In the second year of Emperor Xianfeng's reign (1852), the beautiful Yulan (Liu Xiaoqing) of the Yehenara clan was selected to enter the palace and be canonized as a noble lady. Due to the historical feud between the Yehenara and Aisin-Gioro families, Yulan was not favored by Emperor Xianfeng (Tony Leung) at first. However, the scheming Yulan finally bound Emperor Xianfeng tightly with a sad and lingering tune and her stunning beauty. She was canonized as Concubine Yi, and because she gave birth to a son, Zaichun, she was promoted to Concubine Yi. Her status was unmatched for a time except for the Empress (Chen Ye). While the concubines in the Qing Palace were vying for favor and Emperor Xianfeng was indulging in pleasure, the British, French and other empires that had long coveted the wealth of the Qing Dynasty repeatedly sent troops to invade China. Under the advice of eight ministers including Suqing, the timid Emperor Xianfeng abandoned the world-famous Old Summer Palace, known as the "Garden of Gardens", and fled to the Rehe Palace with his concubines in the name of "autumn hunting", continuing his extravagant and licentious life of "turning a deaf ear to the outside world and pursuing instant pleasure".