Pursuit of Jade

Outside of town, Changyu discovers a wounded young man half-dead in the snow. Changyu assumes he was attacked by bandits, so she carried him home, even though she didn't have enough money to feed him. Her neighbours, Mr. Zhao and Mrs. Zhao, help Changyu take care of him, and they keep his presence in her house a secret.

When he wakes, the young man tells Changyu his name is Yan Zheng, a refugee from Chongzhou, and that he has no family left. In flashbacks, he fights with other warriors and is the sole survivor of a violent skirmish. A white hawk arrives at his window, bearing a message that asks if he is alive. He manages to scrawl the name of the town with a burnt chopstick and sends the reply away with the hawk.

Mr. Zhao warns Changyu that Yan Zheng's medicine will be expensive, and she is already paying a lot for the medicine her sister needs. Changyu pawns the rare silver hairpin that belonged to her mother to pay for Yan Zheng's medicine, promising to return to buy the hairpin back in a few days.

Soldiers arrive to search houses for refugees without travel passes: anyone caught will be forced to join the army. Changyu comes under suspicion when they find a bloodied cloth by the sickbed, but Yan Zheng remains safely hidden in her pig sty.

Changyu fights the gangsters herself, while Yan Zheng helps after throwing a stick at one from the window above. Constable Wang arrives, informing Changyu that, because her father has passed away, the title deed will go to the next male heir, in this case, her uncle. When Changyu privately speaks to her parents' memorial tablets, Yan Zheng comes down to talk to her.

Mr. and Mrs. Zhao come up with a solution for Changyu to keep the house by taking in a matrilocal husband, Yan Zheng, being ideal. Changyu attempts to talk to Yan Zheng, but shies away, and instead practices with one of her pigs. Unbeknownst to her, Yan Zheng overheard the whole scene, watching from above.

When Changyu brings warm soup to Yan Zheng, he agrees to be her matrilocal husband. She offers to provide for him if he stays.

Changyu goes to the fabric shop to have wedding clothes made. Outside, people were arguing over whether Marquis Wu'an was alive and whether he was a good person. At the palace, the emperor decides to reward Marquis Wu’an's army with gold due to their leader's heroic status. Prime Minister Wei, the Marquis' uncle, tells them not to announce Xie Zheng's death in order to keep enemies wary.

In the woods, Changyu sprains her leg after being attacked by a wolf. Two gentlemen on the road offer to give her a ride home as they have a carriage. These gentlemen are Li Huai’an and his loyal subordinate. Li Huai’an is a student of the great General He and is searching for the Marquis of Wu'an. Despite meeting with Yan Zheng, they are fooled by his disguise due to the absurdity of the Marquis marrying a butcher and becoming a live-in husband. Changyu returns to take measurements for Yan Zheng's wedding outfit. He notices her sprained leg and fixes it. Changyu asks Yan Zheng to accompany her to pray for the Marquis in secret.

Yan Zheng's falcon is caught by a trap set by Changyu, and he frees it. Jin Yuanbao and his gang return to search for the title deed.

While brainstorming ways to help fight the case against Changyu's uncle, Yan Zheng offers to help, revealing his knowledge of court processes and literary background, which further intrigues Changyu. He teaches her a simple poem to use in her case.

Song Yan arrives at night, offering Changyu a solution for the house by taking her as his concubine. Insulted, she rejects him, and when he tries to approach Changyu, Yan Zheng beats him from the house. Yan Zheng and Changyu put up an act to show Song Yan that they are husband and wife.

In the morning, Mr. Zhao helps Yan Zheng collect silver taels from the bookshop, where Yan Zheng had sold his essays. He then buys back the hairpin Changyu pawned.

Changyu returns to see her wedding outfit ready, which includes embroidered flowers for her wedding night.

On the day of her wedding, the aunties in town speculate that Changyu's husband must be ugly or crippled in order to agree to being a matrilocal husband. However, they were shocked at his appearance. Song Yan arrives to give Changyu one last chance to accept his offer but is violently rejected. Yan Zheng thanks Song Yan for not recognizing a "true gem".

During the rituals, Changyu states that Yan Zheng does not need to change his surname, and their children do not need to take hers since they can have more children and use both. When the last ritual states how Changyu has to be obeyed as the head of the household, Yan Zheng agrees and bows to Changyu. She says that in the future, they will discuss and make decisions together.

After the wedding dinner, Mrs. Zhao gives Changyu an intimacy instruction book.

In town the next day, Changyu reopens her parents' butcher shop to earn more money. She collect the travel documents for Yan Zheng and stops by the pawnbroker's shop. She is heartbroken to learn that her hairpin has already been sold to someone else.

On her way home, Madam Song gives her some money and asks her to return the betrothal letter, as their family is moving out. Changning calls Yan Zheng over as Granny Kang and the rest of the townspeople harass Changyu. He displayed a list of items the Song family had bought and spent at the expense of the Fan family. The Song family does not have enough money to pay it back, but Magistrate Cui's daughter, who is betrothed to Song Yan, insultingly pays the money by pouring it on the floor for the Fan family to pick up. Changyu reveals that the letter had been under a rock outside their door.

Changyu explains to Yan Zheng that she was upset over losing the hairpin, only for him to pull it from his sleeve and hand it to her. Changyu chides Yan Zheng for selling his essays, as she can butcher pigs to provide for their family.

Yan Zheng's falcon arrives at the Luyuan Academy, delivering Yan Zheng's message to headmaster Gongsun.

The stove at Changyu's shop is smashed, as she did not pay protection money, only to realize that it was Jin Yuanbao and his gang. After confronting them, they fix the stove and help run the shop. Jin's grandma angrily arrives, believing that he was collecting protection money. After Changyu defuses the situation, Jin tells Changyu that his brothers had their own family issues, needing money being unable to find jobs due to the war. Changyu cooks for them and offers them a job.

Yan Zheng goes to the shops to buy groceries and supplies for the Fan family, including clam ointment and wrist guards for Changyu. He tells the shopkeeper to deliver them under the identity of Changyu's father. Meanwhile, Changyu is defamed by another store owner and angrily confronts him. After defeating him, the shop owner attempts to attack her but falls from a stone Yan Zheng throws.

