The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

Ultimately, Ah Chang was mindful of her mistress's reputation. She took a deep breath and waved her hand to dismiss the other maids serving in the room.

When only a few trusted confidants remained, Ah Chang could no longer contain his indignation and said, "Auntie, please understand. Ever since the mourning period ended, Concubine Kang has been sending invitations to our household every few days. Fortunately, at that time, the household was busy preparing for your wedding, and eight out of ten times, Madam declined. But there were two or three times when she couldn't refuse out of consideration for face."

"Every time she comes, she always asks to borrow money. That's fine, since our eldest mistress is good at making money and cherishes sisterly affection. As long as it makes her happy, it doesn't matter who she gives to. But our concubine always has a wicked air about her in her words. She's either implying that the Marquis is too busy with external affairs and neglecting the eldest mistress, or speculating that the Marquis is too ambitious after inheriting the title. She always picks on unfounded rumors to stir up trouble. Luckily, our eldest mistress is broad-minded and never thinks too deeply about it, otherwise, how could there be any peace in this mansion? I've privately reminded the eldest mistress many times, but she always says that I'm overthinking it."

Ah Chang still felt a little wronged

Shilan glanced at the somewhat embarrassed Wang Ruofu, then noncommittally picked up her teacup and said, "Go on."

Ah Chang, of course, continued, saying that the Kang family's concubine's feats were not limited to just one or two: "Since you got married, Aunt, the concubine has been coming even more frequently, almost every day. She always criticizes those families who send invitations to the eldest daughter-in-law and intend to associate with her. She says that this lady is mean-spirited and treacherous, or that the eldest daughter-in-law is indecent and unworthy of her company. In the end, none of the noble families in the entire capital can meet her standards or be worthy of associating with our Marquis's mansion."

As Ah Chang spoke, his pace quickened, clearly indicating that he had been holding it in for a long time.

Wang Ruofu gripped her handkerchief tightly and murmured, "Perhaps my eldest sister has a bit too high a standard..."

"Our eldest daughter has always had high standards," Ah Chang said, her tone unusually firm, full of indignation. "Every time she comes, she won't even touch anything that isn't the best in our house! You should know, Madam, this concubine from the Kang family, every time she comes, it's either to borrow money, jewelry, fabric, or ornaments! She says she's borrowing, but she never says when she'll return them. Last time she brought the young master of the Kang family, that child was just like her—he snatched whatever he wanted from our young lady, smashed her jade lock, and tore the cloth tiger that the palace had given her. When she left, she carried loads of stuff, wanting to take even the freshly made pastries from the kitchen. If I hadn't been watching her closely, she probably would have even tried to find out the keys to the storeroom!"

At the end, Ah Chang's voice suddenly turned serious: "These are nothing compared to what you've done, Madam. Do you know that a few days ago, the Kang family's concubine sold off one of Lord Kang's concubines?"

Shilan raised an eyebrow: "A concubine?"

"Yes, the contract has been signed. The concubine's family is all registered as a free person!" Ah Chang said anxiously. "The concubine's father and brothers are now making a fuss and are going to take her to court. The concubine panicked and came the other day to force the eldest daughter-in-law to use the name of our Dongchang Marquis's Mansion to intimidate that family and force them to drop the lawsuit. She said that as long as the Marquis's Mansion intervenes, those commoners will definitely not dare to make a fuss anymore."

Only then did Wang Ruofu find an opportunity to interject, hurriedly defending herself: "What nonsense are you talking about? Where is the threat? My sister clearly said that she knew she was wrong and wanted to apologize and compensate that family, which is why I nodded and promised to try my best to find her concubine and make proper arrangements for her..."

"Compensation and apology?" Shilan interrupted her, her gaze sharp as she looked at Achang: "Is it compensation and apology, or intimidation and threats? Explain yourself."

Ah Chang gritted his teeth: "What I talked about with the eldest mistress was compensation, and she even took out one hundred taels of silver from her private treasury for this. But it was the concubine who went to negotiate. Who knows if she was apologizing or threatening the aggrieved family?"

