The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

The little princess was born beautifully.

Langhua was initially worried that her child would be born with a deficiency like in her previous life. She would wake up several times at night and ask someone to bring the child over so she could touch the child's little hands and face to make sure everything was alright before she could go back to sleep.

But Jingning didn't want her to worry. She could eat and sleep well, and her cries were loud. When she woke up, her bright black eyes darted around, full of energy.

Zhao Zhen wished he could stay by the cradle all day long. Every day, after finishing his official duties early, he would quickly take a bath, change his clothes, and come to see his daughter.

This day was no exception.

Jingning was awake, her little hands clenched into a ball, waving them haphazardly.

Zhao Zhen sat on the edge of the couch and gently touched her palm with one finger.

Jingning grabbed it immediately.

Her tiny hands were incredibly soft, yet surprisingly strong.

Zhao Zhen's eyebrows curved into a smile, and he lowered his voice to Langhua, saying, "Third Sister, look, she's caught me."

Langhua leaned back on the soft pillows, and seeing his expression, she couldn't help but laugh: "How old is she? What does she know about grabbing?"

"She understands," Zhao Zhen said earnestly. "She must recognize me."

Seeing that he was speaking so seriously, Langhua was too lazy to expose him. She just looked down at her baby daughter in the swaddling clothes, her eyes filled with tenderness.

Then he brought up another matter: "Has His Majesty chosen a name for our daughter yet?"

Zhao Zhen froze, his expression suddenly turning somewhat guilty.

"I haven't thought of anything yet. Let me think about it some more."

Langhua recalled what Zhang Maoze had said about the stacks of papers piled up on his desk, each one filled with auspicious characters, and couldn't help but chuckle: "If Your Majesty hasn't thought of anything, I do have an idea. Would Your Majesty like to hear it?"

Zhao Zhen's eyes lit up: "Third Sister, have you made up your mind? Tell me quickly."

Langhua gently tapped the child's rosy cheek with her finger: "How is Jingning?"

"Jingning," Zhao Zhen murmured the two words, "What does it mean?"

"Jade shines brightly, and tranquility brings peace." Langhua lowered her eyes and said softly, "May her life be as warm and gentle as jade, peaceful and joyful."

Zhao Zhen's heart softened.

"it is good."

He looked down at his daughter and said softly, "Our daughter will be named Jingning."

Perhaps hearing her own name, the little princess suddenly kicked her legs and made a small sound.

Zhao Zhen laughed even harder: "Our Jingning likes this name too."

Langhua smiled and said, "Yes, that's right."

After Jingning was born, Zhao Zhen was overjoyed and couldn't help but celebrate lavishly.

The emperor announced the news at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, held a banquet for all officials, and rewarded palace women with colorful silks. Members of the imperial family and noblewomen all received gifts, and the various armies in the capital also received gifts.

Even though the courtiers felt that this was just a princess, not a prince, none of them dared to spoil the mood at this moment.

After all, the Emperor had been childless for nearly ten years, and now he finally had his first child, born to the Empress, who was also healthy. It was a joyous occasion no matter how you looked at it.

Besides, as the saying goes, flowers bloom before fruit is borne. Since there is a first one, there will be a second and a third. Why be in such a hurry, and why choose this time to cause trouble for the officials?

Without any attempt to dissuade him, Zhao Zhen became increasingly willful, and Jingning's full-moon banquet was held in an extremely grand manner.

On the first day of the seventh lunar month, carriages and horses streamed through Yichun Garden, as members of the imperial family, noblewomen, and families of high-ranking officials came to offer their congratulations.

Langhua, dressed in the Empress's robes, sat at the head of the table, holding Jingning in her arms.

The little princess wore her newly made clothes, revealing only her exquisitely beautiful face. She wasn't afraid of people; when she woke up, she would open her dark eyes and look at people, occasionally waving her little hand, which drew praise from the ladies below.

Paying homage, offering congratulatory gifts, granting seats, and enjoying tea.

After completing the formalities, Langhua ordered the ladies of the court to be invited to the front for a banquet, while she carried Jingning and took Zhou Wanru back to the inner palace.

Bai Qing followed Zhou Wanru in.

This was the first time Langhua had met her. While Langhua was greeting her, he subtly sized her up.

Bai Qing was exceptionally beautiful, with gentle features yet no hint of timidity. She wore a light-colored dress, and the hairpins in her hair were elegant. Her posture was upright when she bowed.

He supported his mother naturally, and there was no deliberate attempt to please her in his eyes, only genuine affection.

When her mother spoke to her, she was much more at ease than before in front of strangers. She would even hold her hand and look at Jingning's little hand with a proud expression.

Langhua nodded inwardly.

She didn't care how much wealth the Bai family had.

