The Ninth Prince, Xiao Yu, a formidable contender in the struggle for the throne among the nine princes, is destined to die before the age of thirty due to his Xuan Yang constitution. Only by having intercourse with a woman possessing a Xuan Yin constitution can he survive and ascend the throne, a search he has undertaken for ten years without success. While being pursued, he stumbles upon his bride, Jiang Lian, and is overjoyed to discover that she is the very Xuan Yin constitution he has been searching for. He then forcibly takes her as his own.
