Ella got into the taxi and opened her nearly finished time-travel novel on her phone. As a long-suffering employee under a harsh boss, she was heading to a downtown hotel for a reunion with her college classmates, many of whom had become successful in their careers or married into wealthy families.
Ella didn't want to attend this gathering, but she had a mission. One of her classmates' fathers was a potential client for her company, and her department leader, having tried to secure this client for a long time, saw Ella's connection with the client's daughter as a political opportunity. She was tasked with closing the deal, leaving her no choice but to attend.
Ella felt out of place with these people and had avoided such gatherings many times. Today, carrying this burden, she needed to distract herself with a novel to avoid panicking and fleeing the scene.
The novel she was reading featured a modern high-achieving woman who traveled back in time to help a male protagonist defeat rebels and achieve great success. The male protagonist, who became an emperor, was devoted to her, and she ultimately became empress, enjoying absolute prestige.
The story should have been satisfying, but perhaps because Ella was already irritated, the plot seemed cliché and overly dramatic to her, filled with scheming and backstabbing. Worse, the author excessively portrayed the female lead as a strong character who challenged everyone and everything, with high-ranking officials and commoners alike praising her—a forced empowerment story, in Ella's view.
Displeased, Ella put down her phone. Suddenly, the car jolted, and she was engulfed in a dizzying whirl! She smelled a faint fragrance, followed by unfamiliar voices near her ear...
"Grace, why are you just standing there? The Empress Dowager is speaking to you!"
The voice was arrogant, clearly not from a friendly person.
Ella's gaze fixed on an exquisitely embroidered phoenix robe in front of her. The wearer was a middle-aged woman with golden-threaded shoes, standing next to a torn painting on the floor.
Ella touched her face, feeling its warm and real texture... She had time-traveled!
She shook her head, and the memories left by the original owner informed her that the woman in the phoenix robe, called the Empress Dowager, was the protagonist of the novel she had been reading! Just half an hour ago, the original owner had torn up the painting bestowed by this woman.
Who could have imagined that ten minutes ago, she was just an ordinary modern young woman, and now she was inside the very novel she had just criticized!
She quickly picked up the torn painting. Time-traveling was bad enough, but inheriting the original owner's mess? Destroying a gift from the Empress Dowager—how could she survive this?
Was the universe specifically sending her here for the protagonist's amusement?
The novel's protagonist, named Lu Ling, had a tragic childhood, facing abuse from her stepmother but was extraordinarily beautiful. All the admirable men in the story were drawn to her, and she made decisive moves to conquer all her adversaries, from family schemers to court traitors, leaving devastation in her wake.
At the novel's end, the protagonist was a young empress dowager. Ella couldn't fathom why she had time-traveled to a period after the novel's conclusion!
The original owner, Grace, was no ordinary character either. She was the daughter of Marquis Zhao Ke, a hereditary noble, notorious for her unruly behavior.
Grace had a tragic past with a deceased mother and had thwarted her father's remarriage plans multiple times, earning his resentment. Her brother's protection had barely kept her from being sent away. Now, she had landed herself in this monumental trouble!
Why did fate have to be so harsh, putting her into a time period not covered by the novel, with no clues about Grace or the Marquis' fate? Where was her time-travel cheat sheet?
Others traveled to the main plot and lived gloriously, but she ended up in an unwritten epilogue??
"Grace, are you defying the Empress Dowager?"
The stern voice of a matron grew colder.
Ella had no choice but to look up.
True to the novel's depiction, the former protagonist was stunningly beautiful. Even with some wrinkles, her grace was undeniable, making her a perfect candidate for multiple sequels of an empress dowager drama.
If only she didn't have that menacing look in her eyes, Ella might have rated her even higher.
As a modern young woman, Ella didn't want to act too cowardly, but this was a feudal society! The original owner's memories were filled with indulgence and ignorance, providing no useful information about the current political situation. Confronting the protagonist head-on was foolish!
"Summon the Marquis!"
The matron impatiently commanded, clearly with the Empress Dowager's consent. Calling the Marquis, Grace's father, made sense given the situation.
But given Grace's strained relationship with her father, expecting him to rescue her was unrealistic. He might seize the chance to rid himself of this troublesome daughter!
Better to rely on herself!
Realizing her slim chances of survival in a palace drama, Ella decided to act immediately. She grabbed the Empress Dowager's robe, yelling, "Your Majesty, remember the stuffed crust pizza from the company building?"
The Empress Dowager stopped abruptly, nearly stumbling…