After her family falls from grace, the heroine, Jiang Ying'er, is taken in by Liu Ruhua, the owner of a singing and dancing house whose family once owed hers a debt of gratitude. She makes a living performing there. By chance, she meets Song Wei, the young general hailed as the finest in Changdu City, and the two fall in love. Song Wei buys her freedom from the singing and dancing house. To investigate the massacre of her family, she agrees to live at the general's residence. Later, she sneaks into Song Wei's military camp, but General Song discovers her and takes her into his tent to serve him personally. She is then captured by the enemy. In their camp, she finds crucial evidence implicating the people who murdered her father. The enemy commander is a madman: he chases her as she flees, staging his own schemes and even injuring himself to win her love.
Song Wei wipes out the enemy forces and rescues Jiang Ying'er. In Nanshu, Jiang Ying'er gathers some evidence that her father was framed. But when she is about to present her case to the emperor, Song Wei stops her. The mastermind is the current Noble Consort, whose son is the crown prince. Song Wei does not want her to take the risk, because the evidence is still insufficient and he fears for her safety. Jiang Ying'er, however, mistakenly believes that Song Wei is stopping her to protect the crown prince. Their relationship sours, and Jiang Ying'er returns to Nanshu alone.
Meanwhile, Nanshu invades. Noble Consort Rong plots to send Song Wei's father to fight them, then joins forces with Nanshu to have him killed.
Seeking revenge for his father, Song Wei goes on a killing spree in Nanshu and captures its prince, intent on killing him. Jiang Ying'er secretly lets the prince escape, driving another wedge between them until they become strangers.
Using their own methods, the two of them gather the full chain of evidence proving that Noble Consort Rong colluded with the enemy, and ultimately bring her down. Jiang Ying'er also reclaims her identity. Song Wei then launches an all-out campaign to win her back, and in the end, Jiang Ying'er and Song Wei live happily together as a couple.
