War and Beauty

Released: 2004-08-23

Runtime: 45 minutes

Episode Overview

Concubine CHAN tries but fails to sneak out of the Palace and Concubine YUE, on behalf of the Queen, decides to have her executed. CHAN keeps cursing the pregnant YUE until she draws her last breath. District Officer HUNG MO and his cousin CHAN SONG have been assigned to deliver the gifts for Emperor JIAQING back to the capital city. Along the way, they meet some members of the Tin Lee Sect who are trying to kidnap a group of xiu-nus – girls who are to attend the Imperial Concubine Selection in Peking (now known as Beijing). MO has mistakenly killed a man when he is trying to rescue SONG. The girls manage to persuade MO and SONG to escort them to the Palace. In order to break away from the Tin Lee Sect members, MO decides to leave the gifts aside. Xiu-nu YUKYING is a beautiful but arrogant young girl. She is on bad terms with everyone except for YEESHUN, another xiu-nu who once saved her life……

Series Overview

Fifteen years after Qing Emperor Jiaqing was crowned the country appears to be in harmony. However, fights between the imperial concubines escalate. All the imperial concubines including the emperor's beloved Yu-Yue understand this and becomes nervous when the triennial imperial concubine election approaches. Yu-Yue's position is threatened by an imperial descendant, Yuk-ying, a powerful eunuch's adopted daughter, Yi-Sun, and an experienced imperial servant maid On-Seen. They are friends and enemies in the war for the emperor's love. The four beautiful women are either friends or lovers of an imperial physician Sun Bak Yeung and a trooper Kong-Wu. Plots and lies undermine their love and friendships in the palace.