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君九龄
On her wedding day, Chu Jiuling discovers her uncle, the Emperor, killed her father. Betrayed and nearly assassinated by her husband, she is rescued by a physician and takes on a new identity as Jun Jiuling. Using her medical skills and wit, she aids a noble family, infiltrates the capital, and uncovers political corruption while winning the people’s trust.
During Chu Jiu Ling’s marriage to Lu Yun Qi, she accuses the newly appointed Emperor of killing her father, the late Emperor. Jun Ying Wen and his daughter Jun Zhen Zhen help an imprisoned Jiu Ling escape, but they pay heavy consequences. Jiu Ling is forced to take on Zhen Zhen’s appearance and become her to survive and avoid suspicion. Her goal is to one day expose Emperor Chu Rang for killing her father.
Zhen Zhen navigates the contract marriage her father and Lord Ning had arranged, causing her to make enemies. On his way to the capital, Jiu Ling’s childhood sweetheart, Zhu Zan, discovers she committed suicide in prison by setting herself on fire. He does not believe this, so he seeks out Zhen Zhen to get more information about her father’s and Jiu Ling’s whereabouts.
Zhen Zhen meets Fang Cheng Yu, the sickly heir of the Fang family. She suspects his illness is not really what it seems and convinces his mother and grandmother to allow her to help him. While getting his medicine, she is repeatedly bullied by Fang Yu Xiu. Zhu Zan continues to hound her for information, so she confirms that both her father and Jiu Ling are dead, thereby crushing his last remaining hope.
Cheng Yu’s condition is getting better due to Zhen Zhen’s medicinal interventions. To prevent the enemy from catching on, she decides to marry Cheng Yu so that she can continue his treatments privately, and grandmother Fang agrees. She persuades Cheng Yu to go to the Lantern Festival with her to help lift his spirits, while Zhu Zan begins investigating the death of the late Emperor and the possible connection with De Sheng Chan.
Zhen Zhen has a chance encounter with Ning Yun Zhao as they battle chess head-to-head, but Zhen Zhen leaves before telling him her name. The chess lantern she made was hit, as many could not solve the logic problem. However, curiously, an unexpected person does. Yun Yan schemes to make trouble for Zhen Zhen.
Shopkeeper Su believes the marriage between Zhen Zhen and Cheng Yu is so that she can get pregnant and produce an heir before Cheng Yu’s certain death. They hatch a plan to get rid of Zhen Zhen by making it look like an accident. Yun Yan sets up Zhen Zhen to ruin her reputation, but Zhen Zhen catches on and devises a plan of her own.
Zhen Zhen uses a special technique to best Yun Zhao, which makes Zhu Zan suspect her true identity. Assassins go after Zhen Zhen, and though Zhu Zan is able to protect her, he flees to evade the Martial Moral Ministry. Yun Yan finally learns a lesson, while Zhu Zan confronts Zhen Zhen about her true identity.
Zhen Zhen gets to work on the final curing treatments for Cheng Yu soon after the wedding. Shopkeeper Song finds excuses to check on Cheng Yu’s health, so Zhen Zhen devises a plan to not only enable her to continue the treatments in privacy but to also lure out who is trying to hurt the Fang family. Zhen Zheng hires Zhu Zan and Master Lei to escort her to Ru’Nan.
Zhen Zhen is in a precarious position while trying to pluck the Immortal Violet Blossom on the cliff face. After arriving in Ru’nan, Zhen Zhen is forced to give up the Jun ancestral home, deciding to keep the plaque instead to start a medical clinic. To gain a foothold, she offers free consultations for the first month and guarantees to cure all illnesses. Zhu Zan seeks out a person from Zhen Zhen’s past.
Shopkeep Song falls into Zhen Zhen’s and Grandma Fang’s trap, but they realize the mastermind runs higher up the chain of command. As the Zhen Zhen and the group head back to Zhezhou, they are ambushed multiple times. Master Lei deduces that the assassins are the same ones he encountered when the late Lord Fang was attacked and killed.
Zhen Zhen sees, then follows eunuch Yuan Bao, only to discover he is targeting the Fang family. Zhu Zan comes to her aid when she is almost captured by Yuan Bao. Her disappearance causes concern for the Fang family, so they petition the magistrate to look for her, revealing their connection with Emperor Chu Rang. She decides to head back to the capital to finish her mission, while Cheng Yu absolves their marriage.
After entering the capital, Jiu Ling sees Zhu Zan, who goes to her burial site to mourn. He is confronted by Lu Yun Qi who battles him in a duel. Eunuch Yun Bao appears and takes Zhu Zan to the palace. Ruminating about Zhu Zan’s predicament on her way back to the inn, she encounters Yun Zhao, who is happy to hear that her marriage to Cheng Yu was not real.
Zhu Zan is tried by a tribunal of the Ministry of War, Martial Moral Ministry, and the High Court to determine if his actions in postponing his entry to the capital are justified. Jiu Ling tearfully watches her older sister marry Yun Qi and her younger brother crying in sorrow at her leaving him. She opens her medical clinic near the noble houses, hoping to gain their favor, but she has a rough start.
Jin Xiu is slowly adapting to being independent and selling sugar figures with Chen Qi. Jiu Ling struggles initially as a wandering physician to build her medical clinic’s reputation, but soon gains a following after helping Madam Zhou. Zhu Zan watches from the sidelines, while Yun Zhao goes out of his way to try to help her.
Jiu Ling invites Jin Xiu to the capital to help manage her medicinal clinic’s accounts, so Cheng Qi decides to accompany her. As Jiu Ling’s reputation increases in the city she becomes both popular and targeted by the Imperial Physicians. She soon hears about her brother’s illness and asks Zhu Zan to help understand why the physician tending to him has not been able to cure him.
Jiu Ling is taken to Lu Yun Qi’s residence to treat the third madam’s voice, which oddly resembles Chu Jiu Ling’s voice. Although she is able to help the third madam, Yun Qi commands her to change her name and the name of the clinic. Her brother Rong’er is getting sicker by the day, and the Imperial Physicians plan to use his incurable illness to tarnish Jiu Ling’s reputation.
Yun Qi barges into Jiu Ling Hall to break the name plaque, but Jiu Ling and Zhu Zan stop him. To prevent Yun Qi from coming back to break the name plaque, Jiu Ling gives him an unexpected surprise. Rong’er’s health is rapidly deteriorating, so the Imperial Physicians beg the Emperor to allow Jiu Ling to treat him, in hopes that she will fail, thereby tarnishing her reputation.
Jiu Ling begins treating her younger brother Rong’er, whilst a suspicious Yun Qi keeps a close eye on her. She enjoys the time with her older sister and younger brother, though is saddened that she cannot reveal who she really is to them, yet. Though she is able to save Rong’er, it angers the Emperor and draws attention to her. Cheng Yu sends her the Fang family’s handwritten edict from the Emperor, which further angers the Emperor.
Smallpox runs rampant in the capital and surrounding areas, causing much concern for the Emperor. The Imperial Physicians use this opportunity to try to bring Jiu Ling down once again. They recommend that all infected people be moved to an area outside of the capital so that Jiu Ling can treat them all. The Emperor gives her 1 month to cure smallpox.
Jiu Ling, the physicians, and the infected people are all quarantined in Qingshan court. To show the Emperor’s support for curing the people, Zhu Zan, the heir apparent, is also sent to the Qingshan court. Jiu Ling and the physicians keep trying different iterations of medicine but to no avail. She tries a far-fetched idea that the physicians don’t agree with.