At home, the shopkeeper delivered the groceries. Changyu wants to return the clam moisturiser, but Yan Zheng uses it so she could not return it and must use it.

On the next day, the court hearing is presided over by Magistrate Cui. After hours without Changyu's uncle showing up, his body is brought in.

Yan Zheng takes Changning and flees into the snowy woods. Changyu begs Constable Wang to free her so she can look for her sister. After hiding Changning, Yan Zheng and his falcon fight with the assailants. After Changyu arrives, Yan Zheng holds off the attackers to allow Changyu to escape, with Changyu coming back to save him. Upon their return, they collapse in the snow, only to be found by Changning and Constable Wang. While asleep, Yan Zheng dreams of his mother and her suicide. Yan Zheng notices that their attackers carried a whistle resembling the ones carried by the Prime Minister's Iron Suicide Warriors, but he realizes they weren't after him, but Changyu.

Changyu offers to teach Yan Zheng to butcher the pig so he has an additional skill other than being an armed escort. While they're talking, Constable Wang arrives. He grimly states he is forced to arrest Yan Zheng for suspected murder of Changyu's uncle.

During the trial, Magistrate Cui utilizes Yan Zheng's lost travel permit as a sign of his guilt, believing him to be a bandit from the Qingfeng stronghold. Yan Zheng requests they wait a few days for his original travel permit to arrive, which the Magistrate interprets as insolence and orders the guards to beat Yan Zheng. Just as Yan Zheng was about to fight the magistrate's soldiers, Gongsun arrives with Yan Zheng's travel permit. He uses his status as the headmaster of Luyuan Academy to acquit both Yan Zheng and Changyu. As the court is dismissed, Yan Zheng coughs up blood and tells Gongsun to take care of Fan Changyu. He then collapses.

After Zheng wakes up, Gongsun and Zheng question why Prime Minister Wei would want to kill the Fan household.

Constable Wang advises Changyu to lay low and hide, and she wonders if Yan Zheng will follow her. She rushes home to see that someone left and left a note and some money, tearfully believing Yan Zheng had left, only to find that it was only Gongsun. Changyu asks if Yan Zheng would like to join her or stay with Mr. and Mrs. Zhao. He chooses the former. Yan Zheng asks if Changyu's parents left her any inheritance that she needed to take when on the run, to which Changyu says only the title deed, the knives, and her sister.

Changyu visits her grandfather, who tries to tell Changyu something important but is cut off. Mr. Li from the famous Yixang Restaurant comes to find Changyu and summon her to his manager. The owner of Yixiang restaurant, Yu Qianqian, strikes a deal with Changyu, offering money and a deposit for Changyu to supply pork and cook braised meat for the restaurant. Changyu's competitor, Butcher Guo, comes to the restaurant to slander both Qianqian and Changyu, so Qianqian has him beat in the back room. Lord Li notes that the person the assassins had been looking for was Fan Changyu, not Yan Zheng. Mrs Zhao encourages Changyu to consummate her marriage.

Lord Li explains that he was here to capture bandits from Qingfeng. Changyu runs home to save Yan Zheng as he passes out from blood loss. Lord Li suspects him to be Marquis Wu'an.

In Lord Li's room, his associates debate on whether or not Yan Zheng could be the Marquis. Huai'an draws a picture and ask his men to send it to Yanzhuo, the capital city, to verify.

Prime Minister Wei's son Wei Xuan asks General He to help tame Marquis Wu'an's soldiers at Yanzhuo. Lord Li returns to report to General He that the Iron Suicide Warriors had tried to raid the Fan house twice. Lord Li asks his master what if Marquis Wu'an was alive, to which he replies that it would be a blessing, as the Prince Changxin is planning a rebellion soon.

Changyu wants to divorce Yan Zheng as she believes her family is a burden to him. Yan Zheng refuses, telling her not to listen to the opinions of others.

General He sends Prime Minister Wei a box of mysterious old letters from sixteen years earlier, asking him to spare the Fan sisters. Prime Minister Wei decides to let the daughters live and burns the letters.

Lord Li returns to Lin'an to tell Changyu that bandits were after her because of a rumor that her father may have possessed a treasure map, but that they have found the treasure map elsewhere, and so she and her sister are safe. Lord Li also gives Changyu thirty taels from the government, presumably instructions from General He. Yan Zheng wonders why Lord Li would make up a lie to cover the case.

Changyu tells her sister that they do not have to move. Yan Zheng writes a note and sends the falcon to deliver it. The falcon's disappearance saddens Changning, but Yan Zheng promises that it will return.

Changyu opens her braised meat shop at Yixiang Restaurant. Lord Li moves into the Song house, directly opposite from the Fan house. Yan Zheng asks Lord Li why he is in Lin'an, to which he replies that he is searching for the Marquis Wu'an.

Yan Zheng meets his men Xie Wu and Xie Qi in the woods. He tells them to start storing grain and spread news of his death. Xie Wu notices that Yan Zheng is carrying something under his sleeve that appears as if it belongs to a woman.

Changyu and Qianqian are on their way home when they are suddenly attacked by assassins, including butcher Guo. He drugs Changyu, but Yan Zheng is nearby and defeats Guo, tying him up and bringing him back to the Fan residence. There, he beats him into revealing his plans to drug and sell Qianqian and Changyu. As Yan Zheng is about to kill Guo, Changyu wakes up to stop him.

Back at Luyuan Academy, Gongsun's student wants to play chess with him. She is secretly the Grand Princess in disguise, and the two discuss their experiences playing chess against an unknown opponent each day, unaware that it is each other. Empress Dowager sends for her daughter to come home. Disheartened, the Princess let Gongsun know that she had been secretly playing chess with him. Meanwhile, the Empress Dowager wishes for the Princess to marry Lord Li.

Qianqian meets a rice merchant who calls himself Mr. Qi in her restaurant. He appears to be immediately infatuated with her.

