The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

Inside the Kunning Palace, Langhua casually had Bai Qing escorted away. After washing off her makeup, she went to see Jingning again before going to bed.

The little guy had two playmates today, which was rare for him. He played wildly all day and insisted that he wasn't sleepy while washing up, but he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

She was sleeping soundly, her little face rosy, and she was still hugging her favorite clay figurine from the daytime.

Standing guard beside her was Zhang Bihua.

It was her turn to keep watch this ten days.

"Your Majesty."

Upon seeing Langhua enter, Zhang Bihua quickly stood up and bowed.

Langhua gestured for her to be quiet, walked to the bedside and tucked the blanket around Jingning before looking at her.

The young lady truly lived up to her reputation as Consort Zhang, the most favored concubine in history. She possessed a naturally beautiful face, and at only fifteen years old, she was already breathtakingly beautiful. At this moment, her eyes were clear and her mind simple; seeing Langhua looking over, she even showed a hint of joy at being valued.

Langhua's heart softened.

"Thanks a lot."

Zhang Bihua's eyes lit up immediately: "Your Majesty, you are too kind. This is what this servant should do."

As always, he was both frank and enthusiastic.

Langhua looked at her and couldn't help but smile knowingly.

"Go to sleep when the time comes tomorrow, and don't forget to have a calming tea before you sleep. You're still young, don't take advantage of your good health to stay up late."

Zhang Bihua quickly replied, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Langhua glanced at Jingning again before turning and returning to her bedchamber.

Zhao Zhen had been waiting inside for a long time.

He had changed his clothes and was holding Yuan Nian, who had just woken up and had been fed. The little guy was full and had his bright, dark eyes wide open, looking quite energetic.

As soon as Zhao Zhen saw Lang Hua enter, he came forward with the child in his arms.

"Third Sister is finally back."

Langhua took the child, looked at him, and smiled, "He woke up at just the right time today."

The couple played with their son for a while.

Yuan Nian was still very young, and soon he became sleepy again, letting out a small yawn. Lang Hua then had the wet nurse come in and take him away to settle him down.

The lights inside the hall were soft and gentle.

After the day's hustle and bustle subsided, the two, like an ordinary couple who had finally finished a long day, quietly leaned against each other and smiled at one another.

Langhua nestled gently in Zhao Zhen's arms, her voice tinged with amusement: "Is Your Majesty tired? It's a pity Your Majesty still has much to do."

Zhao Zhen looked down at her, his smile deepening.

He moved closer, whispering sweet nothings in her ear, his tone gentle and suggestive: "Though weary, if Third Sister has any request, Sixth Brother will surely grant it."

Langhua smiled gently and reached out to block his face as he leaned in.

"Then I'm afraid Your Majesty will be disappointed." She smiled, her tone tinged with regret, "What I have to say is important."

Zhao Zhen's chin landed directly on her collarbone.

Langhua almost burst out laughing at his sudden pressure, and quickly reached out to hug him.

Zhao Zhen said sullenly, "Speak."

If it were still that short-sighted Sheng Hong, this time he would not only demote him back to Dengzhou, but also reduce him by three ranks.

As if guessing what he was thinking, Langhua patted the back of his head reassuringly before whispering out what Bai Qing had just said.

"The Emperor knows that my sister-in-law is extremely cautious and would not speak without reason. If the person with Instructor Jia is indeed wearing a purple robe, then it is no small matter."

Zhao Zhen's expression gradually darkened.

Langhua continued, "I intend to send someone to investigate that small house. However, since this matter involves the previous dynasty, it would be inconvenient to use only the people from Kunning Palace. If His Majesty could lend us a couple of people, that would be best."

Zhao Zhen frowned for a moment, then said, "Tomorrow, I will transfer Zhang Maoze to you. You can use any of his men as you wish."

Langhua looked up at him.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Zhao Zhen looked down at her: "All done?"

Langhua suppressed a laugh: "Mm."

"Is this the only interesting thing today?"

