The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

When Zhao Zhen learned the news, his father had already been waiting outside for a while.

He took the letter, read only a few lines, and his expression darkened.

The Yellow River floods are never a trivial matter. If the dikes are truly solid on the outside but hollow on the inside, they can barely hold up now, but once there is enough rain in August and the river swells, the dikes could be breached in an instant.

When the floodwaters come down, countless farmlands and houses will be submerged, and countless people along the riverbanks will die or be injured.

Without the slightest hesitation, Zhao Zhen immediately said, "Summon all the ministers to Yichun Garden for a meeting."

Zhang Maoze immediately accepted the order and left.

Wang's father said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, although this matter was reported by the Bai family's merchant caravan, it must be investigated. However, time is of the essence. If we send someone to investigate and then return, it will take a long time and may cause problems."

Zhao Zhen said, "I understand."

Human life is at stake; every second of delay could mean the death of another.

The senior officials arrived quickly. They were summoned late at night, and everyone knew that something big must have happened. After seeing the contents of the letter, they said, "As expected," and their expressions changed.

But no one asked whether the news was true or false.

Because they all knew in their hearts that this was no ordinary matter. If that salt merchant surnamed Bai dared to falsely report the dangers of the Yellow River and disrupt the imperial court's plans, even ten heads combined wouldn't be enough to pay for his execution.

Moreover, it's already the 15th of July, and the weather is already unbearably hot and humid, with the possibility of heavy rain at any time.

What if it's true?

Who would dare gamble with the lives of hundreds of thousands of people?

As a result, the lights in the hall burned all night long.

The group discussed countermeasures overnight.

The river works team must immediately send people to repair and reinforce the dikes, but at the same time, they must not simply gamble on whether the dikes can be held.

The people must relocate as soon as possible.

Women, children, and the elderly went first, while able-bodied men stayed behind to help transport grain and reinforce the dike.

Grain in the fields should be seized if possible; otherwise, it must be left uneaten.

Many details were finalized by everyone, and by the time a general outline was agreed upon, the sky was already beginning to lighten.

Langhua woke up groggily, reached out and touched her side, the blankets were ice cold, and she knew that Zhao Zhen had not returned at all.

She regained consciousness, looked at the sky outside, sat up, and called for someone.

"How is things on the government's side?"

The palace maid on night watch whispered, "Your Majesty, they are still discussing matters."

After a moment of silence, Langhua got out of bed and said, "Go tell the kitchen to prepare some easy-to-eat food, and also make a few bowls of nourishing soup, but keep it light."

"Yes."

Before long, the food was ready and packed into individual food boxes.

Zhang Maoze was standing outside the hall, yawning.

As soon as I heard a chorus of "Your subject obeys" from inside the hall, I knew that the matter had been discussed to a great extent. Just as I was about to go in to serve, I looked up and saw that Langhua had arrived with her entourage.

Zhang Maoze quickly bowed and said, "Your Majesty."

As soon as he finished speaking, the palace doors opened, and several ministers filed out.

When everyone saw Langhua, they were taken aback at first, but quickly straightened up and greeted her: "Your Majesty the Empress."

Langhua said gently, "There's no need for such formalities, everyone."

Looking at the faces of everyone, who could not hide their exhaustion after a sleepless night, she said softly, "I know that you all have important matters to attend to, matters of great importance that cannot be delayed. There is not much I can do, except to prepare some food and nourishing soup, please accept them."

As she spoke, she gestured to the palace servants behind her to present the food boxes one by one.

"State affairs are important, but you are all pillars of our Great Song Dynasty, and your health is equally important. Make sure to eat three meals a day on time, and don't read official documents in the carriage anymore. Taking a short rest is also good."

Everyone was initially surprised, but then felt a warmth in their hearts.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your benevolence."

Standing at the very back, Wang's father was moved upon hearing these words. He looked up and met Langhua's gaze.

For a moment, his eyes felt hot.

Because he understood that this was not merely the empress's advice to the court officials.

It was also his third aunt's earnest advice to him.

As the group left Yichun Garden and were about to board their carriages, they noticed that each carriage had an extra person standing beside it. Upon inquiry, they learned that these were the imperial physicians assigned to them by the Empress.