Qianqian tells Changyu to design an emblem for her braised meat, and Changyu plans to ask Yan Zheng to help. Business at the braised meat store increases, with women buying because of Yan Zheng and men buying because of the emblem.

Back at the restaurant, Qianqian is harassed by a drunken customer, and upon being rebuked, he tries to stab her with a knife, only to be stopped by Mr. Qi.

Changning meets Bao'er, Qianqian's young son, and they play hide-and-seek together. The children become lost, and the adults launch a frantic attempt to find them. Yan Zheng finds them sleeping in a chest.

General He and Yan Zheng hear from their own respective scouts that someone bought 200,000 units of grain at a high price while their army was having commoners pay their taxes in grain. It is revealed that Mr. Qi, whose real name is Qi Min, is the one who bought the grains.

Qi Min tries to book out the entire restaurant, but Qianqian closes it to avoid him. She asks Changyu to let her borrow Yan Zheng to pretend to be her husband so that she can chase Mr. Qi away.

Zhao Xun goes to the Fan house to present Marquis Wu'an the Crown Prince's seal to offer him an alliance, revealing he knows about the Jinzhou massacre case from 16 years ago. Yan Zheng asks for a deposit of 200,000 units of grain.

Before New Year's, Yan Zheng teaches Changning how to write when he offered to write Spring Festival couplets. His beautiful calligraphy means he is soon writing for the whole neighborhood.

Mr. and Mrs. Zhao, Changyu, Changning, and Yan Zheng celebrate the New Year with dinner and fireworks.

After the food shortage created by the bought-up grain, Prince Changxin sends forces to massacre the nearby Ma village.

The next day, Qianqian and her son Bao'er visit the Fan house. The children go to play, and a lady (later revealed to be Nanny Lan) tries to identify Bao'er. Qianqian, Changyu, and Yan Zheng realize the children are lost, and upon finding them, end up in a snowball fight. At night, Changyu, Changning, and Yan Zheng go for a walk in the streets.

Changyu sees people writing Song Yan's name on candles and picks them up to wipe his name off, trying to save Yan's unassuming devotees. Unfortunately, she runs into Song Yan, who mistakenly believes she still loves him. He offers her a candle, but Magistrate Cui's daughter arrives, so he pretends that Changyu had sought him out. Yan Zheng comes over to defend Changyu, embarrassing Song Yan.

Nanny Lan reports back to Qi Min, revealing Bao'er matches the description of his missing son. Qi kidnaps a staff member of Yixiang Restaurant, interrogating her and killing her afterwards.

Yan Zheng, Changyu, and Changning are walking around the festival when Gongsun saw them from above and painted a portrait of them. Gongsun and Yan Zheng had a talk about the Prime Minister's son Wei Xuan putting General He to prison. Gongsun asks if it is time for Yan Zheng to return as the Marquis and lead the army.

Changyu brings Yan Zheng to eat noodles, and seeing that a couple where the women paid for the meals were being gossiped about, lets Yan Zheng pay for their meal. As he does not have small change, he takes out a huge silver ingot instead.

Changyu visits her grandfather's home. He has clearly been mistreated, and in anger, she kicks her aunt out of the home, as the title deed now belongs to her grandfather. Changyu's guilt-ridden grandfather breaks down, telling her that her father was not his biological son. A year ago, Fan Erniu paid Grandfather Fan to assume his dead son's identity, so that Changyu's family could lead a low-profile life.

Grand Tutor Li, leader of the Li clan, tells his grandson Lord Li that Prime Minister Wei is hungry for power and must be brought down.

Yan Zheng and Changyu plan to stop the rioters and save Bao'er and Magistrate Cui. Changyu goes to capture Sui Yuanqing, the heir apparent to Prince Changxin, in exchange for freeing Magistrate Cui. Meanwhile, Yan Zheng and his men intercept the grains to be released to the commoners.

During the commotion, Sui Yuanqing's men pose as members of the crowd and members of the police. However, they are discovered by Constable Wang and a masked Yan Zheng. In the ensuing battle, they are defeated by the police force. Magistrate Cui is freed, but as Yan Zheng fights with Sui Yuanqing, he falls off the fortress wall, trying to grab Changyu down with him. However, Yan Zheng shoots Sui and saves Changyu. He runs after him and tells Changyu to meet him at the usual place. Yan Zheng chases Sui and two men, cornering them at a cliff, where his identity as the Marquis of Wu'an is revealed. Sui is shot as he falls down the cliff and is presumably dead. After the fight, Yan Zheng speaks to Lord Li about what happened and their plans.

Yan Zheng meets Changyu at the place where she first found him months ago.

The male villagers, including Jin Yuanbao, his crew, and Mr. Zhao, are all conscripted to join the war, much to the distress of the rest of Lin'an. Changyu passes items to Mr. Zhao for Yan Zheng.

In the Prime Minister's residence, he, his wife, and his son discuss the alliance between General He and the Marquis of Wu'an.

Yan Zheng returns to the camp as the Marquis, revealing to the officials and the empire that he is alive.

Qianqian tells Changyu she and Bao'er are leaving. Bao'er gives Changning a piece of jade that he has always carried. Changning gives Bao'er a grasshopper whistle that Mr. Zhao had carved for her.

Sui takes over the Qingfeng bandits and heads to Li’an to kill the villagers, both to spite Marquis Wu’an and to look for Changyu. During the massacre, he attempts to extract information about Changyu's identity from Constable Wang and Magistrate Cui's daughter, killing them both when they do not betray her. However, Madam Song takes Sui to Changyu's house, where Sui kills her. There, Sui sees a portrait of the Fan family and mistakes Changning for Yan Zheng's daughter. He discovers a group of hidden villagers in the Zhaos' cellar, but spares them in exchange for Changyu. After going with him, she stabs Sui and kills the second master of Qingfeng Stronghold. She lures Sui away from the village and jumps down a cliff.

Changning, who was not hiding with the rest of the villagers, stumbles upon Granny Kang and her grandson hiding. Kang hides both Changning and her grandson Hu from the soldiers, sacrificing herself in the process.

