Starring Zhou Xun and Wallace Huo, it chronicles the marital relationship between the Qianlong Emperor and Empress Nara.

[5] While the plot and characters receiving mixed reviews from viewers, the series won acclaim for its exquisite props, lavish sets and stellar cast.

However, when the Yongzheng Emperor exposes Empress Ula-Nara for her role in helping Third Prince Hongshi become an usurper, Hongli is forced to rescind his decision, taking Fuca Langhua as his primary consort instead.

Due to her connection to the Ula-Nara clan and her reputation as the Emperor's most favored woman, Consort Xian is not well received in the harem and imperial family.

Empress Dowager Chongqing initially distrusts Consort Xian but grants her the name "Ruyi" once trust is later established.

She is demoted and sent to the Cold Palace where the truth about her infertility surfaces and where she forms a friendship with lowly imperial guard Ling Yunche.

Devastated by the deaths of her two sons and forced to marry her only daughter off to Mongolian allies, Empress Fuca falls into water during winter and nearly drowns.

Furthermore, she rallies her maiden tribe and well-known noblewomen to convince the Emperor to name her eldest son as crown prince.

On her deathbed, to have her confess to her crimes, Ruyi reveals to her that the head of her tribe exposed the fact that she isn't a noblewoman, which is why he never loved her.

Driven by spite against those who had wronged her and financially pressured by her family, Consort Ling grows in favor due to constantly feeding into the Emperor's wants over his needs.

Ruyi's differing opinions for his health and reputation begin to clash with his expectations and desires, causing a dramatic decline in their relationship.

Ultimately, a confrontation between them causes Ruyi to cut her hair as a means of symbolically ending their marriage and rescinding her status as empress.

Consort Ling's life comes to an end when her crimes are exposed to the Emperor and she is punished to drink poison daily until her dying day.

Though no longer under house arrest, Ruyi refuses to be involved with the harem and doesn't accept her role as empress.

Due to her past relationship with the Qianlong Emperor, she is despised by the women of the harem and suffers trials and tribulations as a result.

Childhood friends with Ruyi, he is initially talented and politically capable, but as time passes, he is revealed to be weak, insecure and selfish.

In secret, she is manipulative and shrewd, all in an attempt to gain power as a favor to her true lover, the head of her maiden tribe.

Her hatred towards Ruyi and ambition to take away her Empress position is fueled further when she discovers that Ling Yunche has feelings for her.

Initially recommended to succeed Empress Fuca, she falls out of favor but remains an important figure in the harem until the end of her life.

Timid and complacent, she remains neutral in harem politics and does not dare to aim higher, despite always vying for the Qianlong Emperor's favor.

One of the Yongzheng Emperor's imperial consorts who was banished to the Cold Palace, supposedly due to the Empress Dowager's influence.

Initially chosen for a marriage alliance to Septeng Baljur, she is later married to Deputy Minister Zong Zheng.

The series is directed by Wang Jun,[45] produced by Huang Lan,[46] and written by the author of the original novel Liu Lianzi.

[53] On August 3, actors Janine Chang, Vivian Wu, Dong Jie, Tong Yao, Jing Chao, Xin Zhilei, Li Chun, Zeng Yixuan and Chen Haoyu were cast in major supporting roles for the drama.

[citation needed] Shooting began on August 23, 2016 and took place in various locations including Hengdian World Studios, Beijing, Inner Mongolia and Hangzhou.

Many felt underwhelmed by the unaggressive heroine, who was not able to fight the villains even in the second half of the drama, thus making her character design flawed and unconvincing.

Vogue China commented that the series actually recorded "the failure of a high-end girl" because what Ruyi had been pursuing was spiritual connections with her spouse; and such a pursuit represents the taste and ideal of the modern middle class.

[citation needed] Critics agree that the series introduces a new light and narrative to palace dramas, deviating from the existing patterns of treacherous harem games.

[60] On January 25, 2019, the Beijing Daily, an official government newspaper, criticized the series for failing to promote socialist values.

[63][64] On 10 June 2016, Fox Networks Group Asia (FNG) acquired global rights to the series outside mainland China.