Director: Lin Feng

Starring: Show Lo / Qi Wei / Ma Tianyu / Sun Xiaoxiao / Ruby Lin / Yuan Hong

First aired: 2014

Plot Summary:

     In the fourth year of the Yonghui era, 653 AD, Emperor Gaozong of the Tang dynasty, still struggling to consolidate his throne, hastily staged a grand ceremony at Mount Tai to proclaim his imperial might. Meanwhile, Prince Wu, Li Ke, who prided himself on his noble lineage, had secretly constructed an underground mausoleum in Mianzhou, where he endured hardship and bided his time, plotting to reclaim the imperial throne his father had originally intended for him. Li Ke dispatched assassins to strike covertly, and the Mount Tai ritual ended in grim tragedy, shrouded in blood and turmoil. Emperor Gaozong, after suffering a severe blow, never recovered and withdrew from state affairs. To counter the growing influence of the imperial harem, Consort Li Guifei decided to persuade Emperor Gaozong to bring Wu Meiniang, who was then residing at the Gan Ye Temple, back into the palace. Taking advantage of the pretext that the temple was undergoing repairs and preparing for an incense‑offering ceremony, the emperor led a delegation of officials to the temple to pay their respects and offer prayers—partly to salvage his reputation following the failed Fengchan ritual—and, on the way, arranged for Wu Meiniang’s return. Meanwhile, Di Renjie arrived in Chang’an with his father to report on his duties, accompanied by Tong Mengyao, the daughter of a wealthy family, and his loyal servant, Erbao. At his father’s introduction, Di Renjie met the emperor’s brother‑in‑law, Minister of Justice Wang Youren. It was only then that Di Renjie discovered that Wang Youren’s son, Wang Yuanfang, was none other than the young gentleman he had encountered earlier that very day in the marketplace. After they struck up a conversation, Wang Yuanfang shared with Di Renjie the recent rumors of ghostly apparitions at the Gan Ye Temple and invited him to investigate together. But soon thereafter, a series of terrifying incidents began to unfold…  

　　Having successfully unraveled the mystery surrounding Ganye Temple, Di Renjie earned the admiration and trust of Emperor Gaozong of Tang and Empress Wu Zetian. Meanwhile, Di Renjie and Li Wanqing began to develop feelings for one another, while Yuan Fang and Meng Yao also found themselves drawn to each other. The group decided to set out on a journey, traveling far and wide. Along the way, they bickered and teased one another, yet repeatedly faced grave perils. After confronting the case of the undead in Iris Valley, the sinister shadows on the isolated island, and the murder mystery tied to the nursery rhyme of the Nine Heavens’ Mysterious Maiden, Di Renjie and Yuan Fang forged a deep and cherished friendship, while the romantic bonds between the two young pairs grew ever stronger. Yet the astute Di Renjie could not shake the sense that Li Wanqing’s past was fraught with complexity—and that a shadowy, enigmatic force was stirring in the background…