At camp, Yan Zheng sees that his falcon had been hurt. He is then informed of the massacre of Lin'an. Furious and panicked for his wife, he takes a thousand of his Blood Robe Calvary and slaughters the Qingfeng Stronghold bandits. Using her hair ribbon, he sends his falcon to look for Changyu, finding her hanging between the branches, cold and unconscious. Yan Zheng does gua sha for Changyu's blood flow upon recommendation from a blind physician in the region.

Changning is found by Shi Sanniang, to Sui Yuanqing's delight.

Qi Min finds Qianqian and Bao'er and takes them back to his palace. It is revealed that Qi Min is actually Sui Yuanhai, Prince Changxin's son and Sui Yuanqing's brother. He demands that Qianqian be happy with him, threatening Bao'er's life if she chooses not to.

Changyu wakes up in the empty safehouse. Thinking that Yan Zheng's soldiers protecting her are imposters, she escapes. Changyu seeks Lord Li's help and learns that half of the villagers in Li’an were slaughtered and Changning is missing. Devastated and grieving deeply, she builds tombs for the fallen and decides to seek out her missing sister.

Unfortunately, Changyu is still unable to find Changning. She mistakes a father for a child abductor and attacks him. The man reports her to the officers, and she is arrested. Lord Li lets her out of prison, and she requests that he find the record of her parents' deaths. He does so, and it is confirmed to Changyu that her parents died at the hands of mountain bandits. Lord Li notes privately that the records appear to have been tampered with.

Yan Zheng receives asks General He to help save his sister-in-law. To Zheng's shock, General He immediately knows that he means Changning. General He reveals that he and Fan Erniu were former comrades in arms, and that Fan Erniu died not by bandits, but by suicide.

Bao'er attempts to connect with his father, Qi Min, but is violently rebuked. Bao'er is shocked when Qi Min orders a maid to be beat to death.

Changyu travels westward towards Chongzhou, searching for her sister. While at her campfire, officers question her destination, asking her why she is heading towards the enemy. Despite her protests, Changyu is arrested.

Changyu is placed in a labor camp under General Tang. At the quarries, she meets an old man and defends him from the campground bullies. When the bullies turn on her, Jin Yuanbao and his gang from Li'an confront them. Changyu cries tears of joy upon being reunited. That night, Changyu and the crew reconnect, where Changyu informs them of the massacre at Lin'an and the effects on their respective family members. They swear revenge on Sui Yuanqing.

The old man introduces himself as Scholar Tao. He and Changyu talk about his disciple, Jiuheng, and Changyu's husband, Yan Zheng, unaware that the two are the same person.

Nanny Lan takes both Bao'er and Changning to see Qianqian. Overjoyed, Qianqian tells the children to pretend to be happy to escape.

Qi and Qianqian spend the night together in a hot tub. They remember when Qianqian saved him from drowning, and he fell in love with her. He gifted her a jade pendant which she eventually gave to Bao'er.

Qi Min, after discovering Qianqian's plans to escape, has her locked up. However, Nanny Lan has already escaped with Bao'er.

After learning that those who carry extra-large rocks up the mountain are rewarded with meat, Changyu carries rocks herself to secure the food for Tao, Jin, and the rest of the crew. While there, she scouts the area and discovers a dam being built. Tao asks Changyu to scout again and realizes that the Marquis is planning to use the dam to drown the enemy's army. He introduces himself to General Tang as the former Minister of Works and the Grand Tutor, giving points to drill the holes for the dam in order to have a better intended effect.

Changyu asks Grand Tutor Tao the reasons for his discovery, but he refuses unless he takes her as his disciple, to which she agrees. The general sends half of the camp workers away, under the pretense of going to the frontlines; in reality, those who stayed would die by drowning, and those who left would live. Tao exchanges his lot with Changyu to stay and save her, while the Jin brothers exchange theirs to follow Changyu. However, they learn the truth about the dam and return to save Tao.

Sui brings Changning into battle and expects Marquis Wu'an to save his daughter. After Sui realizes Changning is actually the Marquis's sister-in-law, the Marquis saves Changning.

On the Marquis's cue, the dam explodes, and water floods the gorge. Changyu and the Jin brothers stop the scouts from sending a signal to Sui, ensuring he is not warned.

The Marquis and Gongsun find out that the laborers who stopped the scouts are called the pig-butcher team. They also receive word from the scouts that a second enemy army is moving closer, so they break camp and move to a mountain camp that is easier to defend.

Changyu and the Jin brothers are escorted to a nearby military camp. Changyu reunites with Mr. Zhao at the camp, where he has been working as a blacksmith. Mr. Zhao tells Changyu that he believes Yan Zheng has feelings for her.

Tao arrives at the camp, and Mr. Zhao recognized it was he who traded his lot to save Changyu. He pays his respects to Tao. Lord Li also arrives, reacting with shock that Mr. Zhao, Tao, and Changyu are all at the same camp. The four of them strategize on how to get food supplies to the mountain camp, as it is now under siege by the enemy army. As Lord Li is needed at the camp, Changyu offers to lead the supply run to Marquis Wu'an.

Gongsun sees Changyu and he brings her to Changning. Gongsun reveals he is the army's strategist and leaves Changyu to help brew medicine for the wounded soldiers.

Changyu meets the princess as a medic under the alias "Qi Benggong." Meanwhile, Marquis Wu'an lends his main tent for those lightly wounded, so the medical tents can care for the more seriously wounded soldiers.

When Changyu brings medicine to the lightly wounded soldiers, she finally reunites with Yan Zheng. Gongsun stays outside, and Xie Wu tells the other soldiers to leave the tent quietly to keep Yan Zheng's identity hidden.

Changyu calls for the princess to cure Yan Zheng. The princess realizes he is Marquis Wu’an, but keeps his identity hidden from Changyu.

Changyu tends to Yan Zheng's wounds. She laments that she did not divorce him earlier so that he would not have to serve in the army. They promise to stay together, and Yan Zheng apologizes for his behavior the night they separated. Gongsun enters to talk to Yan Zheng, while Changyu thinks of a solution for the salt and meat shortage to help him heal faster. Gongsun warned Yan Zheng about keeping his identity a secret, and gave him a private tent for him and Changyu.

