The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

Emperor Hongli was so angry he choked: "Fucha clan!"

"Alright, alright, didn't you just not finish your sentence?"

If Ruofu dismissed him perfunctorily, he remembered that Empress Ulanara in Jingren Palace seemed to have died around this time.

At that time, the civil and military officials of the court were in an uproar over whether or not to bring her out and honor her as the Empress Dowager.

In her original memory, Langhua was not clear about the details of this matter.

At that time, she had to preside over the funeral, take care of several children, and restrain the palace servants and concubines. She was busy all day long. Although she had heard some rumors, she was only vaguely worried that if the one from Jingren Palace was really welcomed out and obtained the honorary position of Empress Dowager, then Qingying would have another powerful backer.

Before everyone could reach a conclusion, news came that very night that the Empress Jingren had passed away.

His death was sudden, and all the more timely.

Langhua wasn't stupid; she naturally knew that things might not be entirely clean, but it wasn't something she could investigate in detail. Besides, why should she delve into it? It was ultimately a good thing that Qingying lost such an aunt.

Besides that, there is a kind of sorrow of feeling sorry for one's own kind.

Because she suddenly realized that no matter what, she had been an empress or given birth to a prince. Once the emperor abandoned her, she could still be stripped of everything and even imprisoned until death.

Therefore, she became increasingly cautious and eager to become an empress who could satisfy Emperor Hongli.

In the end, they were all just a bunch of random, pointless thoughts, completely useless. When she first arrived, she only briefly reminisced about them before eagerly discarding them.

What she truly remembered clearly was what was written in the scrolls in that mysterious place: the death of Consort Jingren was orchestrated by the Empress Dowager.

She also went so far as to destroy Qingying's spirit, letting her and her aunt choose their own ending before taking action.

Only one of them can live.

Finally, Ulanara died.

But things didn't stop there.

Her death was too coincidental; it occurred at a crucial moment when most of the court officials wanted to clear her name. Even a fool would know that the Empress Dowager was most likely involved in the matter.

Zhang Tingyu and his group of veteran officials then relentlessly turned their criticism towards the Empress Dowager.

In the end, Qingying herself stepped forward and testified as her niece, saying that she personally witnessed her aunt's sudden death due to excessive grief over the late emperor's passing, which aggravated her old illness, and that it had nothing to do with anyone else.

This cleared the Empress Dowager of suspicion and also eased the tension between them.

It was during this time that Qingying asked the Empress Dowager for a new name, completely abandoning the name Qingying and changing her name to Ruyi.

Lost in thought, Hongli regained his composure, his emotions having been interrupted. Having composed himself, he said in a low voice, "Why has my mother gone to such lengths? What good are two empress dowagers? I am her son, the current Emperor of the Qing Dynasty. Would I mistreat her simply because I have another empress dowager? Yet she is so impatient, resorting to such underhanded methods… How am I supposed to explain this to the court officials and the people of the world tomorrow?"

Ruo Fu paused, then rolled his eyes without any hesitation.

"What? Could it be that you really want to bring that girl from Jingren Palace out, give her the title of Empress Dowager, and then grandly house her in Cining Palace, so she can live with the Empress Dowager in the east and west, respectively, to enjoy her old age in peace?"

Hongli frowned: "This is ultimately an ancestral rule. She is the Empress Dowager's legitimate wife. Since there has been no explicit decree to depose her, according to etiquette—"

"According to etiquette and law? The distinction between嫡子 (legitimate son) and 庶子 (illegitimate son), and the hierarchy of superiors and inferiors, as Zhang Tingyu has said. Then I would like to ask Your Majesty a question: Who is the嫡子? Who is the庶子? Who is superior, and who is inferior?"

Hongli was stunned.

Ruo Fu stared at him, each word sharp and deliberate, almost like a stab to his heart: "Your Majesty wouldn't have forgotten so quickly, would you? Half a month ago, you called her 'Empress Mother,' but she wasn't yet Empress Mother. She was originally a Consort, a concubine. Only after she became Empress Dowager could you call her 'Empress Mother' with dignity, and thus claim to be of legitimate birth. Now you turn around and, following Zhang Tingyu and his group's wishes, welcome out the legitimate Empress from Jingren Palace, and even make a grand display of legitimacy and hierarchy. Who exactly are they referring to as legitimate or legitimate?"

As she spoke, she asked with utmost sincerity, "It can't be you, can it?"

"presumptuous!"

Hongli slammed his fist on the table and stood up, his face extremely grim: "Empress Fucha!"

Ruo Fu, completely unafraid, also slammed his hand on the table and retorted defiantly, "What did I say wrong? Are you trying to say that you are now the emperor, the most honorable person in the world, and that no distinction between legitimate and illegitimate heirs, superior and inferior, can possibly overshadow you?"

Hongli's chest heaved.

Ruo Fu scoffed, "Originally, it could have been. If the Emperor could be exempt from these rules, why did no one take the late Emperor's words, 'We will never see each other again,' seriously? He was the late Emperor! Now that he's gone, shouldn't his word be law, given the respect for the dead? Yet Zhang Tingyu and his ilk still dared to use ancestral laws to force you to bring him out. It shows that rules only apply when you acknowledge them; only when you disregard them and have the power can you oppress others!"

