Her Majesty The Empress Has Made Her Debut In The Center Position [Ancient to Modern] - Chapter 33.3

Although it was past midnight, the clear sky revealed a full moon hanging like a jade plate in the heavens. Its silvery light mingled with the street lamps, illuminating the path ahead.

They casually selected a practice room on the first floor. Though small, the full-length mirror on one wall created an illusion of spaciousness.

Ji Zhao stood before the mirror, casually pinning her long hair into a bun with a shark clip. Her unsteady hands allowed a few stray strands to fall by her temples, lending her an air of gentle charm rather than dishevelment.

Ji Zhao stepped aside. “Esteemed Minister Yu, please demonstrate.”

Yu Cheng: “……?”

Why does it feel like Your Majesty just wants to watch me dance?

But upon observing Ji Zhao’s earnest expression, devoid of any mockery, Yu Cheng suppressed her doubts. How petty of me to suspect such motives.

Ji Zhao, now adept at using her tablet, pulled up “What Should I Do?” from a music app and gestured for Yu Cheng to begin.

Yu Cheng assumed her starting position.

Hands clasped behind her back, Ji Zhao followed the rhythm of the music, her feet moving in time. She’d heard this song countless times and knew the lyrics by heart, so she sang along:

“Why… why do you always… suck all the air out of the room?”

Thanks to her teammates’ relentless efforts, Yu Cheng’s expression management had steadily improved. The moment the music started, her usually wooden face suddenly lit up. She gave Ji Zhao a subtle wink with her left eye, swaying to the melody and placing her right hand over her left breast:

“Leaving me… leaving me gasping for breath in front of you, needing an ambulance…”

Though Yu Cheng felt guilty for being suspicious, Ji Zhao had indeed been less than magnanimous at first.

After all, Grand General Yu had stepped onto the battlefield at just fifteen, commanding respect and obedience from all three branches of the military. Naturally, she found this girlish display of emotion and flirtatiousness novel.

But after the novelty wore off, she was impressed by Yu Cheng’s remarkable competence, which sparked a new curiosity within her.

Had Yu Cheng ever been in love before?

It seemed not.

As the Emperor, she had countless matters to worry about. Even though her ministers shared the burden, every decision ultimately rested on her shoulders, including arranging the marriages of her officials.

Some ministers had large families with multiple wives and concubines, while others devoted themselves entirely to their work, avoiding personal relationships. Still others indulged in office romances, flirting with the Minister of Rites today and exchanging suggestive glances with the Director of the Ministry of Works tomorrow.

When summoned to the Imperial Study for a private audience, Ji Zhao advised them: “Polishing your mirrors is fine—I support it—but don’t let it interfere with your duties.”

The minister, naturally alarmed, couldn’t help but add, “Your Majesty, perhaps you should focus on Grand General Yu instead. I’ve heard the residence of Grand General Yu on the border is overrun with men being sent as gifts!”

Ji Zhao was startled and immediately dispatched investigators.

Upon inquiry, it was revealed that the neighboring country had sent tributes, acknowledging General Yu’s hard work and bachelor status. They claimed that mere trinkets wouldn’t suffice as a token of respect and intended the gifts to help General Yu relax. The explanation sounded reasonable, even subtly implying that the Emperor neglected the general’s personal affairs.

Hearing this, Ji Zhao scoffed, “Does General Yu have no sense of propriety?”

The head palace maid reported back: the gifts had been delivered as described, but General Yu had promptly returned them. Not a single man’s shadow could be found within the entire Grand General Yu’s Residence. General Yu had also warned the neighboring country’s envoy not to waste their efforts on such schemes, stating she had no interest in romantic affairs.

Ji Zhao was finally satisfied. She cared deeply for her esteemed minister; did she have someone she liked?

What had Yu Cheng written in her memorial again? Watching Yu Cheng finish the chorus of the dance, Ji Zhao’s smile quickly faded, returning to her usual impassive expression. She couldn’t help but chuckle, “General Yu, you’re so sweet.”

Yu Cheng’s expression shifted slightly. “…Thank you for Your Majesty’s praise.”

Right, that’s right.

Ji Zhao paused the music, recalling Yu Cheng’s memorial.

It read: With the borders yet unsettled, this subject has no interest in matters of romance. I am grateful for Your Majesty’s concern and wish for Your Majesty’s good health.

Now that there were no borders left for Yu Cheng to settle, did she have someone she liked? What type of person did Yu Cheng like?

“Your Majesty?” Yu Cheng crouched before her. “What are you thinking?”

Ji Zhao snapped out of her reverie, slowly replying, “Nothing. I was just lost in thought, watching you dance so beautifully.”

Yu Cheng: “Your Majesty is lying.”

