The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

"Did the Gu family say that themselves? Did you hear it with your own ears?"

Shilan squinted and asked forcefully.

Having read the original novel beforehand, Shilan naturally knew how the Ningyuan Marquis's mansion escaped this calamity.

First, they sent Qin Nanyan, who was half-dead after giving birth, back to the Qin family with the most scathing and ruthless letter of divorce.

They then spread rumors throughout the capital about how Qin Nanyan was unfilial, willful, and capricious in her husband's family.

After the Qin family's reputation was ruined and Qin Nanyan died of illness from unbearable humiliation, they quietly welcomed the daughter of the Bai family, salt merchants from Yangzhou. With the latter's exorbitant dowry of one million taels of silver, they were able to pay off their debts and retain their title as marquises.

It wasn't until that time that everyone saw the true colors of the Gu family, but the die was cast. Compared to the many families whose titles were demoted, the Gu family's jobs and titles were not affected, and they remained one of the most prominent families in Bianjing.

Moreover, Qin Nanyan's actions after getting married are all true, not fabricated by the Gu family. No matter how much people privately despise the Gu family's actions, the dirty water will still be thrown at the Qin family in public.

Since the Qin family couldn't withstand the pressure, while other families managed to scrape together tens of thousands of taels of silver, the emperor, being benevolent, didn't want to push them to their deaths. Considering past favors, he only stripped them of their titles.

As for the Qin family, after Qin Nanyan's death, the two elders of the Qin family also passed away soon after. After the funeral, the Qin family, which was already declining and had to sell its property to make ends meet, was even more strapped for cash. They couldn't even come up with 10,000 taels of silver, let alone 200,000 taels.

He was stripped of his title, and even the mansion bestowed upon him by the emperor when he was granted the title at the founding of the dynasty was taken back.

It's common for people to fawn over the powerful and belittle the weak. Not daring to criticize the still high-ranking Gu family, they could only mock the Qin family, which had fallen on hard times.

What Shilan didn't expect was that as soon as the imperial decree to make the nobles pay off their debts was issued, the Gu family had already decided to divorce her.

Isn't this too fast?

Could it be that the Bai family has already caught the eye of the Gu family and is eager to marry their daughter into the family?

That's possible.

But Shilan is more inclined to believe that it was because she and the Wang brothers had taken too big a step in recent years that they had attracted the covetousness of the Gu family.

After all, not everyone is like Mr. and Mrs. Qin, who not only don't understand worldly affairs themselves, but also don't care how much others earn outside.

It's as if gold and silver are truly vulgar things, and that even a little bit of eyeing or coveting them would be an insult to civility.

Furthermore, Shilan wanted to know whether it was the Gu family or her good sister who were eyeing the money in her hands.

That's why I asked this question.

Chun Tao stammered, not daring to speak frankly: "The young master is protecting our young lady and refuses to agree. But the future of the whole family is at stake. If the Gu family really can't overcome this hurdle, how can our young lady, as a member of the Gu family, remain unscathed? Third young lady, eldest madam, lord, please save our young lady!"

as predicted.

Shilan sneered. How could a mere maid utter such profound and righteous words?

It seems the story of the difficult childbirth was just a fabrication. The girl only pretended to be flustered when she entered the house, and then kept shouting for help, but she wasn't in a hurry to send her family to Gu's house. She just kept asking the Qin family to pay for it.

Perhaps Qin Nanyan's previous fake pregnancy was exposed, which displeased her mother-in-law. Coincidentally, the imperial court required nobles to repay old debts. The Gu family owed a huge sum, and trouble was about to break out in the family. In order to win her mother-in-law's favor, Qin Nanyan decided to target her family's treasury.

But isn't the Qin family's money Qin Shilan's money?!

How dare she covet Qin Shilan's money!

"Bang!"

Shilan snatched the teacup from her hand and smashed it hard in front of Chuntao. The teacup shattered into pieces, and the splashed tea and porcelain shards covered Chuntao.

Shilan angrily said, "What a Ningyuan Marquis's mansion! My sister was already weak, but she risked her life to keep this child so that the family line could continue. Now that the child is still in her womb, they have the audacity to try and take advantage of us, their in-laws."

Father, Mother, we must hurry to the Marquis's mansion to support my sister. The Emperor's decree wasn't issued solely to his Gu family. This old debt mostly stems from the favors our ancestors received from the Holy Ancestor during the founding of the dynasty. Which family didn't owe tens or hundreds of thousands of taels of silver? If they have to pay it back, then we don't have to.

To put it bluntly, how many noble families in the entire capital could afford to pay this debt? The Gu family is the wealthiest and most powerful; otherwise, Master wouldn't owe such a million taels. Yet they've chosen this moment to force our Qin family to pay. If you ask me, their demand for money is a pretense; they want to use this opportunity to escalate the situation so they can divorce my sister. Perhaps they even want to marry another incredibly wealthy and powerful woman, using her dowry to settle their Gu family's debts!

