Cherry Blossoms at the Banquet, Luring a Song Prince into the Abyss

The story follows the Liao princess Yelü Muying, who uses the alias Li Muying, as she infiltrates the Song Dynasty as a spy. The desolation left by the floods, and the rustic beauty beneath her plain clothes, along with her delicate, pitiful air and carefully laid plans, win the heart of Prince Yan Zhao Yanzhi, the Song emperor's third son. But she is drawn into the brutal struggle over the succession, and her identity is exposed. Pregnant and caught in a dilemma, she is rescued by assassins sent by her father, Yelü Zhi, and taken back to Shangjing. Prince Yan travels a thousand miles to Liao to prove his love with sincerity, winning the approval of Prince Yelü and Muying. He brings her back to Yizhou, within the Yanmen Pass. A palace coup erupts in Bianjing. With the help of the loyal minister Xu Yizun, he eliminates the opposing faction through a five-step plan: “mislead the enemy, seize the gates, win hearts, cut off the head, proclaim to Heaven.” He reads the late emperor's edict at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, ascends the throne, and names his reign Jing'an.

But before the throne has even grown warm, the new emperor must choose between his empire and the woman he loves. His ministers invoke the distinction between Chinese and foreign peoples to block the Liao princess from entering the palace, forcing Muying and her young son, Zhao Jing'an, to remain in the border city of Yizhou. Though Zhao Yanzhi rules the land, he has no choice but to accept a policy of “patient endurance” to keep the court stable. The emperor and his consort are separated by a thousand miles: one faces the wind and snow alone in Bianjing's Zichen Hall, the other cares for their child within the Yanmen Pass, waiting for his return. This love, born of intrigue, becomes a profound vigil amid the struggle between power and country: “Jing'an brings peace to the realm, but no peace to its ruler.” They wait for the day the land is at peace, when he can bring home the one love of his life.