Yu Cheng leaned closer to Ji Zhao. “Your Majesty, are you tired?”

“I’m not lying. Your dance was truly beautiful.”

“But?”

“But I can’t help wondering… who are you singing that song for?”

Yu Cheng frowned slightly. “For my fans.”

Ji Zhao pursed her lips. “Is that kind of emotion really appropriate for fans?”

“They said it was about my teammates,” Yu Cheng explained. “The song captures the sweet, innocent thoughts of a young girl, but since our focus is on our fans, we can sing it for them.”

“Oh~” Ji Zhao drawled, then added, “So, Esteemed Minister Yu, if you had someone you liked, would you pine secretly?”

“Why would I pine secretly?” Yu Cheng countered.

Ji Zhao didn’t rush to get up. “Tell me.”

Yu Cheng’s reasoning was simple. “If you truly like someone, you should ask if they’re married. If they’re not, you can propose. If you’re rejected, you move on to someone else. It’s that straightforward. Why suffer the bitterness of unrequited love?”

“That does make sense.”

“…Then what about Your Majesty?”

Would she pine secretly?

“Of course not,” Ji Zhao said. “It’s not that I don’t believe in unrequited love, but rather that men in this world are simply too worthless. There’s no one worthy of being liked. What do you think, Esteemed Minister Yu?”

Yu Cheng paused before replying, “Your Majesty’s harem may lack an Empress, but even among the concubines, none have managed to please Your Majesty. They truly are useless.”

“In that aspect, they certainly can’t compare to you, Esteemed Minister Yu,” Ji Zhao said, helping Yu Cheng to her feet. “Whenever you return to the capital after your days off, it’s always my happiest time.”

Yu Cheng was touched. “Your Majesty…”

“After all, we can have hotpot together,” Ji Zhao added.

Yu Cheng: “……”

The only thing on Your Majesty’s mind is hotpot.

She stood up as well. “Let me teach you.”

Although “What Should I Do?” had complex choreography, Ji Zhao’s memory served her well. Breaking the moves down, she could perform them correctly after just one practice. Yet when Yu Cheng watched her, she felt something was off.

“What’s wrong?” Ji Zhao asked, standing frozen in confusion.

Yu Cheng snapped her fingers. “Your Majesty needs to smile.”

Ji Zhao curved her lips.

“Not a fake smile,” Yu Cheng corrected.

Ji Zhao’s smile widened further.

Yu Cheng said, “Your eyes need to smile too.”

Ji Zhao tilted her head. Normally, she could smile whenever she wanted, but now she couldn’t force it. Her eyes flickered for a moment before she finally sighed, “I can’t make it happen.”

Yu Cheng paused. “Your Majesty, look at me.”

Ji Zhao turned to look.

Yu Cheng reached up and pulled down the skin below her eyes with her index finger, rolled her eyes, stuck out her tongue, and made a big funny face. Ji Zhao was momentarily stunned, then burst into laughter.

Yu Cheng returned to normal. “That’s the kind of smile I mean.”

Before Ji Zhao could get enough of Yu Cheng’s funny face, she cleared her throat dramatically. “I can’t keep laughing once you go back to normal. How about this? When you’re recording for me later, keep making that funny face.”

Yu Cheng: “?”

Ji Zhao: “Hm?”

Yu Cheng: “…Understood.”

Half an hour later, in the exclusive content update for the 200,000 followers of @Debut! Girl – Ji Zhaozhao’s Weibo account, all fans saw Ji Zhao dancing to “What Should I Do?” with a radiant smile so sweet it made their teeth ache.

Hey, wife! Have you eaten yet? Are you sleeping well? Are you eating properly?

Who understands… She’s so small, so cute, so beautiful! I want to put her in my pocket. You’re my destined girl, goose. How can you be so sweet?

Her smile is truly so sweet. It feels like I’m being loved.

Jiao must have gone viral, right? If this isn’t going viral, there’s nothing worth watching this quarter.

I don’t know if Jiao has gone viral, but Ji Zhaozhao definitely has.

Now, Jiao’s second performance tickets are hard to get. All the scalpers in my social circle are saying they need a budget. I’m really stunned. Why didn’t I go to the first performance? I missed the breathtaking stage of The Puppet Show! Aaaaah!

I’m planning to hang out outside the venue. Even just listening to the sound outside the venue is good.

Sisters, I’ll be handing out fan support items at the time. Since our super topic was just created not long ago, anyone level 7 or higher can claim them. See you Saturday!

As iconic moments from Debut! Girl went viral, more and more fans flocked to the show. With the trainees’ diverse talents, they attracted different types of fans, and word of mouth spread the program’s popularity even further.

Before Friday arrived, fan-made banners and displays already lined the streets around City A Stadium.

