Scholar Wen Bizheng encounters Huo Dingjin, daughter of high official Minister Huo, at a nunnery. He finds her double-pearl phoenix hairpin and pretends to be a fortune teller to meet her. Finally, he sells himself as a servant to the Huo family. Ding Hanchang, the Duke’s adopted son, has no real talents but he wishes to marry Dingjin. During the Duke’s birthday banquet, Bizheng exposes his lack of abilities and embarrasses him. Bizheng brings flowers to Dingjin’s chamber, and Qiuhua makes Bizheng promise to adopt her as his sister before he can sees his love. He then leaves for the civil examination. Upon learning the news of her marriage to Hanchang, Dingjin sets a fire to the chamber and runs away. Dingjin and Qiuhua become homeless in the capital and luckily, the old Prime Minister Liu Jing adopts Dingjin as his own daughter. The emperor reads the “Imperial Prayer to Heaven” written by Dingjin, and is so impressed he makes her a princess. Bizheng wins the champion scholar title but he refuses to marry the princess. During the feast, he realizes the princess is his lover, but Hanchang also trys to make his claim. To settle the matter, Bizheng marries his adopted sister, Qiuhua, to Hanchang.

Man Chui Kwan’s father is implicated by a corrupted court official and she resorted to hide with the Siu family. The evening before the battle between Chu and Qi, Chui Kwan and General Lau Siu Tin engage. However, Siu Yuet Ngo also wishes to express her love to Siu Tin but she gets drunk and is violated by Lok Man Lung, a spy and also a prince from Kingdom Chu. While Sau Seung Yi was taking a break from the military camp, Madame Sau forced him to marry Yuet Ngo, but the bride gives birth on the wedding day. Chui Kwan claims the baby is hers in order to save Yuet Ngo and is force to be banished. Seung Yi reveals to Yuet Ngo that he is injured during the battle and had become impotent and promises the marriage is only for show. In the battlefield, Man Lung is rescued by Chui Kwan and he makes her a General Commander to fight against Siu Tin. Chui Kwan wins and Siu Tin is captured. Siu Tin is tried within the camp of Kingdom Chu and Yuet Ngo insisted that Siu Tin is the father of her baby. Luckily, Madame Sau is able to prove her wrong by the dripping blood method. Man Lung finally admits that Yuet Ngo’s baby was his. Siu Tin’s name is clear and he reunites with Chui Kwan.

As a reward for his achievements, belligerent war hero Chu Batian asks the king for princess Qionghua’s hand in marriage. When he finds that Qionghua is in love with knight errant Zhang Jianqiu, Chu flies into a jealous rage. Calling his troops to capture Zhang, Chu threatens to have him killed if princess Qionghua refuses to wed him within ten days. Will Chu’s plan succeed, or will the lovers find a way to outwit him?

Yu Xuanji and Wen Zhang is a loving couple, secretly expecting a baby. To save her wandering lover from prison, Xuanji insists on selling the property despite her father’s disagreement. Li Yi, who admires her talents so much, offers help to Xuanji. Leaving the prison Zhang makes a visit to Xuanji, yet being driven out by her father. As Yi’s father is critically ill, Yi earnestly requests Xuanji to marry him. Xuanji gives birth to Zhang’s baby right after the marriage. Luckily Yi shows understanding for her situation. Surprised at his lover’s marriage, Zhang tries to get back the token of love through the lover’s maid Lu Qiao, who has loved him secretly for long. Taking return of token as an excuse, Qiao tempts Zhang with wine and her beauty. Yet Xuanji just returns home and finds out their relationship. Feeling regret, Zhang mistakenly kills the maid and gets prisoned again. Xuanji moves to a Buddist nunnery, living as a recluse with her daughter Xiaoyan. After 14 years, Yi gets the first rank in the imperial examination. Xuanji rejects Yi’s love and allows Xiaoyan to reunite with her father, Zhang. Eventually Xuanji ends all the troubles from love with her death.

At the early stage of Emperor Hui’s reign, his Mother Queen Lu still dominates the political power and manipulates Emperor Hui as her puppet. Emperor Hui is in love with the maid Chunying. However the Queen forces him to marry Zhang Luyi, the 14-year-old daughter of Prime minister. Knowing Chunying and the guard Li Jiannian is a loving couple, Emperor Hui allows his lover get what she wants. Chunying gives birth to twins named Pingxiang and Yuxiang. On the same day Emperor Hui dies. As there is no successor to the Emperor, the Queen Lu orders Luyi to take a son from Chunying. Presenting wine to her, the Queen Lu sends the General Shen Youqi to kill Chunying. Chunying flees from the palace with her elder son Pingxiang, while Jiannian is murdered unfortunately. After 15 years, Yuxian succeeds the throne and knows about his identity by chance. Queen Lu plans to kill him to avoid any disloyalty. In order to see her son, Chunying enters the palace with Pingxiang by applying to work at the palace, and finally reunites with the trapped Yuxiang. Luyi confesses the truth to Chunying and resolves all the misunderstandings. However, Queen Lu is still a deadly threat to the family. Since Pingxiang has been suffering from injuries for long, he decides to sacrifice himself to drink the poisoned wine so as to ensure his mother fleeing safely with Yuxiang.

