The Palace is a bustling place where intrigues are common at all levels. Three maids vie for acceptance into the food bureau even as the Emperor returns and court officials are promoted, reprimanded, arrested or so forth.
The Imperial Grandson returns to the palace and brings a treat for his consort. Hu Shanwei reminds her sister, Zhu ZhanJi's consort, about her obligations and her role. Yao Zijin gets a pardon of her punishment.
Zijin uses an uncommon technique to remove a stain and the Imperial Grandson is impressed. The Emperor threatens the Food Bureau if the Crown Prince doesn't lose weight. ZhanJi takes an interest in Zijin without knowing who she is.
The Imperial guards are searching for an impostor amongst the new recruits. ZiJin is favored by Matron Meng, causing some jealousy. The Imperial Grandson is impressed by a replacement cricket and by his grandfather's thrift.
Yao Zijin's identity is called into question. Yin ZiPing gets banished from the main kitchen. Prince Han conspires with Matron Meng. ZiJin recalls the first time she saw Zhu ZhanJi and claims a crush. ZhanJi tries to counsel his father.
Zhu ZhanJi feigns sleep to allow Yao ZiJin to escape the cottage. Ladies of the harem are invited to a feast by the Crown Princess. The cooks of the Food Bureau vie for the manager position. An attempt is made on the Emperor's life.
Concubine Yu implicates the Imperial Harem and the Eastern Palace in her plot. You Yifan has a personal, previously unknown, connection to the palace. ZhanJi misses a chance to meet ZiJin.
YueHua tries to be ZiJin's friend but ZiPing always gets there first. ZiJin falls ill. Director YaoQing entrusts Su YueHua with her culinary mission. ZiJin is caught sneaking a look at some of the Imperial Grandson's books.
ZiJin encourages ZhanJi to meet with Consort Hu but a chance encounter leads to further misunderstanding. ZhanJi takes out his frustration on ZiJin who, hurt, declares herself and retreats into the etiquette of her servant station.
A banquet serves as an opportunity for two opposing services to vie for the right to serve the Imperial meals for the year. The Food Bureau is determined to win. Zhu ZhanJi suggests a possible future for ZiJin. The Emperor is declining.
The competition continues until Lady Wei has a bad reaction and treason interrupts the meal. Su YueHua realizes that she has been used but doesn't offer up a name when she admits it to Matron Meng. You YiFan gets revenge for his mother.
Hu ShanXiang learns that Zhu ZhanJi has transferred his affections. ZhanJi is strict with his little brother. ZiJin is shocked when she sees Madam Peng Chengbo. You Yifan and Zhu ZhanJi both seek out ZiJin during the Lantern Festival.
The palace mourns. Imperial Consort Zhuang begs ZiJin and Ziping to help her escape from the palace and the fate that awaits her. ZiJin plays a trump card for Consort Zhuang but in doing so reveals a piece of her past.
Zhu Gaochi ascends to the throne. Hu Shanwei tries to get rid of a threat to her sister's position as Crown Princess. ZiJin reveals tribulations of her past even as she bargains for the future she wants. You Yifan is promoted.
The Empress disagrees with her initial diagnosis but everyone is afraid to go against the Emperor's belief that she is pregnant. ZiPing refuses to continue taking meals to the Crown Prince. ZhanJi breaks into an apothecary.
Conflict over the Empress' diagnosis and treatment comes to a head when Zhu ZhanJi defies the Emperor's edict to bring Dr Sheng to treat his mother. The Crown Princess makes an effort to repair the breach between her and the Crown Prince.
ZiJin recalls her mother's dying plea but upsets ZhanJi when she tells him her plans. You Yifan is convinced that ZiJin's calm is just a facade. When her painting is stolen ZiJin refuses to argue about it and comes up with a Plan B.
Despite her decision, ZiJin misses ZhanJi. Prince Wei calls out the Crown Prince for his bad mood. An attempt on her life prevents Zijin from being arrested with the others after Prince Wei has some kind of allergic reaction.
ZiJin accepts punishment in order to prevent injustice. The Crown Princess helps show that Prince Wei had been dangerously misdiagnosed. ZhanJi removes the Prince to his quarters for treatment. ZiJin is punished again then promoted.
