Maomao, a pharmacist in the red-light district, is abducted and enslaved at the emperor's palace. Hearing rumours of a "curse" killing the emperor's heirs, her curiosity propels her to investigate.

Maomao tries to settle into her promotion to lady-in-waiting and food taster, but struggles to fend off both boredom and the overly-familiar Jinshi; that is, until she gets an assignment of her dreams: to concoct an aphrodisiac.

Tasked with investigating a ghostly woman dancing nightly on the palace walls, Maomao finds a sleepwalking Concubine Fuyou; but with no medicinal cure for sleepwalking, she's forced to dig deeper to find the real reason behind Fuyou's affliction.

Under direct orders from the emperor himself, Maomao tries to care for an ailing Concubine Lihua, but finds her work impeded by Lihua's own ladies-in-waiting.

A eunuch stricken by a curse comes begging for aid; the rear palace buzzes with excitement as everyone prepares for the upcoming garden party; Gyokuyou's ladies-in-waiting aren't about to let Maomao get away without dressing her up.

The favourites, their attendants and a number of notables gather at the court banquet, where tensions between the servants are palpable. The festivities are short-lived for Mao Mao, who has to sample every dish.