The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

Shen Guang and Zhao Ying looked at each other, neither daring to utter a sound.

Although they had observed him coldly, and while the prince's expression was somewhat strange, it didn't seem like he was deliberately mocking them, but...

They were, after all, the princess's dowry maids; how could they easily guess the prince's thoughts? They simply kept quiet. (The last sentence appears to be unrelated and possibly a fragment from another context.)

Ruo Fu continued to stare intently at the white porcelain bottle in front of him.

She narrowed her eyes. Fine, if he dares to ask, she dares to give.

Who's afraid of who!

"Sinking Light".

"This servant is here."

"Deliver it to the study yourself. When you get there, find a good spot, make sure he can see it as soon as he looks up. Also, tell the people serving it there to change the water frequently. It must stay in the study for the full seven days! Anyone who dares to remove it before then, I'll skin them alive!"

Shen Guang pursed her lips, suppressing a smile, and bowed respectfully: "Yes, Madam."

Ruo Fu then felt a little better.

-

After leaving the main courtyard, Hongli did not immediately return to his study, but instead went to Qingying's courtyard.

At that time, Qingying was sitting at her desk, copying the rules of the manor.

A thick stack of Xuan paper covered with writing was piled on the table. The writing became increasingly messy towards the end, and some strokes even trembled slightly.

Qingying wrote for a while, then had to stop and gently rotate her wrist.

A'Ruo, who was standing beside her grinding ink, immediately leaned closer to her with heartache upon seeing this:

"My lady, let me massage it for you."

She put down the ink stick, held Qingying's wrists in her hands, and gently massaged them while complaining in a low voice, "This is the last time, why are you rushing like this? The prince's injury hasn't healed yet. Even if you finish copying it in a day or two, it won't delay anything."

Qingying gently shook her head: "Since you said you would finish copying today, don't delay any longer."

"In my opinion, it would be better to postpone it."

Aruo disagreed: "If we delay by one more day, we can go to pay our respects to the Fujin a day later. She's so unreasonable. Who knows what mistakes she'll find to make things difficult for you next time she sees you?"

Hongli, standing outside the door, paused, his brows furrowing.

"How dare you!"

He stepped across the threshold with a stern face: "Does a mere servant like you think you can just make up stories about my wife?"

Aruo was so frightened that her hand trembled. When she turned around and saw Hongli, her face turned pale instantly, and she hurriedly knelt down to beg for forgiveness.

"Your Highness! I misspoke; please forgive me!"

When Qingying heard Hongli's voice, her eyes lit up with joy, but when she saw him enter the room and scold A'ruo with a stern face, her joy slowly faded.

She glanced at A'Ruo kneeling on the ground and said softly, "What is Brother Hongli doing? You know A'Ruo's personality; she can't keep anything to herself. She only spoke up for me because she felt sorry for me after seeing how hard I've been copying books these days."

Hongli paused, his gaze falling again on the thick stack of papers on the table, his expression softening slightly: "I know you are kind-hearted, and I know that A'Ruo has followed you for many years, and you can't bear to punish her severely."

Hongli walked to Qingying's side, reached out and grasped her wrist. Seeing the marks from the brush still clearly visible, he couldn't help but sigh softly, "This servant has only been in the manor with you for a few days, and she has already caused you trouble one after another. First, she argued with the Fujin in the main courtyard, causing you to be punished along with her. Now, even behind closed doors, she still doesn't know how to restrain herself. If she is not strictly disciplined, who knows what kind of trouble she will cause in the future."

When Qingying heard that he wasn't just blaming her, her expression gradually improved, and she even felt a little touched.

Brother Hongli still values ​​her after all.

"You're doing this for my own good, how could I not know?" Her tone softened. "But Aruo has been with me for so many years, and she's always been this way. She's just straightforward, but she's not a bad person. I'll keep her in check from now on, why scare her like this?"

Then Qingying said to Aruo, "Alright, you should keep in mind what the prince said today. There's nothing for you here. Go out and wait."

Aruo quickly kowtowed: "This servant will remember the teachings of Your Highness and Master."

She rose and withdrew as if granted a pardon.

Hongli watched her retreating figure, then looked helplessly at Qingying: "You're just too soft-hearted."

Qingying just smiled and didn't say anything.

That smile carried a hint of gentleness, and also a touch of indulgence that only Hongli could understand.

-

As soon as A'Ruo left the inner room, the gratitude on her face faded immediately. Even when Wang Qin greeted her with a smile, she only rolled her eyes, gave a cold snort, and turned to walk down the other side of the corridor.

