The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

Ruof was taken aback for a moment, then laughed: "What's so great about winning his heart? You couldn't find it anywhere, not even with a lantern. Besides, I never managed to win him over in the first place."

Jue Luo clan: ?

At this moment, Zhaoying entered with a smile and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, Eunuch Jinzhong from the Imperial Study has arrived. He says the seven-day period has come again, and he has come to collect the flowers Your Majesty has newly arranged."

Upon hearing this, Ruofa casually pointed to the side and said, "Here, take that bottle."

Jue Luo looked in the direction she was pointing.

With just one glance, the corner of his eye twitched violently.

...It's been many years since I've seen such vibrant colors.

Zhao Ying bowed without changing her expression, picked up the vase, and walked outside.

After everyone left, Jue Luo finally couldn't help but ask, "What... is this?"

"Someone's afraid I'll get bored out of my mind," Ruofu said nonchalantly. "He insists I arrange a vase of flowers for him every seven days and send it to him, even placing it in the Imperial Study. It's clearly an attempt to embarrass me. Humph, but Mother, let me tell you, my flower arranging skills are much better now. I won't send him the prettiest ones! Doesn't he like to put my flower arrangements in the Imperial Study? Well, every time I'll specifically choose the most vibrant and brightest colors for him, so that all the court officials can see them when they go in for meetings. If he's embarrassed, it'll be him who's embarrassed!"

Looking at her smug daughter, Jue Luo was momentarily at a loss for words.

After a long pause, she tentatively asked, in a very tactful manner, "Is there any possibility... that the Emperor simply likes what you're doing?"

Ruo Fu scoffed, remaining unmoved: "Of course, I also like to put the most concentrated pot in his study."

Jue Luo clan: ...

She seemed to have finally found her daughter's biggest weakness.

Jue Luo took a deep breath, about to offer a few more words of earnest advice, but Ruo Fu had already anticipated her words and quickly waved her hand: "Oh dear, Mother, please don't worry about these things. And don't blame me for being blunt, Mother, you've spent your whole life with Father, when have you ever had any concubines or mistresses causing you trouble? You think you're better at handling the infighting in the harem than I am?"

Jue Luo's eyes widened: "I—"

"Don't worry." Ruofu didn't give her a chance to finish, and patted her hand with a smile: "Just stay at home and be a first-rank noblewoman, enjoy the blessings you deserve. Leave the affairs of the palace to me, I guarantee there won't be any chaos."

Jue Luo felt a lump in her throat, and couldn't get it out for a long time.

But Ruofu was already looking down at the booklet that the Shanggong Bureau had sent today, as if he had already finished talking about this matter.

Just then, a clear and melodious pipa sound suddenly came from afar.

Jue Luo was taken aback and could only swallow back all the advice she had in her heart for the time being: "Where did this play come from? It sounds quite nice."

Zhao Ying happened to come in to change the tea. Upon hearing this, she smiled and said, "It must have come from Xianfu Palace. The Imperial Concubine has composed a new piece of music these days, saying that the little prince in her womb loves to listen to it. She has finally mastered it. She just sent someone to say that she will come over tomorrow to play it for the Empress herself."

Ruofu immediately beamed: "Mother, why don't we stay overnight in the palace? We can listen together tomorrow. Xiyue is truly a master of the pipa; her pipa playing is absolutely superb. Ordinary people don't even have the privilege of hearing her play."

Jue Luo was about to say that palace rules should not be broken casually, but then she suddenly remembered something: "Isn't that Consort Mei you just mentioned also a pipa player from the Southern Palace?"

"yes."

"With the Imperial Concubine Yang so outstanding, what did she rely on to catch the Emperor's eye?"

Ruo Fu glanced at her and immediately felt a sense of foreboding.

Sure enough, Jue Luo's next question was, "Could it be that she is exceptionally beautiful?"

"Mother..."

"Isn't this all for your own good?" Lady Jue Luo immediately retorted, "You may have nothing to worry about right now, but how can one not be prepared for the worst? How can one not plan ahead? Bai'er is all grown up now, and he is indeed exceptionally intelligent. Everyone in and out of the palace praises him. But no matter how smart he is, he is still just a person, without even a brother to help him. The second prince, born to Zhu Ying, is growing up, and there will be a third prince later. Who knows what the situation will be like in ten or twenty years? It's good that the brothers are harmonious now, but if someone becomes ambitious in the future, steals Bai'er's limelight, or even has other ideas, we must always be on guard."

She spoke with increasing seriousness: "From both a moral and logical standpoint, you should hope for another son. Even if he can't compare to Brother Bai, having a brother from the same mother will always be a helping hand in the future, and you won't have to worry about others having ulterior motives—"

Ruo Fu's patience was wearing thin, and he was about to retort when suddenly a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the curtain.

Lianxin hurried in: "Your Majesty."

Ruof could tell something was wrong just by looking at her face: "What's wrong?"

Lianxin paused for a moment and said, "Just now, the eldest prince personally led people to Jingyang Palace, tied up Xiao Quanzi who served by the second prince's side, and gave him ten lashes in front of Consort Zhe. Later, I don't know what the eldest prince said to Consort Zhe, but in the end, Consort Zhe nodded and agreed to let the second prince pack his things now and move to Xiefang Palace ahead of schedule, without waiting until next year."

Ruofu sat up straight immediately: "What's wrong with you all of a sudden?"

Lianxin said, "It seems that today in the Xiefang Palace, when the young masters were talking together, the Second Prince said some things he shouldn't have. The First Prince sensed something was wrong, and after some investigation, he found out that Xiao Quanzi had secretly found some books that the Second Prince shouldn't have seen."