The princess and Yan Zheng talk about hiding his identity when they are interrupted by Changyu, who is delivering medicine. They play it off as Yan Zheng teaching Marquis Wu'an how to hide secret money, and the Princess leaves. He and Changyu spend time together and kiss.

The Princess faints from testing the medicines on herself, and Gongsun cares for her.

Sui's army roasts meat at the bottom of the mountain in order to lower Yan Zheng's army's morale, who have run out of meat and have resorted to hunting wild game. Changyu goes to visit a locked-up Sui, capturing him and holding him hostage in full view of his army. She and the Jin brothers beat him in front of them, humiliating and threatening to castrate him unless his army hands over their food.

Changyu returns a hero, but because she had violated military rules and nearly interrupted their plans, Marquis Wu'an has someone pretend to be him in order to punish Changyu and the pig butcher team. The fake Marquis Wu’an demands caning, and Yan Zheng offers to take the caning as Changyu's husband.

Changyu cooks for the camp and brings food to Yan Zheng. He hints to her of the possibility of him being a high-ranking officer one day and asked if she would be okay with it. She says she would be.

Sui's army begins to launch a full assault on the camp, and the men are called to battle. Gongsun gives Princess the Go chess book, she hugs him and tells him to return safely. Changyu helps Yan Zheng change into his military outfit. But before he can go, she drugs him and wears his armor in order to take his place. She tells Changning to watch him and awaken him later.

Once at the battlefield, Xie Wu realizes that it is Changyu in armor. He orders her to the reserve team, instructing the pig-butchering squad to protect her. He then has a man seek the Marquis and tell him that her ladyship has gone to the front lines.

Elsewhere, Gongsun is in a standoff with Shi Yue (a general of Sui's army) and taunts Sui while playing a guzheng. Meanwhile, the rest of the army is losing against another enemy general, Shi Hu. To save Xie Wu, Changyu attacks Shi Hu. Recognizing her as the woman who humiliated Sui, he attempts to kill her. Changyu fights him with her butcher knives, disarming him and killing him with two blows from his own weapon. Her butcher knives are shattered in the fight. Upon realizing their general is dead, Sui's army flees.

Yan Zheng awakens, cutting his palm to drain the effects of the drug and rushing to the scene. When he arrives, the surviving army hails him joyfully as the Marquis Wu’an. Dumbfounded, Changyu realizes Yan Zheng is the Marquis Wu’an.

Sui is saved by his general Shi Yue, but they learn of Shi Hu's death at the hands of Changyu.

Gongsun is injured in the altercation but sends news to the princess that he is in grave danger so she can treat him. Grand Tutor Tao comes to visit Gongsun and they realize they both know Fan Changyu.

Xie Zheng visits Changyu's tent and explains himself to her. She does not blame him, but she feels that as a butcher's daughter she is not a good match for him. He takes his personal badge, kneels and puts it in Changyu's hand and reintroduces himself as Xie Zheng, courtesy name Jiuheng, and asks for her hand in marriage. Changyu rejects him, and heartbroken, he leaves. He runs into Grand Tutor Tao, his teacher. They have tea together, and Zheng asks if Master Tao can adopt his wife as a goddaughter. Master Tao agrees, and they realize his wife is also Master Tao's disciple.

That night, neither Zheng nor Changyu can sleep. Zheng goes night fishing and Changyu goes for a night walk. They meet and talk over a campfire. Xie Zheng suggests they spar and gives her tips on her combat before grilling fish he had caught. Xie Zheng explains that due to the risks of being in the military, he did not want to marry anybody in fear of leaving them a widow. However, ever since he met Changyu, he is now a little afraid to die. He asks what her plans were after the war. Changyu says to find Qianqian and Bao'er, to bring home the surviving villagers, and to rebuild Li’an. Xie Zheng swears he will join her, as the days he spent in Lin'an were the happiest of his life.

While Bao'er and Zhao Xun are on the run, Bao'er identifies the road tracks to General Xie and says they should seek help from them. His observance and strategy at such a young age, inspire Zhao Xun that the boy is the chosen one.

Grand Tutor Tao goes to see the Fan sisters and predicts that Changning will have a noble and fortunate life in the future. Tao speaks to Changyu privately and offers to adopt her as his goddaughter. She accepts, to Tao's joy. Tao presents Changyu with the courtesy name “Shanjun”, meaning Tigress of the Mountain.

Changyu tells the princess she is leaving and asks her to take Changning and Mr. Zhao back to Mrs. Zhao in Li'an. Changyu writes a letter to Xie Zheng, telling him that she and the pig-butcher team are leaving. He chases after her on horseback. They kiss and talk all night over a campfire. Xie Zheng gifts Changyu the reforged swords.

Leaving Changyu at dawn, Xie Zheng orders a detachment of men to secretly follow his wife. He and Gongsun decide to march to Lucheng.

Prince Changxin scolds Qi Min (his eldest son Sui Yuanhuai), for his two failed battles, stating that he will never be the crown prince even in the event of his brother's death.

Bao'er and Zhao Xun are chased, but Xie Zheng saves them. Zhao Xun informs Xie Zheng that Sui Yuanhuai is the real imperial crown prince. He reveals that the fire which burnt Qi Min in the Eastern palace was set by the Crown Princess herself in order to give him a chance at survival.

In an end-credits scene, the princess finds a new wound on Changyu's neck while helping her put medication on her back. Changyu abruptly realizes it was a hickey from the night that she and Xie Zheng kissed at the campfire.

Elsewhere, a captive Qianqian confronts Qi Min for his tyranny. He reveals that his mother pressed his face into a burning brazier before dying in the fire, all so he could pretend that he was the real Sui Yuanhuai. Qi Min describes how he attempted to make the Xie and Wei families destroy each other, alongside Prince Changxin's family, to exact revenge for the deaths of his own family. He shows Qianqian a tiger tally, which he hints is irrefutable evidence of the Jinzhou massacre.

