The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

Rong Pei said in a low voice, "There's no mistake. I saw it with my own eyes. To be absolutely sure, I even asked a few people. They all heard it with their own ears. Physician Jiang admitted that he and Sui Xin were from the same hometown and had known each other before."

Ruyi remained silent for a long time.

She looked down at the palace rules book in her hand and suddenly found it ridiculous.

She only wanted to recuperate and pave the way for herself to become a mother, but the Empress's rules blocked the use of medicine and medical records. Now, even the imperial physician she had finally found was involved with Changchun Palace.

...It seems that no matter which step she takes forward, Lady Fucha is already there waiting for her.

Block her way.

"She never intended to give me a way out."

Ruyi said softly.

Rong Pei's expression changed: "Master..."

Ruyi continued, "She is the Empress, in charge of the six palaces, so naturally I respect her and abide by her rules. But rules should always have limits. If even which imperial physician I see, what medicine I take, and whether I can have my own children are all decided by others, then she is not asking me to abide by the rules, but forcing me to accept my fate."

She slowly closed the palace rules: "I will no longer sit idly by and wait for my death. I must also let her know that even the Empress has her own boundaries to abide by."

Rong Pei's eyes lit up immediately, and she solemnly replied, "Yes."

-

Yuanxin and Suxin were still assigned to two adjacent small houses, and at this moment they were taking stock of the old things they brought from the Prince's Mansion.

Yuan Xin tucked the last two winter coats into the bottom of the trunk, then suddenly asked without looking up, "What are you trying to say?"

Su Xin paused, "What?"

"How many times have you looked at me?" Yuan Xin finally looked up, giving her a half-smile. "I'm not dead, do you think I wouldn't notice?"

Su Xin, caught red-handed, decided to drop the pretense and rolled her eyes: "I just feel like you've become a different person lately. If it were before, someone like Rong Pei, who had only been here for a few days, would have taken over most of your work as soon as she entered the door, and she'd be putting on airs all the time. You probably would have fought her three hundred times by now. But now, she tells you to go east and you don't go west, she tells you to do whatever she wants, and you're even easier to talk to than me."

Yuan Xin paused for a moment.

She quickly resumed tidying the other trunks, saying cryptically, "Being trusted by the master and not being trusted by the master are two different things. Before, when the master valued me, people listened to what I said, and they tolerated my temper. But now? The master has clearly disliked me. If I don't restrain myself and insist on standing out every day, competing with others for this and that, wouldn't that be openly telling people that I have a death wish?"

She scoffed, "If you're really that desperate, I might as well hang myself. At least that would be easier."

Su Xin glanced at her again but remained silent.

Yuan Xin suddenly changed the subject: "It's you who's strange."

Su Xin's heart skipped a beat, but she forced herself to remain calm: "What's so strange about me?"

Yuanxin leaned against the trunk and slowly looked her over: "Before I came, how many years did you serve by the master's side? After A'Ruo left, it should have been your turn. In terms of seniority and competence, who in Qingzhi Courtyard could surpass you? Yet you never managed to compete with her from beginning to end."

Su Xin chuckled, "What's there to argue about?"

"That's a load of rubbish," Yuanxin retorted without hesitation. "If you truly had no ambition whatsoever, why did you treat those little maids with such condescension? When someone made a mistake, you had a whole repertoire of scoldings, and you had the accounts and keys perfectly under your control. But when you're in front of your master, you seem to suddenly lose all your temper. First, when I came, you took a step back; then Rongpei came, and you took another step back. After a few more steps, you were practically retreating to the gate!"

At this point, Yuanxin changed the subject: "You wouldn't be hoping for this, would you?"

Su Xin's hands, which were folding clothes, froze slightly.

Yuan Xin was still squinting at her.

Su Xin forced a smile and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? We're all just doing errands for our master. What difference does it make what we do? As for those little hussies below, I am, after all, a senior palace maid. My seniority speaks for itself. If I'm always joking around, who will listen to me? I have to maintain my proper dignity."

