The Great Qin Dynasty appears peaceful on the surface, with music and dancing everywhere, but beneath it, dark currents surge.
Amid the flames of war on the northern frontier, Emperor Qin Hao saves the orphan Xiao Yan, planting the seeds of disaster as the imperial in-laws seize power. Deep in the palace, the unruly Crown Prince Qin Zhao sneaks out to play with Chu Mingyu, daughter of the Grand Preceptor. After an accident, they take the blame for each other, and feelings quietly blossom between them.
The emperor is gravely wounded and relies on a "miracle drug" to stay conscious. State affairs gradually fall into the hands of powerful ministers. During the autumn hunt, a fierce tiger launches a sudden attack. Disguised as a man, Chu Mingyu saves the emperor with an arrow and is rewarded with the imperial "Phoenix Cry Army." Those five hundred female soldiers will prove to be the beginning of a future upheaval...
**◇ The Western Campaign: A monument to a hero, or a sacrifice to a conspiracy?
Crown Prince Qin Zhao personally leads the Tiger Guard Army on an expedition against the Western Rong, only to be trapped and surrounded, his fate unknown.
Disastrous news suddenly reaches the capital. Xiao Wulie, Marquis of Beiyou, and Chu Jinglie, the Grand Preceptor's eldest son, launch a surprise attack and slaughter their way through the palace.
The emperor dies, his young son is brutally killed, and Chu Heng is enthroned. But the true crown prince is fighting his way out of encirclement a thousand miles away, intent on taking the head of the Western Rong king!
**◇ Phoenix Cry: The final song of a woman in red, or the awakening of an empire?**
Pregnant with child, Chu Mingyu commands the Phoenix Cry Army in a desperate defense of the Eastern Palace, only to be besieged by her own brother.
She gives birth on the battlefield, severs ties with her family, and leads the remnants of her forces in a bloody fight on the outskirts of the capital.
She puts forward a fake "crown prince" to draw enemy fire, while the true imperial grandson lives in obscurity...
At last, beside a great river, she turns back and embraces death, buying him a sliver of hope for survival.
