late. Don't keep Father and Mother waiting."

Her urging forced Sheng Hong to swallow his words.

That's it.

After returning home, it would be the same to go to your mother's courtyard and apologize.

Over the years, although she had been a bit strict with me, her kindness in raising me was genuine, and I couldn't let her down.

The carriage arrived at the Wang family's residence.

After getting off the bus, as is customary, we greeted each other and exchanged pleasantries.

The father's expression was indifferent, and the mother didn't say much either. They were impeccably polite and there was nothing wrong with them, but they also didn't seem very warm towards each other.

As was customary, the father would take his new son-in-law to the study for a little test, and also give him some advice on how to conduct himself as an official when he first entered the bureaucracy.

Unexpectedly, Wang Ruoyu also lifted her skirt and followed her.

Wang's father paused, turned to look at her, and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Wang Ruoyu said matter-of-factly, "If I have something to say, I want to talk to my father."

In the study, Wang Ruoyu spoke first, before Sheng Hong could even stand up properly after Wang's father had just sat down: "Father, Dengzhou is too far away. Please find a place closer for my husband. Xuzhou would be fine."

The father's eyes turned colder, but he didn't react. He simply looked at Sheng Hong and asked calmly, "Is this your idea, or hers?"

Sheng Hong broke out in a cold sweat and hurriedly cupped his hands, saying, "Father-in-law, you are wise. Ruoyu was only concerned for his son-in-law and that's why he lost his temper."

"So she acted on her own initiative, and you were unaware of it?"

"Yes."

Wang's father chuckled softly, and Sheng Hong felt a tremor in his heart. He then heard Wang's father mutter to himself, "Indeed. How could a woman confined to the inner quarters know about matters of the court? The appointment was made by the Ministry of Personnel; it was the court that gave you this assignment, which is the Emperor's trust in you. If you think that this can be changed because of personal feelings, then I think you might as well not wear this official hat."