After unexpectedly dying from overwork, modern office worker Yu Qijian transmigrates into the body of a young widowed Empress Dowager in the Dayu Dynasty. She must care for an eight-year-old child emperor while powerful relatives and court officials urge her to rule from behind the curtain. Knowing she has absolutely no talent for politics or strategy, she only wants to keep a low profile and live an easygoing life. However, her modern excuses and clever wordplay are quickly seen through by Fang Jinxian, a powerful court official who holds enormous influence. Yu Qijian tries to avoid him at all costs, but Fang Jinxian constantly exposes her schemes, turning them into a bickering yet oddly compatible pair. Everything changes when she accidentally discovers that Fang Jinxian has been poisoned by a mysterious toxin that only she can alleviate. Their relationship shifts from testing each other to working together, and from avoiding one another to becoming increasingly entangled. Amid the dangerous struggle for power, these destined rivals eventually embark on a journey of mutual redemption.
