Hua Fei tries desperately to cling onto power and is tricked into believing that her family is in the clear. Zhen Huan makes a scene at a banquet and is banished by the Emperor. Sensing that all is not right, the Empress orders An Ling Rong to join Zhen Huan as a sort of double agent to spy on Zhen Huan. However, the chess pieces are in place for the final checkmate to the Nian family. Huai Fei regains power and continues her lavish ways. Her brother, Nian Geng Yao, even openly mocks the Emperor. The Emperor deals a final blow to the Nian family by capturing the rest of the Nian faction including the 10th, 8th, and 9th Princes.  By the end of the episode, the once powerful Hua Fei is now demoted to a lowly 1st class attendant and her brother has been sentenced to death