Rewards, favors and punishments are often granted depending on alliances within the palace. YueHua tries to take a shortcut. Matron Meng and Consort Guo are thwarted when the try to punish her. ZhanJi makes a request of his father.
The Empress pushes at the Crown Prince to provide an heir. When other plans fail, she turns to a past wager with ZiJin but ZiJin continues to resist. ZiPing takes petty revenge for a past slight. ZiJin is injured in a deliberate attack.
The Empress puts pressure on ZiJin's family, but even injured, she refuses to give in. Matron Hu and Matron Meng stage a final culinary battle for the Lantern Festival. ZiJin is determined to help win though her hand plagues her.
The final dishes are prepared in the open in front of the Imperial family. An auspicious pattern appears on the roasted pig but a spurt of flame sets off a series of in-auspicious events. A message is sent to ZiJin. YueHua is tricked.
ZiJin helps ZhanJi break down a barrier between him and his father and in so doing voices a political concern of her own which gets her noticed by the Emperor. Madame Peng appears but is foiled. The Empress gets in the last word.
The Empress reminds the Emperor that ZiJin was chosen by the late Emperor for his grandson, Zhu ZhanJi. Despite ZhanJi's protests, a title is conferred and ZiJin becomes part of the harem. ZhanJi is nervous about her reception.
Consort Guo volunteers to organize a birthday celebration for the Empress. ZiJin's hall is often lively as the harem prepares their gifts. ZhanJi presents a love token to ZiJin. ShanXiang is a little jealous of ZiJin's capability.
While he is away, ZhanJi leaves the care of his study to ZiJin. The Empress tries to suppress news of the Emperor's death until the Crown Prince is able to return to the palace but he is ambushed. A figure evades capture.
ZiJin asks the Zhu ZhanJi to listen to evidence before deciding the fate of Consort Guo. The Dowager Empress has an agenda and begins her new role with vengeance. ZiJin has her own ideas and starts planning for the long road ahead.
ZhanJi is trying to ignore and punish ZiJin but despite the bevy of beauties at his beck and call, everything reminds him of her. Yuan Qi tries to cheer him up but gets punished. Chen Wu finds Yuan Qi's delicate duties challenging.
Empress Hu has hysteria, supposedly induced. ZiPing and several others are held in the Imperial prison while ZiJin works proactively to prevent being framed and to find the culprits. ZhanJi strongly suspects the mastermind.
ZiJin feels betrayed and when she is punished with confinement something in her snaps and she loses her voice. Everyone around her thinks she is being stubborn and the Emperor is especially angry at the situation. Yentai benefits greatly.
Summoned to the Dowager Empress' Palace, ZiJin begins to understand the immense stress and pressure she had endured and the humanity of what she was asking of ZiJin. ZiPing helps convey a message. Meng intervenes in a punishment.
The Food Service worries over the Empress' lack of appetite. A pilgrimage provides an opportunity for ZiJin to expose some things that have been hidden from the the Emperor's eyes. Prince Wei plays his part.
ZiPing serves food and stories to Empress Hu. ZhanJi sneaks out of the palace to observe reality but ZiJin waits for him to return. Yuan Qi resents ZiJin's influence over the Emperor - especially when it curtails his grift.
The Emperor's temper is volatile and his charge is a heavy burden. Yuan Qi is implicated when an official is questioned. A spy makes a play. YueHua visits YiFan but is disappointed that he can't offer her more.
ZiJin is poisoned and the Emperor is incensed. He seeks to depose Empress Hu despite objections from every direction. Even an earthquake cannot deter him. His uncle, Prince Han, sees this as an opportunity and sets events in motion.
As ZhanJi leads to troops to suppress rebellion, refugees flood the capital. Empress Hu assists efforts with her medical knowledge while ZiJin takes over refugee management. Fang HanYing reveals Matron Meng's planning.
Ambushes, Confessions, Punishments and Pardons. Meng ZiYun and Yin ZiPing are both rewarded, but both also make surprising decisions. Empress Hu seeks a permanent escape but ZiJin negotiates with the Emperor for a compromise.
