The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

The room remained quiet for a long time.

Mother Fang didn't dare to persuade her anymore, and just stood quietly to the side, even her breathing became softer.

After a long while, Xu Shi said softly, "Let's take another look."

In the past, she always made decisions based on her likes and dislikes. From the moment she saw the handsome and talented scholar in the parade, she fell in love at first sight and was determined to marry him.

After that person died, she defied public opinion and stayed in the Sheng family to raise Sheng Hong.

Each and every case has been handled in this way.

The outcome was obvious: she lost miserably and made a complete mess of things.

Now, that time has come again.

She could never bring herself to like Shuang Jie'er.

Perhaps because of his military background, he was used to being bold and outspoken, and he could never stand such a frail and spineless person who always had to read other people's faces before speaking or acting.

Or perhaps, while Shuang Jie'er is indeed pitiful and intelligent, every time she looks at her, she always thinks of Sheng Hong from back then.

She lost her support at such a young age, and looked at everyone with fear in her eyes. People always carefully watched her likes and dislikes, afraid that they might offend her and lose their way to survival.

She admitted that one reason she stayed with the Sheng family to raise him was partly to try and turn things around and let people know that she wasn't completely wrong, but the other half was genuine pity.

Now, if she were to place another bet, she would want to think it over carefully.

Learn to be calmer, learn to be more ruthless, set aside simple likes and dislikes, and only weigh the pros and cons.

She was already quite old, half-buried in the earth, and this was very likely the last major decision she would ever make in her life.

If I make the same mistake again, I might as well hang myself, so that I won't end up laughing at myself.

Outside, Lin Qinshuang, who was holding a calming tea, quickly turned and left.

She dared not make a sound, but her steps were incredibly fast.

Once back in his own courtyard and with the doors and windows closed, he seemed to finally be able to catch his breath, and stood leaning against the door for a long while.

In the small room where no lights were on, it was so dark that you could only hear your own heartbeat.

Each beat was rapid and heavy.

But Lin Qinshuang knew that her eyes must be frighteningly bright at that moment.

She never imagined that she would have such good fortune.

Back then, her home was ransacked, her father was sentenced to exile, and all her and her mother's jewelry was taken away, not even a pair of earrings were left. They were kicked out of the house penniless.

She still remembers that the wind was very cold that day.

Her mother held her hand and walked along the street until they finally found the door of the woman her mother used to be friends with.

After knocking on the door for a long time, no one answered. In the end, only two cold steamed buns were thrown out through the crack in the door.

It even fell on the ground and got covered in mud and dust.

She remembered the humiliation on her mother's face, but she also remembered her trembling hands as she picked up the two steamed buns, tucking one into her bosom and carefully brushing off the dirt from the other before breaking it in half and handing it to her.

Later, her mother took her to an orphanage outside the city, begged for a few meals, and then asked someone to write a letter to her maternal grandparents' home, hoping that her uncle could come and take her and her mother back.

But what they received was a letter severing ties with their family.

Her maternal grandparents, who used to hold her and call her Shuang'er with a kind smile, now avoid her and her mother like the plague after her father was convicted, his property confiscated, and he was exiled. They are afraid of getting tainted by bad luck or misfortune.

It was around that time that news came that my father, unable to bear the suffering of exile, had committed suicide on the way.

She looked at her mother, and the last glimmer of light in her eyes went out.

Later, having no other choice, the mother, relying on her still-pretty face, gave herself to a wealthy businessman.

The wealthy merchant, over fifty years old and with a muscular build, held his mother close while staring intently at the still-young girl with his cloudy, gleaming eyes.

Even today, Lin Qinshuang still feels nauseous when she recalls that look in her eyes.

The mother noticed it too.

But she dared not reveal it, because it was her last chance to survive.

But ultimately, her mother wanted the best for her.

So later, under the cover of night, he secretly took her out and sent her to the Sheng family's door.

She said that many years ago, she had met this eldest daughter-in-law of the Sheng family once and even helped her. Although they were not close, she remembered that she was a person who was tough on the outside but soft on the inside. As long as she was willing to show weakness and cry while clinging to her clothes, she would always be given a way out.

