Zi Wei, an illegitimate child of Qianlong Emperor makes her way to the capital where she meets Xiao Yan Zi. The two girls become sworn sisters and Xiao Yan Zi promises to help Zi Wei find her father, Qianlong Emperor. Xiao Yan Zi decides to sneak into the mountain where the Emperor hunts, but Zi Wei is weak and she is unable to get across the mountain, so she asks Xiao Yan Zi to tell the Emperor her story. On her way, Xiao Yan Zi gets shot and is unable to tell the Emperor her story, so the Emperor mistakes her for the princess and Xiao Yan Zi is proclaimed princess because Qianlong thinks she is his long-lost daughter. Meanwhile, Zi Wei is falling for Er Kang, a minister and private guard of the king. While in the palace, Xiao Yan Zi has caught the eye of her ‘brother’, Yong Qi, who is the fifth prince and the court artist, Benjamin. Although he’s engaged to Princess Xing Rong, Yong Qi finds himself drawn toward Xiao Yan Zi. The group makes a plan to get Zi Wei acknowledged as the true princess while keeping Xiao Yan Zi’s head safe from the guillotine. Xiao Yan Zi and Zi Wei’s antics in the palace attract attention from everyone, the emperor, the empress, the doting concubines, as well as the stern dowager empress and her confidante, Princess Qing Er.
