During the battle in Pingling City, Jinxiu’s military commander, Fu Yi Xiao, severely injures Susha’s eldest Prince, Feng Sui Ge, who quickly flees for safety. Meanwhile, Fu Yi Xiao becomes the target of assassins and is also severely injured, trying to escape. Both survive with the help of the physicians from Zhengnian Villa. As they try to speed recovery using the hidden medicine pool, they meet again, but Fu Yi Xiao has lost her memory, and Feng Sui Ge takes advantage of this.

Feng Sui Ge tortures Fu Yi Xiao to gain information about the battle at Pingling and, in so doing, helps her remember some of her past memories. He decides to keep her alive, hoping to figure out who tried to assassinate them. They head back to the palace, but are stopped at the city gates while Sui Ge’s brother completes his coming-of-age ceremony. Meanwhile, Jinxiu’s Prince Xia Jing Shi is forced to marry Susha’s princess for diplomatic peace.

Before striking a deal to cooperate with each other, Yi Xiao and Sui Ge get even with each other. Yi Xiao lures the assassins following her, but they hold back for some reason. The Prime Minister pressures his daughter, Empress Zhang, to prepare Princess Feng Xi Yang, Sui Ge’s sister, for marriage with the Prince of Jinxiu. Three little kids end up in Zhengnian Villa looking for their missing master.

Sui Ge comes up with a plan to not only confirm his cooperation with Yi Xiao, but also to surface the assassins after her. Xue Ying arrives at the capital, bringing Yi Xiao’s three little disciples. However, Yi Xiao is wary of them since she is unable to remember her past with them. News from Jinxiu arrives, and the imperial court ministers debate the marriage proposal between the Princess of Sasha and the Prince of Jinxiu for peace.

Sui Ge tells his sister Jinxiu’s plan to have her marry the Prince of Jinxiu, Xia Jing Shi, who is in love with Yi Xiao. Sui Ge vows to protect her and prevent her marriage. Yi Xiao entrusts her little disciples to Xue Ying, but things go awry when the disciples run away and A’Fang goes missing. Yi Xiao looks for him and falls into her assassin’s trap. Jing Shi receives news that Yi Xiao is alive and heads for Yujing to save her from Sui Ge.

Sui Ge discovers that his sister has fallen in love with the Prince of Jinxiu and therefore wants to marry him. Shocked and angry that she could marry his sworn enemy, Sui Ge blames himself for her naïveté because he shielded her from treacherous people while growing up. Concerned by his sudden change in behavior, Yi Xiao accompanies Sui Ge as he tries to drown away his sorrows. Meanwhile, the Prince of Jinxiu makes haste for Yujing.

Sui Ge calls upon Yi Xiao to help him find his most skilled archer, who has gone rogue, thinking to relieve Sui Ge of his burdens by killing Xia Jing Shi, the Prince of Jinxiu. Yi Xiao agrees on the condition that Sui Ge concedes to five of her terms and conditions. She accompanies Sui Ge to watch Jing Shi’s arrival, and past memories resurface upon seeing him. Meanwhile, Princess Xi Yang meets with Jing Shi and recounts how they first met during battle, years before.

Princess Xi Yang is melancholy after learning that Jing Shi’s heart belongs to another woman. The Empress meets with Jing Shi to confirm his feelings for Yi Xiao, fearing Xi Yang will withdraw from the betrothal. Ning Fei and Wei Ran plead with Xue Ying to help them meet with Yi Xiao. Fearing for her safety, Sui Ge restrains Yi Xiao from meeting her Jinxiu comrades, but Yi Xiao finds a way to meet face-to-face with Jing Shi.

Despite remembering past events with Jing Shi, Yi Xiao makes it clear to him that she does not harbor the same affections for him as he does for her, which distresses him. Jing Shi tries to bring her back to Jinxiu as part of the marriage alliance negotiations, while Sui Ge prepares a surprise for him. To ascertain which of her close friends tried to kill her, she gets Ning Fei and Wei Ran drunk. Xi Yang meets with Yi Xiao, and together they run into both Jing Shi and Sui Ge while walking the city streets.

