Synopsis
The story follows Empress Nara and her life during the Qianlong Emperor's reign.
Originally known as Ula Nara Qingying, the niece of Empress Ula Nara, she is childhood friends with Fourth Prince Hongli and initially chosen to be his primary consort. However, when the Yongzheng Emperor exposes Empress Ula Nara for her role in helping Third Prince Hongshi become a usurper, Hongli is forced to rescind his decision, taking Fuca Langhua as his primary consort instead. Qingying is banished from the imperial palace upon Empress Ula Nara's house arrest. Hongli compromises with the Yongzheng Emperor and is allowed to take Qingying as a secondary consort in exchange for also taking Gao Xiyue as a mistress.
All three women are promoted once Hongli ascends to the throne as the Qianlong Emperor; Qingying becomes Consort Xian, Langhua becomes the empress and Xiyue becomes Noble Consort Hui.
Due to her connection to the Ula Nara clan and her reputation as the Emperor's most favored woman, Consort Xian is not well received in the harem and imperial family. Empress Dowager Chongqing initially distrusts Consort Xian but grants her the name "Ruyi" once trust is later established.
Threatened by Ruyi's favor, Empress Fuca, Noble Consort Hui and her maid A'ruo conspire against her, resulting in Ruyi being blamed for the deaths of imperial heirs. She is demoted and sent to the Cold Palace where the truth about her infertility surfaces and where she forms a friendship with lowly imperial guard Ling Yunche. Ruyi is able to return to the harem with the help of her allies. A'ruo is then banished to the Cold Palace, Noble Consort Hui is abandoned by Empress Fuca and Empress Fuca is isolated from her allies.
Devastated by the deaths of her two sons and forced to marry her only daughter off to Mongolian allies, Empress Fuca falls into water during winter and nearly drowns. On her deathbed, the Emperor confronts her for her evil deeds. In return, she curses his future empress to endure his coldness until her death.
It is revealed that the late Empress and Noble Consort Hui were both manipulated by Consort Jia, a foreign consort who wants to win the love of the head of her tribe. Ruyi's elevation from noble consort to imperial noble consort to step-empress is made uneasy due to Consort Jia's curbing her favor with scathing rumors and an attempt to frame her for adultery. Furthermore, she rallies her maiden tribe and well-known noblewomen to convince the Emperor to name her eldest son as crown prince. Eventually, Consort Jia loses favor and is demoted to a commoner. On her deathbed, to have her confess to her crimes, Ruyi reveals to her that the head of her tribe exposed the fact that she isn't a noblewoman, which is why he never loved her. Ruyi is unaware that Consort Jia's downfall is due to the scheming of the unfavored Consort Ling.
Consort Ling, a former maid who looks similar to Ruyi begins rising in power. Driven by spite against those who had wronged her and financially pressured by her family, Consort Ling grows in favor due to constantly feeding into the Emperor's wants over his needs. Ruyi's differing opinions for his health and reputation begin to clash with his expectations and desires, causing a dramatic decline in their relationship.
Ultimately, a confrontation between them causes Ruyi to cut her hair as a means of symbolically ending their marriage and rescinding her status as empress. This act is seen as a curse against the emperor and empress dowager.
After being promoted to the rank of imperial noble consort, Consort Ling continually offends the Mongolian imperial consorts and abuses her power obnoxiously. Ruyi refuses to be treated for tuberculosis and collects evidence of Consort Ling's crimes. Consort Ling's life comes to an end when her crimes are exposed to the Emperor and she is punished to drink poison daily until her dying day.
Though no longer under house arrest, Ruyi refuses to be involved with the harem and doesn't accept her role as empress. While the Emperor is on a hunt at the Mulan Hunting Grounds, Ruyi finally succumbs to her illness without anyone's knowledge. Despite greatly mourning her death, the Emperor only grants her a small funeral, refuses to give her a posthumous name, orders all records of her to be destroyed and her death to be recorded as merely the passing of an untitled clanswoman. This brings controversy throughout the country and the imperial palace. When the Empress Dowager asks about his decision, he justifies his act by recounting how Ruyi had cut her hair in defiance and how his order was her eternal punishment, but he also explains his wish to free her of the empress title in death. The Emperor spends the rest of his life being haunted by her memory.
A now elderly Emperor cuts a piece of his whitened hair and places it beside the original lock of dark hair that Ruyi had cut in front of him years ago. After the passing of the Emperor, a dead prunus mume plant once nurtured by Ruyi begins to blossom.
The ending sequence states that no woman from the Ula Nara clan entered the harem after Ruyi's death.
