The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

Ruyi was walking down the long street with Rongpei by the hand, but her mind was still on what Gao Xiyue had said in Changchun Palace.

The legal wife.

One of a kind.

Those words kept swirling in my mind, and I just couldn't shake them off.

Ruyi walked for a while, then suddenly slowed down.

Rong Pei, standing beside him, asked, "Master?"

Ruyi paused for a moment, then finally said, "Let's go to Ruyi Pavilion."

The Ruyi Pavilion was quieter than she had imagined.

Lang Shining was painting the portrait of the emperor and empress sitting together in front of him. However, the emperor was too busy with state affairs to come in person today. As previously agreed, he asked Li Yu to change into a dragon robe and sit in the position to sketch the clothes and body measurements.

When Ruyi entered, Li Yu, who had been calm and composed, panicked upon seeing her and hurriedly tried to get up to greet her. However, Ruyi couldn't help but smile and signaled him to calm down.

Lang Shining greeted her, and the two chatted for a while. Ruyi's gaze fell on Lang Shining's painting.

The painting already has a general outline; the two people are sitting side by side, and they look like a well-matched couple.

"Where we live, a husband has only one wife."

Ruyi was taken aback, thinking she had misheard: "You mean, in your region, men are only devoted to one woman their entire lives?"

Lang Shining nodded firmly, and Ruyi looked dazed. Li Yu's heart skipped a beat, and he was about to say something when footsteps came from outside.

Ruixin came in.

Wearing the Empress's auspicious robes and a corresponding crown in a similar style, she was already somewhat reserved, but unexpectedly, Ruyi was also there, so she quickly bowed and greeted her.

"Greetings to Consort Xian."

Ruyi was stunned for a long time. In a daze, she seemed to see the usually aloof Empress Fucha bowing to her.

Once he lost focus, he didn't call out for a long time.

"Get up quickly."

A slender figure suddenly stepped forward, helped Su Xin up, and said in a serious tone, "How can you be so ill-mannered? The Empress has given you this dress to show you respect. How can you wear it to bow to others? Get up quickly."

It is the lotus seed.

As she spoke, she glanced at Ruyi.

At this moment, Su Xin realized that she had made a mistake in her haste. Her face turned pale, and she quickly got up. She and Lian Xin lowered their heads and carefully brushed off the dust that had gotten on their clothes when they knelt down.

Ruyi then realized what she had been thinking and, upon hearing Lianxin's sarcastic words, felt embarrassed. She could only explain calmly, "I was just thinking about something and didn't mean anything by it."

Upon hearing this, Lianxin's lips twitched slightly: "This servant naturally did not mean to say that Consort Xian was wrong, but this is, after all, the Empress's auspicious robes, and we servants are of lowly status, we really dare not—ah!"

Before she could finish her sentence, Lianxin felt a sharp pain on the side of her face. The force of the blow knocked her to the side, and she fell to the ground.

Everyone in the room was stunned.

Rong Pei withdrew her hand, glaring at him: "You've gone too far! You still know that Consort Xian is the mistress and you're just a servant? What, is it an injustice for you to bow to Consort Xian?"

"Lotus heart!"

Su Xin turned pale with fright and quickly squatted down to help her up.

Lianxin was hit hard by the slap. She covered her face, stunned at first, and then looked at Rong Pei with a mixture of grievance and anger.

Xin helped her to her feet, and seeing her rapidly swollen face, she immediately became angry: "How could you hit someone!"

Rong Pei retorted, "She was disrespectful to Consort Xian, shouldn't she be punished?"

Lianxin was so angry that her chest heaved.

Seeing that things were getting out of hand, Li Yu quickly stepped in front of Su Xin and Lian Xin, forcing a smile and saying, "Oh dear, what's going on here? We're all serving our master, can't we talk things out properly? Rong Mama was just trying to protect her mistress, and Miss Lian Xin was probably just giving a little reminder, there's no need to—"

Before he could finish speaking, a loud shout suddenly rang out from the side!

A short, stout figure suddenly darted out from the doorway, holding a whisk upside down in his hand. He rushed forward and slapped Rong Pei hard across the face!

Rong Pei was unable to dodge in time and took a solid hit, staggering back two steps.

Ruyi's expression immediately changed: "Rong Pei!"

She rushed over to help him up, and seeing a red mark on Rong Pei's face, she immediately looked up and angrily said, "Shuangxi, what are you doing!"