Whether Bai Qing will be able to give birth to a son who is skilled in both literature and martial arts in the future is not something she cares much about.

As long as she remains firmly in the central palace, and the children are born and grow up safely, the future of her parents and brothers will naturally not be too bad.

What she truly cared about was whether her older brother got what he wanted and whether her mother would have a happy life from now on.

Now that things are looking up, Bai Qing is doing well, and that's enough.

Zhou Wanru held Jingning tightly, clearly smitten.

"Our Ning-jie has such beautiful eyes, just like yours."

She lowered her head and kissed Jingning's little hand again, her face full of affection. "Oh my, this little hand, it holds so well. It's sure to be a lucky one in the future."

Langhua found it amusing. In her mother's eyes, this little girl was perfect from head to toe; she was like a fairy descended from heaven.

But she didn't interrupt. Her loving mother, holding her beloved daughter, was a heartwarming sight no matter how you looked at it.

After a long while, Zhou Wanru finally got tired of praising Langhua and remembered the important matter. She suddenly looked at Langhua with a smile and said, "By the way, I have some good news to tell you today."

"What good news?"

Zhou Wanru glanced at Bai Qing, her smile widening even further: "Your sister-in-law is pregnant now too."

Langhua's eyes lit up.

"Really? How long has it been?"

Bai Qing lowered her head, her cheeks slightly flushed, and said softly, "It's only been a little over a month."

Langhua immediately smiled: "This is a good thing. Mother can finally be satisfied now."

Zhou Wanru was indeed very happy, but after a moment, as if she remembered something, her face fell: "How can that be satisfactory? Don't we still have a debt collector at home?"

Langhua was taken aback at first, then realized that her mother was referring to her second brother, Wang Shi'an, and couldn't help but smile: "Second brother still doesn't want to get married?"

"That's right!" Zhou Wanru was about to slap her thigh when she suddenly remembered Jingning in her arms. She quickly stopped herself and lowered her voice, "You have to talk to him for me. He used to use the excuse of needing to take the imperial examinations, saying that getting married too early would interfere with his studies, and I believed him. Now that he's passed and has an official position, I see all the other high-ranking students are married, like Shiping, and that troublemaker from the Sheng family. Your sister-in-law Zhou, and that troublemaker, are both pregnant now, and they'll be parents soon. But this brat is acting all high and mighty. I've introduced him to several women, but he won't accept any of them. He complains that one woman is too spoiled, or that another woman is too dull, insisting that they can't get along!"

Langhua found it amusing.

Wang Shi'an is only two years older than her, and he is just eighteen now. It doesn't really matter if her husband gets married a little later.

But you can't say that in front of Zhou Wanru.

She then followed up by asking, "Since these are all excuses, it means that the people Mother has found haven't truly caught his eye yet. Why don't you ask him what kind of person he's looking for, or why he's still unwilling to get married?"

"I asked."

Zhou Wanru answered very quickly, but after she finished, she suddenly fell silent.

Langhua immediately realized something was wrong, after all, her mother was always quick to speak and rarely hesitated like this.

She couldn't help but ask, "Could it be that my second brother... has some unspeakable secret?"

Zhou Wanru sighed deeply: "I must have owed them, father and sons, something in my past life."

She glanced at Jingning in her arms, still keeping her voice low, and said, "Taking advantage of his return to celebrate Jingning's arrival, I arranged another matchmaking event that day. But he ruined it again!"

Zhou Wanru gritted her teeth in anger: "So I took out the family law and gave him a choice: either he would give me a quick death, or I would give him a quick death. But who would have thought..."

She stopped there, as if she found it difficult to speak.

The more she acted this way, the more curious Langhua became, and she couldn't help but lean forward slightly: "What did I expect?"

Bai Qing seemed to know the inside story, and had already lowered her head, her lips tightly pursed.

Zhou Wanru hesitated for a moment, then abruptly handed the child to the wet nurse standing to the side. She then picked up a glass of warm water and gulped it down. After wiping her mouth, as if she had made up her mind, she said, "That brat said he learned from me that once a man gets married, he is under his wife's control."

"He's completely under my control, never letting me have a moment's peace. If I wanted him to be under the control of another girl after eighteen years of being under my control, it wouldn't be impossible. But it has to be something he does willingly."

"Otherwise, he's afraid that if he gets upset halfway through being controlled, he might do something that would offend the girl, and then I'd beat him to death."

The hall fell into a deathly silence for a moment.

Langhua turned her head away and covered her face with her hand.

Ah Chang couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.

Zhou Wanru glared at her immediately.

But this glare only made the others more unable to hold back.

Laughter erupted throughout the hall!

Yu Die covered her mouth and laughed, Bai Qing's shoulders trembled, and even Lang Hua couldn't help but laugh until tears streamed down her face.