The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

As soon as her wedding to Zhao Zhen ended, the Wang family immediately sent a matchmaker to the Bai family to propose marriage and discuss setting a date for the engagement. Old Master Bai, however, was very sensible and said with a smile that he would soon be settling down in Bianjing, and that he had almost bought a house. He said that the engagement and betrothal procedures would all be done in the capital, and since the two families lived close by, it would be much more convenient.

He only has one daughter, and he can't bear to live too far away from her.

Thinking of this, Langhua couldn't help but chuckle and curse inwardly.

Old fox.

Why can't you bear to part with your daughter and want to be closer to her?

He clearly saw that the title of nobility for Wang Rucheng and Zhou Wanru was finalized the day before the wedding.

Originally just a commoner, the second branch of the Wang family has now become a legitimate Duke's mansion, and is also the maternal family of the current Empress.

How could Old Master Bai not be happy?

But with his status changing so drastically, the Bai family had become a completely upwardly mobile family, and he could no longer afford to be arrogant or haughty. Otherwise, it wouldn't be a marriage alliance, but rather an enmity, and could even be considered disrespectful to imperial authority.

In short, it is highly unlikely that Zhou Wanru and Wang Rucheng will be able to personally travel thousands of miles to Yangzhou to propose marriage.

Even Wang Jiaken had to worry about whether his Empress would be unhappy.

After all, the two elders are old and have their current status.

But if the Wang family didn't come in person in the end, he felt it would be unfair to his daughter, and it wouldn't sound good to outsiders. He also worried that he wouldn't have enough confidence when Bai Qing married into the family in the future.

So after thinking it over, moving to Bianjing (Kaifeng) is still the most cost-effective option.

Firstly, the two families live close by, and given the Wang family's previous attitude of being kind and generous, since they live in the same city, they can't just not visit in person anymore.

Secondly, the Bai family is wealthy and has long wanted to move away from Yangzhou.

However, his registered residence was difficult to change. Even if he left Yangzhou, he would still just be a merchant. Even if he had the money, it wouldn't be easy for him to buy a large house in Bianjing.

Now things are all set up; he's getting his daughter married. Preparing for her wedding and her dowry is only natural. And since she's marrying into the Duke's mansion, with this connection, buying a house is a simple matter.

It achieves both substance and appearance, and also gains multiple benefits at once.

As expected of a legendary tycoon, he really knows how to calculate.

Langhua thought, since he knows so clearly what to choose and what to discard, why not give him another stroke of good fortune?

-

When Wang Shinian received his sister's letter, he first unfolded it casually, but after reading only a few lines, his expression gradually became serious.

After reading it, he didn't dare to delay. He immediately wrote another letter, embellishing Langhua's meaning in his own words, and sealed it tightly.

Then he summoned his trusted confidants and instructed them to use the merchant alliance's connections to deliver the letter to Old Master Bai as quickly as possible.

The special channels of the business alliance are naturally much faster than ordinary postal services.

Five days later, Master Bai received the letter.

When he opened it, his expression was as casual as Wang Shinian's at first.

But as I watched, that initial indifference vanished without a trace.

His eyes widened in disbelief as he watched it again from beginning to end.

Finally, he suddenly burst into a hearty laugh.

"Good, good! Heaven has not forsaken me; destiny has smiled upon me!"

His cheerful demeanor surprised Bai Qing, who was helping with the accounts in the inner room, who looked up in astonishment.

Her father was always very composed and mature, never showing his emotions. The last time he was this happy was when the old man from the Bai family who had led the bullying of her grandmother and father died.

Before that, I heard that the Gu family had been stripped of their title.

Thinking of Gu Yankai, who once arrogantly visited people's homes, now reduced to living off his wife's dowry, Bai Qing felt a pang of sadness.

Oh no.

Not even his wife.

I heard that in order to keep their title, the Gu family had no choice but to comply with their own coercion and divorce their first wife, who had just given birth to their legitimate son, and instead come to propose marriage to her.

As a result, it was all for naught.

I don't know how those two people have the nerve to face each other every day now.

Don't you find it disgusting?

As Bai Qing pondered this, she remembered that her father had ordered people to keep an eye on the Gu family's movements, saying he wanted to see the latest jokes. She couldn't help but ask, "What's making Father so happy? Has the Gu family made another fool of themselves?"

Old Master Bai shook his head, but his smile remained unchanged.

"Good thing."

He carefully put the letter away, a glint of shrewdness in his eyes.

"Great news. Just being a family man isn't enough to make me this happy."

Bai Qing became even more curious: "What is that?"

Master Bai looked at his daughter and suddenly smiled even more deeply: "If this matter can be accomplished, my daughter may be able to transform herself into a county princess."

Bai Qing looked surprised.

-

The next morning, a caravan under the Bai family's name, which was originally heading north to transport goods, suddenly abandoned the more secure official road and instead headed towards the Linhuang area of ​​Chanzhou.

This area is close to the old dike of the Yellow River.

Among the caravan was an old steward who had worked with the river workers in his younger days.

He walked along the embankment for two days.

On the third day, he wrote a reply to Old Master Bai overnight.

Upon receiving the letter, Old Master Bai rushed to the county government office overnight.

The magistrate was terrified upon hearing this. After confirming it several times, he immediately wrote an urgent report and sent it to his superiors.

But Old Master Bai was still worried. Reporting to the government at each level was too slow, and he didn't know who would ultimately receive the credit.

Fortunately, his current connections are no longer solely those of a salt merchant.

He immediately wrote a letter to his future son-in-law, Wang Shinian, and sent it to Bianjing as quickly as possible.

After receiving the news, Wang Shinian went to his uncle's house without stopping.

These days, Wang's father has lost a lot of weight, and his temples are covered with white hair. When Wang Shinian saw this, he was first stunned, then felt a little sorry for him, and his hands became a little hesitant.

But the father mocked him, saying, "A real man should speak his mind. This stammering is infuriating. Speak up!"

Only then did Wang Shinian deliver the letter.

At first, the father didn't think much of it, but when he saw the words written on it: "The old Wusha dike is solid on the outside but hollow on the inside, and there is a risk of it breaching," he suddenly stood up.

"Is this true? Do you know the consequences of lying?"

His tone was low, but his short sentence sent a jolt through Wang Shinian: "Uncle, no matter how absurd I may be, I would never dare to joke about this!"

The king's father's face was solemn: "Then I must go to see the emperor immediately."