One for each person, accompanying and caring for them, helping them to recover.

Grand Chancellor Yu couldn't help but look at the King's father, half with admiration and half with seriousness, and said, "Brother King, you have raised a fine daughter. Moreover, you have raised an exceptionally virtuous empress for our Great Song Dynasty."

Mr. Wang was overjoyed. The slight depression he had felt these past few days due to his wife's quarrels with him vanished without a trace.

He laughed loudly, "Master Yu, you flatter me. My third sister didn't grow up under my care; it was all thanks to my second brother and sister-in-law's excellent upbringing."

Everyone glanced at him, inwardly laughing and cursing:

Old fox!

Even in situations like this, nothing can be overlooked.

Despite their inner grumbling, everyone understood that this matter was brought by a relative of the Wang family through marriage, and Wang You reported it immediately. Now, the tasks of inspecting the river works, relocating the people, and repairing dangerous sections had fallen to him.

If this matter is handled well, by the end of the year at the latest, this person will be able to formally enter the Council of State Affairs, sit on equal footing with them, and be ranked among the prime ministers.

But the people did not resist it.

Wang You, like them, was a legitimate Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) from a humble background. His rise to prominence is due to his solid political achievements and his reputation for integrity.

So what if my daughter becomes empress?

However, he was clever enough to give the child to his younger brother early on, clearly showing that he was unwilling to benefit from the influence of his maternal relatives.

Such integrity—if it were up to them, they might not have been able to give it up.

Plus……

The group glanced down at the food box carried by the attendant, then at the imperial physician standing by the carriage, and their last bit of resistance vanished completely.

Such a virtuous empress was not merely Wang You's second wife's niece according to etiquette.

So what if she is a legitimate daughter?

This path to success is his destiny.

-

The matter was of great importance, so after returning home, the father hurriedly packed only a few clothes and immediately prepared to leave.

If it weren't for the imperial physician accompanying him, who insisted that he finish the food and tonic soup sent by the Empress, he probably wouldn't have even bothered to eat.

The Queen Mother still has not shown herself.

Ever since she arranged a marriage for Wang Shiping, and then Wang's father insisted on having his daughter-in-law accompany his son to his new post, which once again humiliated her, she had been feeling quite unhappy.

Afterwards, she witnessed Langhua being crowned empress, the second branch of the family receiving the title of duke, and Zhou Wanru becoming a proper duke's wife, her rank surpassing hers by several levels. In the future, when they met again, she would have to pay her respects to Zhou Wanru. Thinking of this, she felt even more bitter and resentful towards her husband who had arranged for Langhua to be adopted by the second branch of the family.

After returning home, she simply locked herself in her room, ignoring all household matters and refusing to speak to anyone.

Wang's father stood outside the door for a while, and seeing that she still did not respond, he couldn't help but sigh softly.

He called over Madam Shao and instructed her, "Take good care of Madam. Keep a close eye on everything, big and small, at home. If you're unsure, ask Shih-ping's wife."

Mrs. Shao readily agreed.

Only then did Wang's father turn around and leave.

Upon arriving in Qingfeng, Chanzhou, he personally led the Ministry of Works to inspect the river embankment.

The situation was indeed as the Bai family steward had described, even more dangerous than described in the letter.

Wang You immediately ordered the relocation of women, children, and the elderly, and posted notices to recruit able-bodied men, distributing wages and commencing reinforcement work immediately.

The funds and grain allocated by the imperial court were delivered one after another, and the river works were carried out in full swing.

The Bai family's presence was felt everywhere during this disaster relief effort.

They contributed money, effort, and manpower.

Old Master Bai personally directed the Bai family's merchant caravan to raise money to buy grain, contact merchants from both the north and south, and procure materials, grain, and medicine for the imperial court, and then transport them over.

Wherever there was a shortage, the Bai family's caravan would deliver the goods.

Wherever disaster victims were being relocated, the Bai family would send people to assist in settling women, children, and the elderly.

Where there was a shortage of manpower, the Bai family caravan members would simply take off their brocade robes and put on shorts, becoming the most hardworking and enduring long-term laborers.