The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

Ruofu was taken aback: "What do you mean by 'books you shouldn't read'?"

Lianxin then recounted the whole story from the beginning.

It turned out that Xiao Quanzi saw that Yonghuang was being watched by Changbai to study and was complaining every day, so he thought he was clever and found a few popular folk tales to please his master.

The book isn't exactly frivolous, nor does it contain anything explicit or obscene. It mainly features stories of talented men and beautiful women, adventures in the martial arts world, and tales of secret engagements, impulsive actions, and disregarding social norms for momentary pleasure.

"The eldest prince said that this matter is not a big deal, but it cannot be taken entirely as a joke either."

Lianxin echoed the words coming from the other side, saying, "At the age of the Second Prince, it's time to read more classics and history, and to first establish a firm sense of right and wrong. It's not that he can't read miscellaneous books, but it's better to wait until he has a sense of right and wrong before reading them. Xiao Quanzi, in order to please his master, only cares about catering to his preferences, without caring at all about what should and shouldn't be given. It's clear that he's not very smart, but he's very opinionated. If such a person stays by the Second Prince's side, who knows what he'll stir up in the future. The First Prince took it upon himself to give him ten lashes and transfer him to another post. He also discussed with Consort Zhe that the Second Prince should move to Xiefang Palace this year to live with the First Prince, so that he can be kept under his watchful eye every day, and to prevent these ignorant servants from leading him astray."

Ruofu breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this: "So that's what happened. I thought something terrible had occurred."

Jue Luo frowned as she listened, and couldn't help but say, "Why must Brother Bai do this? Isn't this overstepping his bounds? He's his younger brother, not him..."

The word "son" was already on the tip of his tongue, but he felt it wouldn't be right to say it, so he swallowed it back.

She simply changed her tone, saying, "He's just a half-brother; is it really necessary for him to worry about everything? Doesn't he worry about upsetting Consort Zhe?"

Lianxin laughed upon hearing this: "Your Highness has guessed wrong. Consort Zhe is not only not unhappy, but quite pleased. I heard that Consort Zhe even bowed to the First Prince on the spot, saying that she herself is not well-educated, and the Second Prince is the kind of person who can easily confuse her with just a few words. From now on, she will simply entrust the children to the First Prince and ask him to take good care of them."

Jue Luo clan: ...

Ruofu also said, "What do you mean by overstepping your bounds? The eldest brother is like a father, and Bai-ge'er is the eldest son of the legitimate wife. It is his duty to take care of his younger brothers and sisters. Besides, Yonghuang is not a bad child, just a bit playful. It is a blessing for him to have Bai-ge'er to keep him in check. Zhuying herself understands this very well, so Mother, please don't worry about it for him."

Jue Luo looked at her sullenly, feeling that the ones who were truly confused were the mother and son in front of her.

The illegitimate princes are only a little bit younger than the eldest legitimate sons. Who knows if they will become formidable rivals in the future?

If he can just go astray and ruin his learning like this, wouldn't that be perfect? ​​Why bother meddling and trying to correct him?

But Ruofu, completely oblivious to her inner turmoil, continued with undisguised pride, "Besides, Brother Bai's ability to manage people is unparalleled. You know, a few days ago, Yonghuang cried all the way from Hua'er to here because of that five hundred-word travelogue, and in the end, he still obediently finished writing it. Now that Brother Bai finds it inconvenient to manage people from across the palace, he's simply moved them right under his nose. It's quite good!"

Back then, that little brat Sheng Changfeng, relying on his mother Lin Qinshuang's favor, had everything he ate, wore, and used, which was comparable to his own brother Bai. With Sheng Hong's consistent favoritism, he developed a very arrogant and domineering personality.

But when they came to Changbai, they were as docile as mice in front of a cat, not daring to have the slightest thought of competing with him.

It is evident that the elder brother's dignified bearing must be cultivated at a time like this.

Seeing her daughter's smug expression, Jue Luo Shi held back for a long time, but finally couldn't help but ask, "Are you talking about your brother, or...?"

Dad?