Banners, pop-up stands, flags swaying by streetlights, and billboards on buses, subways, and nearby malls all showcased the trainees’ best moments.

The banners near the stadium were the most eye-catching.

“Who’s the best at rap? Room 311’s Jiangjiang!” Song Jiangjiang leaned against the bus window, reading the banner through a borrowed telescope. “Hey! There’s another one next to it about Shen Yican. ‘Shen Yican, your fans are freeloading off my banners—and it doesn’t even rhyme!'”

Shen Yican pulled her blindfold down. “Don’t worry about it.”

Ji Zhao had also borrowed a telescope from the production team and was having fun peering at things near and far. She aimed the scope at Yu Cheng. “Yu Cheng, you’re so far away, but I can still see you perfectly!”

Song Jiangjiang, kneeling in the front row, excitedly slapped the seatback. “Zhaozhao, look! There’s one for you and Yu Cheng!”

Ji Zhao turned her binoculars toward the scene outside the bus window.

They had come to the stadium for a dress rehearsal, but the production team had vastly underestimated the Trainees’ popularity. Enthusiastic fans had swarmed the stadium entrance, leaving the team with too few staff to manage the crowd. The fans didn’t know how to disperse, and the Trainees couldn’t get out.

The team could have forced a path, but with fans come haters. Your fans might be someone else’s haters. Without proper security, neither the production team nor the fans dared to act recklessly.

So the two buses remained parked at the stadium entrance, waiting for the security the production team had promised to arrive.

Ji Zhao waved at the fans outside the bus before turning to read the banners. She read aloud what she saw:

“Yu Cheng floats on water, Ji Zhaozhao floats in Yu Cheng’s heart.”

“Debut! Girl – The Ultimate Dating Show: Ji Zhaozhao and Yu Cheng are officially a couple!”

“When Yu Cheng realized she wasn’t grouped with her ‘wife,’ did she want to bite the Director or buy the entire show?”

Ji Zhao lowered the telescope. “What kind of nonsense is this?”

Yu Cheng took the telescope. “It’s all nonsense. Don’t waste your time.”

“How is it nonsense?” Chen Xingzi, who was sitting with Song Jiangjiang, now knelt halfway and leaned back, scrutinizing Ji Zhao and Yu Cheng. “You two have the most ship fans now!”

“You and Qiao Yue have plenty too,” Chen Xingzi retorted. “What’s most infuriating is why are there so many ship fans for me and Shen Yican?! Are people blind?”

Across the hallway, Shen Yican spoke coldly, “People have eyes. In the five-minute clip from Dorm Secrets Revealed, you were sitting next to me for four and a half minutes. Who else would they ship if not us?”

Chen Xingzi countered, “I just like sitting on the sofa!”

Ji Zhao, amused by their bickering, turned to Yu Cheng. “Look how close they are, even if they won’t admit it. You’re much better—saying everything outright…” She paused, then narrowed her eyes. “You don’t have any reservations, do you?”

Ji Zhao thought, This isn’t impossible!

Yu Cheng had been silent since earlier, only saying that the fans were talking nonsense. Perhaps she disapproved but couldn’t show it because Ji Zhao was the Emperor?

Yu Cheng said, “How could I possibly object?”

She lowered her eyes. “It’s just that such talk damages your reputation, and it makes me uneasy.”

Ji Zhao hummed in confusion. “What reputation?”

Yu Cheng murmured, “Before I became Yu Cheng, I liked women. Gossip about me wouldn’t matter. But you’re innocent, and now people are saying you’re my… wife, that we’re married. That damages your sacred reputation.”

Her expression was earnest; she was genuinely troubled.

“They’re just joking.”

“…I know.”

“Besides, it’s not just you. Jiangjiang, Yican, and I all have fan forums,” Ji Zhao said, trying to reassure Yu Cheng. She turned to Song Jiangjiang. “Jiangjiang, what’s the name of our fan forum again?”

Song Jiangjiang replied with a nonchalant “Oh.” “Wanjiangzhao. Even though fans say the name is the only good thing about it, we still have quite a few CP fans!”

Ji Zhao said to Yu Cheng, “Look at this!”

Yu Cheng nodded thoughtfully and glanced at Song Jiangjiang.

Would anyone else say that Your Majesty should be Song Jiangjiang’s wife? Would anyone else claim that Song Jiangjiang only loves Ji Zhaozhao? Would anyone else photoshop Song Jiangjiang and Your Majesty together, blurring out everyone else, including me?

Yu Cheng pursed her lips.

She wasn’t happy.

Due to the enthusiastic fans, the rehearsal was forced to be postponed by two hours. However, the trainees’ excitement far outweighed their disappointment at the delay. They were thrilled that so many people loved them enough to travel thousands of miles just to see them.

