The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

Zhenshu nodded and took out a small package wrapped tightly in oil paper from her bosom. As soon as she opened it, a strong smell of medicine wafted out.

"This is the fertility-enhancing medicine that Consort Qing is currently drinking." Zhenshu lowered her voice: "I have been paying close attention these days and have noticed that although the medicinal materials are all obtained from the pharmacy according to the prescription, Yixin always takes them away herself each time. When she returns to Qingzhi Courtyard, she personally decocts them and never asks anyone else to do it. After the decoction is finished, she doesn't even allow anyone else to touch the dregs and insists on taking them out to dispose of them herself."

Jin Yuyan smiled: "How could a girl who is so arrogant and domineering that she almost considers herself half a master be so cautious and diligent?"

"Your Highness is right. That's precisely why I feel something is amiss."

Zhenshu agreed, saying, "So yesterday, knowing that Your Highness would go to Qingzhi Courtyard, I specially calculated the time and used the excuse of delivering something to the princess to find her. Sure enough, I saw Yixin carrying medicine dregs out. I followed her for a while and saw her bury the things in a secluded corner. I only picked some up after she had gone far away."

As she spoke, she picked out a few pieces of overcooked herbs with her fingertips: "So-called 'fertility-enhancing medicine' is, in essence, nothing more than regulating menstruation, nourishing the mother's body, and making it easier for a woman to conceive. Judging from the name of the herbs, this prescription is indeed a nourishing one. But the strange thing is that if you add more of a few of the herbs and change the order in which the other two main herbs are decocted, not only will the original nourishing effect be completely lost, but the medicinal properties will become extremely strong. Drinking it continuously over a long period of time will unknowingly damage a woman's constitution. In the end, let alone conceiving, she may not even have the chance to get pregnant."

The room fell silent.

Jin Yuyan stretched out her slender fingers, picked up a piece of blackened medicine residue from her hand, and looked at it in front of her eyes.

Suddenly she laughed: "It seems that our Princess Consort is not as generous and shallow as she appears. She can even turn her childhood maidservant against her without her noticing. Over the years, she has been given bowl after bowl of medicine, and no one has noticed anything amiss. This shows that she is very clever and meticulous."

"It makes sense. Everyone says that she, as the primary consort, is fair and magnanimous. Her illegitimate children keep being born one after another, and they are all living well. But if you think about it carefully, the one with the most children, Princess Fucha, is her cousin. She shares her glory and her misfortune. Su Luyun, who gave birth to a son, is incredibly stupid. What use would ten sons be to such a person? And what about the rest? Chen Wanyin is quiet and intelligent, but she still has no children. Gao Xiyue is favored, her family is powerful, and she is beautiful and talented, but she is so weak that she has not been able to have children for many years."

Jin Yuyan sneered, "What are the chances of such a coincidence in this world?"

Zhenshu felt a chill run down her spine upon hearing this.

She had initially thought that this Princess Consort of Prince Bao was just a bit strict and had a tough temper, but now she realized that it wasn't just a tough temper; she was clearly a master of cunning, so masterful that no one could find any fault with her!

Children in the household were born as usual, but only those from families whose mothers were not influential were chosen.

She sits in the main courtyard as the virtuous and kind primary wife, and everyone outside praises her for being fair and generous.

But the real threats are those that cut off their hopes of having offspring, one after another.

Even the maids who came with Consort Qing as part of her dowry were able to defect to her side for many years right under her nose.

It turns out that the seemingly most kind and compassionate princess was actually a cunning and ruthless master who could kill without shedding blood!

Zhenshu couldn't help but gasp, her face filled with lingering fear as she asked, "Princess, should we leak this news to Consort Qing? If she can break ties with the Princess and they fight like the snipe and the clam, perhaps we can..."

"Absolutely not." Jin Yuyan shook her head without hesitation. "How can we play such a good card so soon after we've got it? Prince Bao is the well-known heir to the throne. Of course, his palace can't be as peaceful and harmonious as it seems on the surface. We've only been here a short time, less than half a month. Consort Qing has been enduring all these years, and suddenly she's attacking the primary consort right after we arrived. Who can guarantee that others won't suspect us!"

Zhenshu's expression hardened.

"Your medical skills are our biggest trump card, and we absolutely cannot reveal them easily," Jin Yuyan said to her again. "We have a pharmacy, imperial physicians, and Lady He in the manor. We've only been here a few days, and you've already been able to discern this skill from a pile of dregs. What will others think when they find out?"

Zhenshu immediately lowered her head: "It was my fault."

"You've done a great job."

Jin Yuyan didn't blame her: "This news came at just the right time, but it's not the right time to use it yet. We still need to carefully consider when and how to use it."

Looking at her dazzlingly beautiful face in the mirror, she said softly, "Let's lie low for now. It's not too late to make plans after we've truly seen how deep the waters are in this mansion. Go and brew me a bowl of contraceptive soup. Since I know that children in this mansion are hard to conceive, I can't become the target of everyone's criticism."

Zhenshu was completely convinced: "Your Highness is so thoughtful. I'll go right away."

……

At the same time, Ruo Fu, a master of cunning, ruthless methods, and bloodless killing—

"Give me the money!" Slamming the cards down on the table, Ruof stood up excitedly, hands on his hips, and held out his hands: "Give me the money, give me the money!"

Gao Xiyue stared at the few remaining pieces of silver in front of her, her lips practically curling into a smirk: "You've cheated again, my lady!"

"What nonsense are you spouting now?" Ruo Fu spat at her, "Everything needs evidence. If you can't produce any evidence, you have to accept the consequences!"

