The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

She spoke her last sentence with absolute certainty.

Ruofu paused, stared at her for a while, and finally nodded.

"Alright. Since you know what you're doing, I'll trust you."

"This is lily and pear soup personally prepared by Consort Xian. Knowing His Majesty has been busy with state affairs these past few days, she specially simmered it over a low flame for half a day and asked me to bring it over while it's still hot. I'm going to take it to His Majesty; why are you stopping me?"

Outside the Imperial Study, Rong Pei looked at the two eunuchs blocking her way with a grim expression and asked them aggressively.

The two young eunuchs exchanged a glance, clearly somewhat intimidated, but still forced a forced smile and said:

"Granny Rong, it's really not that we servants are deliberately making things difficult for you. The Emperor is inside meeting with the Grand Councilors, discussing important matters of the court. How many heads do we have? Would we dare to go in and disturb him? If you're at ease, please leave the soup here for now. Once they've finished their discussion, we'll bring it to the Emperor immediately. If you're still worried, please come back later. That way, you won't have to wait here for so long, will you?"

Upon hearing this, Rong Pei's expression darkened even more.

"Later? You said the same thing when I came yesterday. You said the same thing when I came an hour ago. And now I've come again, and you're still saying the same thing! Is His Majesty really that busy, or are you deliberately trying to obstruct him?!"

"Slap him!"

A shrill voice suddenly came from behind.

Before Rong Pei could react, she was slapped hard across the face!

The slap came quickly and hard, causing Rong Pei's head to snap to the side and the food box to slip from her hand, crashing to the ground with a thud.

The lily and pear soup that had been carefully simmered for half a day spilled out and covered the floor.

Rong Pei covered her face and turned around abruptly.

Wang Qin was twirling his whisk as he slowly walked up the steps.

"you--"

"What happened to our family?"

Wang Qin sneered, walked up to her, and pointed his finger at her nose: "How dare a lowly servant like you discuss His Majesty's affairs? State affairs are plentiful, His Majesty is preoccupied with the nation and its people, he can't even afford a cup of hot tea, and you think you're so important?"

Rong Pei trembled with rage: "I was just—"

"You dare talk back?"

Wang Qin didn't even give her a chance to finish speaking: "How did Consort Xian teach you manners? This is the Imperial Study, a place of utmost importance; how dare you shout and inquire about the Emperor's whereabouts here?"

He waved his hand coldly, "Guards! Drag this arrogant old woman out onto the main street and make her kneel for a full hour! Let her wake up and learn what a servant's duty is!"

Rong Pei was unwilling to submit.

However, the young and strong eunuchs who were with Wang Qin were on his side. Upon receiving the order, they grabbed her from both sides and dragged her out.

"Let me go!"

Rong Pei struggled twice, but couldn't break free at all. She could only watch helplessly as she was dragged out of the corridor outside the Imperial Study and taken to the long street where palace servants passed by. There, she was forced to kneel down.

Wang Qin watched this scene from afar and felt extremely relieved.

Just as he was feeling smug, a young eunuch suddenly came running over from not far away.

The man approached, beaming, and presented a small box: "Eunuch Wang, the things you ordered are ready."

Wang Qin's eyes lit up. He took the box, opened it, and inside lay a fragrant sachet.

The style was quite similar to the one previously given to the Empress, only slightly smaller. It did not use any rare gemstones, but was simply inlaid with gold and jade. Because it was so small, the craftsmanship was even more exquisite.

Wang Qin held it in his hand and examined it a few times, becoming more and more satisfied with it.

"good."

The little eunuch's smile became even more obsequious: "If Your Excellency thinks it's good, then it's fine."

Wang Qin closed the box lid again and casually handed it back: "Send it over."

"Yes, sir."

The young eunuch took the item with both hands and was about to leave when he suddenly caught sight of Rong Pei being forced to kneel on the side of the long street not far away.

His eyes darted around, and he thought he had figured something out. He chuckled and said, "Don't worry, Father-in-law, I will definitely deliver the things properly. As for what you are busy with here... I will also deliver that to you, Aunt."

Wang Qin was taken aback, then raised his whisk, laughing and scolding as he flicked the man's shoulder: "You think you're so great, you've got a mouth! Get lost!"

However, they showed no intention of stopping it.

Rong Pei knelt not far away and heard the conversation between the two clearly. Her face immediately darkened.

She raised her head, her gaze falling on the little eunuch like a knife.

The latter was pleased with himself for guessing Wang Qin's thoughts. When he inadvertently made eye contact with her, he was startled by her gaze and quickly lowered his head, hunched over, and walked away.

Rong Pei's gaze remained fixed on his retreating figure.

That area is the Western Six Palaces. The most important places to go are either the Empress's Changchun Palace or the Consort's Xianfu Palace.

That 'aunt'...

Watching the little eunuch walk away, Wang Qin glanced at Rong Pei indifferently, snorted coldly, flicked his whisk, and turned to leave.

Rong Pei pursed her lips tightly and remained silent.

About fifteen minutes later, another person appeared from the other end of the long street. He was dressed as a eunuch and walked slightly faster than usual, as if he was in a hurry to do something.

It's Li Yu.

Li Yu was walking hurriedly toward the Imperial Study with his head down when he saw someone kneeling by the roadside from a distance. He initially thought it was some minor eunuch or palace maid who had made a mistake, but when he got a few steps closer, he realized it was Rong Pei. He was clearly surprised and slowed down.

"This is……"

The two eunuchs standing nearby quickly bowed and said, "Reporting to Eunuch Li, it was Eunuch Wang who gave the order. This old woman was talking rudely outside the Imperial Study and even dared to gossip about the Emperor. Eunuch Wang said to make her kneel here for an hour so she will learn her lesson."

Upon hearing this, Li Yu glanced at Rong Pei and saw that half of her face still bore the red marks left from the beating she had just received. She was kneeling upright, but her expression was frighteningly cold. He could tell at a glance that she was absolutely not convinced.

Li Yu roughly guessed the real reason why she had offended Wang Qin.

However, he had no connection with Yanxi Palace. Moreover, Rong Pei was indeed domineering. Perhaps he was used to being bullied by others when he was below. Now that he had been promoted to the side by Consort Xian, he thought he was in charge and became even more arrogant.

It's good to let her suffer a bit and wake her up.

Li Yu didn't say anything more, only nodded slightly: "I see."

As he spoke, he politely cupped his hands to Rong Pei as a greeting, and then walked past her into the Imperial Study.

When she cups her hands in greeting, her robe is slightly open, revealing a bit of the yellowish-green edge.

It's fuzzy, like flower petals.

Rong Pei stared at Li Yu's hurriedly departing figure, slowly narrowing her eyes.

It looked like a velvet flower.