The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

"Your Highness, the imperial physician says that Princess Fucha is over a month pregnant!"

After hearing the maid's report, Ruofu calmly replied, "I understand. Tell her to take good care of herself and not to come to pay her respects until she is three months old."

Then he had Lianxin step forward and give her a reward. The little maid happily thanked him and left in high spirits.

Rufus was not particularly surprised by this.

Zhu Ying has always been in good health. Now that she has completely removed all the Lingling incense from the Prince's mansion, the child will naturally come when it is time.

If Ruofu continued looking down at the account books, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that Gao Xiyue's smile paused slightly.

In the blink of an eye, she suppressed it again.

Gao Xiyue quickly smiled and said, "That's wonderful news! Congratulations, Sister Zhu Ying!"

As she spoke, she bent down to tease Hua Lan: "Hua Gege, did you hear that? You're going to have a younger brother or sister again, aren't you happy?"

Hua Lan was only one year old and couldn't speak yet, but she understood a bit. Upon hearing this, she immediately nodded, her chubby little face trembling slightly. Gao Xiyue burst out laughing and couldn't help but reach out to touch her little face, her eyes overflowing with longing.

Ruofu touched her slightly protruding belly, thought for a moment, and finally comforted her, saying, "You'll have it sooner or later. Hasn't Madam He been taking care of you? Just listen to her, take your medicine when you're supposed to, avoid what you're supposed to eat, and stop thinking about all that nonsense. Once you've recovered, you'll have a chance."

Gao Xiyue smiled and replied, "This concubine understands."

But the smile wasn't as lighthearted as before.

If you can't persuade them anymore, then matters concerning children are simply a matter of fate.

In her previous life, Gao Xiyue was unable to conceive, partly because she wore the bracelet with Lingling incense that Langhua had given her until her death, but it was also related to her suffering from a cold-related illness.

Although she used her postpartum recovery as an excuse to have the Fucha family find a female doctor who was proficient in gynecology to help her recuperate while also arranging pregnancies for Gao Xiyue and Fucha Zhuying, she still dared not say that she could definitely get what she wanted.

Furthermore, in both her past and present lives, she had never been one to be understanding or adept at persuasion, so she decided to change the subject:

"How about this?" Ruofu said earnestly, "Now that Zhuying and I are both pregnant, the only ones left to serve the Prince are you and Ulanara. I'll find a pretext to confine her to her quarters, so the Prince will spend all his time with you, with you the whole time. What do you say?"

Gao Xiyue froze, then hesitated, "This...isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

"Isn't that bad?" Ruofu thought for a moment. Was this targeting too obvious? Oh well.

"Never mind then."

"Madam!"

Gao Xiyue suddenly spoke up, her smile becoming exceptionally ingratiating: "Yesterday, my father had someone send over several bolts of fine Hangzhou silk and light gauze, all new materials for this year. Now that the weather is getting warmer, it's perfect for making summer clothes. I can't wear that many by myself, so I'll have someone send them over to the Fujin later, to make two sets each for you and Princess Hua!"

Ruofu's smile immediately turned kind.

"So sensible."

Just as Ruofu was about to send someone to deliver the message, he suddenly glanced at the corner of the room.

"Hailan".

Hailan, who had been checking the summer clothes booklet, immediately looked up and understood: "Your Highness, there's no need to find another excuse."

"What's wrong?"

Hailan said in a low voice, "Yesterday, I was ordered to check the seasonal clothing with each courtyard. There were a few unclear points on the list sent by Qingzhi Courtyard. When I went to check it myself, the people around Consort Qing made excuses. Later, Consort Qing came out and said a few more words."

If Fu couldn't help but laugh, he asked, "What did you say now?"

Gao Xiyue also perked up.

Hailan replied solemnly, "They say I'm using the Fujin's name to deliberately make things difficult. But the expenses reported by Qingzhi Courtyard this quarter are double that of last year, almost comparable to the main courtyard. I refused to give in, and Qingce Fujin said one minute that the young maids in the courtyard are growing and need extra clothes, and the next minute that the embroidery room is too busy and should send the fabric and needles to Qingzhi Courtyard so she can find someone to make them herself. In short, these are all unreasonable requests, and I refused to comply. Then Qingce Fujin said that I held a grudge because I believed the Fujin. Many people heard this at the time, and it can be considered a slip of the tongue, implying insubordination and sowing discord. According to the household rules, the Fujin could punish her by making her copy the household rules."

Hailan paused, then said, "However, this alone is not enough. Consort Qing has done something else that truly violated the rules of the household. If she is not confined for a month, it may not be enough to convince the public."

Gao Xiyue hurriedly asked, "What is it?"

At the same time, her gaze toward Hailan grew increasingly appreciative.

Two years have passed. The embroiderer who was once stunningly beautiful but always meek and timid, is now still quiet and gentle, but she has become more steady and meticulous in her work.

Because she had offended the prince and refused to be promoted to the rank of princess, Hailan remained in the main courtyard afterward.

Initially, she stayed as an embroiderer, but since the Prince's Mansion had already set up a separate embroidery workshop, there was no reason for the main courtyard to keep another embroiderer separately.

After considering the manpower in the courtyard, Ruofu decided to make Hailan a second-class maid, to serve alongside Xinlianxin, and then slowly teach her manners.

However, Hailan had studied at home and knew how to do math, so she was exposed to tasks such as organizing account books and checking quotas earlier than the other two.

This touch produced an amazing effect!

Hailan has always given people the impression of being quiet, gentle, and submissive.

She speaks softly and rarely argues with anyone. But once the rules of the household are involved, she becomes a completely different person, refusing to budge an inch.

His voice remained low, but his expression was exceptionally firm. He flipped through the account books and argued with the other party, insisting on explaining everything clearly until the other party was convinced and accepted the punishment.

Gradually, some people in the Prince's mansion began to give Hailan a nickname in private.

— Rules of the Sea.

Where there are rules, there is Hailan.

Wherever the rules are broken, Hailan will appear sooner or later.

What's most ridiculous is that she treats everyone in the mansion this way, but she's especially like this when she's at Qingzhi Courtyard.

However, in Gao Xiyue's opinion, this was really satisfying!

What she loves to watch most now is the scene where Qingying makes a mistake and is chased and pursued by Hailan with the rules of the manor until she corrects her mistake and accepts punishment.

Listen.

Gao Xiyue thought to herself, "To find even the slightest mistake in Qingzhi Courtyard, they went through every single page of all the relevant records to investigate it thoroughly. You probably couldn't find another person in the entire Prince's Mansion with that kind of dedication."

"What is it?"

"Medicinal herbs."