Plot

Attempting to obtain luminous pearls to pay the tax, young Haishi loses her father. Taken in and tutored by Fang Jianming, she serves in the imperial court as a man, but loyalties and unrest interfere with their chance to be together.

According to legend, if one can make a Naga mermaid cry, the tears of the mermaid will turn into priceless luminous pearls. Growing up in a small coastal village, Hai Shi (Yang Mi) was well acquainted with the legend of the mermaid's pearls. But she had no idea that someday, this very legend would radically change her life. Burdened by the Emperor's taxes, the people of Hai Shi's village had become experts at coaxing pearls from the legendary Naga mermaids. Pretending to kill their own children to elicit the tears of the mermaids, the villagers would then use the precious pearls to pay their taxes. Joining her father in an endeavor to harvest these pearls, Hai Shi was forced to watch in horror as her father was killed and her village ransacked by imperial soldiers. Harboring a deep grudge against the empire, Hai Shi vows to have her revenge. In her quest for revenge, Hai Shi meets Fang Zhu (William Chan), the Emperor's closest confidant. Disguising Hai Shi as a man, Fang Zhu agrees to accept her as his disciple and takes her back to the Imperial City. As the years pass, Hai Shi's feelings for her master grow into something unexpected but even then, she never forgets her vengeful vows. Torn between her feelings for Fang Zhu and her devotion to her people, which way will Hai Shi's heart ultimately lead her?—Rakuten Viki