Modern college student Jiang Yiyi transmigrates into a historical romance novel as Jiang Yaoyao, a disposable palace maid who dies from the start. Faced with Murong Hong, a cold and suspicious emperor born to a concubine, she keeps her head down and survives in the Laundry Bureau with her remarkable mending skills. Yet her captivating eyes, so like those of the emperor's birth mother, repeatedly catch Murong Hong's attention. Their relationship gradually warms amid tests and crises, from a scrutinizing encounter in the plum grove to her risking her life to protect him from a fire in the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs.
Jiang Yaoyao unexpectedly discovers that she bears the injustice of the Su family's massacre, a prominent Jiangnan weaving clan. With Murong Hong's tacit approval and support, she helps manage the palace, is elevated to Imperial Noble Consort, and joins him in uncovering the truth. Along the way, she outmaneuvers Consort Rou, exposes witchcraft, and quells political undercurrents, ultimately bringing down a powerful minister and clearing her family's name. Murong Hong defies all opposition, displaying half the full empress's procession to proclaim her as his one and only. After his inspection tour of Jiangnan, he formally makes her empress.
After their wedding, the emperor and empress share a deep love and have a son, Crown Prince Chengye. Murong Hong devotes himself to educating the boy, even growing jealous over the selection of his companions. From her exclusive favor in the palace's inner chambers to the warmth of ordinary life in the countryside, the two join hands to build a flourishing age and vow to grow old together. A palace legend that began with her rise from the bottom ends in a love between an emperor and empress who are equals.