"No, Mother, we must hurry! Last time when my sister returned home, she said her pregnancy was going very well. How come she's suddenly having a difficult labor? Could it be that the Gu family is in a hurry to make room for the position of the Marquis of Ningyuan's heir's principal wife?"

Startled, Ying Qiongfang imagined a scenario where the Gu family murdered their eldest daughter and her unborn child, then married another woman from a wealthy family. She couldn't help but feel afraid: "Quick, help me out the door! Let's go see the Gu family!"

Shilan looked at Qin Zhengyang, then glanced at Wang Ruofu, who was still staring blankly at the gossip: "Sister-in-law has just found out she is pregnant, so it's not good for her to go along. It would be bad if she caused any trouble. It's also not appropriate for brother to go directly into the inner quarters. He should stay at home with sister-in-law."

Qin Zhengyang had no intention of supporting or emboldening Qin Nanyan, so he readily agreed.

As Shilan helped Ying Qiongfang walk out, she instructed Songzhi, "Doctor Liu and Doctor Lin are in the mansion. Tell them to come along with us."

Ying Qiongfang looked at Shilan with gratitude and relief: "My son, thank goodness I have you."

Qin Muchuan followed behind his wife blankly.

He was still reeling from the shock of his daughter's audacity in faking a pregnancy to frame her own mother-in-law.

Yan'er was his and Qiongfang's eldest daughter, and also their most beloved daughter.

To be honest, he also valued his son Zhengyang and his youngest daughter Shilan equally, because they were both his own flesh and blood. But even if the two of them were combined, they still couldn't compare to Yan'er's place in his heart.

He was always aware of his favoritism, but he never regretted it, because he knew Yan'er was worth it.

Compared to her unruly and mediocre son, and her self-righteous but tongue-tied and inflexible second daughter, she was better off.

His eldest daughter, who was quick-witted, considerate, sweet-talking, and beautiful, clearly won his heart more.

He always felt that Yan'er was the most precious treasure bestowed upon him and his wife by God, a treasure that embodied all the beauty in the world.

How could she possibly harm someone?

She still resorted to such a despicable and underhanded method as faking pregnancy to frame her most respected elder, her husband's biological mother!

How dare she?

-

The main house of the west courtyard of the Ningyuan Marquis's residence.

"Grandma, the medicine is ready."

Qin Nanyan sat on the edge of the bed, holding a bowl of dark, murky medicinal soup in both hands.

The medicine was scalding hot, and the rising steam blurred her features.

She held the bowl in one hand and gently stroked her protruding belly with the other.

She was already seven months pregnant. The doctor said that she was likely to survive at seven months and not at eight months, so if she gave birth at this time, both she and the baby would have a chance of survival.

The child's arrival was unexpected.

Just when she had resigned herself to never having biological children, he arrived quietly.

She still remembers how her husband, Gu Yankai, was ecstatic for three days after they found out she was pregnant. She also remembers how her mother-in-law, who hadn't been seen for a long time, suddenly appeared in her room, personally serving her medicine and showing her concern and care.

After that, they even sent people to deliver tonics every day, and they also made a point of reprimanding her for not being respectful enough to her sisters-in-law and sister-in-law, giving her a lot of face.

She naively believed then that her suffering would eventually turn into happiness.

Suddenly, my mother-in-law invited a famous doctor from Yangzhou.

Known as a gynecological expert.

The elderly doctor, his hair and beard both white, took her pulse, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper. Under his mother-in-law's persistent questioning, he finally couldn't keep the secret any longer—

She never showed any signs of miscarriage.

The lie was thus laid bare.

Qin Nanyan will never forget the look in her mother-in-law's eyes.

It's colder than ice in the twelfth lunar month.

Her mother-in-law wanted to divorce her.

Even after she humbled herself and apologized, and then held her pregnant belly, she still tried to persuade her mother-in-law to consider the baby in her womb.

"My grandson? Didn't I send my grandson away with my own hands a long time ago? You forgot, I recited the Rebirth Mantra for him for six months."

Her mother-in-law stared at her calmly.

But it made her uneasy.

Even her husband hadn't entered her house for quite some time.

Only today did she see him once in the front yard, because the whole family had to respectfully receive the imperial edict.

But the imperial decree received today was undoubtedly another bolt from the blue—

The Ningyuan Marquis's mansion is actually in debt for a million taels!

The moment this figure was announced, the uncles and brothers in the Hou family, who were already concerned with saving face, erupted into a huge uproar. They argued, shifted blame, and accused each other, and eventually even came to blows.

The fourth and fifth brothers even fought tooth and nail in the flower hall over a loan of five thousand taels of silver.

To this day, it remains unknown whether the fourth brother took the money to indulge in frivolous pleasures or the fifth brother sent it to a gambling den.