The cheers and support along the way made the trainees’ eyes well up with tears again and again, fueling their determination for the upcoming performance stage.

“We have to dance perfectly! So many people love us!”

“Waaah, she said my stage is now her motivation! Do you understand that?”

“I can’t take it anymore—I almost cried in front of the fans.”

“Remember, you’re an idol!”

The rehearsal proceeded smoothly, lasting until evening. Back at the estate, some trainees wanted to continue practicing, but the Staff Manager herded them back to the dormitory, urging, “Good sleep is essential for maintaining peak condition. Go put on your face masks and get some rest!”

That night, the seventy-five trainees at the estate slept their longest sleep of the week after applying their face masks.

The next day, to prevent a repeat of the commotion from the previous day at the gymnasium entrance, the production team had the bus take the underground parking garage, allowing the trainees to go straight to the gym’s dressing rooms for hair and makeup.

To thank the fans who had been waiting outside early, the production team paid extra to let the audience enter the gym half an hour early.

After the audience entered, a nearly ten-minute promotional video played on the stage’s big screen before it went dark. As the fans’ voices swelled in the hall, someone suddenly shouted: “Zhou Yuting!”

Everyone instinctively looked up at the stage as the video began playing on the big screen. The footage showed Zhou Yuting sitting in a chair, tilting her face up as a makeup artist applied her eye makeup. Hearing the off-screen voice say “action,” her expression paused, and she turned to wave at the camera. “Hello, everyone!”

“Aaaaaah! Beautiful Zhou Yuting, hello!”

“When was this filmed? I love her so much!”

“Why is she so gentle? Sis, my sis, QAQ”

“What do you want to say to your fans?” the off-screen voice asked Zhou Yuting. “They’re all watching.”

Zhou Yuting thought for a moment, then smiled at the camera. “I hope today’s performance goes smoothly. We’ll bring you the best and most satisfying stage. Wait for us! See you soon!”

“I’m drowning in Sis’s gentle embrace, OMG!”

“Wait, is Zhou Yuting wearing the costume for today’s performance?”

“That’s definitely it! Yesterday, during the dress rehearsal, the costumes for her group hadn’t arrived yet, so they were wearing clothes provided by the production team. Now… is this actually a live broadcast?!”

The entire audience erupted in commotion.

The camera swayed as it bid farewell to Zhou Yuting and turned to the next person, who spoke without even looking up: “Yu Cheng, remember how we agreed you’d be the last one to interview me?”

The viewers finally recognized the voice off-camera.

“Yu Cheng! Yu Cheng is interviewing Ji Zhaozhao? OMG! Are they live-streaming their romance here?!”

“I know,” Yu Cheng replied, her voice barely audible. The viewers strained to listen. “You said you wanted to be the last one because you were afraid I’d think you were giving me special treatment. But being last is special too.”

Ji Zhao paused. “That’s so true.”

“…This is actually being broadcast live, isn’t it?” Yu Cheng added.

Ji Zhao’s chair swiveled to face the camera. “Live?” Her brow furrowed. “Does that mean our fans just heard everything we said?”

The audience roared in unison: “Yes!!! We heard everything! You two evil little lovers are going too far! Using such a cruel method to avoid suspicion! What’s wrong with sharing a kiss or two?! I’d totally kiss you!”

Ji Zhao cleared her throat. “Good evening, everyone.”

“This journey must have been tough for you all. Take a look at what I’m wearing and try to guess what today’s stage will be like. Okay, I can’t make this up anymore. Can you all just forget what I just said?”

The audience roared: “No way! Not only did we not forget, we recorded everything!”

As if hearing the audience’s shouts, Ji Zhao sighed softly. “Then I’ll see you on stage. I hope tonight’s performance will be something different for you all.”

With that, she looked up.

The audience: “???”

The next moment: “Aaaaaah! Is she looking at Yu Cheng?! Yu Cheng got a glimpse of her wife and doesn’t want to keep filming? Can’t you just do your job properly?! What about the other fans here?!”

Amidst the audience’s uproar, the VIP booth directly opposite the stage remained eerily quiet.

An elderly woman, draped in pearls and exuding an air of aristocratic elegance, sat in a plush armchair. The chain of her reading glasses hung beside her face, her demeanor calm and dignified, radiating an aura of refined nobility.

Staring at the big screen, her pale lips moved slightly. “Is this Zhaozhao?”

Beside her sat a woman in her early twenties—Ji Lin, who had recently negotiated with Ji Zhao in Ji Jing’s place. She poured the Old Madam a cup of tea and replied, “That’s her.”

The Old Madam smiled. “She’s grown into a beautiful young woman.”

Support