"Oh~"

The sound of their hearts lingered, but it was unclear whether they believed or not.

Su Xin retorted, "And what about you? You used to always talk about the bond you shared with your mistress since childhood, and you always considered yourself the most important person by her side. How come now that Rong Pei has come along, you suddenly stop competing and fighting for anything? Is it because you can't compete, or because you simply don't want to compete anymore?"

This time, Yuan Xin froze for a moment.

The two locked eyes, each pressing closer, as if trying to get the other to admit their unusual behavior first.

After a long while, it was Yuanxin who was the first to look away.

She continued packing her things with her head down, her voice barely audible: "It's only a little bit of money a month. Whether you behave or not, you'll get by. Why risk your life?"

Su Xin heard it clearly and was taken aback.

She couldn't help but think of the few silver notes at the very bottom of her makeup box.

Every year at the end of the year, the Empress would always give her an extra sum as a reward for sending messages out.

Needless to say, my mother's side at home has received double the monthly allowance from the Fucha family every year for years, and additional rice, flour, and cloth during festivals; she has never been short of it.

My mother wrote to me a month ago saying that she had bought the house next door for her, and that it would be her dowry when she turns twenty-five next year and leaves the palace to get married, enough for her to have a grand and glorious life.

Fortunately, she doesn't have to take such a small monthly allowance.

The two fell silent, each harboring their own secrets, and neither pressed the matter further.

Just then, a cry suddenly came from outside.

Heartbreaking and utterly devastated.

Yuanxin and Suxin exchanged a glance. Before they could leave, a maid rushed in: "Sisters, the Second Prince is outside, walking and crying. We've asked him several times, but he won't say what's wrong."

"Second Prince?"

Su Xin quickly put down what she was holding, and Yuan Xin hurriedly followed.

The two went out together and, sure enough, saw Yonghuang standing by the palace road, followed by two bewildered eunuchs.

The little one's eyes were red from crying, and tears still clung to his face. The more people tried to comfort him, the louder he cried, refusing to utter a single word, looking as if he had suffered a great injustice.

Just as Yuan Xin was about to step forward, a voice suddenly came from behind her.

"Ignore him."

His voice was distinct, with a clear and innocent quality unique to children, yet his tone was so steady that it made people instinctively want to stand up straight.

May both the heart and the pure heart turn back at the same time.

Sure enough, they saw the eldest prince, Yongheng, walking from the other end of the long street.

Today he was dressed in a royal blue robe, with a white sash representing mourning tied around his waist, and two eunuchs carrying things behind him.

Despite his young age, he walked with a measured pace and an air of dignity.

The two quickly curtsied and said, "Greetings, Eldest Prince."

Get up.

He then walked up to Yonghuang.

When Yonghuang saw his brother, he pursed his lips even tighter and turned his head away in a huff.

Changbai didn't try to comfort him. He waited until Yonghuang sobbed a few more times before slowly asking, "Have you cried enough?"

Yonghuang snorted and refused to turn around.

"Keep crying until you've had enough." Changbai said calmly, "I'll listen to you when you've cried enough and are calm enough to speak."

Yonghuang shrugged, and after a while, he wiped away his tears and whispered, "Father Emperor said I'm not studying hard enough."

"and then?"

"And you said...and you said that we both studied in the Imperial Study and were about the same age, yet I'm not even half as good as you."

Changbai nodded: "Why?"

Yonghuang said reluctantly, "Father tested my studies today, and I got nervous and made a mistake. Father then said that I didn't listen carefully in class yesterday and that I have to be punished by copying it twenty times."

At this point, tears welled up in his eyes again: "But I definitely knew it! My master praised me for answering well yesterday. It's just that... it's just that Father Emperor suddenly asked me, and I was scared, so I didn't say it for a moment."

After listening, Changbai first asked, "You really knew how to do it yesterday?"

"meeting!"

"Has your teacher ever graded your homework?"

"Approved."

