The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

Gao Xiyue looked at Ruofu, her eyes shining as if they held countless stars.

Fucha Zhuying, however, lowered her head, behaving obediently.

Tears finally rolled down Qingying's face. She was both surprised and frightened, and there was still a hint of stubbornness in her eyes, but she didn't say anything more.

Ruofu ignored her and simply said to Zhaoying, "Go, call two strong old women in! Drag this wretched maid away and beat her until she confesses!"

"yes!"

Zhaoying turned and went out, and soon led in two burly, rough-looking old women.

The two men grabbed A'Ruo from the left and right, subduing her as if she were a chick.

Aruo struggled desperately, but felt that all the force she had used to hit the two old women had vanished without a trace, as if a clay ox had entered the sea.

She finally felt a surge of fear and desperately turned her head to cry out to Qingying:

"Master!"

"My lord, save me! I'm doing this for you!"

Qingying knelt on the spot, tears falling one by one.

As A'Ruo was being dragged to the door, the eunuchs outside even brought out the torture bench. Qingying kept looking at Ruofu, but remained silent.

As one of the old women reached out to pull at her outer skirt, A'Ruo's heart pounded, and she suddenly screamed, "I'll confess!"

Aruo cried her heart out.

"I'll confess! I'll confess everything! Please spare my life, Madam!"

Ruof then raised his hand: "Drag him back."

The two old women immediately dragged A'Ruo back into the hall.

Aruo's legs went weak and she collapsed to her knees with a thud, sobbing uncontrollably, but at least she managed to explain the whole story.

Last night, on New Year's Eve, Emperor Hongli went to the palace for a banquet, but the main courtyard only invited Consort Gao and Consort Fucha to a small feast.

The Green Branch Courtyard, however, was deserted.

Although Qingying didn't say anything, A'ruo had been with her for so many years, how could she not see the loneliness in her heart?

A'Ruo felt extremely wronged on behalf of her master, and cursed the Fujin countless times in her heart.

The princess must have done it on purpose!

Because the prince favored the princess the most, the wife was unhappy but dared not do anything openly. So she could only try to win over the two less favored princesses to help them ostracize the prince!

The more A'Ruo thought about it, the more indignant she became. In the end, she couldn't help but think that if the prince could stay overnight at Qingzhi Courtyard after returning on such an important day as New Year's Eve, she would definitely make the princess pay the price the next morning!

How dare you not invite your master to the banquet? Then let the prince keep your master company at the New Year's Eve dinner!

Let's see who's still laughing tomorrow!

Once the thought popped into my head, I couldn't suppress it.

When the kitchen staff came to clear the table, she spotted the last old woman who was alone, quietly chased after her, and slipped her a jade hairpin, saying that her mistress had eaten a few too many bites and suddenly wanted some sweet soup, asking her to cover for her for a moment while she went to the kitchen and asked someone to make a bowl to please her mistress.

The old woman was just a lowly servant in the kitchen, and thinking it was just a bowl of sweet soup, she thought it was no big deal, so she accepted the hairpin and let her go.

A'Ruo had been closely following the people in the kitchen, but when they got near the second gate, she quietly fell behind and hid in the shadows.

Enduring the cold wind, we finally waited for Hongli to return.

Just as they were about to go to greet him, they didn't expect that the latter was already drunk. After getting off the carriage, he only asked Wang Qin a few questions before the master and servant went straight to the other side.

A'Ruo immediately found it strange. It was neither the main courtyard nor any of the princesses' courtyards, nor the study in the front courtyard. What was the prince doing there?

Out of curiosity, she followed him from a distance, eventually ending up near the embroidery room.

A'Ruo, hiding in the corner, witnessed Wang Qin stop outside a room, while Hongli pushed open the door and went inside.

A'Ruo was both shocked and angry. She thought to herself that the prince must have been seduced by some vixen. Just as she was about to go back and tell her master, a scream came from inside the room.

She listened to the commotion and chaos that followed, even as the Fujin arrived and explained how she sided with Hailan and angered the Prince. She hid in a corner, shivering from the cold, and heard every word.

Only after everyone had gradually dispersed did she take advantage of the night patrol changing shifts and quietly slip back to Qingzhi Courtyard.

As soon as it was light today, Qingying got up and couldn't hold back any longer. She told Qingying everything she had seen and heard last night.

A'Ruo cried until her voice was hoarse: "This servant really did not conspire with anyone! No one tipped me off! This servant went out secretly on her own. This servant just... just thought that if the prince could come and spend the New Year with you, you wouldn't be so sad."

"Please spare my life, my lady!"

"This servant will never dare to do it again!"

Ruo Fu suddenly burst out laughing after hearing this.

"Good, good indeed," she exclaimed. "What a loyal servant!"

"Your ideas are bigger than the sky, and your rules are thinner than paper! You bribed the old women behind your master's back, sneaked out of the courtyard, and ambushed the prince near the second gate. Seeing that the prince didn't go to your place, you dared to follow him all the way, spying on your master's movements and eavesdropping on the inner chambers' secrets... Guards, drag this wretched maid away, give her thirty lashes, and then expel her from the prince's mansion!"

The two old women immediately stepped forward.

A'Ruo's eyes widened suddenly: "Madam! I've confessed! I've told you everything! You said you'd be lenient!"

Ruof looked at her strangely: "What does your confession have to do with whether you should be punished or not?"

Aruo was stunned.

Ruofu counted on her fingers: "Bribing the old woman, leaving the hospital without cause, disobeying the curfew... plus your nonsense just now, which implicated your master in lying in public, trying to fool me with some 'indigestion medicine' nonsense."

She looked at A'Ruo and asked sincerely, "With so many crimes combined, I'm only giving you thirty strokes of the cane, sparing your life and banishing you from the manor. Isn't that lenient?"

"If you hadn't confessed yourself, but instead I had thoroughly investigated the old woman in the kitchen last night, the servants on night patrol, and the pharmacy's ledgers, and presented you with all the witnesses and evidence, it wouldn't have been just thirty strokes of the cane."

Ruof's voice turned cold: "Of course, that old woman who accepted bribes, and those servants at the second gate who can't see you, I won't let a single one of them go. They'll have their punishments, you just suffer yours. Drag them away!"

"yes!"

The two old women lifted A'Ruo up again.

"Madam!"

Qingying finally couldn't help but speak up: "A'Ruo did make a mistake, but everything she did was ultimately for my sake. She's young and impulsive, and that's why she acted rashly and overstepped her bounds. But in the end, she didn't cause any major disaster. If the Princess Consort wants to establish her authority, she can have already reprimanded, scolded, and even punished her. Why go through the trouble of expelling her from the manor?"

"After all, she was my dowry maid, and she has been with me since childhood. We are mistress and servant in name, but in reality, we are like sisters. Her mistake is my fault for not disciplining her properly. If you are really angry, I am willing to take full responsibility. I only ask that you be lenient and forgive Aruo this time."

Hope instantly ignited in A'Ruo's eyes, and she cried out, "Master..."

After a moment of silence, Ruofu asked, "What makes you think I'll only punish her and not you?"