That night, Qianqian drugs Qi Min and flees, but fortunately encounters Changyu on the road. Qi Min chases after them, but Xie Zheng's men (who had been following Changyu) and General He rescue them both. General He invites them to Lucheng and mentions that he and Changyu's father were close friends.

Through General He's flashbacks, it is revealed that sixteen years ago, when Wei Yan was a general, he sent Wei Qilin to Prince Changxin for troops and grain to reinforce Prince Chengde. However, the tiger tally Wei Yan gave Wei Qilin was a fake, so Prince Changxin did not send troops. As a result, Wei Qilin was branded a traitor. General He recalls how he helped Wei Qilin name his daughter Changyu, revealing that Wei Qilin is Fan Changyu's father. General He presents Changyu with a custom suit of armor, and asks her to join them in battle.

Torn, Changyu consults her adoptive father Tao. He explains that in war, minimizing casualties is the best course of action. Qianqian informs Gongsun of Qi Min's tiger tally. Xie Zheng plans a full assault on behalf of Luoheng while General He defends Luoheng from the inside. Lord Li (who arrived a few days prior) is tasked to lead reinforcement at the rear. While leaving to go back to Lin'an with the other townspeople, Changyu and the Jin brothers change their mind, returning to Lucheng to assist in the battle.

Changyu and Xie Zheng's forces reunite. She attacks Sui Yuanqing while he attacks Prince Changxin. Sui kills Man Di, one of the Jin brothers, and Prince Changxin orders Sui to attack the city. Xie Zheng chases after Sui to protect the city, and orders his general Xie Wu to protect Changyu. Changyu stops Prince Changxin from pursuing Xie Zheng, and they fight. He hints that her father was the infamous traitor Wei Qilin, and Changyu falters in shock. Thanks to Xie Wu's timely intervention, however, Changyu is able to disarm and kill the prince.

In the aftermath of the battle, the princess takes care of Changyu's wounds and reveals to her that she is the Grand Princess Royal. Although the battle was won, General He was killed.

A now-awake Lord Li visits Changyu and is furious that she kept him out of the battle and did not allow him to avenge General He. He hands her a letter from General He and leaves, declaring that there is no need for them to meet again.

The letter from General He turns out to be a suicide note written by Changyu's father to the late general. Her father had asked to protect his two daughters. Changyu realizes her father was the infamous traitor Wei Qilin, who was cursed across the empire for cutting off the grain supply of the army. 100,000 men, as well as the Crown Prince, starved to death, and the city fell. The body of General Xie, Xie Zheng's father, had been hung on the city wall.

Sui Yuanqing manages to escape the battlefield and hides at the house of a cousin. His uncle attempts to poison him, but his cousin reveals the plot. Sui kills the whole family, sparing only his cousin, and she takes the poison herself. Shi Sanniang, Sui's girlfriend, watches this all carefully. Later, Qi Min finds Sui and informs him that Changyu was the killer of Prince Changxin. Infuriated, Sui swears revenge.

The next day, Lord Li comes to look for Changyu. He apologizes for his anger with her by kneeling and giving her thorn sticks to whip him with. She snaps them as an act of friendship.

Back at Lin'an, in the Thatched Cottage, the Zhaos, Changning, and Bao'er are all reunited with Qianqian.

The army is called together to receive the imperial reward of their military merits, proclaimed by the Imperial Eunuch Li Xiang. Lord Li is to take General He's place and lead as the Military Administrator of Jinzhou. Changyu will be his deputy as a captain general of fifth rank, the highest military rank ever awarded to a woman. The army receives a financial reward as well for their role in the victory.

Gongsun nearly confesses his feelings to the princess, but ultimately says nothing.

Lord Li attempts to arrange for the best military tutors for the newfound General Fan Changyu, but most of them give up after teaching her.

Imperial Eunuch Li Xiang goes to deliver the message that the Emperor wants the princess and Marquis Wu’an to marry. Neither the princess nor Xie Zheng agree to the match. Xie Zheng cuts the Eunuch's ear off as a warning, however word spreads fast of his status as Prince Consort, further saddening Changyu.

Sui Yuanqing appears at Marquis Wu'an's camp with only a few men in order to take revenge for his father's death. When Sui's mother Princess Changxin hears that Sui Yuanqing has been captured, she confronts Qi Min. After she reveals venomously that she knew the entire time that he was not her son, he kills her in retaliation.

Changyu and Xie Zheng search for Qi Min, who has faked his death with a body double. Unbeknownst to them, Lord Li has turned traitor, allying himself with Qi Min due to his loyalty to the Li clan.

Xie Zheng and Gongsun discuss the massacre that had occurred sixteen years ago, questioning if Wei Qilin was truly a traitor. Xie Zheng goes to look for Changyu in her room and reaffirms his love for her. He reveals that he knows she is Qilin's daughter, and asks if her origins were bothering her. He promises to continue investigating the matter to be with her.

Xie Zheng tells Changyu he plans to let Sui Yuanqing escape so that he can lead them to Qi Min. True to plan, Zhao Xun informs Sui of his mother's death at the hands of Qi Min. Sui grows furious and swears revenge for the deaths of both his parents.

Out for revenge, Sui Yuanqing hunts down Qi Min and a vicious fight ensues. Sui ultimately hesitates to kill Qi, and Qi takes the chance to stab Sui in the heart. Before Sui dies, Shi Sanniang finds him and confesses her love for him. He does not return her feelings, but he gives her the tiger tally. Sui then cuts his own throat so Shi Sanniang can take his head and tally to Fan Changyu, giving her a way out of her fugitive life.

At the capital, Grand Tutor Li attempts to have the Prime Minister Wei executed for Xie Zheng's threat of rebellion against the imperial decree. However, news arrives of the death of Changxin and his sons, so the Emperor decides to reward both Changyu and Zheng.

General Fan Changyu hosts a departure feast to honor the princess's return to the capital. Gongsun confesses his feelings to the princess and proposes marriage to her. Overjoyed, she accepts. Elsewhere in the camp, a drunken Changyu and Zheng kiss passionately.

