Episode 1 of The Princess Royal begins during a dangerous political crisis in the Great Xia Dynasty, where years of palace intrigue, personal betrayal, and struggles for power have brought the imperial family to the brink of disaster. At the center of the conflict are Princess Royal Li Rong and her estranged husband, Pei Wenxuan, two powerful individuals whose marriage has deteriorated into resentment and suspicion. Although they were once young lovers, decades of misunderstandings and political ambitions have transformed their relationship into a bitter rivalry.
The episode opens on a cold night outside Hanqiu Palace, where Empress Shangguan Ya and several ministers desperately demand an audience with the gravely ill Emperor Li Chuan. However, imperial guards prevent anyone from entering because Grand Chancellor Pei Wenxuan has ordered the palace sealed. His authority over the military and court is immediately apparent as he strategically positions different units to control movement throughout the capital and imperial residence. Even the Empress cannot challenge his commands.
Pei Wenxuan eventually arrives and enters the Emperor’s chambers. The dying ruler reveals his final wishes concerning the succession. He wants Crown Prince Li Xin removed from his position and the eldest prince, Li Ping, appointed as the new heir. The Emperor fears that powerful aristocratic families have gained too much influence over the imperial government and believes that Li Rong is among the most dangerous political figures threatening the throne’s independence.
Despite being Li Rong’s husband, Pei Wenxuan agrees to support the Emperor’s wishes. His loyalty to the state has become more important than his broken marriage, and he is prepared to oppose the Princess Royal if necessary. Their political differences have grown so severe that they now stand on opposite sides of the struggle for the dynasty’s future.
Meanwhile, Li Rong is seriously ill and confined to her residence. Su Rongqing, a trusted companion who has remained devoted to her, stays beside her and carefully tends to her needs. He offers her medicinal soup and watches over her deteriorating condition. His presence reveals the complicated emotional history surrounding Li Rong’s marriage, particularly her attachment to a man other than her husband.
When Pei Wenxuan visits Li Rong, their reunion is anything but affectionate. He informs her of the Emperor’s succession plans and urges her to support Li Ping’s claim to the throne. Li Rong refuses, insisting that the legitimate line of succession must be respected. She recognizes that allowing Li Ping to inherit the throne would undermine the political position she has spent years protecting.
Their conversation quickly becomes personal. Li Rong resents Pei Wenxuan’s apparent affection for Qin Zhenzhen, while Pei Wenxuan remains bitter about her relationship with Su Rongqing. Their exchange exposes decades of emotional wounds, jealousy, and distrust. Neither is willing to acknowledge the affection that once existed between them.
During the confrontation, Li Rong notices a sachet hanging from Pei Wenxuan’s waist. The object reminds her of Qin Zhenzhen and deepens her suspicion that her husband may be involved in the mysterious circumstances surrounding her illness. Pei Wenxuan, meanwhile, warns her that he will not allow her political ambitions to endanger the dynasty. His words make it painfully clear that their marriage has become a battlefield where neither side feels safe.
After Pei Wenxuan leaves, Li Rong’s condition suddenly worsens. She suffers intense pain and coughs up blood, prompting Su Rongqing to summon an imperial physician. The physician determines that she has been poisoned. Believing that Pei Wenxuan may be responsible, Li Rong becomes overwhelmed by anger and betrayal.
Convinced that her husband has chosen political power over her life, Li Rong orders her loyal guards to ambush him. As Pei Wenxuan travels back to his residence, assassins attack his carriage. Although he fights desperately to defend himself, he is eventually overwhelmed and fatally wounded. When he realizes that the attackers were sent by Li Rong, he is devastated by the knowledge that the woman he once loved has ordered his death.
At nearly the same time, Li Rong’s poisoning reaches its final stage. As her life slips away, she reflects on the choices that brought her to this tragic ending. She regrets the marriage that caused her so much suffering and thinks about Su Rongqing, wondering whether choosing him instead might have given her a happier life. Before she can express her final thoughts, she loses consciousness.
However, death does not mark the end of Li Rong’s story.
In an extraordinary turn of events, Li Rong awakens in a familiar bedroom, feeling healthy and energetic. She is shocked to discover that she has returned to Chang Le Palace, the residence where she lived during her youth. Even more astonishingly, her trusted maid Jing Lan, whom she remembers dying years earlier, is standing before her as though nothing has happened.
Initially, Li Rong struggles to understand what is happening. She questions her maid and gradually realizes that her father, Emperor Li Ming, is still alive and that the events she remembers have not yet occurred. When she learns the current year, the truth becomes impossible to deny: she has somehow returned to the age of eighteen, before her disastrous marriage to Pei Wenxuan.
The realization leaves her stunned but also hopeful. Having experienced decades of heartbreak, political conflict, and betrayal, Li Rong now possesses knowledge of the future that could allow her to avoid the mistakes of her previous life. Most importantly, she is determined not to repeat the marriage that ended in tragedy.
Her second chance arrives at a particularly important moment. Emperor Li Ming is preparing to select a suitable husband for her, and the decision is deeply connected to the political balance of the imperial court. Although Li Rong is a princess, her marriage is not simply a personal matter. Her father’s choice of consort could strengthen or weaken powerful aristocratic factions, particularly those associated with her mother’s family.
The Emperor presents Li Rong with portraits of four potential husbands. Among them is Pei Wenxuan, a talented and handsome young scholar from a once-prominent noble family. In her previous life, Li Rong was attracted to his appearance and gentle personality, and their marriage initially held the promise of happiness. However, she now remembers the painful future that followed.
Rather than immediately selecting a husband, Li Rong cleverly suggests holding a spring banquet where she can meet the candidates in person. Her request allows her to delay the decision while secretly considering how to change her destiny. She also remembers Su Rongqing, whose devotion in her previous life has left a lasting impression on her, and begins contemplating the possibility of choosing a different path.
Meanwhile, an equally astonishing event occurs elsewhere in the capital. Pei Wenxuan awakens to discover that he, too, has returned to his younger self. He finds himself in the twenty-fourth year of the Yongning era, long before he became the powerful Grand Chancellor.
In this earlier period, Pei Wenxuan’s family is experiencing financial difficulties, and his engagement to Qin Zhenzhen has been broken. He remembers that marrying Li Rong once helped restore his family’s political standing, but he also remembers the years of conflict that followed their union.
Unlike the inexperienced young man he once was, Pei Wenxuan now possesses the memories and political knowledge of his former life. He understands the dangers of the imperial court and knows how deeply his marriage to Li Rong eventually deteriorated.
When an invitation arrives for the Princess Royal’s spring banquet, Pei Wenxuan recognizes the significance of the occasion. It is the event that will bring him face-to-face with Li Rong and potentially set their marriage in motion once again. Although he is aware of their tragic history, he decides to attend.
Episode 1 concludes with both Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan preparing to confront the past they have mysteriously been given the opportunity to relive. Neither yet knows for certain that the other has also returned with memories of their previous life. While Li Rong hopes to escape her unhappy marriage, Pei Wenxuan is equally determined to approach their relationship differently.
Their second chance promises new opportunities, but it also raises an important question: can two people who once destroyed each other overcome their resentment and rewrite their destiny, or will their old misunderstandings lead them toward the same tragic ending?
The premiere establishes the central themes of The Princess Royal: love, betrayal, political ambition, regret, and the possibility of redemption. Through Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan’s extraordinary return to their youth, the drama begins a complicated journey in which both characters must reconsider the choices that shaped their first lives.