"What does it say from above?"

Yonghuang sniffed: "He wrote the character 'goodness'."

"That makes things easier."

Changbai's expression remained unchanged: "First, Father Emperor was testing your knowledge. You couldn't answer questions about things you learned yesterday, so that's your fault. If you know something but can't answer it, then you don't know it. Since it's homework, you should have learned it thoroughly and not forgotten it completely the moment you see Father Emperor."

Yonghuang's face immediately fell.

"Secondly, Father Emperor did not ask clearly before concluding that you did not study hard yesterday, and even compared me with you, which was indeed wrong of him."

Several palace servants around him twitched in unison.

Yonghuang was also stunned.

"Come back with me. Father Emperor punished you by making you copy it twenty times because he thought you weren't studying hard enough. If you can prove that you did study hard, then this punishment will be unjustified. Let's go back, take the annotations your teacher gave you, and beg him to rescind his order."

Yonghuang finally raised his head: "P-Can you really come with me, brother?"

"Why not? Although Father Emperor is the Son of Heaven, he is busy with state affairs and may make wrong judgments when his energy is depleted. If we do not speak the truth, wouldn't we be watching him go astray and make one mistake after another? If this continues, it will damage Father Emperor's reputation as a wise and virtuous ruler, which would be a mistake."

Changbai spoke with righteous indignation and stern words.

Yonghuang didn't understand any of that, and only said, "If my brother comes with me, I'll go; if my brother doesn't come with me, I won't go!"

Changbai sighed deeply, and Yongheng took out a clean handkerchief from his sleeve and handed it to him: "I'll go with you. Wipe your tears first."

Yonghuang quickly took the handkerchief and hastily wiped his face clean.

Changbai's expression softened: "Let's not go to the Hall of Mental Cultivation today. Father should be discussing matters with the ministers right now, and you'll only cause trouble if you go. Get up early tomorrow, bring yesterday's homework, and I'll go with you."

Yonghuang nodded immediately.

Changbai glanced at his red, tear-stained nose again: "Let's go."

"Where to?"

"Changchun Palace, Aunt Xin told me yesterday that she's going to make yam cakes today."

Yonghuang's eyes lit up immediately, and he took Changbai's hand.

Changbai didn't shake him off, but held his hand firmly and led him forward.

The two brothers held hands and walked away along the long palace road.

The palace maids who had been silent just moments before suddenly seemed to come alive.

After a while, someone said, "He is indeed the eldest son of the Empress. He is so young, yet he has such a demeanor."

"That's right. The Second Prince wouldn't listen to anyone's advice just now, but the First Prince made it clear in just a few words."

"When I heard him say that the Emperor was also at fault, my heart almost jumped out of my chest. But what he said made so much sense that I actually felt... that it really was true."

Su Xin couldn't help but curl up the corners of her mouth.

That's not true.

Who is the First Prince? He is the Empress's eldest son, the late Emperor's most valued prince and grandson, and the hope of the Fucha family for the next few decades.

Even if ten or twenty more people were born, they would never be able to surpass this one!

It was because of this precious child that the Fujin became more open-minded and no longer panicked and contacted herself.

Su Xin was secretly pleased when she suddenly noticed that Yuan Xin beside her looked strange.

Following Yuanxin's gaze, she saw that Ruyi had also come out at some point and was now behind the door, quietly watching the direction in which the two princes had left, her expression complex.

After a long silence, she said softly, "At such a young age, your mind is already so profound."

No wonder he comes from a family with a long tradition of learning.

The smiles on Yuanxin and Suxin's faces faded slightly at the same time.

Ruyi had already withdrawn her gaze, as if she had merely made a casual remark, and turned to ask, "Where does Consort Wan reside?"

Rong Pei immediately replied, "Your Highness, Consort Wan and Consort Chun reside together in Zhongcui Palace."

"Zhongcui Palace..."

Ruyi pondered for a moment: "Since I have nothing else to do, I'll go see her."

"Yes."