She got more and more excited as she spoke: "If you really think you're the emperor and shouldn't be led by the nose by these rules, then go ahead and be yourself! Show your imperial demeanor! Sit in the court and tell Zhang Tingyu and the others that it's not you who gain status because of your mother, but the Empress Dowager who gains status because of her son! Whether she was a concubine or a secondary wife before, now that you're the emperor, she can only be the one and only Holy Mother Empress Dowager in the world! As long as you sit on the dragon throne, no one can surpass you or use any ancestral rules to demote her to a commoner or oppress her into a lowly position!"

The room became completely quiet.

Hongli couldn't say a word, yet... he was deeply moved.

Ruofu continued, "If you can't do this, and instead actually let them bring out that one from Jingren Palace, who uses etiquette to suppress your Empress Dowager every day, then why are you blaming her for being in such a hurry? If she doesn't take action, does she really want to sit and wait for someone to send her an ancestor? When she sees that one from Jingren Palace, should she sit or stand? Which one should the noblewomen bow to first when entering the palace? Who should come first and who should come last in the New Year's ceremonies? Do you think these are all trivial matters that can be easily dismissed with a simple statement about two palaces existing side by side?"

"To put it bluntly, she played the villain today, but who really benefits in the end? With that one in Jingren Palace dead, no one can use the Empress Dowager to pressure the Empress Dowager anymore, and no one can use the Empress Dowager's background to indirectly attack yours. The court officials may make a fuss for a few days, but the matter will be over soon. From now on, the world will only know that there is only one Empress Dowager in the court, and she is your mother, Hongli's mother."

Ruof glanced at him sideways: "You've gotten all the benefits, and you're still complaining about how they used dirty tricks. You're really getting the better deal and then acting innocent!"

Hongli's temple throbbed with anger at her last remark.

But there was nothing he could do. The woman before him, whose words were sharp and sarcastic, was his primary wife, who had given birth to his eldest son and daughter, and now she was pregnant again…

What's even more infuriating is that she's right!

Hongli sat back down with a gloomy face.

After a long while, he suddenly whispered, "She is not my biological mother."

Ruof broke the egg in half, scooped out the still-warm yolk, stuffed it into his mouth, and mumbled a weak "Mmm."

Hongli turned his head and said seriously, "My mother-in-law is not my biological mother. My biological mother is someone else."

Ruofu swallowed the egg yolk, picked up the tea from the bedside table, took a sip, and only after catching her breath did she say, "I know, of course. My Fucha family isn't some small, insignificant household. My mother was once the most favored concubine in the harem. Whether she was pregnant or not, whether she gave birth to a princess or a prince, and how old she was—how could we not know?"

Hongli choked, taking a long time to catch his breath before gathering his emotions again: "These past few days, I've watched the palace servants busily preparing Cining Palace, treating my mother with utmost respect. I can't help but wonder, if my own mother were still alive... if she were still alive, watching me ascend the throne, reaching the pinnacle of power, yet bestowing all the honors that should have belonged to my birth mother upon another woman, what would she think? If she were alive..."

Ruof rolled his eyes again and said bluntly, "Then the throne probably won't be yours either."

Hongli: ...

All sorrow came to an abrupt end.

He turned his head abruptly, glaring at her fiercely: "Fucha Shi!"

"What is it now?" Ruof looked back at him sincerely. "Wasn't what I said the truth?"

Hongli was so angry that his eyes widened, but after a while, he thought of his third brother Hongshi, who was indeed more favored by the Emperor at the beginning, and had no choice but to give in.

But she still refused to admit defeat: "You've also been a mother, how can you not put yourself in their shoes? If it were Hualan and Baige'er, children you carried for ten months and gave birth to, they would end up recognizing someone else as their mother. And when they achieve great success in the future, all the honor, respect, and dignity they gain will be given to others, while hardly anyone will know who you are. Wouldn't you feel bad?"

Ruo Fu scoffed, "Why should I be upset? If I'm capable enough to raise my children well, no one can take them from me! But if I'm of humble birth, powerless and helpless, unable even to protect myself, my children will only suffer with me. Today they'll be looked down upon by servants, tomorrow they'll be bullied by others. Forget about a way out, even a full meal and warm clothes will be a luxury... And then, a capable person is willing to take them in, raise them as their own, ensure they have enough to eat and wear, educate them, give them high positions and power, and even secure the best future and greatest prospects for them in the world!"

"I'd be more than grateful to her!"

She spoke with utmost solemnity: "Even if it's just about me remaining unknown, with no one knowing I'm their mother, even if it means I have to hide far away from them forever, never seeing them again, as long as I know they're doing well, I'll accept it. If I have to suffer some kind of torment to ensure their lives are smooth, I'll have no objections! Even if it means giving up my glory and position to someone else, even if it means going to the deepest hell, I'll do it willingly!"

The lights burned quietly, illuminating Ruofan's calm and matter-of-fact face.

There was also a subtle hint of maternal compassion and resolve that she herself was unaware of.

Hongli stared blankly, momentarily speechless.