During the Southern Song Dynasty, troops from the country Jin continuously attempt to invade the border region, while the central government turns a blind eye to it. To lure the officials to be on his side, Wei Liangchen sets up feasts at home, indulging everyone in happiness. The head of singing ladies Li Yingping excuses Liang Hongyu’s absence with her sickness. Liangchen is so angry that he puts the blame on the loyal General Han Shizhong. After being driven out from the feast, Shizhong meets Hongyu under the roof while taking shelter from rain. Hongyu, who is from a family of General, would like to fight against the Jin. Su Tiande reports that Liangchen plans to propose to Hongyu, and sends Yingping to the wicked Chancellor Qin Hui as a gift. To play tricks on the cunning Liangchen, the two pairs decide to escape and get married. While Shizhong guards the Double Wolf Gate, Liangchen betrays the country by guiding Jin Wushu to disguise as an injured General and to ask for Shizhong’s help. As soon as Shizhong falls into the trap and leaves the camp, the Jin troops burn down the city gate tower. The Song troops are forced to withdraw. Breaking through the gate, the Jin troops approach Yangtze River. The Han couple guards together this essential checkpoint. Liangchen lies to pry into military updates. While Hongyu provides false information to Liangchen, Shizhong lures the Jin troops to battle on water at Huang Tian Dang. Beating the war drums to boost morale, Hongyu leads the Song troops with Shizhong to defeat the enemy. The Song troops are so blissful to celebrate their victory.

Lee Yik, a talented young man, comes to Chang’an to attend the imperial examination with Tsui Wan-ming and Wai Ha-hing. In the evening of the Spring Lantern Festival, he meets Fok Siu-yuk and recovers her purple hairpin which becomes their love-token. They get married on that very same night.

However, the daughter of Lo, the supreme official of military affairs, is also in love with Lee Yik. Owing to his refusal of Lo’s marriage proposal, Lee Yik is punished and made military officer in frontier even he came out first in the imperial examination. They young couple is separated.

Nothing has been heard from Lee Yik for three years and Fok’s living becomes difficult, but she keeps subsidizing Wan-ming from time to time. At last, she has to pawn even the purple hairpin. Meanwhile, Lo has Lee Yik summoned back to Chang’an to be his son-in-law, and beats Wan-ming to death for his refusal to be the matchmaker for Lee Yik and his daughter. In order to quench Lee Yik’s affection for Siu-yuk, he further procures the purple hairpin as a proof of her remarriage. Lo even accuses Lee Yik of rebellion with his poem to force him for remarriage.

At Chongjing Temple, a Chevalier in Yellow Gown, after hearing her story, helps Siu-yuk to reunite with Lee Yik. Lee Yik explains his deep affection and his hardship under constraint. Yet, Lo catches Lee Yik back to marry his daughter right after their reunion. As advised by the Chevalier, Siu-yuk comes to claim her husband back at the wedding. Just when Lo tries to beat her to death, the Chevalier comes, as the emperor’s brother, deposes Lo for his evil deeds and reunites Siu-yuk and Lee Yik in the end.

Scholar Wen Bizheng encounters Huo Dingjin, daughter of high official Minister Huo, at a nunnery. He finds her double-pearl phoenix hairpin and pretends to be a fortune teller to meet her. Finally, he sells himself as a servant to the Huo family. Ding Hanchang, the Duke’s adopted son, has no real talents but he wishes to marry Dingjin. During the Duke’s birthday banquet, Bizheng exposes his lack of abilities and embarrasses him. Bizheng brings flowers to Dingjin’s chamber, and Qiuhua makes Bizheng promise to adopt her as his sister before he can sees his love. He then leaves for the civil examination. Upon learning the news of her marriage to Hanchang, Dingjin sets a fire to the chamber and runs away. Dingjin and Qiuhua become homeless in the capital and luckily, the old Prime Minister Liu Jing adopts Dingjin as his own daughter. The emperor reads the “Imperial Prayer to Heaven” written by Dingjin, and is so impressed he makes her a princess. Bizheng wins the champion scholar title but he refuses to marry the princess. During the feast, he realizes the princess is his lover, but Hanchang also trys to make his claim. To settle the matter, Bizheng marries his adopted sister, Qiuhua, to Hanchang.

Cao Zhi and Zhen Mi are in love. However, Cao Cao wants to make Zhi his successor, so he chooses Chen Dezhu to be Zhi’s wife instead of Mi for her being a captive. He further marries Mi to Cao Pi, brother of Zhi, to quench Zhi’s affection for Mi. On the wedding night, Pi, under the pretense of drunkenness, unleashes his hatred and jealousy towards Zhi. Overwhelmed with worries about Zhi’s safety, Mi falls into Pi’s trap by asking Zhi to meet her in private. As a result, Zhi is exiled to Linzi.

After Cao Cao has died, Pi becomes the king. He begins to purge his brothers to secure his rule. After the failure to summon Zhi back to the capital, Pi forces Mi to write to urge Zhi to return with the excuse that the Queen Dowager misses him.

On the Copper Bird Terrace, Pi orders Zhi to compose a poem within seven steps. If he fails, Zhi will be sentenced to death for his undeserved fame. To Pi’s surprise, Zhi accomplishes this challenging task with Mi’s encouragement. After hacking a foot off a clay tripod cauldron to illustrate how helpless Pi will be without his brothers, Mi drowns herself into the Luo River. Mourning her by the River, Zhi dreams of Mi ascending to the heaven and becomes the Goddess of the Luo River.