Synopsis: The Great Liang dynasty falls, and rebel leader Li Heng ascends the throne as emperor. Princess Dowager Xiao Yunqi, who should have died for her country, is instead brought into the new emperor’s harem in an eight-bearer bridal sedan and made empress. The new dynasty’s powerful families call her a wicked woman from a fallen state, while the new consorts scold her for failing to appreciate her good fortune. Clad in phoenix robes, Xiao Yunqi gazes down at them coldly. “Every brick and tile in this palace belongs to my Xiao family. Who do you think you are?” Unwilling to lie low, she uses her former allies to fight her way through the harem, until the new emperor, who took her by force, bows his head and pleads, “Yunqi, I’ll give you back the realm. Will you give yourself to me, too?” She looks down at the emperor prostrate at her feet and smiles softly. “Too late.”
