The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

Three years ago, Gu Yankai and Zhang Yun were relieved of their posts and Gu Yankai was sent to guard the border.

Now that their term has expired, the two have naturally switched places again.

Unlike Zhang Yun and Shi Lan, who were deeply in love and whose relationship blossomed after a short separation, Gu Yankai and Bai Shi had never broken the ice since their marriage. This was partly because Bai Shi had no expectations of him before she entered the family and had never truly bowed her head or flattered him. But the root cause was that Gu Yankai could never forget Qin Nanyan.

Over the years, while stationed away from home, eight out of ten of the letters he brought back each month were about his eldest son, Gu Tingyu's, studies. The other two were for Gu's parents, while Bai Shi and her son Gu Tingye were completely ignored by him.

However, Gu Tingye was unaware of all of this.

Gu Yan was only one year old when he left home and has little memory of it.

Bai was kind and never spoke ill of others in front of his children.

When he played with Fu Ge'er and Bai Ge'er, he often saw them being led by Uncle Zhang and Uncle Qin to learn riding and archery, play ball, and pitch-pot.

He couldn't help but feel a longing for his father, whom he had never met.

Who knew that once Gu Yan returned, there would be no peace at home from then on.

He was as cold as ice to his mother, ignoring her was the best he could do, and if anything displeased him, he would make sarcastic remarks.

She was particularly critical of Gu Tingye.

If the child is lively, he says he's restless;

He practiced martial arts with great enthusiasm, but he called it mere bravado.

If a student's reading is even slightly inferior to that of his eldest son, Gu Tingyu, he will scold him for not being diligent!

Granny Chang grew increasingly agitated as she spoke, her voice trembling: "The eldest son is frail, and being the legitimate son left behind by the first wife, it's only right that the master dotes on him and spoils him. But he shouldn't treat the second son like an enemy! The other day, the eldest son's calligraphy was somehow smeared, and without even asking, the master immediately accused the second son of causing the damage! The second son couldn't stand it and retorted, and the master immediately turned on him, grabbing a ruler and giving him a severe beating! Our second son is stubborn; he didn't utter a single cry. After the beating, he ran away from the mansion that night, and we haven't been able to find him since!"

As she spoke, tears streamed down her face: "Our young lady was so anxious that she fainted once, but the whole manor forbade a large-scale search, saying that Erlang is too young to run away from home and might be hiding in some corner of the manor. If things get out of hand, the Marquis's manor will lose face. What should we do?"

Granny Chang, overcome with grief, cried out, "How can they treat people like this? And they call themselves a high-ranking family! They have no manners whatsoever. Our young lady may have married above her station, but she was still their legitimate wife, whom the Gu family personally came to ask for in a proper and respectful manner. Ye-ge'er is their own flesh and blood. Why should he suffer this injustice!"

Shilan listened to Granny Chang's tearful complaints and didn't know what to say.

He couldn't help but feel sorry for Madam Qin.

While the eldest Qin family was indeed despicable, selfish, and cold-hearted, she tarnished the young Qin family's reputation before their marriage, causing her to waste her prime years and miss opportunities. Ultimately, even the choice of marrying her own brother-in-law as a second wife became the best outcome she could only achieve through vicious schemes and cunning.

But marrying into the Ningyuan Marquis's mansion, how could that be considered fulfilling her wish?

The Gu family is a stagnant swamp that has long been stinking.

The elite circle in Beijing is neither too big nor too small.

But think about it carefully, from whose backyard did the infamous reputation of Lady Qin for being childless, jealous, and disrespectful to her mother-in-law first spread? Wasn't it from the Ningyuan Marquis's own household?!

Before the imperial court pursued the old debts, the Ningyuan Marquis's family enjoyed the emperor's favor and its status was second only to the Duke of Ying's family, making it a top-tier family.

Even so, are the gossips in the backyards of other prominent families in the capital, such as the Duke of Qi's Mansion and the Marquis of Yongchang's Mansion, so widely known and talked about?

Even if we take a step back, there are plenty of noblewomen in Bianjing who have been married for many years without having children, and many who are not on good terms with their mothers-in-law for various reasons. So why is it that only Lady Qin has the worst reputation?

Gu Yankai, as the heir of the Marquis of Ningyuan, cannot even control the gossip in his own household; he is truly incompetent!

Then there are the two notorious playboys of the Gu family, Gu Si and Gu Wu.

Anyone with eyes can see that these two good-for-nothings are all talk and no action. They are clearly two lumps of mud that can't be plastered on a wall, yet they have no self-awareness and still covet the title. They are by no means content with their lot.

