Episode Summary
Shen Jiangli returns to the Lu family estate during a prayer ritual meant to heal the ailing ruler. Her sudden arrival and the mysterious appearance of a coffin disrupt the event. She exposes First Madam's secret fertility schemes, causing a major scandal. Gaining favor with the Second Madam, Shen Jiangli secures a place to stay and requests a powerful medicine from Lu Jingming, hinting at a hidden motive tied to her painful past.
Spoiler Alert
Welcome to the world of Dongzhou, where power plays, old grudges, and family drama collide in the most unpredictable ways.
The episode kicks off with a somber tone: the ruler of Dongzhou is gravely ill. With the patriarch’s health declining, the First Madam (aka Da Furen) calls for a grand prayer ceremony, dragging along every branch of the extended family. As expected, that many relatives in one place is a recipe for chaos. Petty complaints fly, old tensions resurface, and just when things couldn’t get any more awkward—a coffin falls from the sky. Literally.
Naturally, everyone panics. A sick ruler and now a random coffin crashing a religious ritual? It feels like a bad omen. But this isn’t just any shocking interruption—enter Shen Jiangli, walking in through the gate like a ghost from the past. She’s been kept out of the family estate for years, exiled to the ancestral cemetery. And now, she’s back with purpose.
Da Furen, known for being sharp-tongued and ruthless, immediately confronts Shen Jiangli. There's a history here. This is the same woman who once nearly tortured a maid to death during a prayer ceremony, just because the poor girl dared to eat something. Shen Jiangli was the only reason that maid survived—her medical skills saved the day.
But today, Shen Jiangli isn’t here to play nice. She exposes Da Furen’s true intentions behind the prayer ritual. It’s not about blessing the ruler—it’s about boosting her own fertility luck. Shen Jiangli reveals that Da Furen forced 27 women who had given birth to sons to kneel in the courtyard for seven straight days, all in the name of “praying” but actually hoping to steal their good fortune.
Da Furen tries to deny it, but Shen Jiangli doubles down. She reveals that Da Furen secretly placed a Songzi Guanyin (child-giving goddess) statue next to the Medicine God’s altar and even set up a powerful fertility-enhancing ritual formation around the courtyard. When the servants dig up the physical evidence, Da Furen is left speechless. Her loyal nanny tries to take the fall, begging for forgiveness and offering her life in exchange for mercy—but the damage is done.
Shen Jiangli’s bold move earns her support from Er Furen (the Second Madam), who suggests she stay the night in the estate. Shen Jiangli agrees, but she has her own agenda. In a quiet moment with Lu Jingming, she asks for a powerful medicinal item called Lei Wan, which is vital to the Lu family. Lu Jingming presses her—who is she trying to save? But Shen Jiangli keeps that to herself, offering a trade instead.
As she walks through her old home, memories flood back—especially the darkest one. Five years ago, heavily pregnant and utterly alone, she was left to fend for herself in a storm. Desperate, she crawled to Dingfeng Pavilion, where a young healer saved her and her unborn child. The trauma still lingers.
Shen Jiangli isn’t out for revenge—but she hasn’t forgotten. And she’s not leaving without reclaiming what was taken from her. Especially from those who tried—more than once—to destroy her.
Final Thoughts:
Episode 1 throws you right into the thick of palace politics and long-buried secrets. Shen Jiangli is clearly a force to be reckoned with—calm, calculating, and deeply scarred. If this first hour is any indication, we’re in for a drama full of vengeance, power shifts, and some seriously satisfying takedowns.
