The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

Xiao Liu, who had changed his name to Jinzhong, hurriedly came forward with a perfectly timed smile: "They've gone. I saw with my own eyes that the First Prince received the imperial decree and left the palace with the others. They should be arriving at the Prince He's residence soon."

Li Yu's expression visibly relaxed, and he immediately instructed, "That's good. Go to Yonghe Palace again. The Emperor has summoned Mei to come and accompany him. You should remember what to say and what not to say on the way."

Jinzhong immediately bowed: "How could I forget what Master taught me? Master, rest assured, your disciple knows what to do."

Li Yu nodded in satisfaction: "Go ahead."

Jinzhong responded and turned to leave quickly. Jinbao, who had been keeping his head down since earlier, finally couldn't help but let his shoulders tremble slightly.

Li Yu caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of her eye, then flicked her whisk and smacked him on the backside: "What are you laughing at?"

Jinbao smiled ingratiatingly and said in a low voice, "This servant just feels... His Majesty only summoned a concubine to accompany him, so why did he have to find a pretext to transfer the First Prince out of the palace first?"

Upon hearing this, Li Yu's lips twitched slightly, but he suddenly realized something was wrong. He quickly straightened his face and slapped Li Yu again with his whisk: "You're going to die! How dare you say such things? Do you have several heads on your neck, daring to slander your master at the gate of the Hall of Mental Cultivation?"

Jinbao immediately composed himself, stood up straight with his hands at his sides, and said, "This servant knows his mistake."

Li Yu also resumed his usual serious demeanor when serving the emperor. The two of them stood straight in the corridor, staring straight ahead with blank eyes, as if nothing had just happened.

After a long silence, Li Yu suddenly spoke up in a low voice: "Now you know which people in the palace you absolutely must not offend, right?"

Jinbao's eyes darted around slightly, and she didn't dare to look at him, only whispering, "I understand."

If that's the case, Jinbao couldn't help but think that if His Majesty summoned any concubine to accompany him in the future, he should arrange for two clever eunuchs to stand guard far away on the long street.

If the eldest prince were to suddenly arrive again, it would be good to inform him in advance.

Although Jinzhong, who had already gone far away, had thoughts that were not entirely the same as Jinbao's, they ultimately reached the same conclusion.

In this palace, if those below want to rise in rank, they must learn to understand the likes and dislikes of those above, and even preemptively adopt their likes and dislikes as their own.

In the past, this was called praising the powerful and belittling the weak. But now that the Empress has imposed new rules, belittling the weak is no longer allowed, as it could easily backfire. However, the rule of praising the powerful remains the same.

However, when dealing with those masters who value fairness and adhere to rules the most, one must be even more discreet.

Bai Ruiji had just returned to Yonghe Palace from Changchun Palace and was looking around at the furnishings with great interest. When she heard that the Emperor had summoned her, she dared not delay. She quickly washed and changed her clothes, touched up her makeup, and then followed Jinzhong to Yangxin Hall with her most precious phoenix-neck pipa.

Along the way, she smiled and exchanged a few words with Jinzhong, subtly inquiring about the Emperor's mood that day and who he had just met.

Jinzhong answered the questions he should have answered thoroughly, and glossed over the ones he shouldn't have answered, neither appearing cold nor revealing any information about the Emperor. This made Bai Ruiji secretly glance at him a few more times.

Wang Qin collapsed just like that.

Who would have thought that such a powerful eunuch, who was favored by the emperor and commanded respect in the palace, and who even considered himself worthy of the respect of ordinary concubines, would be captured by his master in the blink of an eye, beaten half to death and thrown out of the palace. It is said that he died the next day from his injuries.

None of the benefits he had promised her had been fulfilled.

However, this is not necessarily all a bad thing. The things I promised him in exchange for those benefits are also no longer valid.

More importantly, Wang Qin's downfall made her realize who truly held the reins of the Forbidden City.

The emperor is naturally the ruler of the world, but the one who truly holds the rules in the six palaces and can make everyone follow the rules is the empress in the central palace.

Wang Qin thought he could act recklessly because of his status as a courtier, but when the Empress got serious, he still fell from grace and was shattered to pieces. If I really get too involved with Wang Qin, even if I eventually gain the Emperor's favor through his connections, what awaits me is probably not a peaceful life.

Thinking of this, Bai Ruiji even felt a little fortunate.

Fortunately, Wang Qin fell quickly enough, and fortunately, he had already alerted the Emperor before Wang Qin collapsed.

Now she has achieved her goal of marrying into wealth and power, but she hasn't actually been dragged into the mud by Wang Qin. The path she's walking has unexpectedly turned out to be cleaner than she had anticipated.

She wanted to win over another person in front of the emperor so that they could give her some information later, which would be ideal. However, she was also afraid that as a newcomer, rushing to the emperor's side would be an eyesore.

Let's forget about it for now. Let's first establish ourselves, understand the temperaments of the people in the six palaces, and then we can plan something else later.

...In the years that followed, whenever Bai Ruiji recalled her schemes of that day, she was always grateful for her wisdom.

-

Changbai did not return until the palace gates were about to be locked.

The young boy walked into the Xiefang Palace from outside, his steps noticeably slower than usual.

The absurd farce that took place at the Prince He's mansion today must have exhausted him, and his brows were furrowed with an unconcealable weariness.

The servant following behind wasn't much better off. After entering, he let out a long sigh before asking, "Is Your Highness hungry? You didn't eat much at the Prince He's residence at noon, and the journey back has been delayed until now. Should I go to the Imperial Kitchen and ask them to prepare a few more hot dishes and send them over?"

"No need to make a fuss." Changbai's voice was unusually soft and weak. "It's already this late. Eating too much will only cause indigestion, and we have to get up early tomorrow. Go check the tea room next door. If there are any ready-made snacks, bring a couple of plates over to tide you over."

Xiao Luzi then responded and left.

Changbai returned to his room, first taking off his outer robe and hanging it on the clothes rack, then washing his hands and face. Not long after, very light footsteps came from the outer room.

A slender palace maid, carrying a tray in both hands, carefully stepped over the threshold, bowed respectfully, and then placed two plates of pastries on the table: one plate of savory ham rolls and the other of pine nut cake that wasn't too sweet, along with a small white porcelain pot.