Prince Qi, Xiao Huaijing, is actually a woman. To protect her young brother's imperial power, she has disguised herself as a man for years to wield state authority. Drugged at a Xie family banquet, she mistakenly broke into a dark room and accidentally became entangled with her arch-rival, Xie Linzhou, subsequently finding herself unexpectedly pregnant. To conceal her female identity and the child in her womb, Xiao Huaijing plotted step by step, using the guise of a military supervisor to cast off her shell like a cicada escaping its skin, and hid deep within the imperial palace to await childbirth in secret. Xie Linzhou investigated layer by layer, shattering all her secrets. Caught between court crises and the bonds of children, the two laid aside their suspicions, joined hands to protect the young emperor, pacified the northern frontier, and found reconciliation between emotion and power in the whirlpool of court intrigue.