In the capital, Grand Tutor Li's youngest grandson taunts Prime Minister Wei's son Wei Xuan for his failure on the battlefield. He alleges that Wei Xuan is not his father's son, and that Wei Xuan never stopped loving his childhood sweetheart Lady Qi. A fight begins between the two.

The princess comes to the Emperor's room and scolds him for trying to marry her off for political power. The Emperor, who is fully aware of the Li and Wei factions both attempting to manipulate him, breaks down. In a panic, he runs to Prime Minister Wei's house, swearing his loyalty and trust in him while confronting him about Qi Min's continued existence. Wei dismisses the Eastern Palace fire as a rumor and encourages him to bring Changyu into the capital to receive military rewards and ensure she does not ally herself with the Li clan.

General Fan Changyu is given a grand welcome parade into the capital along with the Jin brothers. At her meeting with the Emperor, he appoints her as the Flower Crowned General with fourth rank, to the chagrin of the officials. Both sides make snide comments, and she rebukes both the Li and Wei factions.

Lord Li speaks to his grandfather, concerned about supporting Qi Min as he believes Qi Min is a cruel man who will make a horrible tyrant of an emperor. However, the Grand Tutor still believes that his cruelty is not as great as Prime Minister Wei's, and orders his grandson to stay the course.

After Changyu socializes with the other officers, she leaves to go for a walk on her own. She runs into Xie Zheng, who kisses her and promises to help her clear her father's name.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Wei informs the emperor of the existence of Qi Min. Grand Tutor Li resolves to pit Xie Zheng and Wei Yan against each other, starting a rumor that a letter between Wei Yan and Lady Qi led to the death of Xie Zheng's father.

Song Yan, who has been working at the Ministry of Rites as a ninth-rank scholar, is hired at the palace to give the new general etiquette lessons. He is dumbfounded to see that Fan Changyu, the butcher he had rejected back in Lin'an, is the general. She coolly orders him gone, and he stumbles out, only to be greeted by the Jin brothers, now-seventh rank palace guards. Finally, he runs into Xie Zheng on the way out and, not realizing that he is the Marquis Wu’an, insults him for following Changyu's fame and glory. Song Yan's supervisor quickly pulls him down and greets the Marquis Wu’an, causing Song Yan to faint from shock.

Xie Zheng takes Changyu to visit the capital at night. He brings her to a private pavilion to view the fireworks. Xie Zheng receives an edict to return to the Capital, as his presence has been discovered (returning to the Capital without an imperial edict is a punishable offense). Xie Zheng returns to his army and meets with Grand Tutor Tao. He prepares to face Prime Minister Wei in the capital.

Meanwhile, Qi Min has returned to the capital and reveals to Grand Tutor Li that his men have infiltrated Xie Zheng's army.

Jin's brothers send word that the emperor plans to make Changyu his royal consort. Changyu tries to dissuade the emperor by talking about butchering pigs. Nothing works until she mentions that she will have to divorce Xie Zheng, and the emperor hastily asks her to forget the proposal ever happened.

The Princess reveals to her mother, the empress dowager, that she knows of a maid who witnessed the palace fire seventeen years ago; however, she was told to stay silent out of fear of the Prime Minister. The emperor vows to prevent Xie Zheng's Yanzhou army and Fan Changyu's Jinzhou army from joining to avoid another rebellion.

Xie Zheng goes to visit his mother's memorial and sees Prime Minister Wei, who he blames for his parents' deaths. His uncle knows he has married Wei Qilin's daughter and punishes him with 108 whippings to repay his uncle for the upbringing he received, according to the family rules. Changyu comes over to help Xie Zheng, declaring she is the Marchioness, and she is presented to the Zie ancestors. Xie Zheng's aunt comes over, and he introduces Changyu as his wife.

Qi plans to make Qianqian the Empress once he takes the throne.

Changyu takes care of Xie Zheng. Since he has taken the punishment, the two can complete the marriage rituals and be wed.

Qianqian steals the Tiger Tally from Qi and tells her Zisu to bring it to Changyu, giving her money so that she may escape the city afterwards.

Xie Zheng receives a message from Gongsun, informing him that Prime Minister Wei had an affair with a royal consort. Meanwhile, Wei Yan reflects on his past and how he and his childhood sweetheart Qi Rongyin were meant to marry, but she was called to the Emperor's harem.

Grand Tutor Li has Lord Li imprisoned.

The Eunuch returns to the banquet and accuses Xie Zheng of drunkenly attempting to violate the maid. However, he is rebuked by the Emperor. While searching for him, they discover that the Qingyuan Palace has been set on fire while the Princess is still inside, with Grand Tutor Li blaming it on Xie Zheng.

Gongsun enters to save the Princess and gives her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. The Empress Dowager orders a cover-up of the fire, which Grand Tutor Li suspects Prime Minister Wei of starting. Xie Zheng and Changyu returned to the banquet hall and were accused of starting the fire. Lord Li is brought in as the culprit of the fire, stating that he came into the palace to look for the Princess, foiling Grand Tutor Li's plans to harm Xie Zheng. The Emperor shifts the blame onto the Eunuch, and Xie Zheng uses the Longquan sword to kill him as a warning to traitors. Everyone leaves the room, and Prime Minister Wei tells the Emperor not to plot like the late Emperor.

Grand Tutor Li, the mastermind behind the plot, meets with Qi Min, who set the palace on fire. Qi Min has prepared the tiger tally for Changyu. The next morning, Xie Zheng has a nightmare about his mother, and upon waking up tells Changyu that he will marry her into the family properly. Meanwhile, the Princess wakes up and thanks Gongsun for saving her.

Changyu receives the Tiger Tally from Qianqian's maid, who dies at her doorstep after being shot by an arrow. Soon, Shi Sanniang also comes to seek Changyu to hand her the Tiger Tally and bring Sui Yuanqing's head. Changyu arranges for Shi Sanniang to have a new travel pass and thanks her for taking care of Changning.

Qi reveals to Qianqian that he knows she stole the Tiger Tally and decides to chain himself to Qianqian after she rebukes him.

Xie Zheng and Changyu discuss the meaning of the Tiger Tally. Changyu decides to beat the petition drum to seek an appeal to the Emperor, however will be beheaded if her appeal is rejected. She is forced to march through the streets before doing so and is vilified by the crowd.

