The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

"What's the point of curing him? Curing him will bring glory to the Gu family, and then give Gu Yan a grand old age and a proper funeral?"

Bai Ye paused for a moment, then sighed, "Grandfather, the way you say that makes it sound like your father doesn't have much time left to live... To be honest, Grandfather, it's precisely because I see that he's nearing the end that I'm thinking of curing Tingyu. Otherwise, I'm afraid he won't even have the strength to mourn in the future."

Old Master Bai's swaying legs suddenly stopped, and he opened his eyes: "What do you mean?"

Bai Ye patiently explained.

He's not some saint, and besides, his grandfather had already told him the whole story of the past between the Gu and Bai families last time. How could he be so uninhibited?

Although the Gu family's downfall was ultimately their own fault, the Bai family's involvement back then only muddied the waters further, making the Gu family's fate seem even more impoverished.

Although he admired Gu Tingyu's talent and felt that he was compatible with him, he had seen a lot of situations by traveling around with his grandfather over the years, and he had become more shrewd. Naturally, he also had to be wary of whether Gu Tingyu was holding a grudge because of what happened back then and was deliberately getting close to him to take advantage of him.

So he privately asked Shi Tou to inquire about the Gu family.

You wouldn't know unless you asked, and once you did, it was quite a lively scene.

It turns out that when Gu Yankai went to the Northwest, he was hoping to earn military merit and bring glory to the Gu family.

However, he was too eager to make a name for himself and acted rashly, misjudging the opportunity. In the end, he not only failed to gain any merit, but also lost both legs on the battlefield.

If he hadn't been a descendant of meritorious officials and hadn't been so badly injured, and if the court hadn't been mindful of his past reputation, it's uncertain whether he would have been able to return alive.

Upon returning, Gu Yankai was completely disheartened and too ashamed to go back to see his mother.

He dared not return to his original residence, so he stayed at the residence of his first wife, Madam Qin.

Speaking of which, that Lady Qin was quite a remarkable person.

Despite always presenting herself as frail and sickly, and back then appearing as if she couldn't survive after being divorced by the Ningyuan Marquis's family, she managed to endure the more than ten years since both her maternal family, the Dongchang Marquis's family and the Ningyuan Marquis's family, collapsed, and even lived a rather comfortable life.

These weren't things someone else said; Shi Tou himself observed them from the wall and by watching the Qin family's purchases.

The gates of the Qin residence were always closed, and Qin Yanyun rarely went out. However, he would go shopping every three days, and there was never a shortage of chicken, duck, fish, meat, fresh fruit, pastries, silk, and spices.

The sound of playing the zither could often be heard in the backyard, and the flowerbeds were well-maintained, with clusters of flowers, fresh and lively, not at all like someone who had been ill for a long time and whose days were numbered.

At least compared to his son Gu Tingyu, he doesn't seem like it.

After Gu Yankai moved in, Qin Yanyun didn't kick him out. She even specially hired a strong and burly maid to take care of him.

However, this care was not for nothing. After Gu Yankai returned, Qin Yanyun took advantage of Gu Yankai's serious injury to send people to the Gu residence every day to call Gu Tingyu over, under the guise of fulfilling filial piety.

The woman's methods were actually quite crude; even Shi Tou could see that she was afraid Gu Tingyu would not acknowledge her in the future, nor would he take care of her in her old age. So she wanted to take advantage of Gu Yankai's serious injury to coax Gu Tingyu to come to her home, hoping to win back his heart and also to leave herself with more security in the future.

Gu Tingyu and Old Madam Gu were both well aware of her scheme.

But with filial piety at the forefront of his mind, how could Gu Tingyu refuse?

You can only go there.

However, his health was not good to begin with, and when Gu Yankai returned, it was early spring, and the spring chill was still in the air. Even though he traveled by carriage with a stove burning inside, the cold wind always had a chance to get in between the warm and cold weather. Therefore, he fell ill in just two or three days and had a fever for three whole days.

This incident terrified Old Mrs. Gu, and made her completely lose her temper.

