When a lady forces a lowborn woman into a dog cage and has her killed to cover up a blemish before the consort selection, her daughter Yasmin begs for mercy but watches her mother die. Yasmin collapses and later wakes to medicine, vowing to kill Elsie — now crowned Queen — for the murder. A master stops her from charging the palace, warning it would be suicide, and instead offers to train her to charm men and win the King's favor. Yasmin accepts, becoming the master's student and setting a patient, risky plan of revenge in motion.
A Master trains a young woman to win the King's favor by implanting a lotus of fertility and promising rapid rise if she bears the first child. He puts her through staged trials: find a hidden bean under ten quilts, perform seductive postures, and hold an egg between her thighs while folding a silk fan—each passed. For the third trial he tests her will, pressing her to resist his touch so she can later lure the King. He praises her, then announces another round of testing, leaving her ability to resist—and her fate—unsettled.
Denied at the gate after failing to enter, a subordinate clashes with the Master, who scolds them for feigning injury to test loyalty. The Master warns that such softness won't survive a palace that devours the weak and insists his refusal is final. The subordinate apologizes, reveals they've waited ten years for revenge and can no longer wait, then vows to win the consort selection tomorrow. The episode ends with palace permission granted—'You may enter the palace!'—sending them into the selection where their decade-old revenge will now be tested.
At the court selection, nobles sneer at a plain newcomer, Yasmin Conrad, while praising Natalie, the Queen’s cousin, as the obvious favorite. The immediate conflict is class and reputation: elite women mock Yasmin’s lack of jewels and call her a fool. The judging proceeds and Yasmin unexpectedly wins first place in calligraphy, needlework, and dance, humiliating the critics and shifting the atmosphere. Officials announce portraits will be sent to His Majesty for final review. The key change is clear: Yasmin has overturned expectations. The episode ends with portraits dispatched and the court anxiously awaiting His Majesty’s decision.
At the consort selection, the top three are announced: Alaya Phillips third, Natalie Warner second, and Chelsea Hood first, shocking a crowd that expected Yasmin. By custom the winner is raised to noble consort and housed in the Spring Court; Chelsea is declared and officials depart. A rejected contestant confronts Natalie, accusing her of sabotage. Natalie admits she paid painters extra to make the rival look hideous so His Majesty would dismiss her. "Let this be a lesson. Stop showing off in front of me," she warns, leaving the humiliation unresolved and rivalry set to flare.
Found collapsed in the inner palace, a noblewoman is rescued by Sasha, her maidservant, who urges accusing Lady Warner for the scene. At court the noblewoman confronts the painter about a slanderous portrait—someone accuses Natalie of bribery and the artist begs, "Please spare Sofia," promising to repaint her radiant. The noblewoman instead orders the painter to make her look uglier, revealing it's deliberate. After news that Lady Hood has been found dead, she admits that staying out of favor saved her and resolves to force the King's attention tonight—aiming to change her fate.
Late at night a favored concubine refuses her servant Sasha's urging to visit His Majesty; she vows to make him come to her. She explains Blossom Court's cherry grove was planted by the king's late mother and that on the fifteenth he comes alone to mourn — the moment she'll use. Later in the courtyard she meets an anonymous woman whose music matches hers; they praise each other's playing but the musician refuses to give a palace or name. The musician promises to reveal her name when they meet again, leaving the concubine's fifteenth plan and the stranger's identity unresolved.
After the King orders every maid and matron to play, the palace erupts as courtiers hunt for the musician who bewitched His Majesty. A clever concubine keeps her name secret to make him crave her; Sasha and attendants praise the plan while rivals Elsie and concubine Yasmin fear losing favor. The scheme succeeds: the King grows obsessed and she sends word to meet him tonight at the southeast pavilion. As she moves to leave for the rendezvous, someone blocks her and shouts "Stand where you are!", putting the secret meeting in jeopardy.
A woman hiding in the palace is exposed after Lydia informs a palace lady. Guards rush in and the lady orders the gates locked, declaring the intruder will not leave tonight. A rival thanks Lydia and volunteers to take her place at the pavilion to win His Majesty’s favor. Guards prepare, but another reveals the pavilion was a ruse meant to lure the woman away. As the captive is held, an announcement arrives: His Majesty is coming to Blossom Court tonight. The episode ends on that revelation, an unresolved, urgent confrontation.
An imperial instrument is shattered and palace officials panic because, without the woman who can play its summons, they cannot draw His Majesty. They search the entire palace but fail to find her. The emperor admits his folly and orders that no one look for her anymore. Then a familiar melody is heard and traced to the nearby Blossom Court. Confusion follows: the court is supposedly occupied yet it's locked. The episode ends on the unresolved mystery of who is playing inside the locked Blossom Court and why she vanished.