Jiang Wan, the daughter of a border magistrate, was made Empress by Emperor Xiao Che, only to be framed and cast into the Cold Palace three days after her enthronement. Having suffered a head injury during an assassination attempt in the Cold Palace, she unexpectedly awakens a supernatural ability allowing her to hear the inner voices of all things. Daggers sound alarms, scarecrows cry out grievances, and utensils inform; everything becomes her eyes and ears. Relying on the hints given by objects, Jiang Wan successively cracks witchcraft plots, exposes fake pregnancies, navigates antique appraisal death traps, defeats the concubines' schemes, and stands tall against the powerful Empress Dowager. Wanting nothing more than to make money and lie flat, she strikes a hundred-day contract with the Emperor, stirring up the inner palace and the imperial court step by step. When the storm subsides, Jiang Wan refuses the empress position and leaves the palace with her dagger and straw doll to open a pawnshop. Xiao Che cleanses the court and countryside, abdicates the throne, and tracks her down to the storefront of the pawnshop.