At that time, her mother's plan for her was that she could be a slave or a maid.

It's good enough to be able to live a peaceful and prosperous life.

After arriving at the Sheng family, Madam Xu was indeed as her mother had said: she appeared stern on the outside, but was actually soft-hearted.

Following her mother's instructions, Lin Qinshuang exaggerated the suffering after the house was ransacked, crying so hard she almost fainted, and begged Xu to take her in.

After a long silence, Madam Xu finally decided to keep her.

Because her household registration did not fall into the category of lowly status along with her father's, and she was also the daughter of an official, Xu Shi did not actually make her a slave or maid.

Over the years, Lin Qinshuang served him carefully and tried to please him in every way, finally earning the servants' respect by calling him "Miss."

She lives like the girl in this family.

But she was never really a girl.

So when she reached marriageable age, Madam Xu wanted to find her a husband, but all she planned was to give her a decent dowry and then choose a poor scholar to marry her off.

But she didn't want to leave the Sheng family.

The longer she stayed in the Sheng family, the less she wanted to leave.

The Sheng family wasn't exactly a prominent clan, and Sheng Hong was merely a county magistrate, but Madam Xu was the legitimate daughter of a noble family. The food and household items in her courtyard, the grandeur she displayed—many things were things Lin Qinshuang had never seen before when she lived at home.

From Madam Xu, she saw what a true noblewoman from a high-class family was like.

Moreover, although this lady appears aloof and is unwilling to suffer losses, she also never owes anyone anything.

Lin Qinshuang tried her best to please Xu Shi, and although Xu Shi's reaction was indifferent on the surface, she would send clothes, jewelry, and food of equal value afterward.

She admitted that she longed for such a life of luxury.

She didn't want to marry a poor scholar and live a life of abject poverty, nor did she want to return to a life where she had nothing, was looked down upon by everyone, could be discarded at any moment, and lived a precarious existence.

She has been trying to find a way to stay.

Even when she first met Sheng Hong today, she had a thought she shouldn't have had.

Although that thought was fiercely extinguished when he met Wang Ruo's crude and fierce gaze.

Even so, she still wanted to stay here.

People strive for better things. If her family hadn't fallen on hard times and her parents were still alive, she wouldn't be afraid to marry a poor scholar. After all, she would still have her family's support, and she could make a living.

If she hadn't witnessed true wealth and luxury in the Sheng family mansion and by Madam Xu's side, she wouldn't have been afraid to experience the life of a commoner who had to get up before dawn to prepare food and clothing for the family, and then work in the fields to tend to the crops, never having a moment's rest until dark.

But compared to the fierce-looking Wang Ruoyu, she was more afraid of leaving the Sheng family and this wealthy place.

Besides, she told herself that women in the inner quarters ultimately have to live at the mercy of men.

No matter how difficult Wang is, as long as the man's heart is with her, what is there to be afraid of?

It's just a game of Douya.

Furthermore, the fact that this couple reacted differently to each other's beauty upon meeting—one with amazement and the other with wariness—shows that their marital bond was already quite thin.

Someone like Wang Ruoyu, whose emotions are written all over his face and who can't even maintain appearances, is probably a fool.

If she really resorts to underhanded tactics, the outcome is still uncertain.

She was just about to go back to her room to think things through carefully and make a long-term plan.

But unexpectedly...

Wang Ruo and that fool are really too stupid, actually stirring up trouble between Madam Xu and Sheng Hong, the mother and son.

It even got to the point where Madam Xu was considering giving up on Shenghong!

No, this wasn't her biological son either.

Lin Qinshuang felt that this was the reasonable approach.

How much genuine love can you have for someone who's been born through your belly? Not to mention, what if they're an ungrateful child.

No matter how wealthy Madam Xu's family was, she wouldn't be foolish enough to continue filling this bottomless pit.

Even more unexpectedly, Mrs. Fang boldly recommended her to replace Sheng Hong!

Lin Qinshuang's heart skipped a beat, and her breathing became heavier.