Su Wanran, a top student in the history department who was born into poverty in modern times, accidentally slipped into the book while studying the biography of the empress Shen Qingci and became a distant cousin of the heroine from an ordinary family background. In order to firmly seize the springboard to change her life, she ruthlessly set fire to the whole family, disguised herself as an orphan girl who was desperately protected by her parents, and relied on her father's kindness to enter the Taifu Mansion, winning the love of her grandmother and the care of the Shen family.
She is well versed in the plot of the original work, and is used to hiding her deep thoughts in a weak green tea appearance. She imitates the heroine at every turn and seizes opportunities. She tries to rely on modern knowledge and historical prophets to gain fame in the capital, gain influence from the prince, and replace Shen Qingci on the road to empress.
However, Shen Qingci was the direct daughter of the Grand Tutor, and she followed her father to observe the government affairs since she was a child. She was deeply valued by the emperor and courtiers, and her talent, appearance, strategy, and layout were all top-notch. Su Wanran's tricks were exhausted, modern poetry was crushed, her plan to compete for favor was seen through, she clung to the prince but was exploited, she strived to be the first in everything but fell behind time and time again, and was always slightly inferior.
Above the court, there is a turbulent undercurrent of the prince's succession; deep in the harem, old cases and bloody feuds are waiting to be resolved. Su Wanran, with the obsession to change her destiny against the will of heaven, worked step by step in the whirlpool of intrigues, but she didn't know that she had already become a footnote on Shen Qingci's way to the top.
She has plots, ambitions, and ruthless methods, but in the end they are no match for Shen Qingci's innate noble character and desire to save the emperor. In this life, no matter how hard she struggled, she could not escape the fate of always being inferior to the heroine.
