The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

"Oh, right."

Hongli put down his teacup, his expression seemingly casual: "I chose a concubine today, and what were the reactions from the harem?"

Wang Qin was stunned for a moment.

"Reaction? What reaction?"

Seeing Hongli's almost completely losing patience, Wang Qin suddenly realized what was going on: "Oh! Your Majesty, the ladies all know that the greetings have resumed today, and they are all currently in Changchun Palace. I heard that everyone is congratulating Consort Wan, saying that she is very fortunate."

Hongli's expression stiffened subtly for a moment; he knew it.

Still somewhat unwilling, he waited a while and then asked, "What did the Empress do today?"

Wang Qin dared not hesitate any longer and answered quickly, "Your Majesty, Her Majesty the Empress has been handling palace affairs all day. Things like the fabric for autumn clothes, the charcoal allowances for each palace after autumn, and the meals for the princes and princesses..."

As he spoke, he carefully observed Hongli's reaction: "If you ask me, Her Majesty the Empress is indeed Her Majesty the Empress. Now, everyone in the palace is sincerely convinced of her virtues. Since Her Majesty reorganized the six palaces, there has been much less waste and extravagance, but the necessary expenses for each palace have not been reduced. Even the Empress Dowager has praised her more than once, saying that even the little eunuchs and palace maids look better than before, with their complexions becoming rosier day by day. It makes her very happy to see them."

Hongli's lips curled into an uncontrollable smile: "She naturally possesses the bearing of an empress."

After a moment of smugness, Hongli suddenly sighed, as if remembering something, "After all, she was the primary consort whom Father Emperor and Mother Emperor personally selected for me back then."

As soon as he finished speaking, a very faint sound came from outside the door.

Hongli's expression changed, and Wang Qin immediately looked up as well.

The two exchanged a glance, and the next moment, Wang Qin had already rushed out.

But all I managed to catch a glimpse of was a pair of people supporting each other as they hurriedly left.

However, Wang Qin recognized the person by the unique clothing that was the only one of its kind in the world. His expression changed, and he hurriedly went back to report.

"Your Majesty, it is... Consort Xian."

Hongli was stunned. A hint of panic flashed across his face, but he quickly regained his composure.

What he just said was simply the truth.

But when she looked up and saw Wang Qin again, she couldn't suppress her anger and kicked him again: "You dog servant! You've managed this Imperial Study like a sieve! The First Prince is here, and you didn't even inform me beforehand. Consort Xian, such a grown man, stood outside the door listening to me talk for so long, and you didn't even notice. What use are you to me?"

Wang Qin's face turned pale, and he was so frightened that he quickly knelt down and kowtowed: "Your Majesty, please calm your anger, this servant—"

"roll!"

"Yes, sir!"

Wang Qin scrambled to his feet.

But only a moment later, before Hongli had even reached the bedside, Wang Qin returned, limping, and said cautiously, "Master, Aunt Yuhu is here."

Hongli's impatience finally subsided, and a hint of joy appeared on his face: "Please come in quickly!"

Before Wang Qin could even breathe a sigh of relief, Hongli sternly retorted, "You get out here and guard this place properly! If anyone stands outside listening for a long time and you don't know anything about it, then you can go back to your old age and enjoy your retirement."

Wang Qin's expression hardened: "Yes, sir."

Before long, a simply dressed head maid entered and bowed respectfully: "This servant greets His Majesty."

"Auntie, please get up quickly."

Hongli had initially shown some joy at seeing her, but upon seeing Yuhu's expression, his smile froze slightly: "What did you find out?"

Yu Hu sighed, "Your Majesty, everything has been investigated. Zhen Shu, who serves Consort Jia, is indeed well-versed in pharmacology. As for whether she is truly skilled in medicine, I have not yet found any concrete evidence. However, medicine and pharmacology are inseparable. Since she can understand the properties and principles of medicine so clearly, she must not be completely ignorant of medicine."

Yu Hu continued, "Furthermore, Su Xin, who serves Consort Xian, was indeed someone the Empress released."

Hongli's eyes flickered slightly.

Yu Hu quickly added, "However, over the years, Su Xin has never done anything to harm Consort Xian. She was only responsible for relaying important information from Yanxi Palace, which was just for surveillance purposes. She has never given any extra instructions."

Upon hearing this, Hongli's expression softened slightly.

"However..." Yu Hu hesitated, "That girl named Yuan Xin has a rather complicated background. It should be..."

Yu Hu pointed gently in a certain direction and silently uttered two words.

Hongli's expression changed.

Sure enough.

He remained silent for a long time, then suddenly said softly, "The Empress is ultimately kind-hearted. If she hadn't told me, she could have easily used this to set up a flawless trap for Ruyi."

Yu Hu's eyes softened: "Her Majesty probably doesn't want His Majesty to know the truth in the future and cause further discord with her. It's just a pity that Consort Xian probably already considers the Empress her lifelong enemy. This situation is probably not a long-term solution, and His Majesty needs to make a decision as soon as possible."

Hongli pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "I will explain things to her tomorrow."

Yu Hu nodded, then asked, "And what about Consort Jia? How should we deal with her?"

Hongli did not answer, but a hint of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes.

-

Inside Changchun Palace, Ruofu was making a cloth tiger for Rulan in her belly—a fat cloth tiger adorned with bright jewels and stones, adorable yet ostentatiously wealthy.

As she was doing this, she couldn't help but turn around and ask Changbai, who was drinking soup, "I still don't understand why you had to go through all this trouble, making your father deal with her personally? You know perfectly well that your father is likely to be soft-hearted."

Changbai put down the spoon in his hand, slowly wiped the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief, and then spoke unhurriedly: "Then let me ask you a question, Mother. If I say something bad about you, and Xiaolu says something bad about you, who will you be angrier and more resentful towards?"

Without the slightest hesitation, Ruof's eyes widened immediately: "How have I ever treated you badly?!"

Changbai laughed immediately: "That's it."

Ruo Fu opened his mouth to curse, but the words stopped abruptly as he finally realized what he had said.

Even if she were to be eloquent and able to berate Ruyi a thousand or ten thousand times a day without repeating herself, and even if she were to use her position as Empress to punish Ruyi by making her copy the rules a thousand or ten thousand times, what good would that do?

Over the years, she has indeed come to understand that Ulanara Ruyi's mind is different from everyone else's!

Regardless of rank or right or wrong, she was convinced that she harbored resentment because she was not firmly chosen by Hongli during the talent show, and that she was always at odds with him in order to win his favor.

Therefore, every time I scolded her or punished her, she felt even more special and superior.

But if... it were Hongli himself who said it, the weight would be completely different.

Ruofu stared at Changbai for a long time before finally muttering, "You brat."

She's really cunning.

Changbai just smiled and didn't refute.

Ruofu then remembered something else and immediately pressed, "Then why did you ask me to arrange for Hailan to meet with Yuanxin? Let me make this clear, don't beat around the bush and end up making me take the blame for that contraceptive soup."

Changbai remained calm: "How could that be? Clearly, only in this way can we completely clear Your Majesty's name."

Ruo Fu became increasingly confused.

"How do I wash this?"

Changbai did not explain immediately, but simply picked up his teacup again, took a slow sip, and looked very calm.

"Mother, don't worry, you'll see."

(Let's either explode today or tomorrow. I can't pull too many lines anymore. My abilities are not enough. Please bear with me.)