The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

Ruyi stared blankly at Hongli, as if finally realizing something, her voice trembling uncontrollably: "You know everything?"

Hongli's brow twitched slightly: "Ruyi."

Ruyi abruptly pulled her hand back, her expression filled with distress: "You know she's targeting me at every turn, you know she's bribed the people around me, planting pawns one by one among my ranks."

She looked at Hongli, the disbelief in her eyes gradually turning into disappointment: "You know everything, yet you expect me to pretend I don't? You expect me to respect her, to go along with her, and to tell me she's just all bark and no bite?"

Hongli frowned: "Ruyi, calm down and let me finish speaking—"

"What else is there to say?" Ruyi interrupted him without hesitation. "An empress, an empress who personally established palace rules forbidding palace servants from having private dealings, forbidding concubines from planting spies around others, or bribing servants, is now doing the same things herself. This double standard, where only the powerful are allowed to set fires while the common people are forbidden even to light lamps, is this what you call the demeanor of an empress? Is this what you call kindness? And you even have the audacity to say that she's just short-tempered?"

Hongli's expression gradually darkened, but he still explained in a low voice, "She is the Empress, the head of the six palaces. There is nothing that must be hidden from her by the servants and even the concubines in the harem! She planted spies only to find out if anyone in the palace was causing trouble in secret, not because she wanted to harm you. I said she was kind-hearted, but I didn't say she was without guile, nor did I say she hadn't done anything. But being wary and plotting against someone are two different things."

"What's the difference?" Ruyi sneered. "She instructed Yuanxin to tamper with my fertility-enhancing medicine, turning a perfectly good dose into a contraceptive potion. This has caused me to suffer endless ridicule and humiliation over the years, dashing so many of my hopes, and even depriving me of the chance to become a mother. How is such precaution any different from harm?"

Hongli's expression changed slightly, and he slowly said, "Yuanxin is not the Empress's person."

"Who else could it be but her?"

Hongli opened his mouth, but hesitated, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes.

Ruyi saw it clearly, and the last glimmer of hope she had left vanished. She said firmly, "You are determined to protect her."

Hongli frowned, suddenly feeling a sense of helplessness: "Ruyi, some things are better left unresolved. I'm doing this for your own good..."

"For my own good?"

Ruyi gazed at the man before her, now clad in imperial robes, and tears streamed down her face. "Can I still trust you? You once said that with you by my side, I could rest easy. You said we could gaze at each other from afar, and that a single glance would break my heart. You also said you wouldn't become like Pei Shaoqing. But now? No matter what she does, you always find excuses for her. She's wary of me for the sake of the palace's stability; she punishes me for the sake of propriety; she even replaced my fertility-enhancing medicine with a contraceptive, extinguishing my hopes of motherhood, and that was unavoidable. Whatever she does, you always find a plausible reason, yet you allow me to be schemed against and hurt by her time and time again. Can I still trust you?"

Hongli's brows furrowed even more: "Ruyi, I'm not making excuses for her. I'm telling you the truth, because I don't want you to make the same mistake again and again... to court death."

"The truth?" Ruyi scoffed, unusually decisive as she raised her hand to wipe away her tears. "The truth is, you've changed."

Ruyi said, "Back then, you clearly wanted to give me that jade ruyi. It was she who disregarded her status as a young lady and forcibly snatched it away. But now, in your mouth, she has become a good match that the late Emperor and Empress Dowager carefully selected for you."

"Ruyi".

Hongli's words already carried a subtle warning.

Ruyi stared intently at him, her grief and disappointment deepening: "Now you think she's good, that she's virtuous, that she has the bearing of an empress. Everything she does is right, and everything I do is considered improper. But Hongli, if I lost to someone truly upright and virtuous, that would be one thing, but she's not!"

She appears virtuous, but is actually jealous. She seems selfless, but actually abuses her power for personal gain. From the time she was a prince to the present day in the harem, she has always been the same old trick of forming cliques and pursuing personal interests. Whoever flatters her and goes along with her, she will give them benefits, whether it's arranging for them to serve her in bed or taking care of the imperial heirs. In everything she does, she makes sure to show how benevolent and kind she is as the primary consort and empress.

But if anyone is not of one mind with her, she will lead the entire harem to neglect and isolate that person, leaving them with nowhere to hide.

Gao Xiyue always puts her first, becoming her most vicious henchman. Even Fucha Zhuying and Su Luyun's child is completely under her eldest prince's thumb. Children this young have already learned to win people over—it's truly terrifying!

Chen Wanyin, despite her high aloofness, spent her days using her paintbrush, which she cherished as her life, to curry favor with Changchun Palace. Otherwise, how could she have earned the favor of being the first to serve the emperor?

And you, Hongli, a dignified emperor, became her puppet, a tool for her to bestow favors upon the six palaces, yet you knew nothing of this, instead reveling in your own smugness. Aisin-Gioro Hongli, you are truly pathetic.

Hongli had initially intended to hold back, but upon hearing the final words, he was genuinely amused and exasperated: "Gao Shi is close to the Empress because of her pure heart. The Empress treats her well, and she knows how to reciprocate. She suffers from a cold and has difficulty conceiving, but she never complains. Instead, she treats Hua Lan as her own daughter. The Empress is grateful for her sincerity and purity and spares no expense to invite Lady He to treat her health, which is why we have such good news today!"

And you? I still remember when Consort He came to the manor to take everyone's pulse, you alone avoided her, saying there was no need to trouble yourself. But whether you were afraid of troubling the Empress, or were you wary and deliberately distancing yourself, you know yourself!

Ruyi's face paled, but she kept her head held high, looking defiant.

Hongli said again: "Zhu Ying and Lü Yun have sons and daughters. The Empress takes care of the imperial heirs. Yongheng follows their example. At a young age, he is mature and prudent, and loves his brothers. The younger ones respect and trust him as their elder brother. Seeing their brotherly love and harmony among family members, I am very happy. How come in your eyes it has become forming a faction and scheming!"

As for Consort Wan's nameplate, I personally selected it. When did it become the Empress's arrangement? What, do I need to ask you first to prove that the Empress isn't manipulating things behind the scenes, to decide who I favor today and who I summon tomorrow?

Ruyi's breath hitched.

Since things have gotten this far, and everyone has dropped the pretense of civility...

Hongli didn't want to leave her any room for self-deception any longer, so he simply laid it all out: "Ruyi, you always feel that the Empress and the harem are isolating you, but I want to ask you, in all these years, have you ever taken the initiative to get close to anyone?"