The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

Sheng Hong arrived at Shou'an Hall in a daze.

The decision of the Hai family was reported to Old Madam Sheng.

The old lady remained silent for a long time before slowly speaking, her voice weary: "In that case, let's listen to her."

"Mother!" Sheng Hong still wanted to try and win her over.

"Don't you understand?" The old woman interrupted him, looking at the son she had raised with undisguised disappointment in her eyes: "She has never let go of the resentment in her heart. This resentment is directed at you, but isn't it also directed at me? If only she had known this would happen, she wouldn't have done it in the first place."

Sheng Hong's face stiffened, and he lowered his head somewhat awkwardly.

He knew perfectly well that his mother was referring to the affair he had with Lin Qinshuang when Hai was pregnant with their eldest son, Changlin.

"So many years have passed..." he murmured softly.

"She hasn't let the past get to her, and no matter how many years have passed, it's useless." The old lady waved her hand, it was unclear whether she wanted to brush aside those old grievances or tell him to stay far away from her.

"I'm old and can't take care of you anymore. Changlin is grown up now and still needs to study at her maternal family's private school. The girls in the family will also be sent to the Hai family's school when we return to the capital. Since she has already planned out the future of these younger generations, it's not up to you or me to interfere."

"Mother..." Sheng Hong wanted to say something more.

"Go down, I'm tired."

The old woman closed her eyes and stopped looking at him.

Sheng Hong had no choice but to take his leave.

After the footsteps faded into the distance, Old Madam Sheng opened her eyes, gazed at the flickering candlelight, and sighed deeply: "The daughter raised by the Hai family is indeed extraordinary. If I had even a fraction of her methods and determination back then, perhaps my son..."

She couldn't help but grab her mother's hand, a rare hint of confusion and vulnerability showing in her eyes: "Tell me, was I wrong?"

The mistake was interfering in Jing'er's marriage. She thought she could use her status as the only daughter of the Marquis of Yongyi to find a man of high social standing for Jing'er, and use this opportunity to make amends to the Hai family.

The mistake was not stopping Lin Qinshuang from entering the family back then, allowing Sheng Hong to drift apart from her.

Perhaps she made a mistake even earlier...

The mistake was choosing to stay with the Sheng family and raise Sheng Hong back then.

The mistake was that she insisted on marrying him.

Looking at her master's tired and aged face, Madam Fang felt heartbroken and couldn't help but whisper, "Your biggest mistake is that you are both too strong-willed and not ruthless enough."

People who are too strong-willed and unwilling to show weakness will find it difficult to gain the sympathy and recognition of others.

Those who are not ruthless enough cannot guard against those who feign weakness but harbor malicious schemes.

In the end, they suffered losses and injustices, but to outsiders, all they could say was that they had only themselves to blame and had to swallow their pride and bear the pain.

Grandma Sheng didn't speak, she just sat there in a daze.

The dim candlelight illuminated her wrinkled face, revealing a deep-seated loneliness and desolation beneath her years of resilience.

-

The next morning, Sheng Hong still mustered his courage and went to the main courtyard.

He put on a smile, his tone deliberately gentle: "Last night, the Prefect sent someone to say that he would be hosting a banquet tonight to entertain the Marquis of Jingbian, who is coming from Tokyo. Since the Marquis of Jingbian is accompanied by his female relatives, one is his eldest daughter, and the other is his younger sister, who is the daughter of the Duke of Yingguo. The two young ladies are still young, and the Prefect's daughters are all grown up. He is worried that they will not have suitable playmates to accompany them. He remembered that we have a few daughters in our family, so he would like to ask Madam to bring them to the banquet as well. I came here specifically to tell Madam to make good preparations and not to be impolite."

Hai was having breakfast when she heard this. She didn't even lift her eyelids, and simply replied, "I know."

Sheng Hong waited for a while, but seeing that she had no intention of inviting him to have dinner with her, the forced smile on his face couldn't hold up anymore. In the end, he couldn't bring himself to do it, so he turned around and left with a flick of his sleeve.

