The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

One was the Empress's nephew, and the other was the Prince of Yan's heir. Both were young men whom no one in the capital dared to underestimate, and thus they quickly got the chance to perform.

The moment the drums sounded, the atmosphere on the field changed instantly.

The young men mounted their horses, dressed in fine clothes and riding spirited steeds, and galloped away with whips cracking.

Bai Ye spurred his horse and shot off like an arrow.

He was tall and slender, with agile movements. His club twirled in his hand like the wind, and he snatched the header almost in the blink of an eye.

Zhao Yu followed closely behind, his horse kicking up dust, his shoulders lowered, and he managed to intercept the ball from the side.

A cheer erupted from the sidelines.

In their back-and-forth exchanges, the two quickly became the most dazzling presence on the field.

In an instant, everyone's attention was drawn to them.

Minglan, who was playfully teasing Zhang Guifen, couldn't help but stop when she heard the cheers.

The two went up to the viewing platform together and quickly became engrossed in the experience.

Minglan recognized one of them at a glance.

"That is the heir apparent of the Prince of Yan."

Last time, when the Emperor held a celebration banquet for her grandfather, she accompanied her mother to the palace for the banquet. She had seen Zhao Yu from afar. At that time, he stood beside the Princess of Yan, behaving properly and radiantly, but he was far less sharp and outspoken than he was today.

The other person looked familiar, but she couldn't quite place him. She couldn't help but ask, "Who is the other one? When did such a remarkable figure emerge in the capital?"

Zhang Guifen glanced at her and immediately laughed: "You don't recognize me?"

Minglan looked at her with confusion, but a bad feeling welled up in her heart.

"You even used someone's name as an excuse before."

Seeing that Minglan really couldn't remember, Zhang Guifen stopped teasing and gave the answer: "That's Bai Ye, the one from the Wang family you mentioned who took your mother's surname. I heard he left the capital a few years ago to travel around with his maternal grandfather, and he should have just returned recently. You've been with your parents in the Northwest, so you probably haven't seen him."

Minglan nodded in satisfaction.

She watched the game for a while longer and couldn't help but say, "His skills are really good."

Zhang Guifen nodded: "Putting aside his fiery temper and domineering nature, just talking about polo and pitch-pot, he is indeed one of the best in Beijing."

Minglan turned her head curiously: "Is he bad-tempered?"

"It's not bad either."

Zhang Guifen thought about it carefully, trying to find the right words: "They're just too arrogant. They dare to mess with anyone and aren't afraid of anyone."

She glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention before lowering her voice and saying, "I heard from my mother that three years ago, he got into a fight with the princess and prince, almost resulting in a death. Although he wasn't ultimately punished, he was severely punished. He got a beating and was put in solitary confinement. It was only after his maternal grandfather intervened, donating half of his family fortune as compensation and swearing to heaven that he would change his temper that things calmed down."

Minglan clicked her tongue in amazement.

"That fierce?"

Zhang Guifen nodded.

Minglan couldn't help but ask, "Who did he hit?"

Zhang Guifen glanced around again, lowering her voice even further: "The son of another imperial brother-in-law, Li Wei of the Li family."

Minglan's eyes widened even more immediately.

-

On the field, the last ball landed perfectly.

Bai Ye won by a narrow margin.

Zhao Yu reined in his horse, his face so dark it was almost dripping with water.

He dismounted, gritting his teeth, and said, "Just a little bit more! Next time, I'll definitely beat you!"

Bai Ye dismounted, casually tossed his golf club to a servant, and dusted himself off: "Alright, I'll wait for you."

Zhao Yu paused, looking at Bai Ye with a face full of suspicion.

Bai Ye was puzzled by his gaze: "What's wrong?"

Zhao Yu circled around him once, then suddenly said seriously, "Something's wrong with you."

Bai Ye: "Have you lost it all?"

Zhao Yu pointed at him and said, "You're not Bai Ye."

Bai Ye looked at him expressionlessly.

"Where did you hide my brother? What kind of demons and monsters are you? Show your true forms at once!"

As she spoke, she reached out and grabbed Bai Ye's face.

Bai Ye shoved the person away: "What's wrong with you? What's gotten into you?"

Zhao Yu staggered, not annoyed at all, but even more terrified: "Look, look! You didn't kick me!"

Bai Ye's forehead twitched.

"In the past, if you won a game, you couldn't wait to announce to the whole world that you had lost to me. If I dared to doubt you like that, you would probably have kicked me away long ago."

Bai Ye paused in his action of pulling at his clothes, and after a moment, he gave Zhao Yu a long, meaningful look.

"Grandpa has grown up."

He left those words behind, turned and walked away, looking calm and...reliable?

Zhao Yu stood there, shivering violently.

I wonder if the eminent monks at Daxiangguo Temple can exorcise demons.

-

As night fell, Fanlou was brightly lit.

Inside the private room, a group of young men sat around a table laden with delicacies, almost overflowing with food.

Zhao Yu then mysteriously took out two jars of wine from behind him, placed them on the table, and smiled smugly.

"You're in for a treat tonight; this is a fine wine that my father has treasured for many years."

Everyone immediately became excited.

Changfeng's eyes lit up, and he leaned in to smell it: "This is good stuff!"

Zhao Yu immediately pointed at him and said to Bai Ye, "What did I tell you? He definitely knows his stuff! How could the son of the invincible physician Wei not love drinking?"

Changfeng coughed lightly, his ears turning slightly red, but he couldn't help but glance at the wine pot a few more times.

Bai Ye ignored this question, only glancing at the doorway: "Why haven't Yuan Nian and the others arrived yet?"

Zhao Yu asked, "Was something happening in the palace that caused this delay?"

Just then, the door to the private room was suddenly pushed open from the outside.

Two figures walked in one after the other.

The boy at the front was about thirteen or fourteen years old. He was exceptionally handsome, and when he lowered his eyes, he exuded an unusual air of authority.

He was none other than the eldest son of the Empress, and also the Crown Prince of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Xuan.

"You're finally here! Why are you so late? I don't care, you have to punish yourself with three drinks—"

Zhao Xuan took off his cloak, sat down at the table, picked up the teacup, and drank it all in one gulp, his face still looking unpleasant.

Bai Ye frowned, stopped joking, and quickly asked, "What's wrong?"

Zhao Xuan did not speak immediately.

Zhao Fang took the initiative to explain for him: "The Liao Kingdom sent an envoy to the capital, wanting to ask to marry the eldest sister."

The room became completely quiet.

(Thank you all for leaving encouraging messages yesterday. I'm glad you respected my creative style and pace. I also want to speed things up, but I don't want to ruin the ending.)

I will rethink the plot and try a two-pronged approach.

You can also suggest the endings of the characters you'd like to see, in case I forget.

If I really forget, I'll save it for later when Yixiu becomes Lin Qinshuang...)