The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

Xu felt as if something had gently bumped into her heart.

The warmth of the tiny body in her arms brought tears to her eyes.

Changfeng stood to the side, slowly clenching his fist, and whispered, "Grandmother, I will definitely study harder in the future. When I achieve fame and become an official, I will never let anyone bully you again."

Mo Lan looked up and added in a tearful voice, "Me too, I want to learn riding and archery, polo, and fighting."

She wanted to find her younger sister Minglan and learn from her.

Mrs. Xu was both amused and exasperated, but she could no longer hold back her tears: "Silly child."

All the grievances, heartache, and resentment that had surged into my heart before finally seemed to find solace at this moment.

"Good children, you are all good children."

She held Mo Lan with one arm and reached out to Chang Feng with the other.

"grandmother."

Changfeng grabbed her hand, knelt down in front of the bed like his sister, and threw himself into his grandmother's arms.

Outside the door, Lin Qinshuang watched the three generations of the family huddled together inside, and tears silently streamed down her face.

Although all of this started with her scheming.

At first, the old lady treated her with more scrutiny and calculation than genuine affection.

But people are all made of flesh and blood. After more than ten years of living together day and night, sharing both glory and hardship, they have developed genuine feelings and true intentions through countless unexpected encounters.

Just like this time, if Old Madam Xu hadn't been thinking about Wei Jing'an's future, and the future of her two children, and hadn't been unwilling to risk offending the Wang family and the Empress, why would she have swallowed her anger and chosen to use a soft approach to grind down Sheng Hong and Wang Ruoyu?

Given her past personality, she would have made a huge scene, filing a lawsuit in the government office or even before the emperor, even if it meant mutual destruction, to make the Sheng and Wang families lose face.

sincere……

It has always been both armor and vulnerability.

Lin Qinshuang sighed inwardly, but her resolve was strengthened; she would continue on this path.

A handkerchief was handed to him.

Lin Qinshuang turned her head and met Wei Jing'an's gentle eyes.

She took the handkerchief, smiled gently, and said softly, "Thank you very much, Anlang, for today."

Looking at the injuries on her face, Wei Jing'an's heartache lingered in his eyes, but his voice was gentle: "Shuang'er, your words are too kind. In the end, I have not failed in my mission."

Lin Qinshuang was puzzled.

Wei Jing'an said in a low voice, "Back then, Shuang'er promised me that she would save my life, provide me with food and clothing, and that once I passed the imperial examination, she would drive away my evil relatives for me. Now, I have finally fulfilled my promise to Shuang'er."

Lin Qinshuang was stunned.

She blinked, and it seemed as if she could hear the words she had spoken—half true, half false, yet righteous and awe-inspiring—in the side room of the Xiangguo Temple, to coax him into bed with her.

She suddenly realized that it had come true more than ten years later.

A mix of emotions welled up inside me: amusement, lingering fear, and relief...

Finally, Lin Qinshuang smiled gently. She raised her hand, with a hint of embarrassment and annoyance, yet also an indescribable softness, and poked Wei Jing'an in the chest with a finger.

"You idiot."

-

Wang Ruoyu's actions at the Xu residence quickly reached Langhua's ears.

After hearing Ah Chang's report, Lang Hua remained silent for a long time.

Then she stood up and said calmly, "Change your clothes and go to the Chuigong Hall."

At that time, Zhao Zhen was looking at commemorative folding tablets in the Chuigong Hall.

These days, things haven't been peaceful at court. The turmoil over the Liao Kingdom's marriage proposal had just subsided when a series of requests for post-war relief and border defense arrangements came in. He had been frowning as he read them, but upon hearing that the Empress had arrived, he was startled at first, then put down his writing brush and ordered someone to invite her in.

After entering the hall, Langhua did not chat with him as usual. She bowed respectfully and then briefly recounted the events at the Xu residence.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhen's expression turned cold.

It wasn't a recent development that Xu had separated from the Sheng family and moved out on her own. He knew the reasons why Xu wanted to move out of the Sheng family and establish her own household. In the end, it was just that an old widow had lost her heart and didn't want to be entangled with her adopted son's family anymore. She just wanted to live a peaceful life with her own little bit of property.

