The story follows Zhen Huan's rise and fall in the imperial harem. When she first enters the palace, she befriends Lingrong and Meizhuang, but the palace struggles put her through hardship, and she suffers a miscarriage and falls out of favor. She uncovers the secret that Consort Hua's "Huanyi Incense" renders women infertile, and, with Lingrong's defection and Cao Guiren's change of allegiance, joins forces with Consort Duan to bring down Consort Hua's faction. The incident involving Pure Yuan's old robes also reveals the emperor's cold-hearted nature to her.
Afterward, Zhen Huan uses her knowledge of incense and her keen wits to withstand the attacks of the Empress and Consort Qi, among others. After being promoted and demoted three times, she finally attains the rank of Consort. Along the way, she exposes the truth that the Empress caused Pure Yuan's death. Lingrong takes her own life, and the Empress loses power. In the end, Zhen Huan ascends to the position of Empress Dowager. Looking back on the past, she finds only the desolation of standing alone at the pinnacle of power, and witnesses countless loves and hatreds in the harem fade like reflections of flowers in the water and the moon in the mirror.
