The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

But no matter what, the imperial edict had already been issued, and there was naturally no room for reversal.

Besides, it was a mutual agreement, so everyone was happy.

The Duke of England's broken and fragmented fatherly heart was something that few people cared about, except for himself.

During the day, he had to put on a radiant smile in front of guests, listening to congratulations on raising the future Queen Mother. Only at night would he secretly get up, sit in the courtyard, and sigh deeply in front of a faded swing, picking up the broken pieces of his heart one by one, trying to piece them back together.

But often, after piecing together only half of it, he would remember that he could not see his daughter every day after she entered the palace, and his heart would shatter into pieces again.

……

In any case, the Crown Prince's wedding was a grand affair.

A procession of red bridal processions stretched from the Duke of Ying's mansion all the way to the palace.

Dressed in auspicious attire, Zhao Xuan stood on the high steps awaiting his bride. His expression appeared calm, but his hands, hidden in his sleeves, unconsciously clenched tightly.

It wasn't until Zhang Guifen walked over under the guidance of the master of ceremonies, the beaded curtain swayed gently, and the two exchanged a glance through the hazy pearly light, that he slowly released his grip, and a smile finally appeared in his eyes.

Langhua saw this and felt a huge weight lifted from her heart.

Finally, her son has found someone to spend his life with.

The palace was bustling with activity both inside and outside. Jingning rushed back to the capital with Yang Chenghe. Huirou and Jingse doted on their new sister-in-law. Congge'er, who had grown into a teenager, was still being bossed around by his two older sisters.

The Wang, Zhang, Di, and Yang families, along with the young people who had grown up with Zhao Xuan since childhood, were all overjoyed by this happy event.

Just then, another grand gift, delivered from afar, shook the entire imperial court—

The Liao emperor died suddenly.

This should have been just a national mourning for a neighboring country, but soon news came that the Crown Prince of Liao was suspected of patricide and had committed suicide out of fear of punishment after being surrounded by palace guards.

Immediately afterwards, the Imperial Uncle Chongyuan claimed to be carrying out the late emperor's edict to purge the court of corrupt officials and punish the traitors. However, several princes who held military power each supported their own princes and refused to yield to each other.

In just half a month, several imperial palaces of the Liao Dynasty changed hands.

Martial law was declared in both Zhongjing and Nanjing. The two courts, North and South, accused each other, and tribal leaders began to take sides. Relatives who were in the same palace yesterday were now leading troops to raid camps. Edicts that had been sealed with the imperial seal the day before were denounced as forgeries by the other side the next day.

The Liao Kingdom was thrown into complete chaos.

Even more unexpectedly, one of the Princes of Ning, who was stationed in Nanjing, secretly sent an envoy south to seek help from the Song Dynasty.

The letter brought by the Liao envoy was extremely earnest, stating that Prince Ning was the true heir of Emperor Xingzong of Liao, but that the Liao had to borrow troops from the Song Dynasty only because of the usurpation of power by treacherous officials and the rebellion of the imperial clan.

If the Song Dynasty helps him quell the rebellion and ascend the throne, he is willing to return all the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, honor the Song Dynasty as a superior nation, pay tribute every year, and never invade the south again.

When Zhao Zhen received the news, it was already late at night.

Without a moment's delay, he summoned high-ranking officials from both the central government and the Privy Council, along with several military officers, to the palace that very night for a meeting.

Some people felt that the internal strife in Liao was the perfect opportunity to recover Yan and Yun, while others worried that it was a trap to lure the enemy in. If the Song Dynasty rashly sent troops, it might cause the Khitan tribes, who were originally fighting amongst themselves, to temporarily put aside their grudges and move south together.

The debate raged on in the hall.

The British Duke was the first to step forward and volunteer for battle.

The old father, who had just married off his daughter and had secretly shed tears a few days ago because he couldn't bear to part with her, immediately turned cold and solemn when talking about military affairs in the North.

He stated that the Liao Kingdom was currently plagued by infighting among its princes, cut off supply lines, and disunity in military orders, presenting a once-in-a-century opportunity. If the Song Dynasty missed this chance and waited for the Liao to elect a new, powerful ruler, the Yan and Yun regions would remain adrift for who knows how many more years.

