The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

On the way back to Yanxi Palace, Ruyi kept a somber face.

Rong Pei tried to speak several times, but she ignored her and just walked forward with her head down. After entering the main hall, she didn't even bother to change her outer clothes. She went straight to the couch and leaned against it, remaining silent for a long time.

The room was very quiet. The autumn wind blew through the window, causing the corner of the curtain to sway gently. Her gaze fell there, and her eyes became vacant.

Hongli's last words kept echoing in my ears—

After all, she was the primary consort whom my father and mother had carefully selected for me back then.

Ruyi slowly clenched the handkerchief in her hand.

After much deliberation, the primary consort?

Has he forgotten that he clearly intended to keep that jade ruyi for himself during the talent show?

She still remembers clearly the look in Hongli's eyes when he looked at her from the city wall that day, and the expression on his face as he told her that she absolutely had to go.

If not, if not for Fucha's disregard for etiquette that day, snatching the jade ruyi away and causing such a misunderstanding, how could everything have turned out the way it is today?

But now, in Hongli's mouth, it has become the primary consort that the late emperor and empress dowager carefully selected for him...

And what about her? What is she?

What is Qingying?

What upset her even more was the natural protectiveness and admiration that Hongli showed when he spoke of the Empress.

He smiled so openly after hearing Wang Qin's detailed account of the palace affairs.

When Wang Qin praised the Empress's demeanor, he felt honored as well.

The tightness in her chest was getting worse.

Some things no longer seem to be unique to her and Hongli.

Seeing that her face was growing paler and paler, Rong Pei couldn't help but step forward and whisper, "Your Highness, please don't be upset by those words. I've actually discovered something these past few days, but I wasn't sure before, so I didn't dare tell you."

Ruyi closed her eyes, her voice sounding weary: "I don't want to deal with all that nonsense today."

"But this is something Your Highness cannot be unaware of." Seeing that she still ignored her, Rong Pei had no choice but to lower her voice again: "This servant suspects that the relationships between Su Xin and Li Yu, as well as between Lian Xin and Wang Qin, are not entirely innocent."

Ruyi suddenly opened her eyes, turned her head and stared at Rong Pei: "What did you say?"

Rong Pei immediately said, "A few days ago, when I was being punished by Wang Qin to kneel outside the Imperial Study, I saw Li Yu rush back from outside with a velvet flower hidden in his arms. At that time, I didn't think much of it, but this morning when I was paying my respects at Changchun Palace, when Su Xin came in to serve tea, I saw it clearly; it was definitely that flower she was wearing in her hair."

Ruyi's expression changed slightly.

Rong Pei didn't give her time to process it properly and continued, "And then there's Wang Qin. On that same day, I saw him personally send out a sachet with a little eunuch's help, and he specifically instructed me to deliver it to an auntie in person. I felt something was off at the time, so I remembered the little eunuch's face. I've been secretly looking for him these past few days, and I finally found him. After questioning him thoroughly, he admitted that it was Wang Qin who asked him to give the sachet to Lianxin."

At this point, Rong Pei's expression grew even more certain: "Your Majesty, think about it, the only truly influential eunuchs before the Emperor are Wang Qin and Li Yu. And yet, one of them is entangled with Lianxin, while the other secretly sends velvet flowers to Suixin. What a coincidence! There are many eunuchs and palace maids in the harem who secretly have affairs, but how come these two are both involved with the Empress's head maid?"

Ruyi's face finally darkened completely.

She looked at Rong Pei and said softly, "You mean...?"

Rong Pei had already thought about this countless times in her mind, and now she spoke almost without hesitation: "This servant dares to guess that Her Majesty the Empress is probably using her head maid to win over the imperial eunuchs. Lianxin and Suixin are both pawns of hers. If she can really bring Wang Qin and Li Yu to her side, wouldn't she know everything about the Emperor's likes, dislikes, and taboos every day? Knowing these things, she can naturally cater to the Emperor's preferences in every way. In this way, she can not only keep track of the Emperor's whereabouts but also control his will at all times. The so-called enduring favor is not about telepathy, but simply about clever methods."

Ruyi remained silent for a moment.

But then the scene in the Imperial Study suddenly came to mind.

When Wang Qin spoke of the Empress, he showered her with compliments, praising her for being perfect in every way and even the Empress Dowager.

She had only found it jarring at the time, but now, looking back...

If Wang Qin had truly turned against the Empress, and was actually an informant planted by the Empress before the Emperor, wouldn't everything make sense?

Ruyi's fingers unconsciously gripped the cushion beneath her, her nail guards sinking deeper into the soft satin. Her voice gradually turned cold: "Well done."

Seeing that she believed her, Rong Pei's eyes brightened slightly, but she didn't stop: "Your Majesty, it's not just that."

Rong Pei turned back, peeked through the crack in the door, and seeing that the palace servants were all far away, closed the door again. She then turned back and approached, her voice extremely low: "This morning, not long after the palace gates opened, Yuanxin sneaked out. If it weren't for the clever little maid I helped earlier who noticed something was wrong with her expression and came to tell me, I might not have noticed. I followed her all the way and saw her go to see someone."

Ruyi stared at her: "Who?"

Rong Pei said, word by word, "Hailan."

The hall fell silent immediately.

Ruyi slowly leaned back against the soft pillow behind her, and after a long while, she slowly exhaled.

Sure enough.

"Wang Qin, Li Yu, Lianxin, Suxin, Yuanxin, Hailan."

Ruyi murmured these names, a hint of coldness creeping into her eyes: "She has already laid a trap around me."

Thinking of this, she was no longer sad: "So it turns out that the Empress's position, the Emperor's favor, and even the praise and recognition he gives her every day are all things she has forced through her own means."

She straightened her back, raised her chin slightly, and said with a look of disdain, "What's the point of this? Love between a man and a woman, and between husband and wife, should be mutual. If a man truly loves a woman, why would he need to constantly have someone watching his movements, guessing his thoughts, and trying to please her? What kind of sincerity is that? Even if those methods were presented to me, I wouldn't use them."

Rong Pei opened her mouth.

Why, why is it no longer useful?

On the way back just now, wasn't it you who was so heartbroken that you didn't even want to speak?

Ruyi, however, seemed increasingly certain as she spoke: "However, my unwillingness to use these methods doesn't mean I'll sit idly by and wait for my doom. To put it mildly, what she's doing is corrupting the harem, using her maids to win over the imperial eunuchs; to put it more seriously, it's using this to probe the Emperor's will and track his movements—it's harem interference in politics!"

Rong Pei's eyes lit up immediately. Yes, yes, that's right.

Ruyi said slowly, "I cannot sit idly by and do nothing. I must think of a way to set things right."

Rong Pei nodded repeatedly, eagerly asking, "Your Majesty is right. So, where should we begin next?"

Ruyi did not answer immediately, but her eyes gradually hardened.