Meanwhile, Xie Zheng goes to his parents' memorial to seek forgiveness. He finds his mother's suicide note. It details how she discovered that her brother Prime Minister Wei had returned to the capital, causing the fall of Jinzhou and thus her husband's death too. The former emperor was pressuring Wei Yan with the lives of soldiers to admit his guilt. Feeling caught between her brother and husband, she hoped that her death would wake her brother up and let Xie Zheng have a chance to live.

The Princess convinces the Emperor to see Changyu. At the audience, Changyu presents the Tiger Tally, mentioning that someone must have deliberately delayed the sending of troops. However, Prime Minister Wei appears, rebuking her and revealing her as Wei Qilin's daughter and accusing her of attempting to destabilise the court, ordering her execution. Xie Zheng arrives, defending Changyu and accusing Prime Minister Wei of attempting to rebel, presenting the letter written by Consort Qi to Prime Minister Wei, detailing his abandonment of troops. Elsewhere, Grand Tutor Li and Qi Min initiate their coup.

Grand Tutor Li and Qi's men storm the palace, heralding Qi Min as the rightful Emperor and seating him on the throne. The Emperor passes the Imperial Seal to Qi Min, begging for his life.

Xie Zheng and Prime Minister Wei join forces. Qi tries to have Marquis Wu'an join him but Xie Zheng rebukes him, revealing that Qi has struck a deal to offer Great Yin's territories to Beijue, criticising him as the palace he came from would rather die than submit to Beijue. Grand Tutor Li faints on the spot, realising what Qi has done.

Prime Minister Wei's wife and son are taken hostage, but Xie Zheng shoots an arrow to kill their captors. While their armies storm the palace, Wei Yan and Xie Zheng face off, not allowing their men to interfere. Lord Li saves the Emperor.

Changyu arrives to rescue Qian. When a volley of arrows is shot towards them, Qi takes an arrow for Qianqian and falls off the building. However, he drags Qianqian along as they are chained together. While Changyu is holding onto Qianqian, Qi twists his wrist to let go of the chains so that she can be saved and falls to the ground. Meanwhile, Xie Zheng disarms Prime Minister Wei and is about to kill him when Prime Minister Wei's subordinate fires an arrow at him. However, Wei's son takes the arrow as repayment for saving his mother's life, dying. The Prime Minister is captured, and his forces surrender.

Three days later, Xie Zheng's aunt asks him to be benevolent and explains that Prime Minister Wei married her to save her and her then unborn son's lives.

With the Princess' help, Changyu goes to seek the Empress Dowager for the truth and discovers that while the Princess Consort started the fire to let Qi Min live, the former Emperor was the one who burnt Consort Qi to death, as she was accused of being pregnant with Prime Minister Wei's child.

Grand Tutor Tao visits Prime Minister Wei in prison to seek the truth because Prime Minister Yan is covering up for the Emperor. Wei Yan explains that his careless words at a banquet with Crown Prince Chengde sowed the seeds of disaster. Chengde wanted to go to the frontier with the General to achieve merit for his father. A drunken Wei, annoyed at the Emperor's favouritism over Chengde, proposes having him abdicate.

Prime Minister Wei reveals that the former Emperor forged a letter in Consort Qi's handwriting to Wei, so that he would enter the palace to save her from the fire. If he did not cut his losses, he would be labelled a traitor and cause his whole clan's death, so Wei had to stage a coup to survive. He forced the Emperor to abdicate to stabilise the Great Yin. However, the late Emperor had schemed too meticulously with Changxin. This forced Wei Yan to have Wei Qilin, his most trusted subordinate, take the blame.

Wei reveals that when Qi tried to have Xie Zheng investigate the case, Wei Yan tried to silence the Fan daughters to protect the bond between them. However, as fate had it, Fan Changyu saved Xie Zheng. Xie Zheng and Changyu hear this from outside and finally learn the truth. Grand Tutor Tao then leaves Wei Yan's cell.

Emperor Qi Sheng becomes insane and reverts to a child-like state, unable to recognise anyone.

Yu Qianqian visits Qi Min in his cell and presents him with poisoned soup, which Qi knowingly drinks. He admits he fell in love with Qianqian because she accepted him and did not disregard him because of his looks, and dies in her arms.

Yu Bao'er ascends to the throne and is named Yu, with Qianqian as Empress Dowager Yu. Xie Zheng is appointed as Prince Regent and Changyu as Grand General, with the rank of First-Rank Lady Protector of the State. Wei Qilin and General Meng Shuyuan are posthumously named Earl of Zhongyang and Marquis of Wusu, respectively.

Changning and Bao'er hide and eat snacks. She asks if she could be a princess in the future, and Bao'er asks if she would prefer to be Empress instead. They both hook pinkies.

Lord Li gives away the family wealth to the empire to seek forgiveness for the Li Clan. Grand Tutor Li then realises the gravity of his mistake, playing the villain for no gain.

In Li’an, Changyu and Yan Zheng return to visit Mr. and Mrs. Zhao and their other neighbours. Changyu calls Mr. and Mrs. Zhao her godparents. The Jin and Man brothers also come to acknowledge the Zhao couple.

Two months later, Xie Zheng and Changyu have become local legends, and a matchmaking tree is made in Lin'an town from their story. Xie Zheng visits Prime Minister Wei and executes him with poison as a merciful death for his crimes.

Five years later, Xie Zheng and Changyu, who now have two children, lead their army to defend against the invading Beijue civilisation.

In an end credits scene, there is an alternate ending where the coup did not happen seventeen years ago. Xie Zheng's father is still alive, his and Changyu's mothers are friends, and Lady Xie asks her son to make Changyu her daughter-in-law. 16 years later, Xie Zheng and Prime Minister Wei discuss an attack on the Beijue people and the Emperor's increasing tyranny. Qi Min is the Crown Prince. He has a feeling that he has met her before and is repulsed upon meeting Qianqian during a visit to Yixiang restaurant with Changyu, Xie Zheng, and Lord Li.