"It's all the same, all the same," Ruofu interrupted without even letting her finish. "The capable should do more, right? Besides, Mother, you were just complaining that Bai-ge'er didn't have any brothers to help him. Now he has a ready-made younger brother, whom Bai-ge'er taught himself. Why are you complaining now? Don't you want a good younger brother? Someone who can't do anything since he was little and only knows how to stand behind Bai-ge'er and beg him to clean up his messes? Wouldn't that be a burden?"

Jue Luo choked.

Ruofu added casually, "Like I said before, Mother, to be honest, your life, except for the early death of my father, has been smooth sailing, prosperous, and auspicious. Where did you get all these scheming thoughts, always trying to teach me to guard against this and suppress that? You should learn from Yonghuang, read less of those miscellaneous books and plays, and just enjoy your life in peace!"

Jue Luo felt a tightness in her chest from choking.

After catching her breath for a long time, she lost the will to sit any longer. Otherwise, if they continued chatting, she might not catch her breath and end up in the underworld to meet that dead ghost.

I decided to get up and take my leave.

Just before leaving, the clear and melodious sound of a pipa drifted faintly from afar.

Jue Luo paused, unable to suppress her anger. This mother and son were both so naive!

Just wait and see. The emperor is young now, and who knows how many more beauties will come in one after another, and princes will be born one after another. Sooner or later, this mother and son will regret it.

-

In the Imperial Study, Jinzhong placed the newly delivered vase of flowers from Changchun Palace on the table. When Hongli looked up, his mood visibly improved.

Bai Ruiji was sitting to the side holding a pipa. The music paused for a moment, and she said with a knowing smile, "These flowers were arranged by Her Majesty the Empress herself, weren't they? I've always heard that His Majesty only keeps Her Majesty's flowers in his study. It's clear that Her Majesty really cares about His Majesty."

Hongli clearly liked hearing this, his eyebrows rising, but he still feigned a hint of helplessness: "The Empress is good in every way, except that she favors me too much. Every time she arranges flowers, she always sends me the best vase."

Yesterday, I saw with my own eyes that Su Xin and Lian Xin each carried a vase of flowers out of Changchun Palace. One vase was delivered to the First Prince, and the other to the First Princess. The colors were elegant and the arrangement was just right. They were much better than this vase of red, yellow, purple, and pink crammed together in front of me. Li Yu: ...

Li Yu lowered her eyes, pretending that she was mute.

After admiring the flowers for a while, Hongli casually asked, "What is the Empress doing today?"

Jinzhong was about to reply when Hongli seemed to suddenly remember something, his expression darkening slightly: "We can't be listening to the Imperial Concubine playing the pipa again, can we?"

Bai Ruiji paused, lowered her head, and suddenly felt a strange sense of luck that she had been able to gain favor with the emperor these days because of her pipa playing.

Before entering the palace, she was confident in her zither skills and was indeed considered one of the best in the Southern Palace. However, after entering the palace and hearing Gao Xiyue play once, she realized what a true master of the pipa was.

Fortunately, the Consort was pregnant at the time and was too lazy to compete for the Emperor's favor. When she was in the mood, she composed a new piece of music. The first thing she thought of was not to play it for the Emperor, but to rush to Changchun Palace to play it for the Empress.

Jinzhong respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, today Consort Fucha brought Young Master Fuheng to the palace to pay their respects to Her Majesty the Empress. When I went in to fetch the flowers just now, Her Majesty was talking with Consort Fucha."

"You dog of a servant!" Hongli immediately turned his face: "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

Jinzhong quickly apologized.

Hongli instinctively wanted to get up and go to Changchun Palace, but after taking two steps, he felt it was inappropriate.

His mother-in-law rarely visited the palace, and she was having a private conversation with Ruofu. If he were to rush over at this time, he might interrupt the mother and daughter's reunion.

Since the man had come, the son-in-law couldn't just leave empty-handed, so he sat back down and instructed, "Go to the storehouse and pick out a few things to send to Consort Fucha. Since Fuheng is here, I remember I recently acquired a new bow, which is just the right age for him; bestow it upon him as well."

Jinzhong and Li Yu both agreed.

Bai Ruiji lowered her head and plucked the strings of the pipa, adding another point to her understanding of the Empress's importance in the Emperor's heart.