And just when things were in complete chaos, her mother-in-law came up with an idea that left Qin Nanyan utterly desperate—

"Have you heard of the only daughter of the Bai family in Yangzhou?"

After she was escorted back to her room, her mother-in-law calmed the situation, sat at the head of the table, and slowly said, "My family is in the salt business; we're incredibly wealthy. I've met that girl; she's exceptionally beautiful and has a wonderful personality. Her father is eager to find her a respectable marriage, and he's gone to great lengths to ask me for help. The dowry... is this amount."

She held up one finger.

The fourth sister-in-law asked in a low voice, "One hundred thousand taels?"

Add another zero.

One million taels.

The room erupted in uproar.

Lady Ningyuan said, "I originally intended to marry her off to Prince Anping as his second wife. But given our current situation... if we could bring her in, it would be a relief in our immediate crisis."

She spoke casually, as if she were just discussing what groceries to buy today.

But after hearing Xia Mo's account, Qin Nanyan felt her blood run cold.

The Bai family are a merchant family, but the mother-in-law insists on marrying her into the family. Who can marry her?

Does the mother-in-law intend to divorce the fourth and fifth wives who were present and listening to her?

Qin Nanyan knew that she was really in danger this time.

She couldn't even count on Gu Yankai.

For the past month, Gu Yankai had distanced himself from her because of his mother-in-law. She was sad but not afraid, because this man, who had always been obedient to her, had her in his heart and eyes. Once the child was born, she would be able to appease him with a few tricks.

But this time it's different.

Since it involved the future of his family, he had no choice but to bow his head.

She couldn't just sit and wait to die.

A woman who is divorced and sent back home will have no place to stand, not only in Bianjing, but even in her own family home. Qin Nanyan has enjoyed a glorious life for more than ten years, and she absolutely cannot end up like that.

Therefore, the only solution is to help the Gu family fill this hole.

But where is she going to find a million taels?

After much thought, she thought of Shilan.

This younger sister, who wasn't close to her since childhood, is actually quite capable.

Over the years, their business has visibly grown bigger and bigger. I heard that the two Wang brothers have opened several more shops in Jiangnan, making a fortune every day.

And then there's the Wang family... When Wang Ruofu married into the family, her ten-mile-long red bridal procession was the envy of everyone in Bianjing.

If we can persuade Shilan and the Wang family to pool their resources, we might be able to come up with that million taels.

And at home, even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. Even before she got married, her family had a considerable fortune, and after Shilan's management over the years, they should have accumulated quite a bit more.

Furthermore, there was also the parents' private wealth; the mother was the only daughter of the maternal grandfather, and her dowry was substantial.

She claimed that she gave half of it when she got married, but who doesn't know that a woman's dowry is traditionally divided equally among her biological children? The mother must have only given her one-third.

Raising another 100,000 taels shouldn't be too difficult.

And this child.

As long as she gives birth to the Gu family's eldest grandson, she will not be childless.

The mother-in-law said she didn't value the child, but once the baby was born and she held the living child in her arms, she couldn't believe she wouldn't soften her heart.

So how can we get Shilan to willingly hand over the money?

How can I get my parents to stand by my side no matter what?

Qin Nanyan's gaze fell on the bowl of medicine in front of her.

"Miss..." Dong Shuang knelt down, clutching Qin Nanyan's sleeve, tears welling in her eyes. "Your health has always been weak. If you take this medicine... what if... what if..."

She didn't continue.

Qin Nanyan smiled.

God gave her a frail body, and she was fortunate enough to become pregnant. Even if she carried the pregnancy to full term, it was still very difficult for her to get through childbirth.

Rather than that...

"There's no turning back," she said softly, her voice eerily calm. "Only in this way will my parents feel sorry for me. Only if I risk my life to give birth to this child will my mother-in-law calm down and Yan Kai change her mind."

She touched her belly, a resolute look of desperation flashing in her eyes.

"If I can't make it through this, the baby will suffer after birth. Let's take a gamble together."

As soon as she finished speaking, she didn't hesitate any longer and tilted her head back to drink the medicine in one gulp.

The medicine was so bitter that tears welled up in her eyes.

But she bit her lip tightly, not letting a single drop fall.

The medicine takes effect very quickly.

Before I could finish half a cup of tea, a dull pain came from my lower abdomen, as if something had broken, and my lower body was wet.

Qin Nanyan let out a muffled groan, her face instantly turning ashen, and beads of cold sweat appeared on her forehead.

"Girl!" Dongshuang rushed over to support her.

"Quick, go get someone! I'm going into labor!"

Tears streamed down Dong Shuang's face, but she knew there was no time to lose. She turned abruptly and rushed out of the room, shouting with all her might:

"Help! Help! The eldest mistress is going into labor! Oh no! The eldest mistress is about to give birth! Quickly, call the doctor! Call the midwife!"

The piercing shouts echoed throughout the entire west courtyard, instantly throwing the entire Ningyuan Marquis's residence into chaos.