The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

Yanxi Palace.

The Imperial Household Department staff had already gone in and out to take inventory several times. Standing in the main hall, Qin Li couldn't help but urge again, "My lord, it's not that I'm deliberately urging you, but His Majesty said that we should move there today. If we delay any longer, it will be dark soon. The Cold Palace has been in disrepair for many years, and it will be even more difficult to clean up at night. You should quickly pick out some useful clothes and bedding and move there first."

Ruyi sat at the table, seemingly not hearing anything, only looking down at a teacup on the table that had gone cold.

After a long pause, she asked softly, "Where is Rong Pei?"

Qin Li was taken aback, then said, "The thirty strokes of the cane have been completed. She is still conscious, but her injuries are quite severe. She will need to lie in bed for at least ten days to half a month, and she certainly cannot be moved right now. Since the Emperor has granted her permission to follow you in the future, someone will naturally send her there once she is able to get out of bed. You can go ahead first."

After hearing this, Ruyi simply nodded slightly.

Qin Li glanced around, hesitated for a moment, then took a half step forward and lowered his voice, saying, "There's one more thing, it's an imperial edict. It says that anything previously bestowed upon you, whether clothing or jewelry, as long as you're used to it, you're allowed to take it with you; the Imperial Household Department doesn't need to confiscate it. My lady, you'd better pack quickly."

Ruyi finally looked up at him, but said nothing. She simply got up and went behind the screen.

Before long, the soft sounds of hairpins clattering and fabrics rustling could be heard from inside.

Qin Li thought she had finally listened to his advice, so he patiently waited outside. But when Ruyi came out again a moment later, he was stunned.

She had changed out of the magnificent robes befitting a concubine, removed all the jewels from her head, and was now wearing only a drab old dress. Her long hair was simply tied up, and apart from the nail guards she still wore on her fingers, she had no other valuable ornaments on her body.

Ruyi looked at Qin Li and said calmly, "It's ready."

Qin Li snapped out of his daze and craned his neck to look behind her.

No, no baggage, no trunk, not even a change of clothes.

He rubbed his eyes again and looked again.

still none.

"No, Master..." Qin Li finally couldn't hold back any longer: "You call this all you're prepared? Putting everything else aside, you should at least bring a couple of sets of clothes, right? What about bedding? What about shoes and socks? You can't wear this one for a whole year, can you?"

Ruyi smiled slightly, her expression calm to the point of being detached: "Those were all gifts from him. Now that I've come this far with him, I should return them all to him."

Qin Li opened his mouth, but for a moment he didn't know what to say.

Ruyi, on the contrary, urged him, "Let's go."

Qin Li instinctively asked, "Where to?"

Where can someone with nothing to their name go?

Ruyi raised her chin slightly: "Go where I belong."

After saying that, she stepped straight across the threshold.

As the sun sets and the autumn wind rises, her silhouette appears solitary and slender.

Qin Li stood there for a long time, then could only wave his hand with a puzzled expression and tell people to follow.

"Does she think she can be like her aunt back then, still living a life of comfort even after severing ties with the emperor?"

Zhao Ying suppressed a laugh and said, "Qin Li followed along the whole way, being very attentive. If she really had her things packed, how could we let her do it herself? I think it's because Your Highness is always fair in your dealings! Since we entered the palace, the practice of deducting from the rations of palace servants has been greatly reduced. Even in the Cold Palace, the rice and grain that should be given according to the rules have never been cut off. I don't think she would really go hungry. In fact, she's been treated leniently."

"You don't understand."

Ruofu leaned back on the soft pillows, used a silver skewer to pick up a piece of fruit, put it in her mouth, and slowly finished eating before saying, "What I gave her was what a commoner should receive according to the rules. For those who are used to hardship, being able to eat their fill, have clothes to keep warm, eat things that won't upset their stomachs, and not be bullied is considered a good life. But who is she? She prides herself on being a noble and elegant person, regarding money as dirt, yet all she has eaten, worn, and used over the years has been the best of everything. Now, she has suddenly fallen from the rank of concubine to a commoner, eating simple meals and wearing coarse clothes every day. This kind of change is the most devastating."

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Ying couldn't help but nod.

Ruof snorted and waved his hand without any sympathy: "But she brought it on herself, who can she blame?"

Changing the subject, Ruofu suddenly remembered something more important: "By the way, has the imperial decree from Mother Empress arrived yet?"

Zhao Ying smiled and said, "Your Majesty, don't worry. Aunt Fu Jia has already gone there herself. Judging by the time, she should be almost at the gate of the Cold Palace by now."

Ruofu finally felt completely relieved. She lowered her head and touched her slightly protruding belly, her expression softening. However, she still spoke with a righteous tone: "That's more like it. No one can take away my name, Ru'er's name."

-

"Her Majesty the Empress Dowager decreed that when she bestowed upon you the name Ruyi, she hoped that after entering the palace you would be content with your lot, cherish your blessings, and thus enjoy a peaceful life. But now it seems that you have failed Her Majesty's expectations. You always say that you miss the past and cherish old friendships, feeling that the people and things of today are not as good as before. So Her Majesty the Empress Dowager said, since you are so reluctant to let go of the past, then you might as well revert to your old name as well."

Ruyi suddenly raised her head.

Fu Jia looked at her quietly: "From this day forward, there will no longer be Ulanara Ruyi in the harem, only the commoner Ulanara Qingying."

The color drained from Ruyi's, no, Qingying's face little by little.

But after a long while, she slowly lowered herself down, her forehead touching the cold, rough blue bricks in front of the Cold Palace gate.

"I, Qingying, am a sinner... Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager."

(There's another chapter on its way, but it's too late. Why don't you go to sleep and read it tomorrow?)