S01E01 Episode 1
Concubine CHAN tries but fails to sneak out of the Palace and Concubine YUE, on behalf of the Queen, decides to have her executed. CHAN keeps cursing the pregnant YUE until she draws her last...
War and Beauty
Overview
Fifteen years after Qing Emperor Jiaqing was crowned the country appears to be in harmony. However, fights between the imperial concubines escalate. All the imperial concubines including the emperor's beloved Yu-Yue understand this and becomes nervous when the triennial imperial concubine election approaches. Yu-Yue's position is threatened by an imperial descendant, Yuk-ying, a powerful eunuch's adopted daughter, Yi-Sun, and an experienced imperial servant maid On-Seen. They are friends and enemies in the war for the emperor's love. The four beautiful women are either friends or lovers of an imperial physician Sun Bak Yeung and a trooper Kong-Wu. Plots and lies undermine their love and friendships in the palace.
Episodes
S01E02 Episode 2
Royal Maid ON-SIN is shocked to discover that YING has got into CHAN’s room. She means to make a fool of YING so that YUE may let her off. YING blames SIN while SIN, as...
S01E03 Episode 3
SIN will have to spend one more year in the Palace before she can return home. She has been very much looking forward to this day. MO and SONG are to renovate a hall of...
S01E04 Episode 4
TIN’s wife LIU SIK-CHUN goes to pray at a temple. When she gets back home, she is shocked to see TIN throwing antiques at the ground. TIN later explains to her why he did so....
S01E05 Episode 5
MO discovers that it is actually the crows that have broken the Guan Yin statue. SIN is resolved to reiterate SO-YING’s innocence. Eunuch NGOK LAW-LEI points out that crows are regarded highly by Manchurians as...
S01E06 Episode 6
YUE gives each girl a silk fan while KEI’s gift is the most valuable. This has irked NING greatly. In order to defeat her enemies, NING has swapped YING’s medicine for SHUN’s, thus further worsening...
S01E07 Episode 7
SIN’s grandmother is expected to visit SIN in the Palace but fails to show up eventually, which has disappointed SIN a bit. MO tries to get a better job by bribing his supervisor CHO CHUN-NAM,...
S01E08 Episode 8
YUE points out that YING’s fan has revealed the enormity of her ambition but YING, whose eyes are already filled with tears, insists that she has no intention of replacing YUE. YUE gives her some...
S01E09 Episode 9
YING manages to get YEUNG’s prescription by threatening to reveal his relationship with SHUN. She hopes that, with the prescription dispensed by YEUNG, she will have the chance to get closer to JIAQING. YEUNG warns...
S01E10 Episode 10
YUE wants to find out who has made NING mad but SIN refuses to reveal anything. LUK asks MO to help smuggle some valuable paintings out of the Palace for sale. Having discovered this, SIN...
S01E11 Episode 11
NGOK gets irked when he sees SIN and LUK together. To express his anger, NGOK has given SIN a severe telling-off. SIN cannot stand him any longer and decides to sneak out of the Palace....
S01E12 Episode 12
SIN has stabbed NAM to protect herself. MO suddenly appears and kills NGOK and NAM. YUE is dying to find out who has been ganging up with TIN. For this reason, she has put additional...
S01E13 Episode 13
The Queen intervenes in the case of NGOK and NAM and takes SIN away for questioning. SIN takes the blame for killing NGOK and NAM. The Queen decides to seal the well and forbids further...
S01E14 Episode 14
MO discovers that WONG FOOK-SHAU, the eunuch who serves YUE, has stolen the jade ring from the skeleton and smuggled it out of the Palace. WAH tries to intercede for SAU and smashes the ring...
S01E15 Episode 15
YING is reluctant to hurt herself, and YUE shows complete contempt for her. YING puts the blame on YEUNG and urges him to compensate her for the loss of the money. YING who doesn’t want...
S01E16 Episode 16
TIN thinks that SHIM has put a curse on the Queen as instructed by YUE but SHUN learns from YEUNG that YUE is not superstitious at all. A blessing ceremony is held for the 100-day-old...
S01E17 Episode 17
YEUNG offers to check SIN’s pulse for YING’s sake, which irks SHUN profoundly. SHUN mocks him for it and returns the gloves that FOOK gave her under the name of YEUNG. The Queen not only...
S01E18 Episode 18
SHUN is scared to death when she sees SHIM’s body. JIAQING comes to comfort her and, with her glib tongue, she manages to trick the Emperor into believing that YUE has been cheating on him....
S01E19 Episode 19
The Queen needs LUK to get her a new hairdo, with which she is very happy. LUK is so articulate that he can make the Queen grow fond of YING. YUE hopes that the baby...
S01E20 Episode 20
MO and YEUNG are rewarded for saving JIAQING’s life. Because of this incident, MO is late for the meeting with SONG who is outside the Palace. He assumes that SONG has left without saying goodbye....
S01E21 Episode 21
JIAQING is very fond of YING who has disguised herself as a eunuch. Immediately he asks to have sex with her, which upsets YEUNG immensely. YING has finally won JIAQING’s heart. She is so happy...
S01E22 Episode 22
The Queen and YUE meet by chance and soon get into a quarrel. The Queen threatens to slash the baby princess’s face. YUE has no choice but to give in. As instructed by the Queen,...
S01E23 Episode 23
SIN manages to keep YING away from JIAQING. In the meantime, she disguises herself as YING and goes to see JIAQING, which infuriates him beyond measure. Unexpectedly, within just a few seconds, SIN manages to...
S01E24 Episode 24
SIN and YING are going to set SHUN up and accuse her of committing adultery. MO manages to arrange a meeting between YUE and the baby princess, for which YUE is very grateful. Having found...
S01E25 Episode 25
FOOK offers to take the blame so as to save YEUNG from further trouble, but sadly she fails to convince the Queen. Having heard what FOOK said, SHUN goes to have a word with SIN....
S01E26 Episode 26
LUK cannot bear to see SIN suffer and persuades her to give up seeking revenge. Having received treatment from WAH, YUE’s sight has improved. YUE begins to realize how much MO has done for her....
S01E27 Episode 27
FOOK has read the letter TIN wrote to her. Though she has verified the content of the letter with CHUN, for safety reasons, she decides not to disclose to SHUN their true relationship. To uncover...
S01E28 Episode 28
The Queen discovers that LUK has been trying to harm her. YEUNG repents in front of the tomb of his late mother. WAH is shocked to hear that YEUNG has been caught in great trouble....
S01E29 Episode 29
MO reminds SIN not to be used by YUE. WAH submits his resignation to the Queen and shows her the broken finger of YEUNG in order to prove his loyalty. SONG has joined the Tin...
S01E30 Episode 30
JIAQING is away from the Palace when the riot takes place and the Queen sees it as a good chance to wipe out her enemies. YING asks to escort FOOK’s coffin along the route, during...
Cast
Maggie Cheung Ho-Yee
Suwanniguwalgiya On-Seen
Charmaine Sheh Sze-Man
Donggiya Yi-Sun
Gigi Lai Chi
Hougiya Yuk-ying
Sheren Tang Shui-Man
Niuhuru Yu-Yue
Bowie Lam
Sun Bak Yeung
Moses Chan
Kong-Wu
Jade Leung Tsang
Nalan Fuk Nga
Rebecca Chan
Empress Niuhuru
Maria Chen
Kenny Wong Tak-Ban
Willie Wai Ga-Hung
Chen Hung-Lieh
Sun Ching Wah