If Gu Yankai truly has the means and courage, he will either split the family or suppress them.

But he just wouldn't!

They insisted on keeping the two troublemakers around, spoiling and indulging them, and then rushing to clean up the mess when something went wrong, resulting in a chaotic and unpleasant home!

He must firmly hold onto his position as heir apparent, enjoying the honor and responsibility of being the successor to the title;

They also had to put on a devoted and faithful act of being together for life, and resist the pressure from Da Qin Shi to take concubines and have children.

At the same time, they naively believed that Gu Si and Gu Wu would appreciate their brotherhood and behave themselves.

What's even more ridiculous is that when the imperial court's overwhelming pressure to collect debts truly came down, he couldn't withstand it.

He chose to divorce the Qin family and, in order to fill the financial hole and keep his title, he turned around and married the Bai family, who brought a huge dowry.

After marrying Bai, he felt guilty towards Da Qin, so he neglected Bai, ignoring her and tormenting the innocent Bai who had married into the family.

When Lady Bai died in childbirth due to depression, he was filled with regret. He was utterly disillusioned with love, but as the Marquis of Ningyuan, he desperately needed a mistress to manage the household and to have offspring, which is why he had no choice but to marry Lady Qin.

For the sake of the Qin family.

He gave Xiao Qin a title and had children with her, but he also drew a line in his heart, giving her no affection or respect. He left her alone in the inner quarters without her husband's support, facing the ill-intentioned fourth and fifth wives, slowly turning her into a beast.

This man wants everything, but he can't manage anything well.

The love wasn't thorough enough, and the hate wasn't resolute enough.

Being indecisive and hesitant is the root of all troubles.

A fierce glint flashed in Shilan's eyes.

She looked at Fu-ge'er, whose face was gradually turning pale and showing a troubled expression because of Chang Mama's crying, and softened her voice: "Fu-ge'er, I'll ask you one more time, do you know where Gu Tingye is?"

The room was silent except for Granny Chang's suppressed sobs.

Fu Ge'er's little face showed even more struggle, his lips were pressed together until they turned white, and under the gaze of those eyes that seemed to see through everything, he finally gave in.

"Behind...the hidden cabinet in my study."

It turned out that after being beaten, Gu Tingye was filled with grief and indignation. Fearing that he would implicate his mother, he thought of going to Yangzhou to find his maternal grandfather, Old Master Bai, so that he could stand up for his mother and help her get revenge.

Knowing he didn't have enough money, he secretly came to ask Fu Ge'er for help.

Fu Ge'er, having heard many stories about military life from Zhang Yun over the past two years, values ​​brotherhood above all else. Seeing his childhood friend Tingye in such a predicament, he didn't hesitate to take out all his New Year's money and secretly took a few pieces of jewelry that Shilan rarely wore, intending to give them to Gu Tingye as travel expenses.

Upon hearing this, Granny Chang was both anxious and distressed. Forgetting all etiquette, she quickly followed Shilan and Fuge to the study.

Pushing open the hidden cabinet door, they indeed saw Gu Tingye huddled inside.

The little guy still had lingering swelling on his face, his clothes were wrinkled, and he was tightly clutching a small bundle in his arms. Sensing the light, he opened his eyes half-asleep.

"My dear Ye'er!" Granny Chang rushed over and hugged him tightly, crying her heart out. "You scared me to death! If anything had happened to you, how would your mother and I live?"

When Gu Tingye regained consciousness, he was in Granny Chang's arms. All the grievances he had suffered from being beaten came flooding back to him. He bit his lip, trying his best not to shed tears, and remained silent.

Granny Chang wanted to take him home, but he refused.

Shilan sighed softly and could only say, "Go back. No matter how many tricks your maternal grandfather has up his sleeve, he's still just a merchant, and his status isn't higher than your father's. Even if he came, he couldn't stand up for your mother. In this world, there's only one person who can stand up for your mother and ensure that you and your son are no longer wronged."

Gu Tingye suddenly raised his tearful eyes and looked at her.

"Who?"

"you."

Shilan's gaze was calm and resolute: "You've grown up, you've become successful."

Gu Tingye was stunned.

"Go back, eat well, grow up well. Practice martial arts diligently, and study hard. When you grow up and have real skills, and become a strong and upright man, then no one will dare to make your mother angry again."

Gu Tingye's tears finally fell in large drops, and he asked in a hoarse voice, "Really?"

Shilan reached out and gently wiped away the tear stains mixed with dust on his cheek, nodding: "Of course."

Grow up well.

He will get old.