The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

As the palace maids were about to help Qingying back, Qingying suddenly stepped forward and knelt down: "Your Majesty, what mistake has the Empress made that warrants such severe punishment?"

Yongzheng's face grew even colder: "The Empress plotted to seize the throne, and I spared her life, which is already a great act of leniency."

Ruofu secretly rolled his eyes.

She silently prayed, "Your Majesty, the Empress has already been severely punished. Please do not take your anger out on her..."

Consort Xi's voice rang out almost simultaneously: "Your Majesty, Her Majesty the Empress..."

Next, it was the turn of that clueless and audacious eunuch to appear.

The emperor didn't even need to say a word about the dramatic scene of royal fratricide and the fate of the third prince, Hongshi; someone else had already announced it to the world before he could even speak!

"By imperial decree, the third prince, Hongshi, is to be removed from the imperial clan register and no longer be a member of the royal family."

A moment of silence.

"Father!" Hongli's voice was filled with sorrow: "Father, please have mercy on us, for the sake of our father-son relationship."

The emperor looked at him coldly: "First comes the relationship between ruler and subject, then the relationship between father and son. Since he has plotted to seize the throne, I cannot let him live."

Hongli, however, seemed oblivious to the coldness in those words. He remained kneeling, his tone growing increasingly earnest: "Father, even if Third Brother has made mistakes, he is still your son... Besides, Princess Qingying has been staying in Jiangxue Pavilion and knows nothing. Furthermore... she was rejected by Third Brother first, and now she has no official status. How will she, a young lady confined to her quarters, live in the future?... Father, Princess Qingying is also your family."

Ruo Fu almost couldn't resist raising his hand to rub his forehead.

Can someone with this thing really become an emperor?

With so many people here, it's obvious to everyone that Hongli wanted to take back the jade ruyi from her hand just now, in order to marry Qingying as his primary wife.

Whether she stands up or not, by evening at the latest, the evaluation of the Fourth Prince Hongli as inconsiderate and willful will spread throughout the imperial clan and throughout Beijing.

Now, he would add that Qingying was rejected by the Third Prince first.

good very good.

The woman his own brother refused to marry, Hongli was eager to marry her back, even at the cost of damaging the reputation of the Fucha clan.

Give me back my family!

To tell an emperor who has just deposed a prince and imprisoned an empress that the empress's niece, whom he just deposed, is family?

Is this a plea for mercy? It's clearly a reminder to the emperor that he should exterminate them all as soon as possible!

Jade Emperor, Queen Mother of the West, and the Three Pure Ones, you might as well ask me to switch places with him!

While Ruofu was distracted, the other side had already finished pleading for mercy.

The emperor's face was indeed extremely grim. He was clearly determined not to allow Qingying to enter Hongli's residence under any circumstances. However, Hongli was stubborn on this matter and knelt there, refusing to compromise easily.

The father and son remained locked in a tense standoff for a moment, when the emperor suddenly said in a cold voice, "Today's imperial concubine selection is over. The selection of a secondary consort will be held on another day."

Consort Xi's expression changed slightly, but she dared not say anything more and could only lower her head and agree.

One by one, everyone got up to say goodbye.

Ruo Fu also returned the jade ruyi to the eunuch who came, and then walked up to Consort Xi and bowed respectfully.

"This humble woman takes her leave."

Consort Xi looked at her with a hint of reassurance in her eyes, as if she wanted to say something.

Ruofu, however, turned and left without hesitation.

She walked very fast, so fast that Gao Xiyue chased after her almost desperately, but still couldn't catch up.

Only after leaving the palace gates did Gao Xiyue, panting, lean on her maid Xingxuan's hand and watch helplessly as Ruofu boarded the carriage and rode off into the distance.

While comforting her, Xingxuan couldn't help but whisper, "Princess, this Princess Fucha is so arrogant. You were chasing after her like that, and she didn't even wait for you."

Gao Xiyue frowned at her: "What do you know? Who wouldn't be upset in this situation? If she hadn't said anything, I wouldn't have realized that what happened just now was a case of demoting a wife to a concubine."

At this point, a hint of disdain appeared on her face: "This Fourth Prince is the truly arrogant and rude one."

