The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

The side hall remained quiet for a long time.

Yang Chenghe looked at the young woman in front of him, who was listing the benefits of their marriage one by one, and for a moment he forgot to speak.

He suddenly remembered that day on the palace road, when she bumped into him and almost burst into tears, but still apologized to him first.

The image of her standing in the crowd looking at him on the polo field;

My heart started racing.

Yang Chenghe lowered his eyes and asked in a low voice, "Has the princess made up her mind?"

Jingning said, "I've thought it through."

What if you regret it later?

"I chose this path myself, and I have no regrets."

She stared at him intently, her eyes shining like stars.

Yang Chenghe took a deep breath, and after a long while, he solemnly bowed.

-

Princess Jingning's marriage was quickly arranged.

When the imperial decree was announced to the world, no one was surprised. The Yang family was a military family, and Yang Chenghua was the son of Yang Wenguang. Although his official position was not very high at present, his family background was clean and he was known for his loyalty and bravery. The princess marrying into the Yang family was not only an honor for the descendants of loyal ministers, but also a very respectable marriage.

What truly surprised everyone was the latter part of the decree.

Yang Chenghe actually gave up the title of Imperial Son-in-Law Commandant and only entered officialdom according to the hereditary privileges that the Yang family should have. If he had military merits in the future, he would be promoted according to his own merits, and not by marrying a princess.

What caused even more discussion was that a few days later, when Zhao Zhen was discussing this matter with several ministers of the two ministries in the Chuigong Hall, he jokingly mentioned that Yang Chenghe had made a pact with him, stating that if he made any meritorious contributions in the future, he would have the princess accompany him to obtain an imperial title, rather than him gaining an official position by marrying the princess.

As soon as the news spread, Bianjing City became lively.

Some people laughed at Yang Chenghe for being foolish, saying that such a great benefit was right in front of him, yet he didn't reach out and seize it. The title of Imperial Son-in-Law Commandant was a prestigious position that others would kill for, but he was pushing it away himself.

Some people secretly admired them, saying that the Yang family was indeed the Yang family, and their backbone was strong.

When the Li family heard the news, Madam Yang sneered.

Holding her teacup, she said with disdain, "They're both surnamed Yang, how can they be so stupid? They won't even take the wealth that's offered to them. No wonder the men in their family almost all died out."

After saying that, she looked up at Li Wei sitting next to her, her face filled with worry.

My son, Li Wei, has become increasingly "robust" these days.

Since he was beaten up in the palace after being put in a sack, he has been recuperating at home for a long time. He eats a lot and moves little, and has become quite round. His already unremarkable appearance has become even more... unbearable to look at.

Yang couldn't help but feel worried.

Since that incident, the Empress confiscated her token for entering and leaving the palace, and she and her son were not invited to any of the subsequent polo matches organized by the royal family.

She was furious, but dared not make a scene in the palace, so she could only continue to target her son.

"You've been rarely home lately, what have you been up to? Have you met some shady friends outside? Don't blame me for being blunt, but of the three princesses, the eldest, who is the most noble and the closest in age to you, has already been betrothed, leaving only two. The second princess is born of a concubine, so she's a step below. I've heard that the third princess has recently taken a liking to polo, my son, why don't you go and practice too?"

As she spoke, her gaze fell on Li Wei's noticeably protruding belly. She hesitated for a moment, but couldn't resist saying, "Eat a little less tonight, maybe you can lose some weight."

Li Wei immediately objected upon hearing this.

「谁要娶三公主？娘你不知道最刁蛮任性的就是三公主吗？上次就是她揍的我，肯定没错！什幺公主不公主的，我不娶了。有皇帝表哥就够了，汴京城里谁敢不给我面子？用得着一个公主来给我锦上添花？」

He became more and more agitated as he spoke, as if he had finally found the words he had been holding back for a long time: "Besides, Mother, you don't know until you go out. Everyone outside is praising Yang Chenghe for his integrity, saying he's a man of principle, a true hero. But you want me to do the opposite, to rush to be the princess's dog. Isn't that just making me a laughingstock? I won't do it."