As soon as he left, Madam Hai put down her chopsticks and instructed Mama He: "The girls' lessons are suspended today. Let them prepare themselves. Their clothes and jewelry must be appropriate. They must not be disrespectful in front of our distinguished guests."

Mother He should be.

The side courtyard, closest to the main courtyard, was where the Sheng family's daughters lived.

The sixth daughter, Minglan, woke up groggily and stretched in bed.

"Is the little pig finally awake?"

The fourth daughter, Mo Lan, had already dressed and was sitting by the window reading a book. Seeing this, I couldn't help but tease her.

"Fourth Sister!" Minglan looked over with a pitiful expression, but couldn't help yawning again.

Mo Lan was amused by her and put down her book to come over: "Get up quickly, the sun is shining... um, it's shining into the yard."

She originally wanted to say "buttocks," but then remembered that the word was too vulgar, so she changed it to "yard" halfway through.

Fifth Sister Wei Lan also came over. Her features were not as delicate as Ming Lan's, and her figure was not as tall as Mo Lan's, but she was charming and cute. She rushed to the bedside and said with a smile, "Sixth Sister is such a sleepyhead! She can't wake up no matter what! Get up quickly, thankfully we don't have to go to class today."

"No class?" Minglan's eyes lit up, and her body, which had been struggling to get up, went limp again: "Then I'll sleep a little longer..."

"You can't sleep anymore." A tall and slender figure walked in; it was none other than the eldest daughter, Jinglan.

She had her hair styled in a girlish way and looked at her younger sisters in the inner room with gentle eyes.

Seeing Minglan still in bed, she was both amused and annoyed. She went over and pulled back her blanket, gently patting her bottom: "Tonight, Mother is taking us to a banquet at the Prefect's residence. There are distinguished guests from Tokyo. Get up quickly, wash up, and change. We also need to choose clothes and jewelry, and there are new rules to learn. We can't delay any longer."

Minglan was still humming and hawing, but Molan became interested and asked curiously, "Distinguished guests from Tokyo? Who are they?"

"It is the Marquis of Jingbian."

Wei Lan's eyes lit up: "Is that the Marquis of Jingbian, the great general who was a brilliant strategist and recovered the eight prefectures of Yan and Yun?"

"It's him. He's traveling south with his family and has arrived in Yangzhou. His daughter and sister are about your age, so they can play together. So get up quickly and dress up carefully, lest you be impolite to others."

Upon hearing this, Wei Lan quickly pulled Jing Lan aside, saying, "Big sister, step aside! You'll have to watch me deal with a rascal like Sixth Sister!"

As he spoke, he pounced on the bed and reached out to tickle Minglan's ticklish spot.

"Oh dear! Fifth Sister! Hahaha... No... I'll get up, I'll get up, okay!"

Minglan rolled around on the bed, tickled, her laughter ringing out.

Mo Lan and Jing Lan both laughed at this.

After a period of playful banter, the three little girls finally dressed neatly and came together to the main courtyard to pay their respects to Madam Hai.

Looking at her three daughters, all of whom were beautiful and had remarkable bearing, Heidegger finally showed a genuine smile.

Even though Sheng Hong deserved to die a thousand deaths, he was indeed handsome, and his daughters were all outstanding in appearance. Standing in a row like this, it was hard not to feel happy.

She personally selected more suitable clothes for them, presented them with exquisite pearl flowers, and carefully instructed them on the rules of the banquet.

But seeing that her daughters were becoming somewhat reserved as the rules became more and more numerous, she softened her expression and promptly reassured them:

"Don't be afraid. There may be a lot of rules, but you are still young, and no one will be too harsh on you. If you really can't get through it, just remember one thing: as long as you don't break the rules, that's the most proper thing to do. When you're with the two young ladies from the Zhang family, just be as comfortable as you sisters would be at home."

"Yes, Mother."

The three Lans responded in unison.