The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

Granny Dai chuckled upon hearing this: "That's not surprising. You don't know, Master, the answer was already there when the First Lady reprimanded the Second Lady during the first time everyone paid their respects to her."

Gao Xiyue hurriedly asked, "What did you say?"

Granny Dai said slowly, "The Princess Consort said that the reason why Consort Qing dared to disobey her superiors was because she felt that she had a special relationship with the Prince, and that the rules of the Prince's mansion did not apply to her."

Gao Xiyue was still completely confused.

Granny Dai patiently explained, "On the surface, Consort Qing doesn't compete or fight, and doesn't argue with the Consort, the young master, or Princess Fucha. But behind the scenes, she sees the Prince as her own possession."

"In her view, the primary wife was only brought into the family by the prince to secure his position in the inner quarters, bear children, establish marriage alliances, and even win over the Fucha family. The mistress was brought in by His Majesty to reward our master for his meritorious service in flood control, which was to appease the meritorious officials. The Fucha princess was brought in due to ancestral rules. Neither of them were what the prince truly desired."

"The only person the prince truly desires and cherishes in his heart is her."

"In terms of official rank, she is below the primary wife, but in terms of the prince's regard for her, she is the most special and the most honored."

"The Princess Consort can manage the Prince's mansion, the master, Princess Fucha, and all the servants, but she alone cannot manage her. If she wants to interfere in the affairs of the mansion, even the primary Princess Consort should avoid her if she opens her mouth."

"She says she doesn't care about titles, but what she really wants is a higher level of respectability than the primary wife. It's no wonder that the princess can't stand her arrogant attitude."

Gao Xiyue was stunned, and after a long while, she said incredulously, "Does the old woman mean that she thinks she is the legitimate wife?"

Granny Dai nodded.

"She's insane!"

Gao Xiyue suddenly stood up from the couch and paced back and forth in the room twice, saying repeatedly that it was impossible, but the more she thought about it, the more she felt that what Granny Dai said made sense.

The words that usually annoyed Qingying the most now, upon careful reflection, all contained implicit admonitions.

It seemed that only she was truly clear-headed and sensible, while the Fujin, she, and Zhu Ying were all just a group of vulgar people indulging in jealousy and rivalry...

Thinking of this, Gao Xiyue slapped the armrest: "I knew it! I, Gao Xiyue, couldn't possibly dislike someone so much for no reason! Granny Dai, from now on, reduce the gifts sent to Qingzhi Courtyard by half during festivals! No, reduce it by seventy percent! Since she is as aloof as a chrysanthemum, she probably doesn't like vulgar things like gold, silver, jewelry, and silk. Sending her less will just suit her refined taste!"

Looking at her mistress's sullen face, Granny Dai's eyes were full of doting affection. She smiled and curtsied, "Yes, this servant has remembered. In the future, when preparing gifts for Qingzhi Courtyard, I will definitely choose the most plain and unvulgar 30% to send."

Gao Xiyue nodded in satisfaction.

-

Qingying returned to Qingzhi Courtyard, dejected and heartbroken.

The courtyard gate slowly closed behind her, and two gatekeepers lowered the bolts on either side, the dull sound like a thud that struck her heart.

Qingying stopped in her tracks and looked back.

The old woman by the door lowered her eyes and didn't dare to meet her gaze. Several maids who were sweeping in the courtyard had been secretly peeking, but when they saw her turn around, they immediately lowered their heads and continued with their work as if they hadn't seen anything.

Qingying stood there for a while, then suddenly raised her chin a little higher. Instead of going back into the house, she had someone bring her a chair and sat down on the porch in front of the main house.

She stared blankly at the sky.

Su Xin led two maids in and went straight to A Ruo's room.

"Everything is here," she said to the two women. "Please be careful, sisters, and make sure nothing is left behind."

The two maids responded and went inside to begin their work.

Before long, the two maids packed A'Ruo's clothes and jewelry into two large bundles, each carrying one. They curtsied to Qingying and were about to leave when Qingying called out to them, "Wait."

Qingying looked at the things in their arms and asked, "Are these going to A'Ruo?"

"Yes, Consort." One of the older maids replied.

Qingying was silent for a moment, then asked, "How badly is she injured?"

The two maids exchanged a glance, both looking somewhat embarrassed.

The older maid carefully replied, "We don't know, but we heard that after the thirty strokes of the cane, the Fujin (princess) had someone apply medicine to Sister Aruo, change her clothes, and then send her back to the Ulanara Mansion by carriage."

After listening, Qingying sighed softly.

"Alright."

She lowered her eyes, her voice tinged with weariness: "After all, Aruo has been with me since childhood, we've been mistress and servant. Now that we're parting like this, I can't just do nothing. I still have some things here, could you please take them to her for me?"

The two maids hesitated for a moment, exchanging glances, neither daring to speak.

Su Xin quickly reacted and stepped forward with a smile: "The concubine is concerned about A'Ruo, which is also a sign of the deep affection between mistress and servant. You can just bring it. When the two younger sisters leave the courtyard later, they can tell the princess the truth. I think the princess won't make things difficult for them over such a small matter."

The two maids breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this and quickly agreed.

Qingying glanced gratefully at Suxin, then got up and walked into the house.

As soon as she disappeared, Su Xin immediately lowered her voice and instructed the two maids: "Whatever the concubine gives you later, take it to the main courtyard first and let Sister Chen Guang take a look. If it's just an ordinary item, it's fine. But if it's something else, you'll avoid any trouble explaining it later."

The two maids nodded repeatedly; they couldn't have been happier.

Su Xin was slightly relieved. This way, if Consort Qing was dissatisfied and wrote something to send to her family to make things difficult for Consort Fu, Consort Fu wouldn't be completely unprepared. Su Xin could consider it a way of making amends for her mistake.

Not long after, Qingying came out again.

One of the maids quickly handed the bundle in her arms to her companion, freeing her hands to receive it.

Qingying took out a small bottle and placed it in the maid's palm.

It's so small, not even half the size of a palm, that it feels almost weightless in the palm of your hand.

The two maids were stunned for a moment.

Even Su Xin paused almost imperceptibly.

Qingying, however, was completely unaware of this and said with a touch of emotion, "This was given to me by my aunt before. She said it was the best external medicine in the palace. When my brother Hongli was naughty, he would always use this when he bumped or bruised himself."

As she said this, a faint smile seemed to appear on her lips: "Please give this to Aruo for me, and tell her to remember to apply her medicine on time, so as not to leave any lingering problems."

The maidservant, holding the bottle, said, "Ah? Oh, oh... yes."

She waited a few more moments.

It wasn't until Qingying looked up at her that she asked, "What's wrong?"

The maid blinked and asked cautiously, "Consort, is this... all you have?"

Qingying blinked, seemingly not quite understanding why she asked that: "What?"

Su Xin's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly smiled and replied, "Since the concubine has already given the instructions, why don't you hurry up and go? If you delay any longer, the people delivering the things outside will get impatient."