April 8, 2026
In the battle at Ximin Mountain, General Zhuge Yue was shot by an arrow, and his subordinate Chu Qiao followed him into the frozen lake. Three months later, Chu Qiao woke up to find herself in the Yanbei camp, but had lost her memory. Yan Xun, the King of Yanbei, told her that she was the Queen of Yanbei, and they were about to get married.
Yan Xun and Chu Qiao were poisoned by Chun Er. When they woke up, they had been kidnapped by Chun Er and taken to a house on the mountaintop. Chun Er could not accept that Yan Xun was about to marry Chu Qiao, so she forced them to kill each other.
Chu Qiao threatened Huan Huan with a knife, asking her to help her return to the frozen lake.
Chu Qiao fell into the frozen lake but was rescued by a mysterious masked man, who turned out to be the "deceased" Zhuge Yue.
Zhuge Yue delivered medicine to Chu Qiao to heal her injuries. Chu Qiao repeatedly tested the identity of the mysterious man. Zhuge Yue lied and claimed to be Yue Qi, but Li Ce exposed his lie.
The Empress sent Zhan Ziyu to investigate Chu Qiao's true identity. To protect Chu Qiao, Li Ce had her impersonate Princess Fu, a member of the royal family who had been separated for many years.
Yan Xun returned to Yanbei. He killed the divine physician and used her corpse to impersonate Huan Huan, thus making an example of her to consolidate his imperial power.
Chu Qiao became acquainted with Ming Lu, a maid in the Crown Prince's residence. Ming Lu wanted to avenge her father who died in a battle against Xiuli Army. Eventually, she was persuaded by Chu Qiao.
Zhao Kuo told Chu Qiao that the Xiuli Army had not been completely wiped out, and Commander He Xiao was captured by Yanbei, which rekindled Chu Qiao's hope.
Chu Qiao and Li Ce made a deal: she would secretly train assassins for Li Ce, and in exchange, Li Ce would find a way to rescue He Xiao.
Upon arriving in Biantang, Zhuge Yue was forced to wear a mask to impersonate King of Ximeng. At the banquet, Chu Qiao recognized King of Ximeng as the long-lost Zhuge Yue.
Chu Qiao guessed Zhuge destination and lured him out, Yue's finally forcing Zhuge Yue to face Chu Qiao with his true identity.
Zhuge Yue proposed a collaboration to Li Ce, asking Li Ce to help him find Steward Zhang.
Through a deal with the Queen Lingyue, Zhuge Yue learned that Great Yong and Yanbei were exchanging prisoners of war in Lin City. Chu Qiao, Zhuge Yue, and Li Ce decided to go to Lin City.
After arriving in Lin City, Chu Qiao deliberately set fire to the city, hoping to rescue He Xiao in the chaos, but little did she know that everything was under Cheng Yuan's control.
Zhao Chun Er accidentally discovers the affair between the Empress and Zhan Zi Yu. She then makes a deal with the Empress to help her eliminate Chu Qiao and Li Ce.
Chu Qiao and Zhuge Yue learned of Li Ce's arrest and rushed back to Biantang. Meanwhile, Yan Xun threatened the Empress to hand over Chu Qiao.
Li Ce was stripped of his title as Crown Prince and exiled to Youzhou. On the way to Youzhou, Empress Bian sent Zhan Zi Yu to kill Li Ce.
Empress Bian was ambushed by Qiao. Chu Qiao revealed the truth that Empress Bian was involved in Chu the extermination of Nanxi Tribe.
Zhuge Yue proposed a deal to Li Ce. Zhuge Yue would help Li Ce win the battle against Yanbei, and in exchange, Li Ce would lend him a team of soldiers.
Chu Qiao led the army on behalf of Biantang, but the court officials of Biantang refused to provide the army with food and supplies. Chu Qiao had no choice but to lend her own supplies to make ends meet.
Zhuge Yue found Sun Di and asked him to lead troops into the palace to overthrow Prince Luo and avenge Li Ce.
Chu Qiao proclaimed herself Empress Dowager and, with the support of Grand Tutor Liu and Sun Di, began to rectify Biantang.
Chu Qiao persuades Queen Lingyue to join her and Zhuge Yue to avenge King Lingyue.
Zhuge Yue donned the mask, became the new King of Ximeng, and arrived in time to save Chu Qiao.
In order to liberate the female slaves of Ximeng, Zhuge Yue announced to the people of Ximeng that he would marry Chu Qiao, who was born a female slave, as the Queen of Ximeng.
Qiu Lin, a subordinate of the former King of Ximeng, has doubts about Zhuge Yue's identity and decides to find out the true identity of the current King.
Zhuge Muqing tried to persuade Zhuge Yue to return to Great Yong and take over Qingshan Court again, but Zhuge Yue refused.
Yan Xun went to Ximeng, claiming that he wanted to establish diplomatic relations with them, but Zhuge Yue and Chu Qiao both believed that Yan Xun must have other purposes for this trip.
Zhuge Yue met Yan Xun, and brought up the long-standing conflict between them. Zhuge Yue declared that he would sever all ties with Yan Xun.
Chu Qiao decided to fight against the Great Yong, in order to defend the people of Ximeng. Zhuge Yue gave Chu Qiao armor and promised to fight alongside her.
Zhuge Yue chose to return to Qingshan Court. He asked Yan Xun to take good care of Chu Qiao and wait for his return.
Zhuge Yue discovered that Zhuge Muqing actually faked his death, in order to force Zhuge Yue to return to the Great Yong and take over Qingshan Court.
Using the name of "Faceless God", Zhao Chun Er threatened to burn the vile woman who brought disaster to the land. She tied Chu Qiao to a high platform.
During their elopement, Cheng Yuan learned that Yan Xun was trapped in the Great Yong. Cheng Yuan decided to go and rescue him.
Zhao Che plans to kill the Emperor of Great Yong on the Emperor's birthday. Chu Qiao decides to pledge her Loyalty to Great Yong, and uses the opportunity to expose Zhao Che's plot.
On the day of the investiture ceremony, Chu Qiao exposed Zhao Che's plot to assassinate the Emperor at the ancestral temple.
Zhuge Yue exposed all of Zhao Che's schemes and asked Chu Qiao to end his life, paving the way for Chu Qiao's ideals.
Chu Qiao led the allied forces to fight against Quanrong's army. The allied forces suffered heavy casualties, and Chu Qiao fought bravely to the end.