Jade Sterling, legitimate daughter, was mistreated by relatives and fiancé; adopted daughter Yara Lin schemed against her. Locked in the Ancestral Hall, she heard Emperor Cedric Xiao's voice, his soul separated after an assassination, perceiving all about her. Cedric guided her to palace selection. Jade exposed Yara Lin's conspiracies, leaving Brother Jasper and the Marquis regretful. Cedric eliminated hostile factions, enfeoffed Jade as empress, and they ruled.