Shang Que, a concubine‑born daughter of the Grand Chancellor’s household, is made Empress for shielding the Emperor during a peril. Her grand coronation dazzles the court, yet perils lie hidden. Imperial physicians confirm she was poisoned years ago; her womb is badly damaged, making conception extremely difficult. To secure her empress status and stabilize court politics, the Emperor and Empress keep this secret. Her full‑blood elder sister, Princess Li Changning, returns to the capital from Jing’an Temple. Upholding strict rules for legitimate versus concubine‑born offspring, she resents Shang Que’s favour and repeatedly humiliates her in public. She falls under the spell of Shen Lingrou, a seemingly gentle survivor of the fallen Xu clan. Shen Lingrou, leftover kin of the late Empress Dowager’s Xu house, burns for revenge. She enters the palace through the imperial selection, posing as a talented lady from Jiangnan. She wins over Princess Changning, installs Lady Liu as her pawn, and hatches plots to frame the Empress. Prince Qi, an imperial clansman craving the throne, colludes with Shen Lingrou. He keeps pressing the court over the Empress’s low birth and lack of an heir, demanding mass selection of new consorts to strip her power. During the Mid‑Autumn and Double‑Ninth palace banquets, the conspirators strike. Lady Liu copies the late Empress to compete for the Emperor’s affection. She takes Moon‑Delaying Incense to fake pregnancy, stages a bloody miscarriage in front of everyone, and frames Empress Shang Que for poisoning her. Forewarned, Shang Que secretly teams up with Prince Cheng to uncover Shen Lingrou’s true identity and schemes. Detecting foul play, Princess Changning pretends to join the villains and acts as a mole. To draw the plotters out into the open, the Emperor and Empress devise a bitter‑stratagem. They let Prince Qi spread slander about Shang Que’s birth mother. The Emperor confiscates her imperial regalia and confines her to Kunning Palace.