Although it is novel and unconventional, it is also understandable.

But who would have thought that even after the old lady had separated from her family, Wang Ruoyu still dared to come to her door and try to kill her.

Zhao Zhen was silent for a moment, then asked, "What does Third Sister wish to do?"

Without hesitation, Langhua stated directly, "Old Madam Xu is, after all, Sheng Hong's nominal legal mother. The reason Wang Ruoyu dared to treat her this way is ultimately due to Sheng Hong's lax management of his household and his neglect of his filial duties over the years, knowing that his legal mother had been living in exile. Therefore, I implore Your Majesty to strip Sheng Hong of his official position for his filial impiety and order him to return to his hometown to serve his mother."

Zhao Zhen understood; this meant that Sheng Hong was to be used to completely control Wang Ruoyu.

If Wang Ruoyu is indeed sent to the Imperial Guard, the Wang family's reputation will be implicated, and the Empress will not look good either. However, if only Sheng Hong is punished, the reason will be much more reasonable.

The word "filial piety" alone is enough to crush him so much that he can't turn over.

So Zhao Zhen whispered, "Granted."

Langhua bowed and thanked her.

After returning to Kunning Palace, Langhua summoned a mature and prudent old woman.

The old woman's surname was Kong. She had served in the palace for many years and was very reliable and knew how to handle things properly.

Coincidentally, she was the governess whom Xu hired at great expense for the four Lan families in the original story.

Langhua called the person to her side and whispered, "From now on, you will stay by Wang Ruoyu's side and go back to Youyang with her. I want you to take charge of the household affairs, keep an eye on her, and also keep an eye on Shenghong. I promise you triple your monthly salary until... one of them dies."

Granny Kong's eyes flickered slightly.

Langhua continued, "If that day truly comes, they will be deeply in love and will likely pass away together... At that time, I will invite you back to the capital, grant you a mansion, and allow you to live a life of luxury as a way of thanking you for your hard work."

Granny Kong bowed sincerely and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty. Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I understand."

-

"Your Majesty is so kind-hearted. Even now, she's still worried that Sheng Hong will harm her. If it were me, I'd be happy to see them fight like dogs."

The next day, Zhou Wanru and Zhang Bihua entered the palace and, upon learning what Langhua had done, could not contain themselves and immediately spoke out.

Zhou Wanru quickly pulled her up.

She glanced at Langhua, who sat at the head of the table, dignified and composed, and couldn't help but scold her, "You child, even if I didn't say anything, your mouth is getting more and more unrestrained. Sheng Hong is, after all, a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) who has served as an official diligently all these years and hasn't made any major mistakes. We've suppressed him in Dengzhou for many years, and he must have accumulated a lot of resentment in his heart, which is why he was so ruthless as to drug her last time."

Now, because of her, the officials have stripped her of her official position on the grounds of filial impiety. How can she not hate people to the bone?

But the thing is, no matter how despicable Wang Ruoyu is, she's still your aunt's darling. If she really died, your aunt would definitely go mad. Even with your uncle keeping her in check, who knows what she might do. This is good, so they all know that no matter what, she will survive.

They just won't live a very good life.

But so what? In the end, just being alive is enough.

Even a cornered dog will jump over a wall; we must leave a glimmer of hope.

Cut slowly with a dull knife and simmer over a low flame, so that it won't drive someone crazy with pain and make them lunge at you and bite without thinking.

Zhang Bihua listened in stunned silence, and after a long while, she muttered softly, "Are there really so many different interpretations?"

Zhou Wanru glared at her: "What do you think? You're a mother now, and you're still so headstrong. You don't even know how to be sensible."

Zhang Bihua smiled sweetly and put her arm around her shoulder, saying, "It's alright. Mother will always protect me. What's a little schemer? Can you eat it?"

"You're so lazy you could die!"

Zhou Wanru scolded her, but in her heart she was quite pleased with her daughter-in-law's coquettish manner, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up.

Looking at her mother like this, Langhua's eyes softened with a gentle smile.

She knew that her mother would understand her.

Wang Ruoyu, having lived through this life once again, knew the original course of the story.

But these paths have now been completely altered by her, and their original forms are no longer recognizable.