The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

Wang Ruo swayed and almost lost her balance.

How is that possible?

Wang Shi'an also saw Wang Ruoyu.

His gaze swept over her, then fell on Xu Shi, whose face was pale from the ordeal, Lin Qinshuang, whose palms were bleeding, and the two children whose eyes were red from crying. Finally, he noticed the wooden box that the stewardess had dropped on the ground in her panic.

The box lid slammed open, and several sheets of paper spilled out.

The words on the land deed are still faintly visible.

Wang Shi'an closed his eyes.

He had previously had someone investigate the past affairs of the Lin and Xu families, so he naturally knew about the relationship between the Xu family and Sheng Hong. Seeing the scene before him, what else was there that he didn't understand?

My mother was absolutely right.

This guy is such a troublemaker!

I feel uneasy if I don't cause trouble every day!

But he couldn't say anything on the spot.

You can't write two "王" characters in one stroke.

No matter how outrageous Wang Ruoyu is, she's still a daughter of the Wang family. If she's truly brought to court and imprisoned, the reputation of the Wang family will be tarnished. He still has three beloved daughters, and the Empress in the palace. Must the dignity of all the women in the Wang family be dragged down by her alone?

But he simply couldn't bring himself to plead for such a person.

Wang Shi'an simply shut up.

Today's matter involves the Xu family and Wei Jing'an's family. As an outsider, especially a member of the Wang family, his words would be seen as showing favoritism. It would be better to wait for Wei Jing'an's decision. If Wei Jing'an really intends to send the person to the authorities, he will not stop him.

Wei Jing'an glanced at Wang Shiping, who was apologizing profusely and looking embarrassed, then at his silent friend Wang Shi'an, and finally his gaze swept over the elderly, weak, women and children in the courtyard.

Lin Qinshuang's cheeks were swollen and red, Mo Lan's face was flushed from crying, and Chang Feng, supporting Xu Shi, stared intently at Wang Ruoyu, trembling with anger.

Wei Jing'an's gaze gradually hardened, and he said, "Send it away—"

"Wait a minute."

An aged yet clear voice suddenly rang out.

Xu struggled to break free from Changfeng's grasp, straightened her back with all her might, and looked at the yamen runners from Kaifeng Prefecture with clear eyes. She said firmly, "It is a misfortune for our family to have such an unfilial daughter-in-law who actually intended to harm her mother-in-law. I implore you to send her to the Shenjie Division to await her judgment."

These words startled everyone present.

Wang Ruoyu suddenly looked up, her eyes almost spitting fire. She instinctively wanted to curse, but looking at the constables and archers around her, and at Wei Jing'an's cold and stern expression, she didn't dare to utter a curse. She could only hurriedly look at Wang Shiping.

Wang Shiping's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly stepped forward, saying, "Grandma, this, this is not appropriate."

Madam Xu glanced at him, her expression unwavering: "What's wrong with that? As she said, I married into the Sheng family, and so did she. In name, I am her mother-in-law. She should be taking care of me in my old age, but today she brought people to break into my house, tied me up, humiliated me, seized my property, and even tried to forcibly carry me away. Since she is unfilial, I can naturally sue her."

Wang Ruoyu's face turned deathly pale, and Wang Shiping was speechless with shock.

"unless--"

Just as Wang Shiping was at a loss, Madam Xu spoke again: "Unless you make Sheng Hong resign from his post immediately and return home, taking this woman back to his hometown of Youyang. In this life, as long as I live, she will never be able to divorce Sheng Hong, and neither of them will ever set foot in the capital again!"

Wang Shiping's expression changed slightly, and Wang Ruoyu also looked dazed.

Madam Xu continued, "Should we make a big scene and send the entire Wang family to hell with this stupid, wicked woman, or should we just ruin Sheng Hong, so that he can spend the rest of his life watching over this wicked woman and making them entangled until they die, so that she can never harm anyone else? You are her own brother, so the choice is yours."

The courtyard was eerily quiet.

Wang Shiping's face turned ugly; he certainly understood the meaning behind Xu's words.

If Wang Ruo were sent to the Imperial Censorate, her reputation as an unfilial mother-in-law would be sealed and could never be changed.

At that time, not only will she be disgraced, but the Sheng and Wang families will also be implicated.

However, agreeing to Xu's conditions would be tantamount to asking Sheng Hong to resign from his official post and return to his hometown.

Sheng Hong had already targeted Wang Ruoyu because his future was thwarted.

If he loses his career again because of Wang Ruoyu and they still can't get a divorce, will he be able to let things go when he comes back?

Despite it being early spring, Wang Shiping was covered in sweat.

"elder brother!"

Wang Ruoyu finally realized what the old woman was up to, and a chill ran down her spine.

Wang Shiping, however, had already made his decision.

Despite his predicament, he already knew in his heart that he had no other choice.

My cousin, Wang Shi'an, was standing right next to me.

Even if he were willing to let his daughter's reputation be damaged because of this aunt, and that she would only be able to marry down in the future, he would still have to consider the second wife.

My cousin has three daughters, each a precious jewel, including the Empress and two princesses in the palace…

His father had recently earnestly instructed him that the Wang family's hopes for the next few decades rested almost entirely on the second wife and the empress.

You must never offend them.

Wang Shiping closed his eyes, and the scales in his heart finally tipped completely.

He gritted his teeth and said, "Okay."

Wang Ruo shouted sharply, "Brother!"

Wang Shiping didn't look at her, but stared at Xu Shi, and said with difficulty, "I will write a letter to my father and also send someone to Dengzhou to deliver a message. Sheng Hong will definitely return to the capital before next month. After that, we will have him resign and return to Youyang, and take Ruoyu with him. The Wang family will also prepare a generous gift to apologize for the grievances suffered by the old lady today."

Madam Xu said coldly, "There's no need for such a generous gift. For the sake of Her Majesty the Empress, I'll trust your family one more time. If you dare to deceive me, I won't hesitate to beat the Dengwen Drum and file a complaint with the Emperor. The Marquis of Yongyi's mansion may have declined, but the integrity of my founding general family remains. If you don't believe me, you're welcome to try."

Wang Shiping shook his head with difficulty: "I dare not."

After he finished speaking, he almost dared not stay there any longer and turned around to grab Wang Ruoyu.

Wang Ruoyu refused to leave, her eyes fixed on Xu Shi as if she wanted to devour her alive. But this time, Wang Shiping used his full strength and dragged her away by force.

This place was too embarrassing for him.

If he stayed any longer, he felt a burning pain on his face.

After Wang Shiping left with Wang Ruoyu, the tense atmosphere in the courtyard gradually dissipated.

Wang Shi'an then stepped forward, first bowing to the yamen runners and archers of the patrol office in Kaifeng, and said with a smile, "I'm sorry to have troubled you all to make this trip today. This was originally a misunderstanding at home, but I feel really bad for troubling you all."

As he spoke, he instructed his servant to give some money for the wine to everyone, and then politely saw them off.

After most of the outsiders had left the courtyard, Wang Shi'an turned around and walked up to Madam Xu, bowing respectfully.

"Junior Wang Shi'an greets the old lady. In today's matter, the Wang family was at fault first, and I dare not exonerate them. I heard everything the old lady just said. Rest assured, even if my cousin goes back on his word and shows favoritism, I will definitely do as he says and will not let you suffer this injustice in vain."

Looking at him, Madam Xu's expression finally softened: "Then thank you very much, Young Master Wang."

As soon as she finished speaking, her body suddenly swayed.