The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

Hua Lan smiled and tucked her hands into her sleeves: "Since you've brought up the bribery, how could it be yours? Of course it's your daughter's; this is how Consort Gao shows her love for her daughter!"

Once Ruofu was pleased, Hualan removed two bracelets from each of her hands and slipped them onto Ruofu's wrists. As she showed Ruofu the treasures, she said softly, "However, Your Majesty also knows that Consort Gao is a woman of simple tastes and desires. She said that as long as she is of a higher rank than Consort Qing and has a more spacious residence, that would be best. If she cannot have both, then she should ask Your Majesty to favor her and at least let her live closer to you. She promises that one of these things will be enough."

"You believe her?" Ruofu laughed and scolded, "She's always trying to take advantage of others! Today she lives closer to someone else, tomorrow she'll probably complain about how nice someone else's title sounds, and the day after tomorrow she'll see that someone else got an extra plate of snacks, and she might come to ask me why she didn't get one. Tell me, we're both mothers now, and we've lived together in the Prince's residence for so many years, how come her temper hasn't improved at all? She's fine with other things on ordinary days, but when it comes to Ruyi, she immediately becomes like a cat whose tail has been stepped on, and she has to argue about everything."

Hua Lan laughed and said, "You can't entirely blame Consort Gao for this. If Consort Qing hadn't acted so self-righteous when everyone else was drunk, and had been willing to say a few nice words to Consort Gao, the two of them might not have ended up like this. The Empress Dowager knows Consort Gao's temperament; she's the type who responds best to gentle persuasion but not force."

Ruof nodded in deep agreement: "That's true."

Gao Xiyue is actually the easiest person to coax. Her mind is completely transparent and written all over her face. If she likes someone, she'll want to stick to them every day. If she doesn't like someone, she'll never bother to hide it.

Unfortunately, Ruyi is someone who appears calm and collected, but is actually arrogant and aloof, and never backs down. When these two get together, it's like a firecracker hitting a cold wall. The firecracker explodes louder and louder, and the wall still complains that it's not quiet enough.

The carriage rumbled forward for a while longer, until it was sure it was far enough away from the Prince's residence. Then, Hua Lan's eyes lit up, and she leaned forward, saying mysteriously, "Your Majesty doesn't know yet, does she? Qing Niangniang recently acquired Rong Pei, who was serving by her side. Yesterday, she almost got into a fight with Shuang Xi, who served by Gao Niangniang's side."

Ruofu, who had been admiring his newly acquired bracelet, immediately perked up upon hearing this and asked, "Really? Why were they fighting? How come I didn't know?"

"It was yesterday afternoon," Hua Lan said. "Haven't you been feeling sleepy lately? You slept soundly yesterday afternoon, and since things hadn't really gotten out of hand, Aunt Hai Lan probably thought it best to keep it quiet for now, so she didn't rush to tell you."

Ruof immediately sat up straight: "Tell me quickly."

The matter is not complicated.

After being brought back to Qingzhi Courtyard by Ruyi, Rong Pei quickly took over most of the affairs of the courtyard in just a few days.

The original head maids of Qingzhi Courtyard were Yixin and Suxin.

Yixin has now changed her name to Yuanxin and is the one who replaced Aruo as a dowry maid.

Su Xin was someone Ruo Fu had placed there years ago. Both of them had served Ruyi for many years, so in terms of seniority, it was impossible for a newly arrived palace maid to surpass them.

Rong Pei, however, was a strong-willed person who acted decisively and was a woman of her word. Ruyi liked her straightforwardness very much. Although she had only been there for a few days, she was already willing to let Rong Pei handle many things and wanted everyone in the courtyard to treat her as half the person in charge.

Yesterday afternoon, Rong Pei went to the mansion's pharmacy to get an old ginseng root.

Coincidentally, Moxin, who was next to Gao Xiyue, was also collecting the monthly supplements that Gao Xiyue was entitled to.

Both sides wanted ginseng, but the pharmacy checked its inventory and found that only one whole ginseng was left.

Recently, the country is in mourning. If we didn't know that we would be moving into the palace soon, apart from daily necessities and truly essential items, all external purchases have been gradually stopped, and many medicinal herbs have not been replenished in large quantities.

The pharmacist, realizing he couldn't afford to offend either side, smiled and suggested that they cut the old ginseng in half, take half from one side as a temporary measure, and report to the Imperial Household Department the next morning so that the other side could send some better quality ginseng as soon as possible.

Mo Xin frowned upon hearing this, but before she could say anything, Rong Pei's face darkened, and she said in an unquestionable tone, "No way! This is for our master to make soup for His Majesty. How can we wait until tomorrow? Give me this ginseng first."

Mo Xin hadn't originally intended to fight to the death, but hearing her speak like that made her somewhat displeased. She said, "It's all for the masters of the manor, not just your master who has urgent business. Our master is currently pregnant with the imperial heir, and the doctor instructed us to keep this ginseng on hand. Since the pharmacy said to divide it in two, we should just do as they say. What right do you have to take it all with just a word?"

Before she could finish speaking, Rong Pei raised her hand and slapped her.

Everyone in the room was stunned.

Rong Pei, however, appeared frank and self-righteous, coldly rebuking Mo Xin for not understanding hierarchy. She said that His Majesty's health was of utmost importance, and that a servant like her could not casually disregard the master's good intentions.

After saying that, he reached out and took the ginseng, then turned and walked out.

Mo Xin was slapped and felt both angry and aggrieved, but she still cared about her master's reputation and didn't dare to really make a scene in the pharmacy. She could only cover her face and walk back.

But halfway there, they bumped into Shuangxi.

Shuangxi was sent after Gao Xiyue was promoted to a secondary consort. She hadn't been with Gao Xiyue for long, but she had learned to be extremely protective of her own. As soon as she found out the cause and effect, she immediately exploded and turned to chase after Rong Pei, blocking her way in the passageway ahead.

The two started arguing, one sentence after another.

Rong Pei said that Mo Xin was disrespectful to her master and did not know the rules, and that slapping her was already too lenient. Shuang Xi scolded her for being just a palace maid who had only been in the mansion for a few days, yet she was putting on airs and looking down on people.

As the argument escalated, Shuangxi, in her haste, blurted out whatever came to mind, sneering, "Your mistress's soups and broths, even if you cooked them and sent them over, His Majesty might not even drink them! Our mistress is different; she's carrying the imperial heir, she's incredibly precious. Even if His Majesty himself were here, he'd probably say that this ginseng should be given to our mistress first!"

No sooner had he said that than he received a slap across the face.

Without thinking, Shuangxi immediately retaliated, and the two of them were instantly locked in a fierce struggle.

Fortunately, Hailan arrived in time. Seeing the mess, her face darkened, and she immediately ordered her men to hold the two of them down and not let either of them move.

After understanding what had happened, they didn't take sides. They said that Moxin had only argued with Rongpei for a few words, and Rongpei was wrong to hit her. Shuangxi then chased after her to provoke her and fought with others in public, which also broke the rules.

So each side received five slaps on the hand and was fined half a month's salary.

As for the ginseng that almost caused a bloodbath, Hailan personally ordered someone to bring a knife and cut it in half from the middle, one half on each side, and no one was allowed to take a single coin more.

He then immediately ordered the pharmacy to write a note and send it out, promising to go to the Imperial Household Department early the next morning to replenish the medicine, thus putting the matter to rest.

Ruo Fu was stunned for a long time after hearing the whole thing.