Introduction to the Story

In the late Ming Dynasty, the emperor, Shenzon, sent Prince Cheng and Lu Dingwun, a courtier, to enter the tomb of the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty to retrieve the Divine Book of the Supreme Counselor, which was said to record the secrets of effective nation governing. They had a severe fight with the Japanese ninjas, who followed them into the tomb and were also interested in the book. Both sides suffered heavy casualties. Then Prince Cheng suddenly turned on Lu Dingwun and attempted to kill him. Fortunately, Lin Jili, a grave robber who also sneaked into the tomb, lent a hand and saved Dingwun. After coming out of the tomb safely, they made an agreement to have their children wed each other when they grew up.

Eighteen years later, Lu Jianping, Dingwun's only daughter, had grown into a cheerful tomboy who liked to disguise herself as a man. One day, with the help of her caretaker Wu Ma, she drove away the rascals who were bullying a young scholar named Shui Ruohan, who was actually a professional killer working for the East Yard, the emperor's secret police agency. And she also made the acquaintance of two young monks, Xiaolong and Xiaofu, and Prince Zhu Yulong, who was pretending to be a commoner. The four of them became friends.

To everyone's surprise, the emperor issued a decree, ordering Jianping to wed the second eldest prince. Unaware that Zhu Yulong was the prince himself and having always entertained ill feelings against the nobility anyway, Jianping decided to flee to the Shaolong Temple together with Wu Ma. Though heartbroken, Yulong wanted to win her heart with his devotion, so he decided to go to the Shaolin Temple with her. On the way they met Ruohan, who was trying to find the whereabouts of the tomb key, which he believed the Lu family possessed. They convinced Ruohan to go to the Shaolin Temple with them, and they became apprentices there. A close friendship was established between them.

Cao Youxiang, the chief eunuch in charge of the East Yard, reported to the emperor about Jianping's escape. Angered by this, the emperor had her father Lu Dingwun arrested and intended to have him executed. With the help of her friends, Jianping successfully rescued her father. Lu Dingwun saw the jade amulet Ruohan was wearing and assumed he was the son of Lin Jili, the grave robber with whom he had made a marriage agreement many years ago. Learning that Ruohan was her fiance, Jianping was overjoyed, while Zu Yulong was saddened and depressed by this turn of events. His hope of ever winning Jianping's affections was dashed.

However, on the scheduled wedding day, Ruohan's identity as a professional killer was finally exposed by Song Yinniang, Lin Jili's concubine. In order to get away, Ruohan had to take Jianping's father hostage. It was time for a showdown between Jianpiang and Ruohan.
(If you want to know what happened after this, click on the button of ¡§Story¡¨ on the top of this page for the details.)


The Difference in the Length of the Show

There are two versions of this show: a 20-episode version for Mainland China, and a 31-episode version for Taiwan, Hon Kong, South Korea, and all other areas. In the 20-episode version, so many important parts of the story are deleted that many viewers in Mainland China have complained about the difficulty in following the storyline.

Production Staff

Director: Zhu Yianping & Li Huimin & Lin Helong
Action director: Cheng Xiaodong
Artistic director: Zhang Dai
Script: Jiang Peiling
Costume & Makeup: Chen Jiayi
Producer: Zhu Yianping


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