During the Qianlong era of the Qing Dynasty, the leader of the Honghua Association, Yu Wanting, and the fourth master, Wen Tailai, took advantage of Emperor Qianlong's hunting trip to present a transcript of Madam Chen's will, which detailed Qianlong's humble origins, as a threat to force Qianlong into an alliance against the Qing and to restore the Ming dynasty. Qianlong secretly ordered Zhang Zhao to kill him at Wanting and captured Wen Tailai. Yu Wanting's adopted son, Chen Jialuo, succeeded as the leader and led a group to rescue Wen Tailai. On the way, they fought off the Qing army, rescuing the troops from the Muzhulun forces from Wēijiāng. The eldest daughter of Muzhulun, Huo Qingtong, fell in love with Jialuo at first sight and accompanied him to hijack the prison cart, but they failed due to the arrival of reinforcements from the Qing army. Jialuo then rushed to Hangzhou, where he coincidentally met Dongfang Er at Feilai Peak; they bonded over music and poetry, feeling like old friends. Later, Jialuo learned that Qianlong was interrogating Wen Tailai in Hangzhou and secretly visited the roof to check, discovering that Dongfang Er was Qianlong himself. Soon, Jialuo returned to his long-lost hometown and received the authentic will of Madam Chen from his wet nurse, realizing the current emperor was actually his biological brother, swapped into the royal palace by their father when he was an infant. By his parents' grave, Jialuo encountered Qianlong again. Qianlong adamantly denied being a descendant of the Chen family and promised to release Wen Tailai. Jialuo believed him and threw his deceased mother's will into the Qiantang River. However, Qianlong soon dispatched heavy troops to encircle the Honghua Association. Jialuo cleverly employed a beauty trap to capture Qianlong at the Liuhe Pagoda. Prince Su wanted to take this opportunity to eliminate Qianlong and ordered the Eight Banners artillery team to bombard the tower. Left with no choice, Qianlong accepted the agreement to ally with the Honghua Association against the Qing. This film won a special award at the Paris International Women's Film Festival in 1988. The sequel is 'Love and Hatred in the Gobi Desert'.
