After I Transmigrated into a Book, I Won Over the Forgotten Empress Dowager

P.S. If you see an update notification that isn't for a new chapter, you don't need to click it. The careless author is just fixing typos~

Couple guide: cool and mature vs. innocent and lively; later: gentle and considerate vs. possessive and jealous

What should you do if you die and become a cannon-fodder character in a novel?

Jiang Ai knew she wasn't very smart or good with people, and at first she only wanted to keep her head down and survive. But the people around her made things too complicated, so as she stumbled along, she decided: find a powerful patron!

Her patron was Fang Ruoci, the empress dowager of the current dynasty. In Jiang Ai's mind, Fang Ruoci had power early on and money later. Once Jiang Ai had won her favor, she was content, believing she could keep her head down and carry on.

But as she kept her head down, she somehow got swept into the whirlpool of court politics and hatred. Worse still, Fang Ruoci, who stood at its very center, gradually drew all of Jiang Ai's attention. Jiang Ai's uncontrollable feelings came even sooner than the court's treacherous intrigue.

Fang Ruoci had wielded a spear and fought to conquer territory since she was fourteen. She was a renowned general whose name terrified her enemies. Then, for no apparent reason, at twenty-three she became the empress dowager. What was she supposed to do?

She might as well step into the dull imperial palace as if she were half dead, raise a child who wasn't hers, and spend her days matching wits with ministers. How boring.

But everything changed during a visit to her family. A young woman, widowed on her very first night as a bride, was pushed in front of her.

The girl was innocent, with eyes that revealed everything at a glance and a face capable of stirring up trouble. Fang Ruoci played along and brought her back to the palace, hoping to use her to solve a problem and leave the palace as soon as possible.

But Jiang Ai pressed closer at every turn, making no effort to hide her love and passion. Fang Ruoci had thought she could stick to her plan and leave unscathed, but Jiang Ai threw her into disarray. In the end, she willingly became Jiang Ai's strongest support, for life, with all meals, drinks, and lodging included.

Yet the face that would reveal everything ultimately stirred up a storm of unimaginable proportions...

At first, Jiang Ai would stand trembling before Fang Ruoci, carrying all the trouble she'd caused.

Later, Jiang Ai would sit without a care on Fang Ruoci's lap, pouting and asking her to vent her anger on her behalf.

In the end, the girl who knew only how to act cute would kneel before Fang Ruoci in the midst of battle, spear in hand. “A Ci, I only want to give everything I have to you.”

A quick content note: The top once had a tender, innocent relationship with the late emperor, but there was no physical intimacy between them, and things turned very sour between them for various reasons.

Here's the blurb for my upcoming story, Raising a Rose:

Jian Ruan and Meng Yu'an had a fight

They had once been the best of friends. Without Meng Yu'an's constant affection and protection over the years, Jian Ruan might have remained trapped at home, unable to escape the fact that her parents favored neither her nor her older brother and younger sister, who were both better than her. And without Jian Ruan, like a little sun by her side, Meng Yu'an would have become a robot under her parents' pressure.

They had been inseparable for more than a decade, ever since elementary school, when Meng Yu'an found Jian Ruan crying secretly in a park. Everyone around them thought they would be friends forever, but in the end, they had a fight.

Jian Ruan thought Meng Yu'an wanted to act, so she became her manager without hesitation, struggling alongside her in the entertainment industry and eventually helping her reach its highest honor.

Meng Yu'an knew Jian Ruan was interested in entertainment, so, despite her parents' objections, she entered the industry as an actress, bringing Jian Ruan with her until they slowly became legends in their field.

But they had a fight

Jian Ruan thought the jealousy, insecurity, and hurt she had suppressed deep in her heart for over a decade had finally burst out. She thought she was jealous of others liking Meng Yu'an. Even though she knew Meng Yu'an favored her, she could no longer control herself. One tiny spark was enough for her emotions to drown out her reason.

Meng Yu'an disappeared on the night she won the Best Actress award, the very night she and Jian Ruan finished arguing. She thought that since Jian Ruan no longer needed her and had already found happiness, she should return to her own world. She left without saying goodbye.

Later, Meng Yu'an returned for business, coming back to the city where they had spent more than a decade together. She thought she had long since broken ties with Jian Ruan. She never expected that the first person she saw after getting off the plane... would be her.

I also have an ongoing story, My Wallet Turned Out to Be My Wife. P.S. I was a little impatient while writing this story, so the pacing isn't great. I'll revise the whole thing later, but the setting and outline won't change. If you're interested, feel free to add it to your collection.

Here's the blurb:

In her first life, Qu Zhinan was a cultivation prodigy, famous throughout the land at only sixteen. Gu Fanxi was a little ghost who had lost her memories and nearly been refined by someone. After Qu Zhinan saved her and kept her by her side, the two fell in love over time.

In this life, Qu Zhinan was an orphan found by a Taoist temple on a mountain. Born with yin-yang eyes, she had neither parents nor a complete soul. No one knew where she came from or what fate awaited her. Gu Fanxi, who had once been a little ghost, had become an ordinary mortal, born frail and constantly attracting ghosts. One trip down the mountain brought the two together again.

At first, they were supposed to be no more than a client and a Taoist priest, with a simple, transactional relationship. But a magical artifact sold by Qu Zhinan bound them together, forcing them to travel around dealing with ghosts, exorcising them, and investigating the artifact.

Their journey belonged to this life, yet was entangled with the past. The heavens slowly unfurled a centuries-old scroll before them, and at last, after a hundred years, the twists of fate came to an end.

Theme: It is easy to find your original aspiration, but hard to hold on to it