Her Majesty The Empress Has Made Her Debut In The Center Position [Ancient to Modern] - Chapter 1

The rain fell accompanied by muffled thunder. Lightning split the thick cloud cover, and summer rain poured down in a severe flood.

The gossip journalists gathered below the Guangying International Hotel swelled rather than diminished.

Long lenses and short cameras all pointed at the main entrance, their whispered conversations drowned out by the sound of the rain, leaving only faint echoes of keywords like “trainee,” “jumped from the building,” and “audition show.”

Passersby took the scene in stride, some wondering vaguely. Has the audition season already come around again so soon?

******

Meanwhile, on the sixteenth floor, five or six girls of similar age gathered by the floor-to-ceiling window, all looking down in unison and clicking their tongues.

[“Ji Zhaozhao’s jump really gave our show some buzz!”]

[“A trainee threatening suicide before even competing? She’s one of a kind!”]

[“I’m just curious. How did a fall from the sixteenth floor to halfway down the fifteenth turn into a story about her surviving a death-defying leap? Aren’t they afraid scientists will come investigate?”]

[“Her injuries were so minor she didn’t even need to go to the hospital. Ji Zhaozhao is probably still lounging in the hotel room, right?”]

[“Exactly! Her company only has two members, and they’re thrilled with their standard room! Right, Pei Jia?”]

Pei Jia, who had been leaning against the water cooler in the break room, was eavesdropping while filling her water bottle, suddenly trembled. Her face flushed red as she mumbled something incoherent and fled the conference room as if escaping a disaster.

Pei Jia ran straight to Room 1306, slammed the door shut, and leaned against it, pounding her chest. “That was so scary! So scary!”

Ji Zhaozhao looked over at the commotion. “What’s wrong?”
Ji Zhaozhao, the subject of relentless gossip among the paparazzi downstairs, the center of buzz among trainees in the conference room, and hailed by netizens as the frontrunner for the next talent show was currently sprawled on the sofa, playing a single-player game on her tablet.

The pixelated characters in ancient garb braved the howling winds before plunging headlong into a ventilation shaft. The game’s goofy sound effects chimed in with a “Game Over” notification.

Ji Zhaozhao tossed the tablet aside, sat up straight, and patiently asked again, “What’s wrong?”

Pei Jia found it strange.

Ji Zhaozhao was undeniably beautiful. Her skin was fair, her face was no larger than a palm, and she was barely twenty years old. A hint of baby fat softened her features, and when she smiled, a shallow dimple appeared, exuding a sweet, harmless charm.

But there she sat, radiating authority in every gesture. Her voice, not deliberately lowered, carried an overwhelming force that made knees go weak. Before anyone could react, Pei Jia answered the question: “There are so many reporters downstairs!”

“Reporters?” Ji Zhao clutched the chip bag, searching her memory for the term. “Oh, you mean Imperial Inspectors.”

She tilted her head. “Did they come for me?”

Pei Jia, however, was bewildered. “What’s an Imperial Inspector?”

She received a “truly uncultured” look from Ji Zhaozhao.

Pei Jia felt wronged. As the last trainee at Ji Zhaozhao’s company who hadn’t quit, she had even come to support Ji Zhaozhao during the auditions despite two months of unpaid wages. She considered herself quite remarkable.

But ever since Ji Zhaozhao woke up after her fall, she seemed like a completely different person—no longer gentle at all!

Ji Zhao slowly lay back on the sofa, propping her face in her fist with her elbow resting on the armrest. Her gaze seemed fixed on Pei Jia, but her thoughts drifted far away.

According to Pei Jia, before the official recording of the talent show, the production team would gather all the trainees in a single hotel to wait. It was on the day Ji Zhaozhao checked in that she jumped from the building.

In that single leap, Ji Zhao was transported unharmed into Ji Zhaozhao’s body.

********

Ji Zhao had traveled through time from ancient times.

She had come from the Qi Dynasty, named for its meaning of “beginning” or “establishment.” The dynasty’s founder, Emperor Ji Yue, a former beggar, spent fifteen years overthrowing the old regime to establish the Great Qi Dynasty, ushering in an era of Empresses.