Just as Yang was about to say something more, Li Wei got up and walked out.

"I have an appointment with my classmates to listen to a story tonight, and if I don't go now, I'll be too late."

Yang stood up angrily: "You come back here right now!"

Although Li Wei was fat, he ran very fast and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Unable to stop him in time, Madam Yang could only watch his retreating figure, pounding her chest in frustration. She couldn't help but yell at the servant beside her, "Aren't you going to follow and serve him! If anything happens to Second Master, see how I deal with you!"

The servant was so frightened that he quickly chased after him.

But as soon as he reached the door, he saw Li Wei already standing next to a carriage, craning his neck and talking to the people inside.

The carriage didn't look ostentatious. The curtain was slightly lifted, and a lazy, smiling voice came from inside: "Chief Chu should have an appointment tonight, but since Brother Li has brought it up, how could we not give him face? Come on in, I'll give you a ride."

Li Wei was immediately delighted and boarded the carriage without the slightest hesitation.

The servant hurriedly chased after him, calling out repeatedly, "Young master, young master, wait for me!"

The lazy voice in the car immediately chuckled: "Could it be that Brother Li's mother sent someone to call you back? If so, let's leave it at that for today, lest Brother Li and his mother fall out."

Li Wei was half disappointed and half embarrassed, so he immediately lifted the carriage curtain, tore off the jade pendant from his waist and threw it out, which hit the servant on the head.

Li Wei angrily said, "Go home! I have important business to attend to outside, and I don't need someone as clumsy as you to spoil the fun."

The curtain fell, and the carriage quickly drove away.

The servant stood there, his head covered in blood, watching helplessly as the carriage turned the corner. He could no longer catch up and could only return to report with a mournful face.

When Yang saw him, she was also startled.

She was still cursing him for being useless, unable to even keep up with a young man, but the steward reminded her that there were many people coming and going on the street just now. If this servant was really seriously injured and died, the Empress, who had been criticizing the Li family lately, would probably look down on them even more.

So he could only grit his teeth and order someone to fetch a doctor to bandage the servant.

I felt increasingly irritable.

Li Wei was her only son, but he was neither good at literature nor martial arts, and his temperament was also unstable. If she couldn't find a princess so he could rely on the royal family for a living for the rest of his life, was she really going to let him take the imperial examinations or fight in the army?

That won't do!

If all else fails, then we'll have to resort to some other methods!

Ultimately, isn't that all there is to it between men and women?

As long as things succeed... so what if the princess doesn't acknowledge it?

The more Yang thought about it, the more she felt that this method might not be impossible. As night fell, she was still racking her brains to figure out how to implement it. Unfortunately, Li Yonghe was not in her courtyard that night, but had gone to the home of his newly acquired concubine, leaving her with no one to consult.

That's just the nature of men; they used to be dull and honest, but once their families become wealthy, they start keeping maids and concubines.

Madam Yang harbored resentment in her heart, having no time to think about princesses anymore. She simply continued to curse Li Yonghe and those little vixens as usual.

"They might as well all die in bed! That would be the end of it all!"

Perhaps because of her deep resentment, she drifted off to sleep and it felt like she had actually had that dream.

The dream was chaotic; there were women screaming, men falling to the ground, and servants crying as they came to tell her that something terrible had happened!

"My wife! Something terrible has happened, my wife!"

Yang was suddenly awakened.

She opened her eyes, and the dim light made her feel a little dazed. For a moment, she couldn't tell if it was a dream or reality.

The curtain was lifted, and the old woman stumbled in, fell to her knees with a thud, and cried so hard her voice was distorted.

"My lady, Erlang, something terrible has happened!"

Yang's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

She propped herself up and sat up, saying sternly, "What nonsense are you talking about? What's wrong? What happened to Erlang?"

The old woman trembled so much she could barely speak a coherent sentence. After a long while, she finally managed to sob, "Second Brother... Second Brother was having fun in the secret passage when he suddenly fainted. We called a doctor, and he said... he had a stroke..."

Ms. Yang was stunned.