Old Mrs. Gu immediately ordered someone to find the divorce letter from back then, and she went to the Qin family's door with her cane, angrily denouncing Qin Yanyun as a discarded woman whom the Gu family had long since divorced and no longer wanted, and asking why she was tormenting her grandson again and again.

After scolding him, she ordered people to come to his house and carry Gu Yankai back to the Qin family mansion to completely sever ties with Qin Yanyun.

Qin Yanyun would never agree to that.

The two groups of people started fighting right in front of the Qin family's gate.

The people brought by Old Madam Gu wanted to carry it, but the people from the Qin family wanted to stop them.

The old woman pushed and shoved, the maid shouted and cursed, and more and more people gathered at the door to watch. The once quiet alley was soon blocked.

The one suffering the most was Gu Yankai, who was standing to the side.

He had already lost both legs and was now a cripple unable to walk. Forget about food, clothing, shelter, and transportation; even going to the toilet required assistance.

Such days had already made him feel extremely humiliated, but his mother, who had ignored him and never visited him since his return, now personally led people to his door to prevent her grandson from being blackmailed. She drove away the people taking care of him, forcibly lifted him onto a stretcher, and carried him to the busy gate.

Qin Yanyun and Old Madam Gu had a complete falling out, but no one paid him a second glance.

They let him, this cripple, be stared at without restraint by passersby.

Gu Yankai felt his face burning.

What's worse, because Old Madam Gu arrived so early that day, he hadn't yet been to the urinal.

At first, he was too embarrassed to speak up and could only wait. But later, the two sides argued so fiercely that no one paid any attention to him.

Later, he was so frustrated that he ordered his servants to carry him inside with a gloomy face, but the servants around him kept their eyes down and their minds closed, as if they had suddenly gone deaf.

He endured the embarrassment and repeated himself twice more, but the situation on the other side had already escalated to its most intense point.

Unfortunately, the two housekeepers started fighting, and a silver bracelet on one of their wrists flew off during the scuffle, hitting Gu Yankai squarely.

It was just a light touch.

But the stimulation of that moment made him groan in his throat, and then he felt a wetness below him.

One oblivious servant even sniffed and whispered, "What's that smell?"

All eyes slowly turned to him.

Gu Yan opened and closed his eyes, pretending that he was really dead.

This trick is indeed effective.

The farce came to an abrupt end, and the air around them seemed to freeze.

Looking at her disheveled son on the stretcher, Old Mrs. Gu's face turned pale and then red. She pounded her cane heavily on the ground, her voice trembling, "I don't know you! I haven't known you for a long time! Fifteen years ago, I severed all ties with you. Even in my death, I don't want you to be there for me! My grandson will handle my affairs after I die; don't bother me anymore! I'm begging you, please let me go, and let my poor grandson go!"

After saying that, she led her people and left first.

Qin Yanyun also felt deeply ashamed and refused to look at Gu Yankai for another second. He turned around and rushed into the house, then told someone to close the door.

Gu Yankai opened his eyes, staring blankly at the gray sky above. He thought to himself that on the day his family's property was confiscated, he should have followed the example of the two elders of the Dongchang Marquis's mansion and gone directly to the grave.

In the end, a soft-hearted servant couldn't bear to see it any longer and secretly went to call the maid who was in charge of taking care of Gu Yankai.

When the maid arrived, she carried him back into the room and helped him wash and change his clothes.

From then on, whenever Qin dared to call Gu Tingyu again, Gu Yankai would seek death.

They might break porcelain and use the shards to cut their wrists, or grab a nearby vase or paperweight and smash it against their forehead.

On one occasion, he even took advantage of a moment when no one was looking, pulled the rope off the tent hook, and wrapped it around his own neck, scaring the servants and maids who were responsible for serving him out of their wits.

In short, he wanted Qin Yanyun to stop causing trouble for Gu Tingyu.

Seeing this, Qin Yanyun finally lost her temper and completely broke off relations with him:

"You're starting to act like a loving father!"