Ji Zhao was the thirteenth Emperor of the Great Qi Dynasty, reigning under the era name Jiaxi.

During the Jiaxi era, the Great Qi Dynasty enjoyed peace and prosperity. The people lived contentedly, and any barbarian incursions were swiftly repelled by Grand General Yu, whose military campaigns were invincible. As Emperor, Ji Zhao’s daily duties consisted of attending court, approving memorials, strolling through the imperial gardens, and occasionally slipping out of the palace for a leisurely stroll, returning before anyone noticed her absence.

Then, on a serene morning, she stood upon the steps of Golden Luan Hall with the Imperial Sword of Authority in her hand. She closed her eyes, feeling the gentle breeze.

When she opened her eyes again, she was here.

The original owner, Ji Zhaozhao’s memories were still largely intact, allowing her to navigate modern society without too much difficulty. However, the sudden transition from being an Emperor one moment to preparing for an audition show the next was quite a shock.

Why would an Emperor personally attend this kind of show?

She discreetly observed her surroundings. Fortunately, Pei Jia, her constant companion, was a chatterbox who never stopped talking. Through her endless rambling, Ji Zhaozhao learned that this wasn’t an imperial selection like in ancient times.

This was Debut! Girl, a talent show that had already run for three seasons and was considered a national variety program. However, audiences had grown weary of annual talent shows, so the fourth season had little public interest beyond dedicated fans—until Ji Zhaozhao’s earth-shattering audition.

Her performance breathed new life into Debut! Girl, reigniting public interest, generating buzz, and driving traffic.

“Boss Ji, tomorrow’s recording is coming up. Are you…?” Pei Jia hesitated. “Are you able to stand now? Can you record normally? If not, why don’t you give me two months’ worth of your salary and we’ll go home!”

Ji Zhao fell silent, deep in thought.

The original owner of this body came from a prestigious noble family, but she belonged to the least favored branch. Orphaned at a young age, she later suffered repeated business failures. She used her last remaining funds to start an entertainment company to launch her own career, but by today, only Pei Jia remained among the trainees. The original owner had been pushed to the brink.

She had two options: either debut and achieve instant fame, or liquidate her assets and secure enough wealth to live comfortably for the rest of her life.

The original owner chose to gamble by participating in a talent show.

Ji Zhao admired her boldness.

As an emperor, the word “retreat” had never existed in her vocabulary. But the problem was, talent shows sought singers and dancers. While she was skilled at handling court memorials and wielding weapons, she couldn’t dance or sing.

Ji Zhao refocused her gaze on Pei Jia, her voice low. “Look up.”

Pei Jia: “?”

Still, she obediently raised her head.

Ji Zhao lowered her gaze.

…And saw Pei Jia’s waist.

Ji Zhao: “……”

She closed her eyes. As the emperor, she had stood over seven feet tall, radiating an imperial aura. Court ladies, eunuchs, and officials had knelt before her, and she had grown accustomed to looking down at others. Now, however, Ji Zhaozhao barely exceeded six feet, and she was seated. When Pei Jia raised her head…

Pei Jia looked up at the ceiling. “Boss Ji, why are you making me look up there? Are you planning to sleep up there?”

Room 1306 was a loft-style structure, and Ji Zhaozhao had fallen from the upper level.

“It’s not that,” Ji Zhao said.

She brought over her tablet. “Tomorrow will be the same as usual.”

“Boss Ji, be more specific,” Pei Jia urged.

“We’ll record as usual tomorrow,” Ji Zhao replied.

She turned to look out the window. In the bright sunlight, she saw colorful lights illuminating skyscrapers—a sight she had never witnessed before. Figures moved across giant screens, and the shrill sound of car horns pierced the air.

She loved a famous saying from this era:

[“True strength never complains about its environment.”]

*******

The next morning at 9:30, Ji Zhao woke up hungry.

To create buzz and maintain an air of mystery, trainees from different companies, despite staying in the same hotel, avoided meeting each other whenever possible. As a result, breakfast was delivered to their rooms.

