The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

Langhua was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled: "He's quite an honest person."

Jingning looked sullen, but also a little shy, and kept her head down without saying a word.

Langhua thought for a moment and slowly said, "Alright, then Mother will make a plan for my Ning'er."

Jingning looked up abruptly: "Mother, you've agreed?"

Langhua nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

This time, it was Jingning's turn to be surprised.

She stared blankly at Langhua for a long while before finally saying, "Mother, aren't you going to stop me?"

Langhua shook her head and looked at her with a smile: "Life is short, and it's not easy to meet someone you want to marry without hesitation. So let's get married."

As you said, ordinary girls always aspire to marry into a higher social class, to find the best man in the world. My daughter is a princess, born into wealth and privilege. In terms of status, there are very few men who can match you, but we cannot judge solely by social standing. Since you consider Yang Chenghe so excellent, and he has become the best man in your eyes, then let it be him.

If it's not the best, we don't want it.

"Mother!"

Jingning's eyes immediately reddened.

Despite being moved, I still had some reservations.

"But I don't want him to be unable to do what he wants to do because of me."

Langhua touched her face: "Mother will think of a way."

Jingning nodded emphatically, then threw herself into her arms again, her voice soft at the end: "Mother, you're so good~"

Langhua chuckled softly, holding her daughter, but her mind was already racing with plans.

-

"Yang Cheng-he?"

That night, Langhua told Zhao Zhen about it.

When Zhao Zhen first heard the name, he was not displeased; on the contrary, he was quite pleased.

The Yang family are descendants of loyal ministers. Since the Battle of Jinshatan, they have indeed suffered greatly and remained silent for many years. Now that they have finally recovered and re-entered the court's view, he originally intended to give them some compensation.

Coincidentally, Di Qing's achievements in pacifying the Western Xia were so great that there was almost no more to be granted.

Since the Liao envoys last sought a marriage alliance, Zhao Zhen had been truly angered by the Liao's wolfish ambitions. With the western border already strengthened and prepared, the northern border naturally could not remain lax.

However, Di Qing really cannot be easily reused, otherwise his subsequent achievements will be even greater, and the civil officials in the court will become restless.

Yang Wenguang is a good candidate, and the Zhang family, the Duke of England, is also a suitable candidate.

As for Yang Chenghe, Zhao Zhen had met him.

Although the young man was not as handsome as Di Qing's second son, he was still a rare good-looking young man. What was even more remarkable was that he was calm and upright, had unique insights into military affairs, and was also very skilled in martial arts.

If she could be paired with Jingning, it would indeed be a wonderful match.

But when he understood that what Jingning wanted was for Yang Chenghe to still be able to go to the battlefield and lead troops after their marriage, his brows furrowed instantly.

"no."

Zhao Zhen rejected it almost without thinking.

Langhua looked at him.

Zhao Zhen paused, then added, "It's not that Yang Chenghe is incompetent, it's that it's inappropriate to let Yang Chenghe lead troops after their marriage. That's against the rules."

What he truly couldn't tolerate was that swords and spears were indiscriminate on the battlefield, and if something were to happen, wouldn't he have to watch helplessly as his daughter became a widow?

He had just protected Jingning from the Liao Kingdom's marriage proposal, how could he personally marry her off to someone who might die on the battlefield at any moment?

Langhua wasn't surprised by his reaction and patiently advised, "Sixth Brother, other people's daughters choose their sons-in-law with the best of everything. Why must our daughter choose a mediocre person who is neither good at literature nor martial arts?"

Zhao Zhen was somewhat displeased: "How can you say she's neither good at literature nor martial arts, and is mediocre at all? As long as Ning'er is happy, I can always pick one for her: a third-place scholar, a top scholar, or a son of a duke or marquis..."

He stopped halfway through his sentence.

Throughout history, it has been an unspoken rule that a princess's husband must be an outstanding individual, but not too outstanding.

no way.

It would be a waste of talent to pair such a talented person with a princess. Because no matter what he does, others will think it's due to nepotism rather than genuine talent.

Therefore, truly capable and ambitious people almost avoided Princess Shang like the plague.

Even in noble families, if they wanted to marry a princess, they would most likely not offer their eldest son, who was the most capable and could inherit the title, but rather their second son, who was slightly less capable.

As Zhao Zhen pondered, his brows furrowed even more deeply.

He hadn't noticed anything wrong with it before.

Although he was the sixth child, his older brothers had all died young, so he was not much different from an only child.

Several of the sisters died young, and the Song Dynasty had not officially appointed a consort for many years.

Although the rules were there, he never looked into them and therefore didn't think there was anything wrong with them.

Now, it's her daughter's turn.

When Langhua pointed at him like that, he suddenly realized that something was wrong.

The thought that those people were hiding away the truly good men and only giving his daughter candidates who were neither good at literature nor martial arts made him feel uneasy.

His Ning'er was the eldest princess whom he and his third mother had raised with utmost care.

Everything we eat, wear, live in, and travel with is made with the best of everything in the world.

Why should I only be matched with someone of inferior status when it comes to marriage?

Seizing the opportunity, Langhua said slowly, "Actually, this matter is easy to handle. Since he is a truly talented person who wants to earn his future through his own abilities, he probably wouldn't care about the empty title of Imperial Son-in-Law. Let's change the rules. If the princess is willing to marry a gentleman like Yang Chenghe, then she will not resign from her official post, nor will we build a separate princess residence. We can simply let our daughter marry into the family like an ordinary girl."

Zhao Zhen looked at her, his brows still furrowed.

Langhua continued unhurriedly, "You have to give up something to gain something. Since he feels that marrying a princess will hinder his future, then we won't interfere, nor will we stop him. Let him earn his own way. There's no such thing as a husband's status rising with his wife's anymore; it's still the old saying of a wife's status rising with her husband's. Let's see how capable he really is."

Zhao Zhen remained silent for a long time.

"But what if this precedent is set, and the princesses who follow are unwilling?"

"Therefore, this imperial decree must be requested by the young man of the Yang family himself."

Langhua answered quickly.

Zhao Zhen lowered his head and pondered for a long time before saying, "Third Sister, aren't you afraid of wronging Jingning?"

Langhua smiled slightly and asked in return, "Sixth Brother, do you still remember when we were newlyweds, we hosted a banquet for Father and Mother at the villa? Father drank a few too many cups and asked you for a few words?"

Zhao Zhen was taken aback.

Long-forgotten memories slowly surfaced.

—If one day you grow tired of her or become annoyed with her, do not treat her coldly or neglect her. Just discard her and return her to us.

It felt as if something had struck my heart heavily.

Langhua sighed softly, "At that time, I realized that parents' love for their children should not only be far-reaching, but also be prepared at all times to bring them back to our side whenever they are tired or weary, no matter how far or how long they go away."

Liu Lang, Jing Ning is our daughter. No matter how old she is, whether she gets married or not, or who she marries, she will always be our daughter.

Wherever we are, that will always be her home.

She looked up at Zhao Zhen, her tone gentle yet firm.

"In that case, let's boldly let her go wherever she wants."