As rebels approach Peace Palace, the Emperor orders that his newborn daughter, Princess Yan, be kept safe. The Empress insists on staying to defend the Emperor, while an attendant is tasked with secretly escaping the danger with the baby and a token. Despite the Empress's refusal to flee, the princess’s survival becomes critical as the rebels close in. The episode ends with the princess being sent away through a secret passage, while the palace braces for the impending attack, leaving the fate of the royal family uncertain.
The episode opens with Empress Yan Ruyu missing, sparking urgent concern at the palace. The Empress's father orders Xia Yu to search for her after a valuable item belonging to Yan is pawned in Darville, Kern County. Meanwhile, Yan’s adoptive family struggles financially, having sold her gold bangle years ago and now pawning her jade pendant to survive. Tensions rise as the adoptive sister complains about chores, and her parents worry about their dwindling resources. The episode ends with a shady buyer remarking on Yan’s beauty, hinting at a grim fate as the search intensifies.
A young woman, taken in six years ago due to her fine clothing, faces harsh treatment from her foster family who accuse her of being bad luck because her birth family never came for her. They decide to sell her to a brothel to profit from her beauty, despite her desperate pleas to do chores or gather herbs instead. When threatened and beaten for speaking out, she resolves to escape and find her biological parents, setting up a tense cliffhanger as she plans her next move to avoid being sold into a life she dreads.
At a market, a tense confrontation erupts between Ms. Xiang, who owns a brothel called Heaven on Earth, and a woman defending her sister who was brought as a young girl for sale. They argue over the sister's appearance and morality, with accusations flying about selling children and shameless behavior. The dispute escalates until the sister attempts to escape, prompting a chase. The episode ends with a command to summon guards to find the fleeing young woman, leaving her fate uncertain and the conflict unresolved.
In this episode, a group realizes the missing girl may be the princess, spurring urgent efforts to find her. Zhuge Bowen, a military advisor, reveals that his adoptive mother plans to sell him to a place called Heaven on Earth. Meanwhile, locals confront a woman they suspect of child trafficking, accusing her of selling children, but she insists she only has her grandson, and the crowd turns against her. Zhuge Bowen explains their desperate situation is misunderstood, but the search for the runaway girl intensifies. The episode ends with the key revelation that the girl is Xia Yan, raising new questions about her identity.
In this episode, Xia Yan, a young magistrate, encounters a man she recently saved and wants to repay him by helping with a local challenge involving matching a poetic couplet. The community is gathered around a vendor offering three large pork buns as a prize for the correct answer. As Xia Yan considers the couplet describing a fragrant flower garden, her companion suggests investigating a nearby crowd, hinting at a developing situation. The episode ends with Xia Yan deciding to take on the couplet challenge, setting up a pivotal moment of problem-solving and interaction with the townspeople.
A young girl, recognized by two men as resembling their mother and possibly their sister, becomes the center of a tense pursuit. After receiving a rare act of kindness—hot buns from a man she thanks for saving her—her presence ignites suspicion and urgency. The men quickly decide to capture her, revealing a looming threat as one harshly warns her not to escape. The episode ends with her caught in a dangerous situation, facing hostile pursuers determined to seize her before she can flee.
A disguised princess is caught when her worn shoes are recognized, exposing her true identity to her captors. A woman named Ms. Xiang is assigned to train the girl after the failed escape attempt. Meanwhile, a man arrives demanding the release of his granddaughter, threatening legal action against the kidnappers for child abduction. The captors accuse the girl of deception and threaten severe punishment, but the man insists on her freedom, invoking the law. Tensions escalate as the captors hesitate, leaving the girl’s fate uncertain and the man’s challenge unresolved.
In this episode, a young girl is accused of being a beggar selling herself, but a woman insists the girl is her granddaughter despite lacking identification. To prove her claim, she points out a distinctive mole on the girl's arm. Authorities decide to take the girl in, prompting a desperate man to demand her release. A tense confrontation follows, with the man threatening violence and asserting immunity due to his influence. The woman warns he’s not as clever as he thinks, refusing to back down. The episode ends with the man about to punish the girl, while her protector steps in to intervene, leaving the outcome uncertain.
A man confronts a woman selling girls, revealing one captive tried to escape and was punished. He refuses to choose any girls, insisting he is looking for someone specific. When a pawned jade pendant linked to a girl named Xiaole is found, a tense revelation unfolds: the woman claims Xiaole is her adopted daughter, while another insists Xiaole is her biological child. Accusations arise about selling her own daughter, escalating the conflict. The episode ends with a sharp warning about the consequences of deception, leaving the woman's true relationship to Xiaole in doubt.