Righteous Ming and villainous Yan join a secret mission. Ming fails, becoming an amnesiac fugitive forced into Yan's revenge plot. They navigate palace intrigues exposing injustice before seeking a secluded life.

In a crumbling dynasty plagued by corruption, a brilliant orphan becomes the first female scholar to pass the imperial exams. She joins forces with a masked emperor who moonlights as a vigilante to expose conspiracies.