Yi Xiao catches a glimpse of Jing Shi’s pendant, prompting memories of her falling off the cliff. She decides to stay close to him, secretly asking Sui Ge for help. She discovers Jing Shi suffers from poisoning, but he keeps the details of this hidden, as it relates to his grand plan. Sui Ge awaits a response from the Emperor of Jinxiu as he, too, has grand plans of his own. Upset that Jing Shi shows a preference for Yi Xiao, the Empress enacts her own plan to ensure Jing Shi remains true to Xi Yang.

The Emperor of Jinxiu happily accepts Sui Ge’s proposal to keep Jing Shi in Susha after the wedding with his sister, as it allows him to take control of Jing Shi’s army. Yi Xiao continues to probe Ning Fei, Wei Ran, and Jing Shi about what happened after the battle in Pingling, and their differing responses make her more suspicious of Wei Ran and Jing Shi. She trades intel with Sui Ge so that she can pursue her other leads, while Prime Minister Zhuang Shen makes his move against Sui Ge.

Prime Minister Zhuang’s plan fails when the Emperor receives word from the Emperor of Jinxiu accepting Jing Shi’s matrilocal marriage with Xi Yang. Upon hearing the news, Jing Shi sets out to meet with his Susha contact while Sui Ge’s men lie in wait. Assassins target Yi Xia,o and though she is able to fight them off, she is unexpectedly forced to confront her true enemy. Xi Yang confronts Sui Ge, accusing him of using her marriage to Jing Shi to trap him in Susha.

Sui Ge’s plan falls into place when Ning Fei realizes the truth and confronts Wei Ran. Yi Xiao hears everything, vowing they are no longer sworn siblings, but strangers henceforth. Ning Fei collapses after being shot by a poisoned arrow during his scuffle with Yi Xiao’s assassins. Sui Ge finds Xue Ying’s father, who figures out a way to help Ning Fei. Meanwhile, Jing Shi uses his contact in Susha to set Wei Ran free.

Yi Xiao confronts Jing Shi and learns the truth behind her fall after the Pingling battle, and declares he will be her enemy henceforth. Sui Ge takes Yi Xiao to his mother’s residence in the woods and acknowledges his promise to Yi Xiao, granting her freedom now that she’s uncovered who tried to kill her. He then heads to meet with the Emperor to get justice for Yi Xiao, who was targeted by the Empress.

Sui Ge angers his father when he accuses him of turning a blind eye to the Empress’ actions in trying to kill Yi Xiao. Sui Ge is removed as the secondary officiant in the Ancestral Ceremony and replaced by his younger brother, indicating Sui Ge is no longer favored by the Emperor. Knowing he’s upset, Yi Xiao takes Sui Ge to a place to help calm him and, in so doing, learns the story behind his mother’s death. Murong Yao and his father arrive to attend Xi Yang’s wedding, and though Murong Yao is to keep tabs on Jing Shi, Jing Shi suddenly disappears.

While following a lead to the masked man working with Jing Shi, Yi Xiao spots a familiar face and unexpectedly falls into a trap in a death camp. She learns who the mastermind behind it all is, while Sui Ge discovers another lead to Manager Luo. Sui Ge and his sister mend their relationship before her royal wedding, with Sui Ge promising to attend. All the while, Sui Ge and Yi Xiao slowly grow closer together.

Sui Ge begins to share his true feelings for Yi Xiao. Despite Jing Shi’s apathy towards Xi Yang on their wedding night, Xi Yang pledges to be by his side and gives him the gift of freedom. Sui Ge pursues them, intending to bring them back to the capital, and Yi Xiao follows, knowing Jing Shi has other motives. During the confrontation, Jing Shi targets Sui Ge, while Yi Xiao targets Jing Shi, putting her injured left arm at risk of permanent damage.

Not believing that Ning Fei is dead, Jing Shi commands Wei Ran to look for him. Xue Ying’s father performs surgery on Yi Xiao’s injured left arm. Sui Ge defies his father’s summons to attend the imperial court to ensure Yi Xiao’s surgery goes well, then meets with his father alone to seek punishment. However, his father suddenly falls ill soon after meeting him, and a confrontation between him and the Empress ensues. Yi Xiao catches a glimpse of the masked man’s carriage.