The meal consisted of congee, pickles, steamed buns, and an egg—a fare so meager that even the poorest citizens of the Great Qi Dynasty wouldn’t have eaten it.

Yet Pei Jia ate with relish.

“Free breakfast!” Pei Jia exclaimed, shoveling down her bowl of millet porridge with pickles, her cheeks puffed out. “Boss Ji, try this pickles—it’s seriously addictive! Want some of these steamed buns? If not, I’ll take them!”

Ji Zhao, flipping through the trainee list without looking up, replied, “Consider it a reward.”

Pei Jia chuckled. “Thanks, Boss Ji!”

Though Pei Jia was young, constantly complained about the food, and threatened to pack her bags and go home at the slightest inconvenience, she excelled at the tasks Ji Zhao assigned her. For instance, she had somehow obtained this confidential trainee list, which wasn’t supposed to be circulated.

Ji Zhao quickly skimmed through it.
One hundred and eight trainees… no, wait, they were trainees, each with unique appearances and diverse talents. She even saw one whose specialty was whistling while doing frog jumps.

Ji Zhao imagined the sight, feeling a strong urge to witness it herself. She silently noted the trainee’s name: Song Jiangjiang.

“Boss Ji, please eat something,” Pei Jia urged, busy with her own tasks. “This initial evaluation recording will probably go on until midnight. You won’t last without any fuel.”

“I’ll treat you to congee too,” Ji Zhao said.

“Great!”

Ji Zhao skimmed through the trainees’ profiles.

One hundred and eight trainees wasn’t a small number, yet only seven would ultimately make it into the debut group. The competition was fierce, rivaling the imperial examination system. And as the Emperor, how could she settle for being merely third-place?

She had to secure first place!

Before they knew it, afternoon had passed.

The production team sent buses to transport the trainees to the recording site. They were divided into dressing rooms by company, where they got their makeup done and changed into their costumes. Then came the endless wait, until someone finally announced, “Everyone, gather at the staging area.”

The staging area, located backstage, was a large dressing room that could accommodate dozens of people. When Ji Zhao and Pei Jia arrived, it was already packed.

With nothing but girls.

Girls of all types—tall, short, thin, curvaceous, cute, seductive, aloof, and vivacious—clustered in small groups, whispering among themselves. Every gesture and smile was pleasing to the eye.

Pei Jia leaned over and said, “Boss Ji, I’m going to go check out the situation!”

Ji Zhao hummed in acknowledgment. “Be quick about it.”
Pei Jia darted into the crowd like a fish slipping into water, quickly blending in with the trainees. Ji Zhao looked away, but her curiosity got the better of her as she stole a few glances at the lit-up mirrors.

This setup is impressive. If only I could bring one back… Wait a minute. Why does that girl over there look so familiar?

Let me take a closer look.

Ji Zhao’s gaze locked onto the girl in the mirror—

She had always possessed a cold beauty, and the black dress she wore made her skin glow an icy white. Her lovely peach blossom eyes held no trace of warmth, and tiny diamonds glued at the corners of her eyes sparkled with iridescent colors under the bright lights.

Apart from her makeup, clothes, and hairstyle, her appearance and her aloof, distant demeanor were identical to that of Yu Cheng, the rigid yet loyal First-Rank Grand General from her previous life!

Could she be Yu Cheng’s descendant after countless generations? Should I go over and greet her in a friendly manner?

Ji Zhao was lost in thought when the girl suddenly glanced over, their gazes unexpectedly meeting in the mirror. They both froze for a moment, and a flicker of emotion flashed through the girl’s otherwise impassive eyes.

Wait a minute… Ji Zhao blinked. Was that flicker of emotion… joy?

What could she possibly be so happy about?

Ji Zhao turned around just in time to see the girl striding purposefully toward her. Before Ji Zhao could stop her, the girl dropped to one knee before her and declared solemnly, “This subject has arrived too late to protect Your Majesty. Please forgive this subject’s failure!”

The other trainees stared in bewilderment.

Ji Zhao: “…………”

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