Xingxuan whispered, "So, does that mean Princess Fucha won't be able to become the primary consort?"

"Who knows?"

Gao Xiyue pressed her handkerchief to her chest, then glanced back at the palace gate, her expression growing increasingly grim.

"Let's go back to the manor quickly and tell Father what happened today. If Princess Fucha doesn't become the primary consort in the end, and instead that Qingying Princess enters the Fourth Prince's manor, then I won't go either."

Gao Xiyue snorted, "What nonsense. If it were Sister Fucha, I'd be happy to be a concubine. But that one from the Ulanara family... does she even deserve it!"

Ruo Fu was unaware that Gao Xiyue was speaking up for her behind her back, and she didn't even return to the Fucha Mansion.

The carriage sped along, heading straight for my second uncle's house.

Everyone needs a powerful backer.

Ma Qi, holding his teacup, squinted and asked, "Does Fourth Prince really intend to take back the jade ruyi?"

Ruofu nodded: "It's absolutely true! And it was all in front of everyone. He first gave me the jade ruyi, and then when he saw Ulanara arrive, he tried to take it back. If I hadn't reacted quickly and snatched the jade ruyi away, I'm afraid I would be laughing at to death by all the women in the family by now."

Ruo Fu sneered, "I, the legitimate daughter of the prestigious Fucha family, am going to be a concubine to a bald-headed prince. It seems this Fourth Prince's future is truly very promising!"

Ma Qi's gaze was also icy.

"You did a great job."

He first acknowledged his niece's quick thinking, then put down his teacup and tapped the table lightly with his fingers, as if he were pondering something.

Ruofu didn't wait for him to ponder: "Second Uncle, is it truly true that the throne is irreplaceable?"

Ma Qi stopped tapping the table.

"Is there truly no chance for the Fifth Prince?"

"cough!"

Ma Qi suddenly stood up, first rushing to the window, then to the door. Making sure no one was outside, he lowered his voice and gritted his teeth, saying, "My goodness, how dare you say such things!"

Ruo Fu sat there without the slightest fear: "Second Uncle, we are family, so let's not be like strangers. My future is closely related to what you are planning. To be honest, I do have the ambition to rise higher. If the throne truly belongs to the Fourth Prince, then please, Second Uncle, do your best to secure the position of the primary consort for me."

Ma Qi's expression shifted slightly.

Ruofu added, "However, being too eager is not a good deal. If a person is too eager, they will easily be looked down upon. If we let today's matter go lightly, even if I were to enter the Fourth Prince's residence as his primary wife, I would still inevitably be inferior to others."

"Then everyone will only remember that the Fourth Prince didn't want to choose me, and that my Fucha family forced me into this position for our own future. How am I supposed to establish my authority in the inner court? How am I supposed to win people's respect?"

Ma Qi listened quietly, his gaze gradually deepening.

Ruofu looked up at him and said, "So I ask Second Uncle to devise a plan, and make sure that Fourth Prince and Consort Xi understand that it's not that I can't live without them, but that they can't live without me!"

The room fell silent.

Ma Qi sat back down, picked up his teacup, and slowly stroked the rim: "What you say makes sense, but it seems that the Fourth Prince is narrow-minded and petty. He may not remember kindness, but he is certainly vindictive. If we push him too far, one day, once he rises to power..."

He only hinted at it, but Ruofu understood.

If they push him too far, today the Fucha family is using their future to force Hongli to bow down. If Hongli sits in that position in the future, he may turn around and settle scores with the Fucha family.

Indeed, men find it hard to remember kindness, or even to remember it at all, especially men whose pride is higher than the sky, yet who always rely on others for their help.

She understands perfectly.

Because Sheng Hong in his previous life was no different!

He only ever remembered that she used the Wang family's influence to suppress him, criticized him during their arguments, and negated him.

He never wanted to recall or think about how he, an ordinary Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) with a mid-to-high ranking, managed to return to the capital and don the imperial robes in just over ten years.

Could it be that he is more cautious and shrewd than others?

Ah!

"Since he is ungrateful, let him never be satisfied. Let him always be asking for favors. Only in this way will he always appear to be asking for help, without ever having the opportunity to be ungrateful."

Ma Qi was taken aback.