"Who wins every single hand?" Gao Xiyue picked up the cards with a suspicious look, flipping them over one by one. "Did you secretly make marks on the cards?"

Ruo Fu calmly replied, "Find it, go ahead and find it. If you really find it, I'll not only give you back everything I won today, I'll even pay you double!"

Su Luyun sat on the other side, looking at Gao Xiyue with great interest, wishing she could check each of the papers for her.

She lost quite a bit today; Yongzhang's silver bracelets were almost all gone.

Gao Xiyue turned the deck of cards over and over, looking at it twice, but she couldn't find any marks or even a speck of dirt.

Sitting beside her, Chen Wanyin finally couldn't help but chuckle softly: "So the source of the First Prince's photographic memory lies with the Princess Consort. Her ability to count and remember cards is truly astonishing."

Upon hearing this, Ruofu was immediately satisfied and pulled out a small silver note from the pile of notes he had just won, then pushed it back.

"Wanyin is so clever; she took it and drank the tea."

Chen Wanyin was both amused and exasperated: "This concubine thanks you, Madam."

Su Luyun hadn't understood yet, and neither had Gao Xiyue.

"What's card counting? What's card memorization?"

Gao Xiyue glanced at Ruofu, then at Chen Wanyin, and suddenly became even angrier: "Your Highness! You still say you didn't cheat!"

Ruo Fu rolled her eyes and stopped Chen Wanyin, who was about to explain: "Don't tell her, let her be stupid to death."

"Madam!"

Ruo Fu stretched out his hand with a roguish look: "A bet's a bet. If you can't produce evidence, don't try to frame me. Pay up now."

Gao Xiyue gritted her teeth in anger, but in the end, she could only reluctantly hand over another piece of silver.

If you don't happily take it away.

Gao Xiyue refused to give up. She turned around and saw Fucha Zhuying coming over. She immediately pressed the person down to her seat and let her play. She then went around behind Ruofu, moved a stool over, sat down, crossed her arms, and stared at the cards in Ruofu's hand with a serious expression.

"I'll sit here and watch. I want to see just how the Princess Consort will win!"

Ruo Fu scoffed.

"Suit yourself. If you can figure it out, then you're really capable."

Gao Xiyue's eyes widened immediately.

The new round had just begun when the sound of children talking suddenly came from outside. A moment later, Hualan, Changbai, and Yonghuang walked in together.

Hua Lan is already eight years old, and her eyebrows and eyes are becoming more and more bright and lively. She greets everyone with a smile as she enters the room.

"Hualan greets her mother, and also greets Aunt Gao, Aunt Fucha, Aunt Su, and Aunt Chen."

Changbai and Yonghuang also bowed.

Everyone in the room burst into laughter and cheers.

Upon seeing Hua Lan, Gao Xiyue's face immediately brightened. Forgetting all about grabbing the Fujin's hand, she pulled Hua Lan into her arms and looked her up and down: "Did you catch a chill today? Why are your hands so cold? Did you take off your cloak again because you felt too hot?"

Hua Lan laughed as she was hugged: "I was too hot riding the horse just now, so I took it off."

"If you've sweated, you absolutely can't be exposed to the wind."

"I'll take a shower as soon as I get back to the house, with really hot water. I definitely won't get sick!"

"It's a deal, isn't it? If you dare to get sick, you'll have to drink bitter medicine, and I won't give you any candied fruit!"

"Okay, okay."

The two chatted and laughed, while Yonghuang obediently sat down next to Fucha Zhuying.

Hailan and Zhaoying brought in water, first having the young masters wash their hands, and then serving them warm tea and snacks.

Changbai was the last to sit down, his gaze lingering briefly on the leaf cards that hadn't yet been put away on the table.

Ruo Fu was reaching out to grab the silver he had won when, for some reason, he suddenly felt a chill down his back.

She glanced back inexplicably, only to find Changbai had already picked up his teacup, his expression unchanged.

Is she just overthinking it?

"Why are you all so late today?" She didn't press the matter further, simply saying, "It's rare for dinner to have anything you like, and you two missed it all."

Changbai took a sip of tea and calmly said, "Grandpa Huang fainted today. The imperial physicians treated him for a long time before he woke up."

Ruof's smile vanished instantly, and the entire room fell silent.

Indeed, if one doesn't think about it and calculate the time, it's about time.

The lively atmosphere just moments ago dissipated completely. Fucha Zhuying was the first to get up, saying that Yonghuang was also tired today, so she would take him back to rest first.

Su Luyun also said she was worried that Yongzhang would wake up and look for his mother.

Chen Wanyin, needless to say more, was a sensible person and quickly took her leave.

Gao Xiyue, unusually, also glanced at the fabric, but before leaving, she didn't forget to hold Hua Lan's hand and say, "Remember to come to my place tomorrow. I just got two bolts of fabric. Can you help me see which one looks better?"

Hua Lan nodded obediently, "I understand."

As everyone left, only Rolf and the two children remained in the house.

Ruo Fu called Hua Lan to his side, gently embraced her, and tidied her disheveled hair: "These days, if you have the chance, go and pay your respects to the Emperor and keep him company."

Hua Lan nodded earnestly, and Chang Bai echoed, "Your son understands."

If Fu didn't want to make the atmosphere too somber, he invited them to have some snacks: "Alright, don't look so serious. Everyone's fine, and there's still a long way to go. Eat and drink as you please."

Hua Lan listened to her like this the most, and immediately picked up a piece of cake: "Then I'll have osmanthus cake."

Changbai also took a piece, but before eating it, he seemed to want to say something, but in the end, he didn't say anything.