Synopsis
Zhang Xiao (Cecilia Liu), a young woman from the 21st century, suffers a near-fatal accident that sends her back in time to the Qing Dynasty during the Kangxi Emperor's (Damian Lau) reign. She finds herself trapped in the body of one of her previous incarnations: Ma'ertai Ruoxi, the teenage daughter of a Manchu general. In this new timeline, she has an elder sister, Ruolan (Annie Liu), who is a concubine of the Kangxi Emperor's eighth son, Yinsi (Kevin Cheng). Ruoxi initially tries to return to the future, but she soon adjusts to life in this era. She gets acquainted with Kangxi's other sons, including the fourth prince Yinzhen (Nicky Wu), tenth prince Yin'e (Ye Zuxin), and fourteenth prince Yinti (Lin Gengxin). She also forges a close friendship with the thirteenth prince, Yinxiang (Yuan Hong).
Ruoxi attracts the attention of the emperor with rumors of her brashness and bravery, and manages to charm him with her intelligence and wit. Later, at the imperial palace's "beauty draft" (during which concubines and wives are chosen for the princes or the emperor himself), conflicting arrangements are made by Yinsi and his wife, Gogoro Minghui (Shi Xiaoqun), leading to Ruoxi being drafted into the service of the dowager empress to keep the peace, before Ruoxi is given an appointment as a servant to the emperor, specifically to prepare and serve tea to him and those he hosts.
During Ruoxi's stay in Yinsi's house, Yinsi falls in love with her. She initially rejects him but then returns his feelings, and agrees to marry him if he gives up competing for the succession to the throne. This is because Ruoxi is aware of the history, in which Yinsi's ambition will ultimately lead to his death in prison after Yinzhen becomes emperor. However, Yinsi refuses to and thus Ruoxi breaks up with him. Before leaving, Ruoxi warns Yinsi of Yinzhen's plans to usurp the throne and came up with solutions for him to prevent being taken down by Yinzhen.
Ruoxi then starts to get closer to Yinzhen, and their interactions changes her unfavorable opinion of him, and they gradually fall for each other. Meanwhile, Yinsi and his supporters, acting on Ruoxi's advice, frame Yinzhen for plotting against the crown prince Yinreng (Zhang Lei). Yinxiang, the closest brother to Yinzhen, steps forward to take responsibility and is sentenced to house arrest. After this incident, Yinsi realizes that Ruoxi is now romantically involved with Yinzhen. Yinreng is deposed after his criminal ways are exposed and is imprisoned for life. Kangxi then begins showing preference for Yinti and offers Ruoxi as a concubine to him. However, Ruoxi boldly defies the emperor's order, and as a penalty, she is demoted to the laundry department.
Ruoxi works within the laundry department for a number of years, and is offered some level of protection and special treatment by ways of the princes. Kangxi falls ill during this time, and when Ruoxi is brought back to the emperor's service by Eunuch Wang to prepare pastries and help stimulate Kangxi's appetite, he pardons her and restores her to her former role as his lead tea server.
After Kangxi dies, with military support from Longkodo (Zhao Jialin) and Nian Gengyao (Xing Hanqing), Yinzhen falsely claims that Kangxi named him the successor, effectively staging a coup and taking the throne from Yinti to become the Yongzheng Emperor. He releases Yinxiang, who is enfeebled by years of custody.
Yinzhen moves Ruoxi into his quarters, namely as his lady-in-waiting, and consummates their relationship. He does not, however, marry her, as he wants to be able to live with her and see her every day—concubines have their own estates in the harem between which the emperor must divide his time. Ruoxi is pleased enough with this arrangement, as she has always been reticent about marriage and enjoys seeing Yinzhen daily as well, until her happiness is overshadowed by Yinzhen’s paranoia and his ruthless persecution of his brothers. She frequently finds herself caught between the rival camps of Yinzhen and Yinsi.
When Gorolo Minghui, Yinsi’s wife, tells Ruoxi that Yinsi began opposing Yinzhen years earlier because he was provoked by Ruoxi’s conviction that he would lose to Yinzhen, Ruoxi is devastated. Although Yinsi never learns that Ruoxi’s warning stemmed not from a lack of faith in him but from her knowledge of the future, she is overwhelmed by the cruel irony of history and her own role in the princes’ fratricidal struggle. The shock causes her to miscarry Yinzhen’s child, leaving her unable to conceive again. Enraged, Yinzhen blames Yinsi and Minghui, issuing an edict forcing them to divorce, which drives Minghui to commit suicide.
Wracked by guilt and fearful of Yinzhen’s harsh treatment of his brothers, Ruoxi confesses her role in driving Yinsi into opposition against Yinzhen. Shocked by the revelation, Yinzhen begins treating her coldly. Unable to bear the emotional strain, Ruoxi asks Yinti to help her leave the palace. Yinti presents Yinzhen with an edict issued by the late Kangxi Emperor, which betrothes Ruoxi to Yinti in recognition of his military achievements. When Yinzhen remains reluctant to carry out the late emperor's edict, Yinsi intervenes and reveals his past romance with Ruoxi. The disclosure proves to be the final blow for Yinzhen, who feels deeply betrayed by Ruoxi and ultimately let her leave the Forbidden City to marry Yinti.
Despite Yinti's excellent care, Ruoxi's emotional anguish deeply affects her health, and she begs him to send a letter to Yinzhen, requesting to see the emperor one last time before she dies. However, a misunderstanding between Yinzhen and Yinti causes the letter, sent in Yinti's name, to be thrown aside unread. Ruoxi struggles to stay alive, but after three days, she concludes that Yinzhen's absence confirms that his love for her has ended, and she dies. When news of Ruoxi's death reaches Yinzhen, he rushes to Yinti's house, regretting his actions after learning that Ruoxi still loved him.
Yinzhen subjects Yinsi and Yintang (Han Dong) to increasingly harsh punishments and imprisoned both men. Yinxiang visits them in prison and delivers poison, which is Ruoxi’s last request for him before her departure from the palace. The two princes subsequently take their own lives, ending their suffering as Ruoxi wished. Yinxiang dies a few years later, followed shortly by Yinzhen himself, whose 12-year reign as Emperor was the shortest in Qing history. Yinti lives on but does not find another wife. Only Yin'e, who once had a crush on Ruoxi, has a happy ending with his wife (Liu Yuxin), whom he grows to love.
Upon Ruoxi’s death, Zhang Xiao awakens in a hospital in 2011 and learns that she has been in a coma for several weeks. She is left wondering whether her experiences in the past were real or merely a dream. After recovering, Zhang researches the Qing dynasty and discovers that history remains on its proper course, with no trace of Ma’ertai Ruoxi in the historical record. However, during a visit to a museum, she notices a woman in a Kangxi-era painting depicting the emperor and the nine princes enjoying a tea gathering before the deadly succession struggle. The scene exactly matches her memories of life in the palace. Meanwhile, another visitor bearing a striking resemblance to Yinzhen passes by but fails to recognize her. The series ends on a cliffhanger as the man walks away, leaving Zhang Xiao in tears.
