Jiang Xue Ning’s obsession with becoming empress puts a strain on her friendship with Yan Lin and leads to the arrest of the official Zhang Zhe. After a brief reign, guilt takes hold when the rebels, led by Yan Lin, wipe out the royal family. In her final moments, she trades her life for Zhang Zhe’s freedom. Miraculously, she awakens as if she were 18 years old, just as she was before entering the palace. Determined to change her fate, she tries to escape the political intrigues of the palace, but finds herself drawn back into them, becoming a fellow student of Princess Le Yang and a disciple of Xie Wei, the man behind her past downfall.