Zhao Zhen did not make a decision immediately.

After the court session ended, he summoned Zhao Xuan alone.

Zhao Xuan had just gotten married, and the joy on his body had not yet completely dissipated, but after hearing what his father said, a fire ignited in his eyes.

"What the British Duke said is true; this is indeed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

Without the slightest hesitation, the young man replied, "While our Great Song Dynasty certainly treats others with courtesy, we cannot simply give in all the time. When we have the strength, we should always show the world our power. Besides, the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun have been the heartland of the Central Plains since ancient times; how can we allow them to remain in the hands of foreign tribes indefinitely?"

Looking at his son, Zhao Zhen felt both gratified and filled with indescribable emotions.

"The future belongs to you young people."

He patted his son on the shoulder and finally handed over the task of coordinating the supply of provisions for all routes and coordinating the Privy Council and the vanguard army to Zhao Xuan.

The Crown Prince did not personally lead the troops, but instead remained in the capital to oversee every military report, mobilize every batch of supplies, and ensure that the army at the front would not be cut off from its supply lines due to interference from the court.

Zhao Xuan solemnly accepted the order.

The Song Dynasty finally decided to send troops.

With the Duke of England leading the army north, young generals such as Di Yong and Yang Chenghe finally got their chance to go to the front lines and truly make contributions.

Before Yang Chenghe left, Jingning neither cried nor made a fuss. She simply tied her husband's cloak with her own hands and whispered, "You just do what you're supposed to do. I'll take care of everything at home."

Yang Chenghe gazed at her for a long time before finally nodding emphatically.

It wasn't until late at night that Zhao Zhen revealed the truth to Langhua in the Kunning Palace.

"This great chaos in the Liao Kingdom was caused by Ye Ge'er."

Langhua was pouring tea for him when she heard this, and her hand trembled, almost spilling the tea.

"What?"

When Zhao Zhen thought of what was written in the secret report, he couldn't help but laugh and curse at the same time: "That brat, he really knows how to cause trouble."

After Bai Ye went north, he did not simply become a law-abiding businessman.

Relying on the convenience of the Bai family business, he made friends with many tribal leaders of the Liao Kingdom, Han officials, border generals and noble managers over the years.

He doesn't directly interfere in the Liao Dynasty's politics; he simply sends a seemingly genuine account book to a certain prince one day, and then has someone inadvertently leak a secret letter the next.

He made the Crown Prince's uncle, Chongyuan, believe that the Crown Prince was preparing to strip the Liao emperor of his military power after his death. He also made the Crown Prince's faction believe that Chongyuan had already bribed the palace attendants and was preparing to usurp the throne. He also used merchant caravans to spread rumors that Emperor Xingzong was seriously ill and that the succession would be changed, forcing the originally wavering tribal leaders to take sides in advance.

Most importantly, he obtained a list of the Liao emperor's close attendants and several princes who had private dealings with each other.

That roster was half true and half false.

The truthful parts were enough to convince everyone, while the false parts conveniently linked together those with the most military power and those who were most wary of each other.

With the Liao emperor dead, those people didn't even need Bai Ye to do anything; they had already taken the initiative and were killing each other indiscriminately.

Langhua was speechless with astonishment.

"How dare he do such a thing all alone in the Liao Kingdom?"

"Of course he's not alone," Zhao Zhen scoffed. "In recent years, the Bai family business has woven a vast network in the north. He's also generous with money and willing to lend at high interest rates, so even several impoverished Khitan nobles are working for him. I only knew he was bold before, but I didn't know he was this bold."

As he spoke, he laughed again: "However, this time, he has made a great contribution. If we can truly recover Yan and Yun, I will definitely reward him handsomely when he returns."

But Bai Ye did not return immediately.

After the Song army marched north, he joined the army on the spot, serving under Zhang Yun, the second son of the Duke of Ying, starting as a military advisor.

Not long after, he volunteered again to be the vanguard.

