In the later years of the
Kangxi Emperor's reign, then-Fourth Prince
Yinzhen and his eight brothers are embroiled in a bitter power struggle for the
Qing throne. With the help of powerful allies, Yinzhen becomes the Yongzheng Emperor and the brothers who fought against him are either killed or imprisoned. Despite becoming emperor, Yinzhen grows increasingly paranoid of being usurped and vows to not follow in his father's footsteps. As a prince, Yinzhen was deeply in love with his first wife, posthumously titled Empress Chunyuan, who had died before his ascension; her younger sister became his second wife as well as the empress after his ascension. Both sisters, along with his mother,
Empress Dowager Renshou, belong to the
Ula-Nara clan, making them maternal relatives of Yinzhen. Six months after his ascension to the throne,
Empress Dowager Renshou organizes a selection to bring newer members into the Imperial Harem of the
Yongzheng Emperor. Despite not wanting to be selected,
Zhen Huan is forced to join the selection and ends up being chosen due to her resemblance to the late Empress Chunyuan. She joins the Imperial Harem alongside her childhood friend Shen Meizhuang, and the low-born An Lingrong. Zhen Huan attempts to avoid the Imperial Harem's politics but ultimately falls in love with the Emperor, resulting in the other consorts plotting various schemes against her and Shen Meizhuang as retaliation. Due to some misunderstandings and her own sensitive and suspicious personality, as well as out of jealousy toward Zhen Huan, An Lingrong also begins plotting against her and works alongside higher-ranking imperial consorts, notably the Empress,
Ula-Nara Yixiu. While avoiding the pitfalls of such schemes, Zhen Huan befriends the neglected Fourth Prince
Hongli, promising to care for him when she can. She also learns the reason behind the Emperor's favor toward her, and this disillusionment ultimately leads her to become a nun at Ganlu Temple. There, her relationship with
Prince Guo secretly blossoms and the two become intimate with each other. Despite the two planning to elope, Prince Guo is sent away to Tibet by the Emperor and presumed to be dead. Now seeking both revenge and protection, Zhen Huan convinces the Emperor to bring her back into the Imperial Harem. She takes on a new identity as Consort Xi, or
Niohuru Zhenhuan, Hongli's biological mother who had supposedly spent years away from the palace praying at Ganlu Temple, and she formally adopts Hongli. With her new status, Zhenhuan gains more allies. Prince Guo is revealed to be alive, but he and Zhenhuan have to cease their relationship now that she has returned to the Imperial Harem. Despite doing what she can to remain favored by the Emperor and distance herself from Prince Guo, the Emperor's suspicion towards their relationship escalates as time passes and Zhenhuan is ordered to kill Prince Guo but the latter commits suicide instead. The Empress begins to lose favor as her schemes against Zhenhuan backfire and she ultimately confesses to her role in her sister's death and several other crimes. The Emperor attempts to depose her as punishment. Still, the will of the Empress Dowager, who wishes to maintain the influence of the
Ula-Nara clan, forbids him from doing so; he unwillingly puts the Empress under house arrest instead. Zhenhuan slowly poisons the Emperor and she meets with him one final time to narrate the infidelities of some of his concubines, before announcing his death. Hongli becomes the
Qianlong Emperor and Zhenhuan is granted the coveted title of
empress dowager. Although the Empress should have also become an empress dowager upon the Yongzheng Emperor's death, a loophole in the previous Empress Dowager's will forces her to remain empress indefinitely instead. Zhenhuan spends the rest of her life serving as the sole empress dowager: planning the next selection for the Imperial Harem, advising the Qianlong Emperor on state matters, and warning his imperial consorts about the consequences of harming each other. ==Cast==