"Anything else is trivial and doesn't necessarily need to be discussed tonight," Langhua said slowly. "But if Your Majesty wishes to hear it..."

"I won't listen, I won't listen." Zhao Zhen immediately interrupted her, pulling her towards the inner palace: "It's late, time to retire, time to retire!"

Langhua let him pull her along, her face beaming with smiles.

If there is any significant improvement in this life, it is that she has always been very good at maintaining the proper balance between being an empress and a wife.

-

Outside the Daxiangguo Temple, the queue in front of the soup kitchen was extremely long.

To celebrate the prince's one-month birthday, Emperor Zhao Zhen and Empress Langhua ordered a shed to be set up outside the temple to distribute porridge. Despite the freezing weather, the poor people in the city, upon hearing the news, began to line up before dawn.

One pot of hot porridge after another was simmering, steaming and filled with the aroma of rice, making it especially tempting in the cold wind.

At the end of the line, a thin young man dressed in light clothing was also waiting.

He looked to be no more than twenty years old, with very handsome features, but his face was pale and his lips were almost bloodless. His eyes were fixed on the soup kitchen in the distance, clearly showing how hungry he was, yet whenever women, children, or elderly people lined up behind him, he would step aside and let them go first.

They gave way once, and then gave way again.

So much so that after half a day, his position hadn't moved forward much.

Someone nearby couldn't stand it and laughed at him, saying, "Young Master Wei, if you keep giving way like this, you might not get any porridge today."

The young man smiled softly, his lips pursed: "How can I, a grown man, let women and children lag behind?"

The man shook his head: "You've really gone stupid from reading too much."

The young man did not argue.

He just glanced ahead again.

Amidst the rising steam, a young novice monk was ladling porridge spoonful by spoonful beside the porridge bucket. The aroma wafted into his nostrils, causing a sharp pain in his stomach and his vision to go black.

Just then, the mother and daughter he had let go of turned around and glanced at him.

The little girl, holding a bowl of porridge, looked up at him and smiled, "Big brother, come quickly!"

The young man wanted to laugh, but before the smile could form, he swayed.

The next moment, he fell straight down.

"ah!"

The first one to be discovered was the little girl.

She was so frightened she almost dropped her bowl of porridge. She quickly grabbed her mother's clothes and cried out, "Something terrible has happened! Big brother has fainted!"

The crowd was startled and quickly gathered around.

"What happened?"

"Are you starving?"

"Make way, stop crowding around him, let him get some fresh air!"

Someone recognized him and sighed, "This is Young Master Wei from Yangzhou, staying at the Xiangguo Temple. He's handsome, but it's a pity he's a fool."

"Why are you acting silly?"

"Didn't the orphanage distribute cotton-padded coats before the New Year? He took one, but he didn't wear it himself; he insisted on having someone take it back to his sister. It's so cold, and he's dressed like this. And today, he kept giving up his seat at the porridge distribution point to others. Tell me, what else could it be but someone who's gone crazy from studying too much?"

The other person, however, disagreed: "You can't say that. Can't it just be a kind heart?"

The man who spoke earlier scoffed, "Being kind-hearted doesn't stop him from being stupid."

Everyone started talking at once.

Just as things were in chaos, a small blue sedan chair stopped beside them.

The curtain was lifted, revealing the calm face of the housekeeper's mother.

"Let's go take a look."

The sedan bearers stepped forward and carefully turned the young man over, revealing an extremely handsome face.

Seeing this, and recalling what she had just heard, Mrs. Fang's heart stirred.

However, she showed no sign of it on her face, only letting out a sigh.

"This young man is kind-hearted, but also a pitiful one. Now that this old woman has encountered him, there's no reason for her to abandon him."

She looked at the sedan chair bearers and instructed, "Take them back first and have a doctor examine them."

The sedan chair bearers accepted the order.

Upon seeing this, the surrounding people all praised it.

"Mom has a kind heart."

Good people will be rewarded.

"This young master Wei is lucky; he's met a benefactor."