Ashes to Crown

Ruthless Emperor Xiao Xun wipes out the Chu clan and strangles his empress. Mysteriously reborn on the eve of their wedding, Chu Zhao vows revenge. (Source: Netflix)

Xiao Xun launches his rebellion early, but Chu Zhao fights her way into the palace to thwart his ascension and reshape the empire's fate. (Source: Netflix)

Now regent, Chu Zhao appoints her trusted ally to lead the Imperial Guard. But as tensions mount, Xiao Xun lays a trap — and she's ready for it. (Source: Netflix)

Xiao Xun accuses Chu Zhao of poisoning the young emperor, but she turns his plot against him — until an assassin strikes at court. (Source: Netflix)

Chu Zhao sets a trap to frame Xiao Xun as a defector, but Deng Yi aids his escape — putting Xie Yan Lai in deadly peril along the way. (Source: Netflix)

Xie Yan Fang flexes his power by engineering an invasion on the frontier. With her father gravely ill, Chu Zhao defies the court to ride to his aid. (Source: Netflix)

Chu Zhao disguises herself among dispatch riders to evade Xiao Xun's ambush. Meanwhile, Yan Lai risks everything to follow her to the frontier. (Source: Netflix)

Chu Zhao and Yanlai take shelter at Cangmu Stronghold, where she reveals her rebirth and past life to him. He vows to defy fate by her side. (Source: Netflix)

Chu Zhao sets up an ambush for Tie Ying at the Cangmu stronghold. Later, Xiao Xun colludes with the Northern Desert to launch an attack. (Source: Netflix)

With Wangcheng under siege, Chu Zhao devises a daring chain of stratagems to break free. Far away, her ailing father receives word of her battle. (Source: Netflix)

Chu Zhao reaches her gravely ill father, but a shocking discovery follows. Elsewhere, Deng Yi falls into Yan Fang's devious trap. (Source: Netflix)

Chu Zhao learns a shattering truth about her birth mother from Chu Ling and that Yan Lai is partially responsible for her father's chronic illness. (Source: Netflix)

Chu Zhao buries her grief to fight alongside Yan Lai against the Northern Desert — but victory demands a staggering price from those she loves most. (Source: Netflix)

Xiao Xun intercepts Chu Zhao's victory dispatches and marches on the capital. As rivals scheme for power, he burns the imperial edict and openly rebels. (Source: Netflix)

Chu Zhao and Yan Lai use the Longwei Army to force the Lord of Xiaonan to withdraw. Back in the capital, Deng Yi and Xie Yan Fang's rivalry escalates. (Source: Netflix)

Chu Tang devises a plan to capture Xiao Xun, giving Chu Zhao leverage to force a surrender. Deng Yi issues an amnesty to end the conflict. (Source: Netflix)

After exchanging a lifelong vow, Chu Zhao and Yan Lai part ways. She returns to the capital to court allies and secure power - but Yan Fang is watching. (Source: Netflix)

When Deng Yi blocks Chu Zhao's bid to give Yan Lai command of the frontier troops, Yan Lai stakes his life on a vow to slay the Northern Desert King. (Source: Netflix)

Yan Lai refuses to enshrine his mother in the Xie ancestral hall and opens up to Chu Zhao. At court, Chu Zhao rattles Xiao Xun with a fire oil inquiry. (Source: Netflix)

Chu Zhao cracks down on corruption in Jingzhou as Yan Fang feigns illness to mask a deadly move. An ill omen for Yan Lai leaves Chu Zhao on edge. (Source: Netflix)