Wang Ruofu tried to argue, but Shilan looked at her coldly: "Sister-in-law, have you ever considered what would happen if she didn't just use the Marquis's name to intimidate people, but instead used it to lend money at exorbitant interest rates, take on lawsuits, or even commit murder for money? In that case, would the creditors, the victims, or even the government come after her, Kang Wangshi, or you, Qin Wangshi?"

Wang Ruofu turned deathly pale with fright, her voice trembling: "No, no way."

Without further hesitation, Shilan immediately turned to Songzhi and instructed, "Go find Steward Li in the outer courtyard right now and make sure he finds out the whole story of the Kang family selling their concubine, where that family is now, and how the Kang family settled things. Be quick."

Songzhi accepted the order and hurriedly left.

Seeing her aunt's decisive manner, Wang Ruofu felt both flustered and ashamed, and said weakly, "Elder sister and I are family after all, she shouldn't harm me..."

"Family?" Shilan sneered, deciding to leave her no room for illusion: "What if I told you, sister-in-law, that when my family came to propose marriage, your dear sister even considered substituting one woman for another, so that you would marry into the Kang family while she married into the Qin family?"

Wang Ruofu was struck dumb, his mind went completely blank.

Ah Chang, having finally revealed the crucial truth to Shi Lan, grew bolder: "Auntie is right. Our eldest daughter-in-law is too easily swayed and always does more harm than good. Auntie, do you know that when Concubine Kang's attempts to sow discord between the eldest daughter-in-law and the Marquis failed, she turned around and pressured the eldest daughter-in-law, saying things like the Marquis's mansion cannot be without an heir, urging the eldest daughter-in-law to quickly find a way to have a son. She even said that if she couldn't have one, she would have the beautiful maidservants of her household shaved and given to the Marquis, which would be the same!"

Shilan looked at Wang Ruofu, her face full of anger at his lack of ambition: "Is that so?"

Wang Ruofu was so ashamed and indignant that she wanted to disappear. She twisted her handkerchief tightly in her hands and lowered her head, not daring to look at anyone.

Ah Chang ultimately gave her some face, not saying that Wang Ruoyu had even picked out a candidate and was practically offering herself up.

Ah Chang quickly chimed in, "Luckily, Madam didn't agree. Aunt, you be the judge, is this really for Madam's good? Everyone in the household knows how the Marquis treats Madam. The mourning period has only just ended, and you, Aunt, have just married. It's the perfect time for you to take good care of your health and let nature take its course. If you truly care about Madam, Aunt could simply send some tonics and medicines. There's no reason for such a forceful approach."

Clearly, they can't stand seeing other couples living in harmony and peace, while their own lives are in chaos, so they want to drag everyone else down with them!

Just then, Hua Jie'er, who had been quietly nestled in Shi Lan's arms, listening to the adults' conversation with a mixture of understanding and confusion, suddenly burst into tears.

Everyone was startled and quickly went to comfort them.

Hua'er was crying so hard she could barely breathe, her little face flushed red, sobbing intermittently, "Daddy, Daddy wants a little brother. If there's a little brother, then Daddy and Mommy won't want Hua'er anymore. Hua'er will be good, Hua'er won't go to the countryside..."

The child's words were incoherent, yet they were enough to make one's heart ache.

Shilan hugged her tighter, coaxing her gently, "Hua'er, don't cry. Tell your aunt, who told you your parents didn't want you? Why did they send you to the countryside?"

Hua Jie cried and hiccuped. She pointed her little finger at the door, then withdrew it in fear. "My aunt said that. Hua Jie wouldn't give my brother any toys. My aunt pushed me and said that Hua Jie was a girl, not precious, a piece of trash. She said that once my brother was born, she would send Hua Jie to the countryside... My tummy hurts."

As if to confirm these words, Hua Jie'er even lifted the hem of her dress.

On her fair and tender belly, there was a small, very obvious bluish-purple bruise.

Shilan's face instantly turned frosty.

Wang Ruofu also shed tears of heartache, but in addition to self-blame, she felt even more anger towards her elder sister!