Concubine Hua instigated the eunuch Xiao Tang of the imperial dining room to take the blame in order to prevent the emperor's suspicion from hurting herself. The queen believed that this was the work of Concubine Hua, and hoped that the emperor would not care about the past and punish Concubine Hua severely; The Northwest War was victorious, and the emperor was eager to restore Concubine Hua's right to assist the Six Palaces. Zhen Huan came forward to dissuade her on the grounds of stabilizing the government, and the emperor agreed to postpone the matter. Huanbi dresses up carefully to attract the emperor's attention but is self-defeating. Zhen Huan is powerless to stop the prosperity of the Nian family, but also realizes that Huanbi is gradually rebellious, and feels deeply attacked.

Zhen Huan suspects that Huanbi secretly colluded with Cao Guiren for the matter of cassava flour, so she sends rouge gouache and honey incense to test Cao Qinmo. Cao Qin silently guarded against Zhen Huan, throwing away all the gifts, but kept the honey fragrance. After Concubine Hua learns that her elder brother Nian Gengyao has returned in triumph, she thinks that the Emperor will restore her power, but when she learns that Zhen Huan's plan to dissuade the Emperor from reinstating him has stalled, Concubine Hua is furious. Zhen Huan deliberately asked Jinxi to spread the word in the palace that she was about to visit Meizhuang, which was banned. She pretended to be Huanbi and went out of the palace, and specially ordered Huanbi to stay in the palace. Huanbi didn't know what it was, so he secretly reported to Cao Guiren. Cao Guiren urged Concubine Hua to immediately search Meizhuang's bedroom, but found nothing.