Bai Ye was already skilled in martial arts, and having traveled in the north for many years, he was familiar with the terrain, understood the Khitan language, and knew about the conflicts between different tribes.

While others wandered aimlessly through the grasslands, he knew where the water sources were, where he could pass through, and which tribes, though outwardly loyal, were actually waiting for the highest bidder to win.

During the two years of war, he won battle after battle, and the Song army took advantage of the infighting in the Liao Kingdom to advance northward step by step.

Tanzhou, Jizhou, Zhuozhou, Youzhou...

One by one, the flags of the Song Dynasty were raised again in those cities that had been lost for over a century.

With the help of the Song army, Prince Ning eventually suppressed the other princes. However, by the time he actually ascended the throne of Liao, he was already powerless to go back on his word and could only return the Yan and Yun prefectures to the Song Dynasty in accordance with the agreement in the state letter.

The Song army did not advance any further. Zhao Xuan was well aware that what the Song Dynasty wanted were fortified passes and cities that could be held, not the vast grasslands.

The borders were redrawn, and the fighting gradually subsided.

But for Bai Ye, that ruthless young man, the battle was over, but the business was just beginning.

Two years of internal strife in Liao led to food shortages for many tribes, abandoned pastures, and displacement of ordinary people.

At this time, the Bai family business took out a large amount of grain, medicine, and cloth and sold them to various departments on credit at extremely low prices.

At first, the Liao people said that the Bai family was benevolent and treated them better than their own nobles. But once the situation stabilized, they slowly realized that they could no longer do without the Bai family's trading company for their salt, tea, grain, ironware, and even the medicine needed to treat their livestock.

The Bai family, relying on the goodwill and debt contracts accumulated during the war, intervened in several horse farms.

When the Khitans wanted to sell warhorses, they first had to get an appraisal from the Bai family. When they wanted to buy ironware, they couldn't bypass the Bai family's trade routes. Even the new Liao emperor, who wanted to reorganize his army, found that the horses, iron materials, and grain routes were mostly blocked by this Song dynasty merchant.

When the court officials received the news, they were all stunned.

"This kid is shrewd as ever, and he's also incredibly cunning."

Di Qing couldn't help but laugh and scold.

Zhao Zhen laughed heartily upon hearing this.

When it came time to reward those who had rendered meritorious service, he issued an edict bestowing upon Bai Ye the title of Marquis of Weibei, along with a certificate of merit and an iron certificate, fertile land, and gold and silver.

For his outstanding contribution in the recapture of Yan and Yun, the Duke of Ying was awarded the title of Grand Tutor and promoted to Prince.

Zhang Yun, Di Yong, Yang Chenghe, and others were also awarded titles and honors.

Those young people who made vows in Fanlou back then have finally reached the places they longed for.

-

It was more than half a year before things in the north were completely settled.

On this day, when Zhao Zhen arrived at Kunning Palace, he saw Langhua holding a chubby baby and gently coaxing him. The baby was Zhao Xuan and Zhang Guifen's eldest son, whose nickname was Wang Ge'er.

The little one just turned one year old, and after eating his fill, he lingered in his grandmother's arms and refused to get down.

Zhao Zhen stood aside and watched for a long time.

The son is now capable of handling things independently, and the daughter-in-law is gradually taking over some of the palace duties. The northern border is stable, the western border is worry-free, and the grandson is healthy and lively.

He suddenly felt that the time had come.

A few days later, an edict of abdication shook the world.

The Crown Prince declined repeatedly, but Zhao Zhen refused to budge an inch, saying that he had been on the throne for many years and was exhausted by government affairs. Now the Crown Prince was benevolent, filial, wise, and had the merit of recovering Yan and Yun and reforming the government, so he should rightfully inherit the throne.

The coronation ceremony and the empress's investiture ceremony were grand and solemn.

Zhao Xuan officially ascended the throne, and Zhang Guifen was also made empress.

As the entire court of civil and military officials gathered in the magnificent palace to await the arrival of the new emperor, an extremely simple carriage quietly drove out from the other side of the palace.

Langhua lifted the curtain and looked at the palace walls receding into the distance behind her, still feeling like she was dreaming.