Chen Xiao

When the future empress Wu Zetian's two courtiers die in a mysterious fire, she gets Di Renjie, a former detective and rebel, released from prison to solve the mystery of the fire.

Zhou Ying is sold to the powerful Shen family by her foster father, yet successfully escapes by sneaking into merchant Wu Ping’s palanquin. The Wu family agreed to take her in after witnessing her remarkable business acumen, and she ends up marrying Wu Ping. The drama will chronicle the life of the Qing Dynasty's richest female merchant, and her struggles to keep the Wu family business afloat during the last years of the Qing Dynasty. Shen Xingyi is a happy-go-lucky young sir who has never known hardship in his life. After meeting Zhou Ying, he eventually decides to change his ways and becomes a mature noble who is willing to protect his country and family from disaster. He has a seemingly unrequited love for Zhou Ying.

Zhao Pan'er is a smart and savvy teahouse owner in Qiantang, living alongside her two best friends Sun Sanniang and Song Yinzhang. When she finds out her fiancé left her for another woman of a high ranking officer after becoming an official in the capital of Bianjing, she refuses to give into her fate and decides to travel to the capital in search for the truth. On her way there, she crosses paths with both of her best friends whose lives she saves, and they follow her onward. Gu Qianfan is a commander in an elite capital squadron nicknamed "Living Devil". He is setup by the very people he swears allegiance to and must find out the truth behind a nefarious scheme involving the imperial court. When he first meets Zhao Pan'er, they don't see eye to eye, however this intelligent businesswoman has caught his attention and as they help each other, they get closer to their own goals.