The fourth prince, Lu Xuan, launches a coup. His mother is killed, and Lu Lianzhen escapes the palace with her maid, Asi.
At a post station, they meet a merchant caravan from Helian. Asi conceals her identity and begs them to take her and Lu Lianzhen back to their homeland, Helian.
Lu Lianzhen disapproves of their uncouth manners and refuses to go out to eat in a fit of pique. She wakes up hungry in the middle of the night and sneaks out of her room to find something to eat. A man wearing a wolf-fur cloak appears behind her.
"What are you doing here?"
Lu Lianzhen asks in return, "What are you doing here?"
The man bends down with a smile. "If I said I was going to kill someone, would you believe me?"
Suppressing a shiver, Lu Lianzhen shoots back, "Whether I believe you or not doesn't matter. You've already broken curfew. Under Dahuang law, you'll probably be spending a few days in jail."
The man tosses her a packet of beef jerky, chuckles, and returns to his room.
Yun Shuo originally thought he'd met nothing more than a fallen official's daughter. But when he sees her wearing a soldier's uniform in the military camp, declaring over and over that she intends to take revenge, he is both angry and regretful.
He should have hidden her away the first time they met.
Theme: A career-minded woman and a love-struck man finding their way to each other.