Wang Qin's smile froze, and a dark glint flashed across his eyes as he stared at A'Ruo's retreating figure.

A'Ruo, however, was completely oblivious. As she continued walking angrily forward, she muttered to herself, "Who am I doing this for? It's one thing for the Prince not to stand up for his mistress, but he even sided with the Princess Consort to lecture me."

She walked quickly and soon passed through the moon gate. Suddenly, she saw a slender figure standing not far ahead.

The man, who had been looking around at the courtyard gate, noticed A'Ruo approaching. He looked up and met her gaze, as if he had seen some kind of demon. His expression changed slightly, and he turned and walked back.

Even this brief eye contact was enough for A'Ruo to see that beautiful and refined face clearly.

"stop!"

Aruo spoke up without thinking.

The woman paused slightly, but continued walking forward.

Aruo grew increasingly angry, sprinting after her on her flowerpot-soled shoes and grabbing her arm: "I told you to stop, are you deaf?"

The man trembled with fear, hurriedly turned around, and knelt on the ground.

"Please forgive me, young lady, I didn't know you were calling me."

Her eyebrows resembled distant mountains, and her eyes were like autumn waters. Because of her panic, the corners of her eyes were slightly red, making her look even more pitiful and charming.

A'Ruo's gaze immediately darkened, and her voice became even sharper: "What are you doing hiding here so suspiciously? Who sent you?"

The woman hurriedly replied, "I am an embroiderer from the embroidery workshop. I have been ordered by the head nanny to deliver a newly made nightgown to the concubine."

Only then did A'Ruo notice that she was holding a tray in both hands, on which a newly made nightgown was neatly folded.

Her expression softened slightly, but she still found fault: "If you've come to deliver clothes, you should have come in openly. Why did you stand at the courtyard gate peeking around, then hide when you saw people? This guilty conscience is bound to cause misunderstandings. Didn't the embroidery workshop teach you any manners?"

The embroiderer pursed her lips and answered timidly, "Reporting to Miss, one of the newly established rules of the household by the Princess Consort is that any servant from any branch of the household, when delivering items to other courtyards, should give way if the Prince happens to be there. It is better to turn back first and come back later than to barge in without cause and offend the Prince and the masters of the courtyards."

A'Ruo's face stiffened at first.

But after looking down at the embroiderer, she suddenly understood something.

With such looks, such a good figure, and such a voice, who knows what might happen if she were to stroll around in front of the prince?

A'Ruo instantly felt relieved and chuckled, "I see, then you do have some sense."

Just as the embroiderer was about to express her gratitude, A'Ruo added, "However, you left as soon as you saw me, which is still rude."

She pointed to a secluded corner next to the moon gate: "Go kneel over there. You can only come out to deliver things when the prince leaves."

The embroiderer looked up in surprise.

A'Ruo's face had turned cold: "What, you're not convinced?"

"This servant wouldn't dare."

The embroiderer could only lower her head and carry the tray to the wall.

Seeing that she had knelt down properly, A'Ruo felt a little relieved of the pent-up anger that had been building up in her heart for half a day, and turned to walk back.

But after taking only two steps, he saw Hongli come out of the main room.

She was taken aback. So fast?

Without thinking twice, she quickly stepped forward and bowed.

"Respectfully seeing off Your Highness."

Hongli walked past her without glancing to the side, while Wang Qin followed behind, glancing at her face.

But his gaze was neither warm nor cold, and he quickly looked away.

Aruo stood up and watched Hongli's departing figure for a long time. The more she thought about it, the more uncomfortable she felt. She then hurriedly went into the house and saw Qingying still sitting at the table with a gentle smile on her face.

"Princess".

Aruo couldn't help but ask, "It's been so many days, and Your Highness finally came all this way. Why are you leaving after only sitting for a short while?"

Qingying's cheeks flushed slightly as she lowered her head to tidy up the papers on the table: "The Mid-Autumn Festival family banquet is just around the corner, so he naturally has many important matters to attend to."

"But……"

"alright."

Qingying interrupted her softly, a shy yet composed smile appearing on her lips.

"If love between two people is destined to last, why should they be together every day and night?"

Aruo opened her mouth, still unhappy, but she didn't say anything more.

Just then, a figure trembled as it entered from outside.

"This servant greets Consort. This is a new nightgown that the embroidery department has rushed to make for you. Please take a look."