Su Qinghuan is interrupted midway through her night of imperial service when Consort Hua cuts in. Rather than feeling wronged, Su Qinghuan secretly rejoices that she has been spared the extra work. Because of grudges from a previous life, the emperor has always despised the Su family. From the moment she enters the palace, she decides to lie low and do as little as possible, hoping only to live peacefully. When the pregnant empress becomes wary of the high-ranking consorts, she chooses Su Qinghuan, a beautiful woman whose family has fallen out of favor, to serve the emperor in her place. Su Qinghuan pretends to flatter and please the emperor but never gives him her heart. Everyone in the imperial harem assumes she has fallen out of favor, yet the emperor summons her seven days in a row, leaving her utterly bewildered. At first, the emperor only uses her as part of a scheme to support the Su family. But when he learns that her heart belongs to someone else, the proud ruler finally loses control after drinking, his eyes red as he demands to know where exactly he went wrong.