Shuangxi draped the whisk over his arm, speaking with righteous indignation: "I saw everything just now. Your Highness, Consort Xian, forgive my indiscretion, but what kind of manners have your servants learned? They even dare to hit the Empress's servants without warning! At best, this is a quarrel between servants; at worst, it's disrespect to the Empress!"

Enemies meeting are bound to be furious, and upon seeing him, Rong Pei was even more enraged and tried to step forward: "You—"

Shuangxi immediately held his whisk horizontally forward: "Come on, come on!"

Ruyi's face had completely darkened. Supporting Rongpei, she said coldly, "I am the Consort Xian, personally appointed by the Emperor! Rongpei is my personal maid. Even if she has done something wrong, I will personally discipline her."

Shuangxi didn't dare to argue with his master, so he put away his whisk and muttered softly, "Then you should discipline him."

Although it was just muttering, everyone in the room could hear it clearly.

Li Yu's eyelids twitched violently.

Su Xin quickly lowered her head.

Lianxin covered her face, almost unable to hold back her tears.

Ruyi's face darkened further, but to argue with a eunuch over such a remark would be beneath her dignity.

She simply pretended not to hear, turned around and pulled Rong Pei aside, then curtsied slightly to Lang Shining: "We have disturbed you today, and we have frightened Lord Lang."

Lang Shining had been standing by the easel since the beginning, completely stunned. He quickly waved his hands, saying, "It's alright, it's alright, it's nothing."

Ruyi didn't linger any longer: "Rongpei, let's go."

Rong Pei's face was still burning with pain, but before leaving, she still couldn't help but glare fiercely at Shuangxi.

Shuangxi glared back defiantly, but her feet involuntarily shrank back behind Li Yu.

Once Ruyi and Rongpei had truly left Ruyi Pavilion, their footsteps gradually faded into the distance, and the people inside the room almost simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief.

Then they all turned to look at Shuangxi.

Xin was the first to speak: "What are you doing here? And how dare you do that just now! You scared me to death."

Li Yu chimed in, "That's right. Didn't you see the way Rong Pei looked at you? She looked like she wanted to devour you alive."

Shuangxi chuckled, "What wouldn't I dare? I'm here on my mistress's orders. She heard Lord Lang is painting Western pictures, and she's really curious, so she sent me over to take a look. Who knew I'd get here only to find that old hag in a terrible mood! You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this day! For the past few months, I've been dreaming of getting that slap back at her! And today, I've finally got my chance!"

Li Yu had always been in the palace, so he was unaware of the old grudges between Rong Pei and him from their time as princes.

Su Xin, feeling both amused and annoyed, quickly instructed, "Alright, don't just be so smug. When you get back to Xianfu Palace, remember to tell the Noble Consort everything that happened today, without hiding a single word. Since she knows the whole story, she can protect you a bit, lest Yanxi Palace falsely accuse you of acting without cause."

Lianxin covered her face and nodded: "When we get back, we will tell Sister Hailan and Her Majesty the truth. We are Her Majesty's people after all, and we can't just be beaten like this without knowing why."

Su Xin then looked down at Lian Xin again, but in just a short while, that half of her face had become even more swollen. She immediately felt sorry for her: "She was too ruthless. We should go to the Imperial Hospital first and ask someone to get some medicine to reduce swelling and bruising, so that it doesn't get even more swollen tomorrow."

Lianxin shook her head: "No need. There's still some medicine left over from when the eldest princess rubbed it last time. Her Majesty gave it to me since we couldn't use it all. It's very effective. I'll just apply it when I get back."

As she spoke, her gaze fell on Shuangxi again, and she couldn't help but laugh: "You rascal, although your intentions weren't exactly righteous, you still returned the slap for me. I'll remember your kindness."

Shuangxi grinned from ear to ear: "No problem, no problem! Next time there's something like this—"

Li Yu quickly pulled him up.

Shuangxi quickly changed her tune: "Pah, pah, pah! There won't be a next time, there won't be a next time!"

The people in the room couldn't help but laugh.

Only Giuseppe Castiglione remained standing to the side, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, and said, "This is why it's best for a husband to have only one wife."

The room fell silent for a moment.

Lianxin's previously smiling face instantly turned cold, and she said without hesitation, "Even if our Emperor can only have one wife, it can only be our Empress! There is no place for this Consort Xian!"