The story of Alluring Chaos in the Red Dust takes place after Qin unified the Six Kingdoms, when the nobles and beauties of the conquered states were taken to Xianyang. Zhao Qiluo, princess of Zhao, is peerlessly beautiful and fiercely ambitious, charged with restoring her kingdom. Zhao Gao, consumed by hatred for Qin over the massacre at Changping, disguises himself in the Qin palace and joins forces with Zhao Qiluo through a mysterious arrangement.
In the Qin palace, Zhao Qiluo enchants everyone with her bewitching beauty, while Zhao Gao manipulates events from the shadows. They court officials and members of the royal family, plotting to overthrow Qin. The beauties and nobles of the Six Kingdoms are drawn into the struggle as well. Min Xiu of Han is kind-hearted but manipulated; Wei Ji of Wei serves Zhao Qiluo; Shangguan Wan'er of Chu is both her ally and rival; Yan Ji of Yan hesitates to get involved; and Qi Wan of Qi keeps her distance. The nobles of the Six Kingdoms each harbor their own hopes of restoring their states, sometimes joining forces and sometimes fighting one another amid the Qin palace's tangled intrigues.
After Qin Shi Huang dies, Zhao Gao falsifies the imperial edict and installs Hu Hai, plunging Qin into internal turmoil. The realm descends into chaos as Liu Bang and Xiang Yu rise in rebellion against Qin. Zhao Gao's misrule hastens the dynasty's fall, and the Epang Palace teeters amid the flames of war. After Liu Bang captures Xianyang, Zhao Qiluo offers herself to him, using her wit and cunning to secure her place at his side and even bear him a prince. Once Liu Bang establishes the Han dynasty, he enfeoffs the prince in Zhao as its king. In her own way, Zhao Qiluo leaves a glimmer of hope for restoring Zhao amid the chaos. Her legendary story is a bewitching flower blooming in troubled times, leaving a vivid mark on the long river of history.
