During the Qing Dynasty, in 18th century Beijing, Wei Yingluo enters the court of the Qianlong Emperor, Aisin Gioro Hongli, as one of the palace embroiderers, in order to secretly investigate her beloved sister's mysterious death.
At first believing the imperial guard Fuca Fuheng to be the prime suspect, Yingluo schemes to approach his sister, the Empress Fuca Rongyin, and succeeds in getting transferred from her embroidery unit to the Empress's Changchun Palace as her maid. She learns that the Fuca siblings are innocent of the crime. Yingluo and Fuheng fall for each other.
Meanwhile, Qianlong's Consort Chun allies herself with Empress Fuca because of her crush on her brother.
Yingluo eventually catches the attention of Qianlong himself. Though Yingluo is not noble by birth and is illiterate, Empress Fuca teaches her how to read and write, and the proper etiquette and mannerisms for noblewomen. The empress saves her several times from punishment for probing too deeply into her sister's death. In turn, Yingluo helps Empress Fuca survive a series of maneuvers by her rivals. The two develop a close friendship.
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